Numbers 30:5

Summary

The verse describes a scenario in which a father, upon hearing of his daughter's vow, forbids it on the same day he learns of it. In this case, none of her vows or self-imposed obligations remain valid, and Yehovah releases her from them because of the father's prohibition.

Key words

• heNi' ("he forbade", H5106) — hiphil (causative) perfect, appearing twice (word 3 and word 31), framing the verse: the father's act of restraining/forbidding is both the condition and the stated reason for release.
• nedaReiha ("her vows", H5088) — masculine plural construct with 3fs suffix, denoting the specific vows spoken by the daughter, paired with 'esaReiha.
• 'esaReiha ("her obligations", H0632) — masculine plural construct with 3fs suffix, referring to binding obligations distinct from vows, joined by ve ("and", H9002).
• ya.Kum ("it will stand", H6965I) — qal imperfect, negated by lo' ("not", H3808), stating that the vows/obligations will not remain in force.
• yisLach ("he will forgive", H5545) — qal imperfect with subject Yehovah (H3068G), describing the divine action following the father's prohibition.

What the text says

The Hebrew sentence is built around a conditional clause introduced by ve'im ("and if", H9002 + H0518A), followed by the verb heNi' ("he forbade", H5106) in the hiphil perfect — a causative form indicating the father actively restrains or holds back the daughter's vow. The timing is marked precisely: beyom shame'o ("on the day of his hearing", H3117G + H8085G), using a construct noun plus infinitive, which ties the father's prohibition directly to the moment of his awareness.

The consequence clause lists two categories — nedareiha ("her vows", H5088) and 'esareiha ("her obligations", H0632) — both construct plurals with the 3fs suffix -ha ("her"), followed by the relative clause 'asher 'asrah 'al-naphshah ("which she bound upon her soul/self"), using naphsh- (H5315I) to denote the self as the object of the binding. The negated imperfect lo' yaqum ("it will not stand", H6965I) states the nullification.

The final clause repeats heNi' 'abiha 'otah ("her father forbade her") verbatim from the opening, using ki ("for/because", H3588A) to mark it as the stated reason for Yehovah's forgiveness, expressed with yislach ("he will forgive", H5545), a qal imperfect.

Differences between versions

The LXX (Swete) diverges structurally: it renders the protasis as "and if her father should hear... and remain silent" (παρασιωπήσῃ, "keep silent"), rather than the Hebrew's heNi' ("he forbade", H5106). Where the Hebrew states the father's prohibition invalidates the vows, the Greek text as given describes the father's silence resulting in the vows standing (στήσονται, "they will stand") — an outcome opposite to the Hebrew's lo' yaqum ("it will not stand"). The Vulgate excerpt provided ("whatever she has promised and sworn, she will fulfill by deed") corresponds to a different part of the votive law and does not directly parallel this verse's content in the data given.