Bible Strands
Numbers 5:29
This is the law of jealousy when a wife goes astray and defiles herself while under her husband’s authority,
Berean Standard Bible
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Study note
Setting — Moses addresses the Israelite community as he codifies the ritual procedure for a suspected adulteress. The statement functions as a formal legal heading within the broader examination of marital fidelity and priestly mediation.
The words — The verse begins with זֹ֥את (zot), meaning "this," and תּוֹרַ֖ת (torat), meaning "law of," marking a standard legal designation. It also employs תִּשְׂטֶ֥ה (tisTeh), "she will turn aside," to describe the wife's deviation from her marital standing.
The thread — This declarative formula mirrors Leviticus 7:11's "this is the law of the peace offering" and introduces the specific regulations outlined in Numbers 5:12 and 5:19. The text explicitly anchors the procedure to the wife's status under her husband's authority and the possibility of defilement.
Why it lands — The passage requires the reader to identify the precise legal boundaries and procedural conditions before drawing any practical conclusions. It demands exact attention to the text's stated requirements for suspicion, examination, and resolution.
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
This is the law of jealousies, when a wife goeth aside to another instead of her husband, and is defiled;
Cross-references
- Numbers 5:19 And he is to put the woman under oath and say to her, ‘If no other man has slept with you and you have not gone astray and become defiled while under your husband’s authority, may you be immune to this bitter water that brings a curse.
- Numbers 5:12 “Speak to the Israelites and tell them that if any man’s wife goes astray and is unfaithful to him
- Leviticus 7:11 Now this is the law of the peace offering that one may present to the LORD:
- Leviticus 11:46 This is the law regarding animals, birds, all living creatures that move in the water, and all creatures that crawl along the ground.
- Leviticus 13:59 This is the law concerning a mildew contamination in wool or linen fabric, weave, or knit, or any leather article, for pronouncing it clean or unclean.”
- Leviticus 14:54 This is the law for any infectious skin disease, for a scaly outbreak,
- Leviticus 15:32 This is the law of him who has a discharge, of the man who has an emission of semen whereby he is unclean,
- Numbers 5:15 then he is to bring his wife to the priest. He must also bring for her an offering of a tenth of an ephah of barley flour. He is not to pour oil over it or put frankincense on it, because it is a grain offering for jealousy, an offering of memorial as a reminder of iniquity.
- Isaiah 5:7 For the vineyard of the LORD of Hosts is the house of Israel, and the men of Judah are the plant of His delight. He looked for justice, but saw bloodshed; for righteousness, but heard a cry of distress.