Numbers 5:14

and if a feeling of jealousy comes over her husband and he suspects his wife who has defiled herself—or if a feeling of jealousy comes over him and he suspects her even though she has not defiled herself—

Berean Standard Bible

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Study note

Setting — Moses addresses the Israelite community regarding the ritual procedure for a suspected adulteress. The passage occurs within the legal instructions for handling marital suspicion when no witnesses are present.

The words — רֽוּחַ קִנְאָה (ruach qin'ah) literally translates to "a spirit of jealousy," describing the husband's overwhelming suspicion. The verb וְ/קִנֵּא (ve./ki.Ne') denotes the active state of being jealous or suspecting his wife.

The thread — This concept of jealous suspicion appears in Proverbs 6:34, where it is linked to a husband's unyielding response to vengeance, and Song of Solomon 8:6, which compares jealousy to an unrelenting force. The same ritual mechanism is referenced in Numbers 5:30.

Why it lands — The text demands that a husband formalize his suspicion through a priestly investigation rather than private retaliation. It requires the community to acknowledge that suspicion, whether founded on fact or unfounded, must be processed through established covenant law.

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

And the spirit of jealousy come upon him, and he be jealous of his wife, and she be defiled: or if the spirit of jealousy come upon him, and he be jealous of his wife, and she be not defiled:

Cross-references

Proverbs 6:34 For jealousy enrages a husband, and he will show no mercy in the day of vengeance.
Song of Solomon 8:6 Set me as a seal over your heart, as a seal upon your arm. For love is as strong as death, its jealousy as unrelenting as Sheol. Its sparks are fiery flames, the fiercest blaze of all.
Numbers 5:30 or when a feeling of jealousy comes over a husband and he suspects his wife. He is to have the woman stand before the LORD, and the priest is to apply to her this entire law.
Zephaniah 3:8 Therefore wait for Me,” declares the LORD, “until the day I rise to testify. For My decision is to gather nations, to assemble kingdoms, to pour out upon them My indignation—all My burning anger. For all the earth will be consumed by the fire of My jealousy.
1 Corinthians 10:22 Are we trying to provoke the Lord to jealousy? Are we stronger than He?