Chapter commentary
Numbers Chapter 30
1
Nu 30:1-16.
繁體中文
English original
Nu 30:1-16.
VOWS ARE NOT TO BE BROKEN.
1. This is the thing which the Lord hath commanded--The subject of this chapter relates to vowing, which seems to have been an ancient usage, allowed by the law to remain, and by which some people declared their intention of offering some gift on the altar or abstaining from particular articles of meat or drink, of observing a private fast, or doing something to the honor or in the service of God, over and above what was authoritatively required. In
Nu 29:39,
mention was made of "vows and freewill offerings," and it is probable, from the explanatory nature of the rules laid down in this chapter, that these were given for the removal of doubts and difficulties which conscientious persons had felt about their obligation to perform their vows in certain circumstances that had arisen.
2
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繁體中文
2. 人若向耶和華許願——僅在心中暗自起意尚不足以構成許願，必須用言語實際表達出來；雖然許願純屬自願，可一旦許了願，履行它便如同履行任何其他應許一樣，成了不可推諉的本分——更何況它既關乎聖事，疏忽便是對神言而無信、心懷二意的罪。
不可食言——按字面是「不可褻瀆他的話」，即不可使之落空、被人輕看
(Ps 55:20; 89:34)。 但因為人往往會許下本身不善、或力不能及的願，律法便規定他們天然的上司有權審斷這些願是否合宜，並有權酌情批准或禁止其履行。父母對兒女、丈夫對妻子的願各有權裁斷——但自知情之日起只限一天考慮；若判為否決，便使許願者得免一切義務
[Nu 30:3-8]。
English original
2. If a man vow a vow unto the Lord--A mere secret purpose of the mind was not enough to constitute a vow; it had to be actually expressed in words; and though a purely voluntary act, yet when once the vow was made, the performance of it, like that of every other promise, became an indispensable duty--all the more because, referring to a sacred thing, it could not be neglected without the guilt of prevarication and unfaithfulness to God.
he shall not break his word--literally, "profane his word"--render it vain and contemptible
(Ps 55:20; 89:34).
But as it would frequently happen that parties would vow to do things which were neither good in themselves nor in their power to perform, the law ordained that their natural superiors should have the right of judging as to the propriety of those vows, with discretionary power to sanction or interdict their fulfilment. Parents were to determine in the case of their children, and husbands in that of their wives--being, however, allowed only a day for deliberation after the matter became known to them; and their judgment, if unfavorable, released the devotee from all obligation
[Nu 30:3-8].
3
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繁體中文
3. 女子年幼還在父家的時候，若向耶和華許願、自己約束自己——此處只提到女子；但按猶太作者所說，住在父母家中的未成年男子也包括在內；他們又認為「父」一名涵蓋一切監護未成年人的人。我們又被告知，年輕人被視為有許願能力的年齡，男為十三歲，女為十二歲。父親或監護人對所轄之人所許之願的判斷，可以明言批准，也可以緘默——緘默即視為批准。但對於作丈夫的，若日復一日緘默之後最終不贊成或阻撓妻子的願，不履行之罪要歸到他身上，不歸妻子
[Nu 30:15]。
English original
3. If a woman also vow a vow unto the Lord, and bind herself by a bond, being in her father's house in her youth--Girls only are specified; but minors of the other sex, who resided under the parental roof, were included, according to Jewish writers, who also consider the name "father" as comprehending all guardians of youth. We are also told that the age at which young people were deemed capable of vowing was thirteen for boys and twelve for girls. The judgment of a father or guardian on the vow of any under his charge might be given either by an expressed approval or by silence, which was to be construed as approval. But in the case of a husband who, after silence from day to day, should ultimately disapprove or hinder his wife's vow, the sin of non-performance was to be imputed to him and not to her
[Nu 30:15].
9
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繁體中文
9. 寡婦所許的願——已婚婦人若與丈夫分居，或丈夫去世，回到父家——這並不罕見——便可能生出一個疑問：她是否仍如從前一樣，受父權管轄、須得父親同意方可行事。律法規定：若這願是在丈夫生前所許，而丈夫知情後未加否決，便仍有效
[Nu 30:10, 11]； 例如她未作寡婦時可能許願，要將收入的一部分用於敬虔與慈善之途，到了真作寡婦時或許後悔；但按這條例，只要她的境況允許她履行承諾，便須踐諾。所定的規則對防止或撤銷冒失之願，以及對賦予性質正當、出於虔誠深思之願以正當的認可，必曾極其有用。
English original
9. every vow of a widow--In the case of a married woman, who, in the event of a separation from her husband, or of his death, returned, as was not uncommon, to her father's house, a doubt might have been entertained whether she was not, as before, subject to paternal jurisdiction and obliged to act with the paternal consent. The law ordained that the vow was binding if it had been made in her husband's lifetime, and he, on being made aware of it, had not interposed his veto
[Nu 30:10, 11];
as, for instance, she might have vowed, when not a widow, that she would assign a portion of her income to pious and charitable uses, of which she might repent when actually a widow; but by this statute she was required to fulfil the obligation, provided her circumstances enabled her to redeem the pledge. The rules laid down must have been exceedingly useful for the prevention or cancelling of rash vows, as well as for giving a proper sanction to such as were legitimate in their nature, and made in a devout, reflecting spirit.
Nu 30:1-16.
許願不可違背
1. 耶和華所吩咐的乃是這樣——本章的主題與許願有關。許願似乎是古時已有的習俗，律法也容許其存留：有人藉此宣告要在壇上獻上某樣禮物，或戒絕某類飲食，或守一次私下禁食，或作某件超越律法明文要求、為尊榮神或事奉神而做的事。
Nu 29:39
曾提及「所許的願和甘心祭」；而本章所列的那些條例帶有釋疑的性質，很可能是為了消除那些敬虔之人心中因某種情況出現而對自己是否仍當履行所許之願所生的疑惑與為難。