Bible Strands
Numbers 30:14
But if her husband says nothing to her from day to day, then he confirms all the vows and pledges that bind her. He has confirmed them, because he said nothing to her on the day he heard about them.
Berean Standard Bible
Follow its threads on the canvas →
Study note
Setting — The text records a divine command delivered through Moses to the Israelite assembly regarding the legal status of women's vows. It functions as a conditional clause within a legislative sequence regulating vow validation and annulment.
The words — The Hebrew phrase הַחֲרֵשׁ יַחֲרִישׁ (ha.cha.Resh ya.cha.Rish) literally renders "if he will keep silent" or "certainly he will keep silent." This verbal repetition emphasizes the husband's passive consent across a full day.
The thread — The mechanism of silent ratification operates in direct sequence with Numbers 30:13 and 30:15, establishing a twenty-four-hour window for nullification before automatic confirmation. The text itself marks the boundary between active disapproval and legal acquiescence.
Why it lands — The passage demands recognition that silence functions as legal consent rather than mere neglect. It requires readers to treat procedural delay as binding ratification within the covenant community.
Drafted by a language model from the text, its original words and its cross-references, then checked against them. It can still be wrong: open the verse in the app to report it.
The Hebrew words
King James Version
But if her husband altogether hold his peace at her from day to day; then he establisheth all her vows, or all her bonds, which are upon her: he confirmeth them, because he held his peace at her in the day that he heard them.