Chapter commentary
Numbers Chapter 30
서론
Untitled
繁體中文
English original
In this chapter we have a law concerning vows, which had been mentioned in the close of the foregoing chapter. I. Here is a general rule laid down that all vows must be carefully performed, Nu 30:1,2. II. Some particular exceptions to this rule. 1. That the vows of daughters should not be binding unless allowed by the father, Nu 30:3-5. Nor, 2. The vows of wives unless allowed by the husband, Nu 30:6-16, etc.
1-16
Concerning Vows (1452 BC)
繁體中文
論許願（主前 1452 年）
¹ 摩西曉諭以色列各支派的首領，說：「這是耶和華所吩咐的話。 ² 人若向耶和華許願或起誓，要約束自己，就不可食言，必要按口中所出的一切話行。」
這律法是曉諭各支派的首領，使他們可以教導所轄管的人，向他們解釋律法，給予必要的警戒，並在必要時因他們違背所許的願而予以追究。也許各支派的首領曾在某次緊急情況下諮詢摩西，想要藉他知道神的心意，如今他們得到了答覆：「這是耶和華所吩咐關於許願的話」，且這命令如今仍然有效。
- 所設的情形，是一個人向耶和華許願，以神為應許的一方，並以他的榮耀和尊貴為目的。所許願的事項當是合法的：沒有人能因自己的應許而受約束去行神誡命所禁止的事。然而這也當是某種在許願之前、在這樣那樣的程度和方式上並非必盡之本分的事。一個人可以許願在特定時間獻上某種祭物，捐出某筆款項或某個比例作賙濟，禁戒律法所允許的某些飲食，在贖罪日以外的時間禁食刻苦己心（這在民 30:13 中特別提及）。還有許多類似的願，可能在聖潔熱心的特別火熱中、在為所犯之罪的謙卑中、或在為防範罪惡的迫切中、在追求所渴望的恩典中、或在為所得恩典的感恩中而許下。許這樣的願大有用途，只要出於真誠並且謹慎而許。猶太拉比說，願是「分別的籬笆」，也就是宗教的護欄。此處論到許願的人，說他「以約束綁住自己的靈魂」。這是向神——他是靈——所許的願，因此靈魂及其一切能力都必須被約束。對人的應許是財產上的約束，向神的應許則是靈魂上的約束。我們在聖禮中所許的願——我們所受約束的不過是先前已是本分的事，且父母或丈夫都不能廢除——乃是靈魂上的約束；我們必須藉此感到自己從一切罪中被約束出來，並被約束遵行神全部的旨意。我們偶爾所許關於那先前「在你自己權下」之事（徒 5:4）的願，一旦許下，也是靈魂上的約束。2. 所賜的命令是：這些願當憑良心履行：「他不可食言」，即使後來改變心意，仍要照他所說的去行。「旁註：他不可褻瀆他的言語。」許願是神的典章；我們若虛假地許願，就是褻瀆了那典章：聖經明確斷定，「許願不還，不如不許」（傳 5:5）。「不要自欺，神是輕慢不得的。」他對我們的應許都是「是的、實在的」，願我們對他的應許也不是「是而又非」。
³ 女子年幼還在父家的時候，若向耶和華許願要約束自己， ⁴ 她父親也聽見她所許的願和約束自己的話，卻向她默默不言，她所許的願並約束自己的話就都為定。 ⁵ 但她父親聽見的那日，若不應承，她所許的願和約束自己的話就都不得為定；耶和華也必赦免她，因為她父親不應承。 ⁶ 她若出了嫁，有丈夫約束她，她當時許的願或約束自己嘴上所出的話， ⁷ 她丈夫聽見的日子卻向她默默不言，她所許的願並約束自己的話就都為定。 ⁸ 但她丈夫聽見的日子，若不應承，就使她所許的願和嘴上所出約束自己的話無效；耶和華也必赦免她。 ⁹ 寡婦或是被休的婦人所許的願，並約束自己的話，都要為定，加在她身上。 ¹⁰ 她若在丈夫家裏許願，或發誓約束自己， ¹¹ 丈夫聽見卻向她默默不言，也沒有不應承，她所許的願就都為定，約束自己的話也就為定。 ¹² 丈夫若在聽見的日子全然使這些無效，那麼她嘴上所出關於許願或約束自己的話，就不得為定；她丈夫已使它們無效，耶和華也必赦免她。 ¹³ 凡她所許的願和刻苦約束自己所起的誓，她丈夫可以堅定，也可以廢除。 ¹⁴ 她丈夫若從日起到日向她默默不言，就堅定她所許的願和約束自己的話；因為他在聽見的日子向她默默不言，這就為定。 ¹⁵ 但他聽見以後，若是用任何方法廢除了這些，他就要擔當她的罪孽。 ¹⁶ 這是耶和華在丈夫與妻子之間、父親與年幼還在父家的女兒之間所吩咐摩西的律例。」
此處以一個前提為基礎：凡「能自主」（sui juris——自己支配自己）、且神智清明記憶健全的人，都必須履行他們所許的任何合法且可行的願；但若許願的人在別人的權下、受別人支配，情形就不同了。此處提出並判定兩個極相似的情形：—
一、女兒在父家的情形：有人認為（這很可能）這也延伸到兒子，只要他仍在父家與父親同住、在師傅和管家之下。這條例外能否如此擴大，我不敢斷言。「法律不加區分之處，我們也不可加以區分。」（Non est distinguendum, ubi lex non distinguit）總的原則是：「人若許願，就當還願。」但論到女兒卻是明確的：她的願是無效的或懸而未決的，直到她父親知道——且（據推想）是從她口中知道；因為一旦父親知道了，他就有權批准或廢除。但為了優待所許的願：1. 連他的沉默也足以批准它：他若「默默不言，她所許的願就為定」（民 30:4）。「沉默即同意。」（Qui tacet, consentire videtur）他藉此允許女兒所自行取用的自由；只要他不說反對她所許之願的話，她就受其約束。但是，2. 他若明言反對，就完全廢除了這願，因為這樣的願可能損及家事，破壞父親的安排，若這願與飲食有關，就會使為他的餐桌所作的預備陷入混亂；若這願的花費超過他的家產所能負擔，就會減少為兒女所作的供應；無論如何，這肯定是對他在孩子身上權柄的侵犯；因此他若不應承，她就得了釋放，「耶和華也必赦免她」——就是說，她不擔違背所許之願的罪責；她在許願上表明了她的善意，若她其中的動機是真誠的，她要被算為比獻祭更好。這顯示了兒女當怎樣敬重父母，當怎樣孝敬並順服他們。支持父親的權柄乃是為公眾的利益；因為當兒女悖逆父母得到縱容時（正如他們因長老的遺傳而如此，太 15:5-6），他們很快在別的事上成為「匪徒」。這條律法即使不能擴展到兒女未經父母同意結婚一事上、以致父母有權廢除婚姻並解除其約束（如有些人所認為的），卻必定證明了這樣行的罪惡，並使如此行了愚昧事的兒女必須悔改、在神和他們父母面前謙卑自己。
二、妻子的情形大致相同。至於寡婦或被休的婦人，她既沒有父親也沒有丈夫可以管轄她；因此她無論用甚麼願約束自己的靈魂，都要「為定，加在她身上」（民 30:9）；她若反悔，後果自負。但妻子並沒有嚴格說屬於自己的東西——除非得丈夫允許——若沒有他的允許，就不能許這樣的願。1. 論到許願後仍為人妻者，律法十分清楚：她丈夫若允許她的願，即使只是以沉默，這願就當為定（民 30:6-7）。他若不應承，因為她對所許之願的義務純粹出於她自己的行動，而非出於神先前的任何命令，她對丈夫的義務就要居先，因為她應當順服丈夫「如同順服主」；如今她履行所許之願非但不是本分，違背丈夫倒是她的罪——她在許願之前也許本該先徵求丈夫的同意；因此她需要「赦免」（民 30:8）。2. 論到不久便成為寡婦或被休的妻子，律法也是如此。雖然她若回到父家，並不因此重新回到父親的權下，以致他有權廢除她的願（民 30:9），但若這願是在她丈夫家中許的，且她丈夫當時不應承，這願便永遠歸於無效；她從丈夫律法中得釋放時，並不回到她所許之願的律法之下。這看來正是民 30:10-14 的明確意義，否則這不過是民 30:6-8 的重複。但這裏加上一句（民 30:15）：丈夫若廢除了妻子的願，他就要「擔當她的罪孽」；也就是說，若她所許的願確實是善的、為神的榮耀和她自己靈魂的益處，而丈夫出於貪婪、任性、或為炫耀權柄而不應承，那麼她雖然從所許之願的約束中得了釋放，他卻有許多要交賬的。此處十分值得留意：神的律法何等謹慎地顧及家庭的良好秩序，保守在上者的權柄，以及在下者的本分和敬意。每個人都當「在自己家中治理」、使妻子兒女端端莊莊地順服，這是合宜的；為了這條重要原則不被破壞、或在下者不被慫恿去掙斷那些束縛，神自己情願放棄自己的權利，甚至釋放嚴肅之願所立的約束；可見宗教是何等地堅固了一切關係的紐帶、保障了一切社會的福祉，因為在它裏面「地上的萬族都要得福」。
English original
Concerning Vows (1452 BC)
¹ And Moses spake unto the heads of the tribes concerning the children of Israel, saying, This is the thing which the LORD hath commanded.
² If a man vow a vow unto the LORD, or swear an oath to bind his soul with a bond; he shall not break his word, he shall do according to all that proceedeth out of his mouth.
This law was delivered to the heads of the tribes that they might instruct those who were under their charge, explain the law to them, give then necessary cautions, and call them to account, if there were occasion, for the breach of their vows. Perhaps the heads of the tribes had, upon some emergency of this kind, consulted Moses, and desired by him to know the mind of God, and here they are told it: This is the thing which the Lord has commanded concerning vows, and it is a command still in force.
1. The case supposed is that a person vows a vow unto the Lord, making God a party to the promise, and designing his honour and glory in it. The matter of the vow is supposed to be something lawful: no man can be by his own promise bound to do that which he is already by the divine precept prohibited from doing. Yet it is supposed to be something which, in such and such measures and degrees, was not a necessary duty antecedent to the vow. A person might vow to bring such and such sacrifices at certain times, to give such and such a sum or such a proportion in alms, to forbear such meats and drinks which the law allowed, to fast and afflict the soul (which is specified Nu 30:13) at other times besides the day of atonement. And many similar vows might be made in an extraordinary heat of holy zeal, in humiliation for some sin committed or for the prevention of sin, in the pursuit of some mercy desired or in gratitude for some mercy received. It is of great use to make such vows as these, provided they be made in sincerity with due caution. Vows (say the Jewish doctors) are the hedge of separation, that is, a fence to religion. He that vows is here said to bind his soul with a bond. It is a vow to God, who is a spirit, and to him the soul, with all its powers, must be bound. A promise to man is a bond upon the estate, but a promise to God is a bond upon the soul. Our sacramental vows, by which we are bound to no more than what was before our duty, and which neither father nor husband can disannul, are bonds upon the soul, and by them we must feel ourselves bound out from all sin and bound up to the whole will of God. Our occasional vows concerning that which before was in our own power (Ac 5:4), when they are made, are bonds upon the soul likewise. 2. The command given is that these vows be conscientiously performed: He shall not break his word, though afterwards he may change his mind, but he shall do according to what he has said. Margin, He shall not profane his word. Vowing is an ordinance of God; if we vow in hypocrisy we profane that ordinance: it is plainly determined, Better not vow than vow and not pay, Ec 5:5. Be not deceived, God is not mocked. His promises to us are yea and amen, let not ours to him be yea and nay.
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;
⁴ And her father hear her vow, and her bond wherewith she hath bound her soul, and her father shall hold his peace at her: then all her vows shall stand, and every bond wherewith she hath bound her soul shall stand.
⁵ But if her father disallow her in the day that he heareth; not any of her vows, or of her bonds wherewith she hath bound her soul, shall stand: and the LORD shall forgive her, because her father disallowed her.
⁶ And if she had at all an husband, when she vowed, or uttered ought out of her lips, wherewith she bound her soul;
⁷ And her husband heard it, and held his peace at her in the day that he heard it: then her vows shall stand, and her bonds wherewith she bound her soul shall stand.
⁸ But if her husband disallowed her on the day that he heard it; then he shall make her vow which she vowed, and that which she uttered with her lips, wherewith she bound her soul, of none effect: and the LORD shall forgive her.
⁹ But every vow of a widow, and of her that is divorced, wherewith they have bound their souls, shall stand against her.
¹⁰ And if she vowed in her husband's house, or bound her soul by a bond with an oath;
¹¹ And her husband heard it, and held his peace at her, and disallowed her not: then all her vows shall stand, and every bond wherewith she bound her soul shall stand.
¹² But if her husband hath utterly made them void on the day he heard them; then whatsoever proceeded out of her lips concerning her vows, or concerning the bond of her soul, shall not stand: her husband hath made them void; and the LORD shall forgive her.
¹³ Every vow, and every binding oath to afflict the soul, her husband may establish it, or her husband may make it void.
¹⁴ 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.
¹⁵ But if he shall any ways make them void after that he hath heard them; then he shall bear her iniquity.
¹⁶ These are the statutes, which the LORD commanded Moses, between a man and his wife, between the father and his daughter, being yet in her youth in her father's house.
It is here taken for granted that all such persons as are sui juris—at their own disposal, and are likewise of sound understanding and memory, are bound to perform whatever they vow that is lawful and possible; but, if the person vowing be under the dominion and at the disposal of another, the case is different. Two cases much alike are here put and determined:—
I. The case of a daughter in her father's house: and some think, probably enough, that it extends to a son likewise, while he is at home with his father, and under tutors and governors. Whether the exception may thus be stretched I cannot say. Non est distinguendum, ubi lex non distinguit—We are not allowed to make distinctions which the law does not. The rule is general, If a man vow, he must pay. But for a daughter it is express: her vow is nugatory or in suspense till her father knows it, and (it is supposed) knows it from her; for, when it comes to his knowledge, it is in his power either to ratify or nullify it. But in favour of the vow, 1. Even his silence shall suffice to ratify it: If he hold his peace, her vows shall stand, Nu 30:4. Qui tacet, consentire videtur—Silence gives consent. Hereby he allows his daughter the liberty she has assumed, and, as long as he says nothing against her vow, she shall be bound by it. But, 2. His protestation against it shall perfectly disannul it, because it is possible that such vow may by prejudicial to the affairs of the family, break the father's measures, perplex the provision made for his table if the vow related to meats, or lessen the provision made for his children if the vow would be more expensive than his estate would bear; however, it was certain that it was an infringement of his authority over his child, and therefore, if he disallow it, she is discharged, and the Lord shall forgive her, that is, she shall not be charged with the guilt of violating her vow; she showed her good-will in making the vow, and, if her intentions therein were sincere, she shall be accounted better than sacrifice. This shows how great a deference children owe to their parents, and how much they ought to honour them and be obedient to them. It is for the interest of the public that the paternal authority be supported; for, when children are countenanced in their disobedience to their parents (as they were by the tradition of the elders, Mt 15:5,6), they soon become in other things children of Belial. If this law be not to be extended to children's marrying without their parents' consent so far as to put it in parents' power to annul the marriage and dissolve the obligation (as some have thought it does), yet certainly it proves the sinfulness of it, and obliges the children that have thus done foolishly to repent and humble themselves before God and their parents.
II. The case of a wife is much the same. As for a woman that is a widow or divorced, she has neither father nor husband to control her, so that, whatever vows she binds her soul with, they shall stand against her (Nu 30:9), it is at her peril if she run back; but a wife, who has nothing that she can strictly call her own, but with her husband's allowance, cannot, without that, make any such vow. 1. The law is plain in case of a wife that continues so long after the vow. If her husband allow her vow, though only by silence, it must stand, Nu 30:6,7. If he disallow it, since her obligation to that which she had vowed arose purely from her own act, and not from any prior command of God, her obligation to her husband shall take place of it, for to him she ought to be in subjection as unto the Lord; and now it is so far from being her duty to fulfil her vow that it would be her sin to disobey her husband, whose consent perhaps she ought to have asked before she made the vow; therefore she needs forgiveness, Nu 30:8. 2. The law is the same in case of a wife that soon after becomes a widow, or is put away. Though, if she return to her father's house, she does not therefore so come again under his authority as that he has power to disannul her vows (Nu 30:9), yet if the vow was made while she was in the house of her husband, and her husband disallowed it, it was made void and of no effect for ever, and she does not return under the law of her vow when she is loosed from the law of her husband. This seems to be the distinct meaning of Nu 30:10-14, which otherwise would be but a repetition of Nu 30:6-8. But it is added (Nu 30:15) that, if the husband make void the vows of his wife, he shall bear her iniquity; that is, if the thing she had vowed was really good, for the honour of God and the prosperity of her own soul, and the husband disallowed it out of covetousness, or humour, or to show his authority, though she be discharged from the obligation of her vow, yet he will have a great deal to answer for. Now here it is very observable how carefully the divine law consults the good order of families, and preserves the power of superior relations, and the duty and reverence of inferiors. It is fit that every man should bear rule in his own house, and have his wife and children in subjection with all gravity; and rather than this great rule should be broken, or any encouragement given to inferior relations to break those bonds asunder, God himself would quit his right, and release the obligations even of a solemn vow; so much does religion strengthen the ties of all relations, and secure the welfare of all societiesd, that in it the families of the earth are blessed.
本章論及許願的律法，這事在前章末尾已經提及。一、此處立下一條通則：一切所許的願都當謹慎遵行，民 30:1,2。二、對此通則的一些特別例外：1. 女兒所許的願若未得父親允許，便不具約束力，民 30:3-5。2. 妻子所許的願若未得丈夫允許，也不具約束力，民 30:6-16 等。