Numbers 30:13

Summary

Numbers 30:13 states that any vow (neder, H5088) or binding oath (shevu'at 'issar, H7621/H0632) that a woman makes to "afflict" or "humble" herself is subject to her husband's authority: he may either confirm it (yeqimennu, H6965I) or annul it (yeferennu, H6565A). The verse presents these two outcomes as parallel and symmetrical possibilities.

Key words

• Neder ("vow", H5088) — masculine singular construct, the generic term opening the construct chain "every vow of…"
• She.vu'at 'issar ("oath of obligation", H7621/H0632) — a construct pair naming a specific category of binding oath, distinct from a general neder.
• 'Annot ("to humble/afflict", H6031B) — piel infinitive; the piel stem intensifies the action, and the infinitive marks purpose: the vow/oath exists specifically "to afflict" the nefesh ("self/soul", H5315I).
• Yeqimennu ("he will confirm it", H6965I) — hiphil (causative) imperfect with 3ms subject and 3ms object suffix (-nu, H9033): the husband actively "causes it to stand."
• Yeferennu ("he will break it", H6565A) — hiphil imperfect, same subject/object pattern as the previous verb, but with the opposite causative meaning, "causes it to be broken."

What the text says

The Hebrew sentence is built as a long construct chain — kol-neder ve-khol-shevu'at 'issar le-'annot nafesh — functioning as the grammatical subject: "every vow and every oath of obligation to afflict the self." This entire phrase is picked up by two verbs at the end of the verse, both hiphil imperfects with matching 3ms object suffixes: yeqimennu ("he will confirm it") and yeferennu ("he will break it"). The repetition of 'ishah ("her husband", H0376H) before each verb creates a balanced, almost formulaic structure: husband + confirm / husband + annul. The hiphil stem in both verbs indicates causation — the husband is grammatically the agent who causes the vow's status to change, either into permanence or into nullity. The piel infinitive le-'annot specifies that the vow's content concerns self-affliction, a category the text treats as requiring this male oversight mechanism.

Differences between versions

The Hebrew text of this verse describes the husband's binary power to confirm or annul a self-afflicting vow. The LXX (Swete) and Vulgate texts supplied here describe a different scenario: a husband "utterly annulling" (LXX) or "immediately contradicting" (Vulgate) a vow "on the day he hears" it, followed by a reference to the Lord being "propitious" or "purifying" her — elements absent from the Hebrew wording given for 30:13. The Spanish (RV1909, SBLIBRE) and English (BSB) renderings align more closely with the Hebrew's confirm/annul structure than with the LXX/Vulgate content shown.