Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of Numbers 5:23
And the priest shall write these curses in a book, and he shall blot [them] out with the bitter water:
23. a book ] The Heb. term spher denotes anything which can receive writing, e.g. a strip of parchment. Here it is something from which the written words of the curse can be washed or wiped out into the water. The curse is considered to be in this manner literally conveyed to the potion. The eating of written charms is a frequent practice in Thibet and India for the cure of disease. In Egypt ‘the most approved mode of charming away sickness or disease is to write certain passages of the Korn on the inner surface of an earthenware cup or bowl; then to pour in some water, and stir it until the writing is quite washed off: when the water, with the sacred words thus infused in it, is to be drunk by the patient’ (Waddell, The Buddhism of Tibet, quoted by Gray, p. 54).
Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges
Verse 23. The priest shall write these curses – and he shall blot them out] It appears that the curses which were written down with a kind of ink prepared for the purpose, as some of the rabbins think, without any calx of iron or other material that could make a permanent dye, were washed off the parchment into the water which the woman was obliged to drink, so that she drank the very words of the execration. The ink used in the East is almost all of this kind – a wet sponge will completely efface the finest of their writings. The rabbins say that the trial by the waters of jealousy was omitted after the Babylonish captivity, because adulteries were so frequent amongst them, that they were afraid of having the name of the Lord profaned by being so frequently appealed to! This is a most humiliating confession. “Though,” says pious Bishop Wilson, “this judgment is not executed now on adulteresses, yet they have reason from this to conclude that a more terrible vengeance will await them hereafter without a bitter repentance; these being only a shadow of heavenly things, i. e., of what the Gospel requires of its professors, viz., a strict purity, or a severe repentance.” The pious bishop would not preclude the necessity of pardon through the blood of the cross, for without this the severest repentance would be of no avail.
Fuente: Adam Clarke’s Commentary and Critical Notes on the Bible
These curses, wherewith she cursed herself, to which peradventure her name was added.
In a book, i.e. in a scroll of parchment, which the Hebrews commonly call a book, as Deu 24:1; 2Sa 11:11; Isa 39:1.
Blot them out with the bitter water, or, rase or scourge them out, and cast then into the bitter water. Whereby it was signified, that if she was innocent, the curses should be blotted out and come to nothing, and if she were guilty, she should find in her the effects of this water which she drunk, after the words of this curse; had been scraped and put in.
Fuente: English Annotations on the Holy Bible by Matthew Poole
23, 24. write these curses in abookThe imprecations, along with her name, were inscribed insome kind of recordon parchment, or more probably on a woodentablet.
blot them out with the bitterwaterIf she were innocent, they could be easily erased, andwere perfectly harmless; but if guilty, she would experience thefatal effects of the water she had drunk.
Fuente: Jamieson, Fausset and Brown’s Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible
And the priest shall write these curses in a book,…. The above curses imprecated on herself by an oath; the words and the letters of them were written at length, in a scroll of parchment; and, as some say also, her name, but not her double amen to them y:
and he shall blot [them] out with the bitter water: wash them out with it, and into it, or scrape them off of the parchment into it.
y Misnah, ut supra, (Sotah, c. 2) sect. 3.
Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible
Verses 23-28:
This text describes the procedure the priest followed in determining the guilt or innocence of the accused wife. If she were guilty, her internal organs would swell horribly, and her thigh would “rot,” naphal, “be caused to fall.” The medical designation of this malady is not further described.
If the woman were innocent, no harm would come to her. She would be vindicated of all charges.
Fuente: Garner-Howes Baptist Commentary
23. Write these curses in a book Hebrew, the book, as if there were a particular scroll on which curses were written.
Blot them with bitter water Hebrew, Wipe them into the bitter water. This was a symbolic act for conveying the curse to the water. The Arab of to day thinks this is the best way to take a prescription. The charm-worshippers in Africa habitually seek the utmost efficacy of a written charm in the same manner. See the note on Num 5:11.
Fuente: Whedon’s Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
The Woman Is To Be Made to Drink Of The Water of Testing Before Yahweh ( Num 5:23-24 ).
Num 5:23
‘And the priest shall write these curses in a book, and he shall blot them out into the water of bitterness,’
The priest was then to write the curse on papyrus or clay or stone, after which he would by some known method cause the ink of the curse to go into the water of bitterness, blotting them from the book, possibly by pouring some of the holy water on it, or by using a scraper. Thus the curse would become a part of ‘the water of bitterness’.
Num 5:24
‘And he shall make the woman drink the water of bitterness which causes the curse, and the water which causes the curse shall enter into her and be bitter.”
Then he was to make the woman drink ‘the water of bitterness which causes the curse’ in front of Yahweh and the water would be absorbed by her body and would be bitter. This may simply mean that if she was guilty it would have bitter effects. If however, the ingredients did make it bitter then the very bitterness would bring home the efficacy of the curse if she was guilty. She would feel that it was working already. Whatever else came from the ceremony it would be playing heavily on her conscience. Few guilty women would be able to go this far without confessing their guilt.
It is probable that we are to see Num 5:17-24 as repeated from a manual containing instructions for the procedure to be followed. Thus the writer is citing the words of the manual. If so that would mean that Num 5:24 simply consisted of words repeated from the manual and not a description of what the priest actually did at the time. That would come in Num 5:25-26. Even if not, such repetition for emphasis is typical of ancient writings. The idea would then be to come quickly to the conclusion before going back and giving further detail, something which regularly happens elsewhere in Scripture (compare for example Jdg 6:24-27). This standard practise for a time misled scholars into seeing evidence for different sources.
Fuente: Commentary Series on the Bible by Peter Pett
Num 5:23. The priest shall write these curses in a book, &c. The Jews call every scroll, whereon any thing is written, sepher, a book; and the rabbis tell us, that these maledictions were written upon vellum or parchment: but Calmet observes, that it is far from certain that parchment was used for writing in the time of Moses, or many ages after; and the original word often signifies tablets of plain wood, or covered over with wax, which was the most ancient manner of writing; see his dissertation Sur les Livres Anciens. These curses, wrote thus, most probably in wax, were to be wiped off at or into the bitter water, el-mei; so that the woman was, as it were, to drink the curse itself. It is plain that the jealousy-offering was made before the woman drank the water, Num 5:26.
Fuente: Commentary on the Holy Bible by Thomas Coke
Num 5:23 And the priest shall write these curses in a book, and he shall blot [them] out with the bitter water:
Ver. 23. Shall write these curses in a book. ] To show, that the word written should cause the water thus to work, according to the cleanness or uncleanness of the party. See 2Co 2:16 . See Trapp on “ 2Co 2:16 “
Fuente: John Trapp’s Complete Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
write these: Exo 17:14, Deu 31:19, 2Ch 34:24, Job 31:35, Jer 51:60-64, 1Co 16:21, 1Co 16:22, Rev 20:12
blot: Psa 51:1, Psa 51:9, Isa 43:25, Isa 44:22, Act 3:19
Reciprocal: Col 2:14 – Blotting
Fuente: The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
5:23 And the priest shall write these curses in a book, and he shall {m} blot [them] out with the bitter water:
(m) Shall wash the curses, which are written, into the water in the vessel.