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<center><h1>Matthew Henry's Complete Commentary
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Matthew Henry<BR><I>Commentary on the Whole Bible</I> (1706)
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<BR><FONT SIZE=+3><B>N U M B E R S</B></FONT>
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<BR>
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<BR><FONT SIZE=+2>CHAP. XXX.</FONT>
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<FONT SIZE=-1>
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<P>
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In this chapter we have a law concerning vows, which had been mentioned
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in the close of the foregoing chapter.
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I. Here is a general rule laid down that all vows must be carefully
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performed,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Nu+30:1,2">ver. 1, 2</A>.
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II. Some particular exceptions to this rule.
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1. That the vows of daughters should not be binding unless allowed by
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the father,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Nu+30:3-5">ver. 3-5</A>.
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Nor,
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2. The vows of wives unless allowed by the husband,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Nu+30:6-16">ver. 6</A>,
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&c.</P>
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</FONT>
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<A NAME="Nu30_1"> </A>
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<A NAME="Nu30_2"> </A>
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<A NAME="Sec1"> </A>
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<TABLE WIDTH="100%" BORDER=0>
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<TR><TD><FONT SIZE=+1><I>Concerning Vows.</I></FONT></TD>
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<TD ALIGN=RIGHT><FONT SIZE=-1>B. C.</FONT> 1452.</TD></TR>
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<TR><TD COLSPAN=2><HR SIZE=1></TD></TR>
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<P>
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<FONT SIZE=+1>1 And Moses spake unto the heads of the tribes concerning the
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children of Israel, saying, This <I>is</I> the thing which the L<FONT SIZE=-1><B>ORD</B></FONT>
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hath commanded.
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2 If a man vow a vow unto the L<FONT SIZE=-1><B>ORD</B></FONT>, or swear an oath to bind
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his soul with a bond; he shall not break his word, he shall do
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according to all that proceedeth out of his mouth.
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</FONT></P>
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<P>
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This law was delivered to the heads of the tribes that they might
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instruct those who were under their charge, explain the law to them,
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give then necessary cautions, and call them to account, if there were
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occasion, for the breach of their vows. Perhaps the heads of the
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tribes had, upon some emergency of this kind, consulted Moses, and
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desired by him to know the mind of God, and here they are told it:
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<I>This is the thing which the Lord has commanded</I> concerning vows,
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and it is a command still in force.</P>
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<P>
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1. The case supposed is that a person vows a vow unto the Lord, making
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God a party to the promise, and designing his honour and glory in it.
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The matter of the vow is supposed to be something lawful: no man can be
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by his own promise bound to do that which he is already by the divine
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precept prohibited from doing. Yet it is supposed to be something
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which, in such and such measures and degrees, was not a necessary duty
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antecedent to the vow. A person might vow to bring such and such
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sacrifices at certain times, to give such and such a sum or such a
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proportion in alms, to forbear such meats and drinks which the law
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allowed, to fast and afflict the soul (which is specified
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Nu+30:13"><I>v.</I> 13</A>)
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at other times besides the day of atonement. And many similar vows
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might be made in an extraordinary heat of holy zeal, in humiliation for
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some sin committed or for the prevention of sin, in the pursuit of some
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mercy desired or in gratitude for some mercy received. It is of great
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use to make such vows as these, provided they be made in sincerity with
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due caution. Vows (say the Jewish doctors) are <I>the hedge of
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separation,</I> that is, a fence to religion. He that vows is here said
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to <I>bind his soul with a bond.</I> It is a vow to God, who is a
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spirit, and to him the soul, with all its powers, must be bound. A
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promise to man is a bond upon the estate, but a promise to God is a
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bond upon the soul. Our sacramental vows, by which we are bound to no
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more than what was before our duty, and which neither father nor
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husband can disannul, are bonds upon the soul, and by them we must feel
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ourselves bound out from all sin and bound up to the whole will of God.
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Our occasional vows concerning that which before was <I>in our own
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power</I>
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ac+5:4">Acts v. 4</A>),
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when they are made, are bonds upon the soul likewise.
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2. The command given is that these vows be conscientiously performed:
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<I>He shall not break his word,</I> though afterwards he may change his
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mind, but he shall do according to what he has said. <I>Margin, He
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shall not profane his word.</I> Vowing is an ordinance of God; if we
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vow in hypocrisy we profane that ordinance: it is plainly determined,
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<I>Better not vow than vow and not pay,</I>
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ec+5:5">Eccl. v. 5</A>.
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<I>Be not deceived, God is not mocked.</I> His promises to us are
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<I>yea and amen,</I> let not ours to him be <I>yea and nay.</I></P>
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<A NAME="Nu30_3"> </A>
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<A NAME="Nu30_4"> </A>
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<A NAME="Nu30_5"> </A>
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<A NAME="Nu30_6"> </A>
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<A NAME="Nu30_7"> </A>
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<A NAME="Nu30_8"> </A>
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<A NAME="Nu30_9"> </A>
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<A NAME="Nu30_10"> </A>
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<A NAME="Nu30_11"> </A>
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<A NAME="Nu30_12"> </A>
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<A NAME="Nu30_13"> </A>
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<A NAME="Nu30_14"> </A>
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<A NAME="Nu30_15"> </A>
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<A NAME="Nu30_16"> </A>
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<P>
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<FONT SIZE=+1>3 If a woman also vow a vow unto the L<FONT SIZE=-1><B>ORD</B></FONT>, and bind herself by
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a bond, <I>being</I> in her father's house in her youth;
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4 And her father hear her vow, and her bond wherewith she hath
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bound her soul, and her father shall hold his peace at her: then
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all her vows shall stand, and every bond wherewith she hath bound
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her soul shall stand.
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5 But if her father disallow her in the day that he heareth;
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not any of her vows, or of her bonds wherewith she hath bound her
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soul, shall stand: and the L<FONT SIZE=-1><B>ORD</B></FONT> shall forgive her, because her
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father disallowed her.
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6 And if she had at all an husband, when she vowed, or uttered
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ought out of her lips, wherewith she bound her soul;
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7 And her husband heard <I>it,</I> and held his peace at her in the
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day that he heard <I>it:</I> then her vows shall stand, and her bonds
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wherewith she bound her soul shall stand.
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8 But if her husband disallowed her on the day that he heard
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<I>it;</I> then he shall make her vow which she vowed, and that which
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she uttered with her lips, wherewith she bound her soul, of none
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effect: and the L<FONT SIZE=-1><B>ORD</B></FONT> shall forgive her.
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9 But every vow of a widow, and of her that is divorced,
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wherewith they have bound their souls, shall stand against her.
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10 And if she vowed in her husband's house, or bound her soul
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by a bond with an oath;
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11 And her husband heard <I>it,</I> and held his peace at her, <I>and</I>
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disallowed her not: then all her vows shall stand, and every bond
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wherewith she bound her soul shall stand.
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12 But if her husband hath utterly made them void on the day he
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heard <I>them; then</I> whatsoever proceeded out of her lips
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concerning her vows, or concerning the bond of her soul, shall
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not stand: her husband hath made them void; and the L<FONT SIZE=-1><B>ORD</B></FONT> shall
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forgive her.
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13 Every vow, and every binding oath to afflict the soul, her
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husband may establish it, or her husband may make it void.
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14 But if her husband altogether hold his peace at her from day
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to day; then he establisheth all her vows, or all her bonds,
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which <I>are</I> upon her: he confirmeth them, because he held his
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peace at her in the day that he heard <I>them.</I>
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15 But if he shall any ways make them void after that he hath
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heard <I>them;</I> then he shall bear her iniquity.
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16 These <I>are</I> the statutes, which the L<FONT SIZE=-1><B>ORD</B></FONT> commanded Moses,
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between a man and his wife, between the father and his daughter,
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<I>being yet</I> in her youth in her father's house.
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</FONT></P>
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<P>
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It is here taken for granted that all such persons as are <I>sui
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juris--at their own disposal,</I> and are likewise of sound
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understanding and memory, are bound to perform whatever they vow that
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is lawful and possible; but, if the person vowing be under the dominion
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and at the disposal of another, the case is different. Two cases much
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alike are here put and determined:--</P>
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<P>
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I. The case of a daughter in her father's house: and some think,
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probably enough, that it extends to a son likewise, while he is at home
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with his father, and under tutors and governors. Whether the exception
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may thus be stretched I cannot say. <I>Non est distinguendum, ubi lex
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non distinguit--We are not allowed to make distinctions which the law
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does not.</I> The rule is general, If a man vow, he must pay. But for a
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daughter it is express: her vow is nugatory or in suspense till her
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father knows it, and (it is supposed) knows it from her; for, when it
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comes to his knowledge, it is in his power either to ratify or nullify
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it. But in favour of the vow,
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1. Even his silence shall suffice to ratify it: If he <I>hold his
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peace, her vows shall stand,</I>
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Nu+30:4"><I>v.</I> 4</A>.
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<I>Qui tacet, consentire videtur--Silence gives consent.</I> Hereby he
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allows his daughter the liberty she has assumed, and, as long as he
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says nothing against her vow, she shall be bound by it. But,
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2. His protestation against it shall perfectly disannul it, because it
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is possible that such vow may by prejudicial to the affairs of the
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family, break the father's measures, perplex the provision made for his
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table if the vow related to meats, or lessen the provision made for his
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children if the vow would be more expensive than his estate would bear;
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however, it was certain that it was an infringement of his authority
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over his child, and therefore, if he disallow it, she is discharged,
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and <I>the Lord shall forgive her,</I> that is, she shall not be
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charged with the guilt of violating her vow; she showed her good-will
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in making the vow, and, if her intentions therein were sincere, she
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shall be accounted better than sacrifice. This shows how great a
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deference children owe to their parents, and how much they ought to
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honour them and be obedient to them. It is for the interest of the
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public that the paternal authority be supported; for, when children are
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countenanced in their disobedience to their parents (as they were by
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the tradition of the elders,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Mt+15:5,6">Matt. xv. 5, 6</A>),
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they soon become in other things <I>children of Belial.</I> If this law
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be not to be extended to children's marrying without their parents'
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consent so far as to put it in parents' power to annul the marriage and
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dissolve the obligation (as some have thought it does), yet certainly
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it proves the sinfulness of it, and obliges the children that have thus
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done foolishly to repent and humble themselves before God and their
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parents.</P>
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<P>
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II. The case of a wife is much the same. As for a woman that is a widow
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or divorced, she has neither father nor husband to control her, so
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that, whatever vows she binds her soul with, they shall <I>stand
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against her</I>
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Nu+30:9"><I>v.</I> 9</A>),
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it is at her peril if she run back; but a wife, who has nothing that
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she can strictly call her own, but with her husband's allowance,
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cannot, without that, make any such vow.
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1. The law is plain in case of a wife that continues so long after the
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vow. If her husband allow her vow, though only by silence, it must
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stand,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Nu+30:6,7"><I>v.</I> 6, 7</A>.
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If he disallow it, since her obligation to that which she had vowed
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arose purely from her own act, and not from any prior command of God,
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her obligation to her husband shall take place of it, for to him she
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ought to be in subjection <I>as unto the Lord;</I> and now it is so far
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from being her duty to fulfil her vow that it would be her sin to
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disobey her husband, whose consent perhaps she ought to have asked
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before she made the vow; therefore she needs <I>forgiveness,</I>
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Nu+30:8"><I>v.</I> 8</A>.
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2. The law is the same in case of a wife that soon after becomes a
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widow, or is put away. Though, if she return to her father's house, she
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does not therefore so come again under his authority as that he has
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power to disannul hew vows
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Nu+30:9"><I>v.</I> 9</A>),
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yet if the vow was made while she was in the house of her husband, and
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her husband disallowed it, it was made void and of no effect for ever,
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and she does not return under the law of her vow when she is loosed
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from the law of her husband. This seems to be the distinct meaning of
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Nu+30:10-14"><I>v.</I> 10-14</A>,
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which otherwise would be but a repetition of
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Nu+30:6-8"><I>v.</I> 6-8</A>.
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But it is added
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Nu+30:15"><I>v.</I> 15</A>)
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that, if the husband make void the vows of his wife, he shall <I>bear
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her iniquity;</I> that is, if the thing she had vowed was really good,
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for the honour of God and the prosperity of her own soul, and the
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husband disallowed it out of covetousness, or humour, or to show his
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authority, though she be discharged from the obligation of her vow, yet
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he will have a great deal to answer for. Now here it is very
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observable how carefully the divine law consults the good order of
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families, and preserves the power of superior relations, and the duty
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and reverence of inferiors. It is fit that every man should <I>bear
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rule in his own house,</I> and have his wife and children in subjection
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with all gravity; and rather than this great rule should be broken, or
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any encouragement given to inferior relations to break those bonds
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asunder, God himself would quit his right, and release the obligations
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even of a solemn vow; so much does religion strengthen the ties of all
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relations, and secure the welfare of all societiesd, that in it the
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<I>families of the earth are blessed.</I></P>
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