Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of Numbers 5:19
And the priest shall charge her by an oath, and say unto the woman, If no man have lain with thee, and if thou hast not gone aside to uncleanness [with another] instead of thy husband, be thou free from this bitter water that causeth the curse:
19. being under thy husband ] i.e. under his authority; cf. Eze 23:5 ‘when she was mine’ (R.V. ), lit. ‘under me.’
Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges
Charge her by an oath, to answer truly to his question, or to declare by oath whether she be guilty or no, and after such oath shall say as follows.
If no man, to wit, except thy husband, as is manifest from the whole context; or no other man, the word another being understood here, as it is thought to be also Gen 14:1; 36:6; Exo 22:20. With another, or, with him, i.e. the man now mentioned. So it is an ellipsis easily supplied out of the text.
Fuente: English Annotations on the Holy Bible by Matthew Poole
And the priest shall charge her by an oath,…. Or give her her oath:
and say unto the woman, if no man hath lain with thee: besides her husband:
and thou hast not gone aside to uncleanness [with another] instead of thy husband; which is but another phrase expressive of the same thing, the sin of adultery:
be thou free from this bitter water that causeth the curse; if this is the case, it shall produce no bitter effects, or bring any curse upon thee.
Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible
19. Instead of thy husband Hebrew, under thy husband; that is, being in the power of thy husband. This explains the words, no man.
The Priest Now Charges Her With an Oath to Speak Truly ( Num 5:19-20 ).
Num 5:19-20
‘And the priest shall cause her to swear, and shall say to the woman, If no man has lain with you, and if you have not gone aside to uncleanness, being under your husband, be you free from this water of bitterness which causes the curse. But if you have gone aside, being under your husband, and if you are defiled, and some man has lain with you apart from your husband —.’
The procedure is now described. First the priest required her to swear, probably to her innocence. This would be the first test as to whether she was guilty or not. Standing there before Yahweh, with the priest solemnly holding the water of bitterness before her, and the barley grain offering in her hand and her hair hanging loose she would be a brazen woman indeed who could swear a false oath knowing that God would shortly bring judgment on her. This first procedure brings out that there was a genuine hope of proving her innocence. After all she had presumably either been protesting that she was innocent, or was, either through confusion, pride or guilt, saying nothing.
Then the priest would say, “If no man has lain with you, and if you have not gone aside to uncleanness, being under your husband, be you free from this water of bitterness which causes the curse. But if you have gone aside, being under your husband, and if you are defiled, and some man has lain with you apart from your husband —.’ Note the charge. As one who is under her husband as his helpmeet, had she been faithful to him or not? If she had she would get away scot free. The water would not bring the curse on her. But if she had not been faithful she was defiled, and was therefore defiling the camp. Note how the charge was left hanging in the air awaiting the second oath. It was to be continued once she had sworn the second oath, the oath of cursing.
Num 5:19-20. The priest shall charge her by an oath, &c. These two verses, and the two following, contain a species or formula of summons or adjuration, which the priest tendered to the person accused: a form, which was always expressed in the vulgar tongue, even when the Hebrew language ceased, as Maimonides has observed, and with him an anonymous writer quoted by Wagenseil.
Num 5:19 And the priest shall charge her by an oath, and say unto the woman, If no man have lain with thee, and if thou hast not gone aside to uncleanness [with another] instead of thy husband, be thou free from this bitter water that causeth the curse:
Ver. 19. Causeth the curse. ] The divine justice caused it; the water discovered it.
charge her: Mat 26:63
with another: or, being in the power of thy husband, Heb. under thy husband. Rom 7:2,*Gr.
Reciprocal: Num 5:12 – General Num 5:28 – And if Num 5:29 – when a wife goeth Deu 21:7 – General Jos 6:26 – adjured 2Ch 6:22 – the oath
Fuente: Whedon’s Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
Fuente: Commentary Series on the Bible by Peter Pett
Fuente: Commentary on the Holy Bible by Thomas Coke
Fuente: John Trapp’s Complete Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
Fuente: The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge