The unclean are removed out of the camp: confession of sins, and satisfaction: firstfruits and oblations belonging to the priests: trial of jealousy.
Lepers and al polluted persons must be cast out of the campe. 5. Confession of sinne, and satisfaction for trespasse. 9. First fruites and oblations pertaine to the Priestes. 11. The law of ielosie.
1And the Lord spoke to Moses, saying:E il Signore parlò a Mosè, e disse:AND our Lord spake to Moyses, saying:Locutusque est Dominus ad Moysen, dicens: 2Command the children of Israel, that they cast out of the camp every leper, and whosoever hath an issue of seed, or is defiled by the dead:Ordina a' figliuoli d'Israele, che scaccino dagli alloggiamenti tutt'i lebbrosi, e quelli che patiscono gonorrea, e quegli che sono immondi per causa di un morto.Command the children of Israel, that they cast out of the campe euerie leper, and whosoeuer hath a fluxe of seede, and is polluted vpon the dead:Præcipe filiis Israël, ut ejiciant de castris omnem leprosum, et qui semine fluit, pollutusque est super mortuo: 3Whether it be man or woman, cast ye them out of the camp, lest they defile it when I shall dwell with you,Maschi, o femmine che sieno, cacciategli via dagli alloggiamenti, affinché non li rendano immondi, mentre io vi abito insieme con voi.as wel man as woman cast yee out of the campe, lest when they shal dwel with you, they contaminate it.tam masculum quam feminam ejicite de castris, ne contaminent ea cum habitaverint vobiscum. 4And the children of Israel did so, and they cast them forth without the camp, as the Lord had spoken to Moses.E così fecero i figliuoli d'Israele, e cacciarono coloro fuori degli alloggiamenti, come il Signore avea detto a Mosè.And the children of Israel did so, and they did cast them forth without the campe, as our Lord had spoken to Moyses.Feceruntque ita filii Israël, et ejecerunt eos extra castra, sicut locutus erat Dominus Moysi. 5And the Lord spoke to Moses, saying:E il Signore parlò a Mosè, e disse:And our Lord spake to Moyses, saying:Locutusque est Dominus ad Moysen, dicens: 6Say to the children of Israel: When a man or woman shall have committed any of all the sins that men are wont to commit, and by negligence shall have transgressed the commandment of the Lord, and offended,Tu dirai ai figliuoli d'Israele: Se un uomo, o una donna per negligenza farà alcuno di quei peccati, che sono ordinarii agli uomini, e per negligenza trasgrediranno il precetto del Signore, e peccheranno,Speake to the children of Israel: man, or woman, when they shal do any of al the sinnes, that are wont to chance to men, and by negligence haue transgressed the commandement of the Lord, and haue offended,Loquere ad filios Israël: Vir, sive mulier, cum fecerint ex omnibus peccatis, quæ solent hominibus accidere, et per negligentiam transgressi fuerint mandatum Domini, atque deliquerint, 7They shall confess their sin, and restore the principal itself, and the fifth part over and above, to him against whom they have sinned.Confesseranno la loro colpa, e rifaranno i danni col quinto di più a colui contro del quale han peccato.they shal confesse their sinne, and restore the principal it self, and the fifth part ouer to him, against whom they sinned.confitebuntur peccatum suum, et reddent ipsum caput, quintamque partem desuper, ei in quem peccaverint.
8But if there be no one to receive it, they shall give it to the Lord, and it shall be the priest’s, besides the ram that is offered for expiation, to be an atoning sacrifice.Se non havvi chi riceva la restituzione, la faranno al Signore, ed ella sarà del sacerdote, eccettuato l'ariete, che si offerisce in espiazione, e per esser ostia, che impetri perdono.But if there be none to receiue it, they shal geue it to the Lord, and it shal be the priestes, the ramme excepted, that is offered for expiation, to be a placable hoste.Sin autem non fuerit qui recipiat, dabunt Domino, et erit sacerdotis, excepto ariete, qui offertur pro expiatione, ut sit placabilis hostia. 9All the firstfruits also, which the children of Israel offer, belong to the priest:Tutte parimente le primizie offerte dai figliuoli d'Israele spettano al sacerdote:Al the first fruites also, which the children of Israel doe offer, pertaine to the priest:Omnes quoque primitiæ, quas offerunt filii Israël, ad sacerdotem pertinent: 10And whatsoever is offered into the sanctuary by every one, and is delivered into the hands of the priest, it shall be his.E tutto quello che da ciascheduno è portato al santuario, e posto nelle mani del sacerdote, sarà del sacerdote.and whatsoeuer is offered into the Sanctuarie of euerie one, and is deliuered to the handes of the priest, it shal be his.et quidquid in sanctuarium offertur a singulis, et traditur manibus sacerdotis, ipsius erit. 11And the Lord spoke to Moses, saying:E il Signore parlò a Mosè, e disse:And our Lord spake to Moyses, saying:Locutusque est Dominus ad Moysen, dicens: 12Speak to the children of Israel, and thou shalt say to them: The man whose wife shall have gone astray, and contemning her husband,Parla a' figliuoli d'Israele, e di' loro: Se una donna cade in peccato, e dispregiando il maritoSpeake to the children of Israel, and thou shalt say to them: The man, whose wife erreth, and contemning her husbandLoquere ad filios Israël, et dices ad eos: Vir cujus uxor erraverit, maritumque contemnens 13Shall have slept with another man, and her husband cannot discover it, but the adultery is secret, and cannot be proved by witnesses, because she was not found in the adultery:Dorme con altro uomo, e il marito non può venirne in chiaro, ma l'adulterio è nascoso, e non può provarsi coi testimoni, perché ella non fu colta in fallo:hath slept with an other man, and her husband could not find it, but the adulterie is secrete, and can not be proued by witnesses, because she was not found in the adulterous fact:dormierit cum altero viro, et hoc maritus deprehendere non quiverit, sed latet adulterium, et testibus argui non potest, quia non est inventa in stupro:
14If the spirit of jealousy stir up the husband against his wife, who either is defiled, or is charged with false suspicion,Se lo spirito di gelosia si è impossessato dell'uomo riguardo alla sua moglie, la quale o è stata disonorata, o senza ragione è sospetta,if the spirit of ielousie stirre vp the husband against his wife, which either is polluted, or is charged with false suspition,si spiritus zelotypiæ concitaverit virum contra uxorem suam, quæ vel polluta est, vel falsa suspicione appetitur: 15He shall bring her to the priest, and shall offer an oblation for her, the tenth part of a measure of barley meal: he shall not pour oil thereon, nor put frankincense upon it: because it is a sacrifice of jealousy, and an oblation searching out adultery.Quegli la menerà al sacerdote, e offerirà per lei la decima parte d'un sato di farina d'orzo senza spargervi sopra dell'olio, né porvi dell'incenso: perché questo è sacrifizio di gelosia, e obblazione fatta per iscoprire l'adulterio.he shal bring her to the priest, and shal offer an oblation for her the tenth part of a satum of barley meale: he shal not powre oile theron, not put frankincense vpon it: because it is a sacrifice of ielousie, and an oblation searching out adulterie.adducet eam ad sacerdotem, et offeret oblationem pro illa, decimam partem sati farinæ hordeaceæ: non fundet super eam oleum, nec imponet thus: quia sacrificium zelotypiæ est, et oblatio investigans adulterium. 16The priest therefore shall offer it, and set it before the Lord.Il sacerdote adunque la offerirà, e presenterà (la donna) dinanzi al Signore:The priest therfore shal offer it, and set it before the Lord.Offeret igitur eam sacerdos, et statuet coram Domino, 17And he shall take holy water in an earthen vessel, and he shall cast a little earth of the pavement of the tabernacle into it.E prenderà dell'acqua santa in un vaso di terra, e vi getterà dentro un pocolino di terra del pavimento del tabernacolo.And he shal take holie water in an earthen vessel, and he shal cast a little grauel of the pauement of the tabernacle into it.assumetque aquam sanctam in vase fictili, et pauxillum terræ de pavimento tabernaculi mittet in eam. 18And when the woman shall stand before the Lord, he shall uncover her head, and shall put on her hands the sacrifice of remembrance, and the oblation of jealousy: and he himself shall hold the most bitter waters, whereon he hath heaped curses with execration.E stando la donna al cospetto del Signore, egli le scoprirà il capo, e porrà sulle mani di lei il sacrifizio di ricordanza, e l'obblazione di gelosia: ed egli terrà le acque di amaritudine, sopra le quali ha proferite le maledizioni, ed esecrazioni:And when the woman shal stand in the sight of the Lord, he shal vncouer her head, and shal put vpon her handes the sacrifice of recordation, and the oblation of ielousie: and him selfe shal hold the most bitter waters, wheron he heaped curses with execration.Cumque steterit mulier in conspectu Domini, discooperiet caput ejus, et ponet super manus illius sacrificium recordationis, et oblationem zelotypiæ: ipse autem tenebit aquas amarissimas, in quibus cum execratione maledicta congessit.
19And he shall adjure her, and shall say: If another man hath not slept with thee, and if thou be not defiled by forsaking thy husband’s bed, these most bitter waters, on which I have heaped curses, shall not hurt thee.E la scongiurerà, e dirà: Se non ha dormito con te altro uomo, e se tu non ti sei disonorata, abbandonando il talamo coniugale, non nuoceranno a te queste acque amarissime, sopra le quali ho gettate maledizioni.and he shal adiure her, and shal say: If an other man hath not slept with thee, and if thou be not polluted by forsaking thy husbandes bedde, these most bitter waters shal not hurt thee, wherupon I haue heaped curses.Adjurabitque eam, et dicet: Si non dormivit vir alienus tecum, et si non polluta es deserto mariti throno, non te nocebunt aquæ istæ amarissimæ, in quas maledicta congessi. 20But if thou hast gone aside from thy husband, and art defiled, and hast lain with another man:Ma se tu ti sei alienata dal tuo marito, e ti sei disonorata, e hai dormito con altro uomo,But if thou hast declined from thy husband, & art polluted, and hast lien with an other man:Sin autem declinasti a viro tuo, atque polluta es, et concubuisti cum altero viro: 21These curses shall light upon thee: The Lord make thee a curse, and an example for all among his people: may he make thy thigh to rot, and may thy belly swell and burst asunder.Cadrai in queste maledizioni: il Signore ti faccia argomento ed esempio di maledizione a tutto il suo popolo: faccia infracidir il tuo ventre, e gonfi, e crepi il tuo utero:thou shalt be subiect to these maledictions: Our Lord geue thee for a malediction, and an example of al among his people: make he thy thigh to rotte, and bellie swelling burst asunder.his maledictionibus subjacebis: det te Dominus in maledictionem, exemplumque cunctorum in populo suo: putrescere faciat femur tuum, et tumens uterus tuus disrumpatur. 22Let the cursed waters enter into thy belly, and may thy womb swell and thy thigh rot. And the woman shall answer, Amen, amen.Entrino le acque di maledizione nel tuo ventre, ed enfiato il tuo utero s'infracidisca il tuo fianco. E la donna risponderà: Così sia, così sia.the cursed water enter into thy bellie, and thy wombe being swolne let thy thigh rotte. And the woman shal answer, Amen, amen.Ingrediantur aquæ maledictæ in ventrem tuum, et utero tumescente putrescat femur. Et respondebit mulier: Amen, amen. 23And the priest shall write these curses in a book, and shall wash them out with the most bitter waters, upon which he hath heaped the curses,E il sacerdote scriverà in un libretto queste maledizioni, e le cancellerà coll'acque di amaritudine, sopra le quali scaricò le maledizioni,And the priest shal write these curses in a booke, and shal wash them out with the most bitter waters, wherupon he heaped the curses,Scribetque sacerdos in libello ista maledicta, et delebit ea aquis amarissimis, in quas maledicta congessit, 24And he shall give them her to drink. And when she hath drunk them up,E le darà a bere alla donna; e quando ella le avrà tracannate,and he shal geue them her to drinke. Which when she hath drunke vp,et dabit ei bibere. Quas cum exhauserit, 25The priest shall take from her hand the sacrifice of jealousy, and shall elevate it before the Lord, and shall put it upon the altar: yet so as first,Il sacerdote prenderà dalle mani di lei il sacrifizio di gelosia, e lo alzerà dinanzi al Signore, e porrallo sull'altare: con questo però, che primathe priest shal take of her hand the sacrifice of ielousie, and shal eleuate it before the Lord, and shal put it vpon the altar: yet so notwithstanding that first,tollet sacerdos de manu ejus sacrificium zelotypiæ, et elevabit illud coram Domino, imponetque illud super altare, ita dumtaxat ut prius: 26To take a handful of the sacrifice of that which is offered, and burn it upon the altar: and so give the most bitter waters to the woman to drink.Prenderà una manata dell'obblazione, e la brucerà sull'altare: e allora darà a bere alla donna le acque amarissime.he take a handful of the sacrifice of that, which is offered, & burne it vpon the altar: and so geue the most bitter waters to the woman to drinke.pugillum sacrificii tollat de eo, quod offertur, et incendat super altare: et sic potum det mulieri aquas amarissimas.
27And when she hath drunk them, if she be defiled, and having despised her husband be guilty of adultery, the malediction shall go through her, and her belly swelling, her thigh shall rot: and the woman shall be a curse, and an example to all the people.Bevute le quali, se ella ha peccato, e se disprezzato il marito, si è fatta rea di adulterio, s'impossesseranno di lei le acque di maledizione, ed enfiato il ventre, infracidirà il suo fianco: e quella donna sarà argomento, ed esempio di maledizione per tutto il popolo.Which when she hath drunke, if she be polluted, and by contempt of her husband guiltie of adulterie, the waters of malediction shal goe through her, and her bellie being puft vp her thigh shal totte withal: and the woman shal be for a malediction, and an example to al the people.Quas cum biberit, si polluta est, et contempto viro adulterii rea, pertransibunt eam aquæ maledictionis, et inflato ventre, computrescet femur: eritque mulier in maledictionem, et in exemplum omni populo. 28But if she be not defiled, she shall not be hurt, and shall bear children.Che se non è rea, non patirà mal nissuno, e farà figliuoli.But if she be not polluted, she shal be blamelesse, and shal beare children.Quod si polluta non fuerit, erit innoxia, et faciet liberos. 29This is the law of jealousy. If a woman hath gone aside from her husband, and be defiled,Questa è la legge per le occasioni di gelosia. Se la donna si aliena dal suo marito, e si disonora,This is the law of ielousie. If the woman decline from her husband, and if she be polluted,Ista est lex zelotypiæ. Si declinaverit mulier a viro suo, et si polluta fuerit, 30And the husband stirred up by the spirit of jealousy bring her before the Lord, and the priest do to her according to all things that are here written:E il marito preso da spirito di gelosia la conduce al cospetto del Signore, e il sacerdote fa a lei tutto quello che si è scritto,and the husband stirred with the spirit of ielousie brought her in the sight of the Lord, and the priest haue done to her according to al thinges that are written:maritusque zelotypiæ spiritu concitatus adduxerit eam in conspectu Domini, et fecerit ei sacerdos juxta omnia quæ scripta sunt: 31The husband shall be blameless, and she shall bear her iniquity.Il marito sarà senza colpa, e quella pagherà il fio di sua iniquità.the husband shal be without fault, and she shal beare her iniquitie.maritus absque culpa erit, et illa recipiet iniquitatem suam.
5:1
Year of the World 2514.
5:2
Worthington
Camp; in the midst of which God had fixed his tabernacle. See Leviticus 16:16. Some pretend that these unclean persons were only excluded from the camp of the Lord, and from that of the Levites, which occupied 2000 cubits round the tabernacle. But God will not permit any of the camp to be defiled by such people. They were to absent themselves for seven days, and then wash themselves, etc., (Numbers 19:11.) If lepers be excluded from the camp, how much more do heretics deserve to be cast out of the Church! (Theodoret, q. 8.) (Worthington)
5:3
Calmet
It. Hebrew, "their camps, in the midst of which I dwell." (Calmet)
5:6
Haydock
To commit, against one another, ver. 7. (St. Augustine, q. 9.) When the thing is secret, so that the judges cannot take cognizance of it, the offender must nevertheless abide by the decision of the priest. Moses condemns him who had stolen an ox to restore it with another, or even to give five oxen, if he have not the one stolen in his possession, Exodus 22:1, 4. (Haydock)
Calmet
Here to reward the sincerity of the man, who confesses his private fault, he only requires the thing itself to be restored, with a fifth part besides. (Calmet)
Tirinus
Negligence, not with contempt; (Menochius) though he knows that he is transgressing the divine and natural law. (Tirinus)
5:7
Challoner
Shall confess. This confession and satisfaction, ordained in the old law, was a figure of the sacrament of penance. (Challoner)
Worthington
A special confession of their sin, with satisfaction, and a sacrifice, are required. So Christ orders us to lay open our consciences to his priests, John. xx., etc. (Worthington)
5:8
But if. Moses does not mention this case, Leviticus 6:2, 5. Here he determines that the heirs, if known, must be entitled to the restitution. A Hebrew could not die without an heir; but a proselyte might, and then restitution was to be made to God. The Rabbins say, that when the person injured was already dead, the offender took 10 persons with him to the grave of the deceased, and said, "I have sinned against the Lord and against N.; I have injured him thus." After which he gave what was due to his heirs; or, if none could be found, to the house of judgment or the judges, who might restore it, if any claimant appeared afterwards.
5:9
Calmet
First-fruits; (teruma,) a term which comprises also voluntary oblations of all sorts, and the parts of the victims which belong to the priests; unless the person offering expressed a different intention. (Calmet)
5:14
Challoner
The spirit of jealousy, etc. This ordinance was designed to clear the innocent, and to prevent jealous husbands from doing mischief to their wives: as likewise to give all a horror of adultery, by punishing it in so remarkable a manner. (Challoner)
The spirit of jealousy, of fear, etc., denotes those passions of the soul. This very remarkable law of Moses suited the genius of his people, (Calmet) and tended greatly to restrain the infidelity of the married couple, and the fury of suspicious husbands. (Theodoret, q. 10.) God was pleased, by a continual miracle, to manifest the truth, on this occasion, provided the husband were not also guilty: for, in that case, the Rabbins assert, the waters had no effect. They relate many particularities, which seem contrary to Philo and Josephus, who inform us that the trial was still made in their time, though the former writers pretend that it was disused, on account of the many adulteries which were committed, in the age preceding the destruction of the temple by Titus. They say that the person who had committed the crime with the woman, died at the same time that the bitter waters put an end to her existence. When the suspected person was brought before the Sanhedrim, they tried, by all means, to extort a confession from her. But if she persisted in maintaining her innocence, they made her stand in black, before the eastern gate of the court, denouncing to her what she had to expect. If she answered Amen, the priest wrote the imprecations (ver. 19-22,) on vellum, with ink, which had no mixture of vitriol in it; and taking water from the laver, and dust from the court, with something bitter, like wormwood, effaced the writing in a new earthen vessel; while another priest tore her garments as far as the breast, and tied them up with an Egyptian cord, to remind her of the miracles wrought by God. If she confessed the crime before the writing was effaced, she was to be repudiated, without any dowry; or, if she kept company with a suspected person, contrary to her husband's admonition, after she had come off victorious from drinking the bitter waters, she was subjected to the same punishment, and could not demand to be admitted any more to make the miraculous experiment. See Selden, Uxor. 3:13.
5:15
Calmet
Measure, (sati). Hebrew and Septuagint, "epha," of which the measure was only one-third. (Calmet)
Tirinus
Oil, etc. These were rejected in sacrifices for sin, Leviticus 5:11. Jealous husbands have no sentiments of commiseration, or of sweetness; (Haydock) nor can any experience the emotions of joy, while they are in such a situation. (Tirinus)
5:17
Worthington
Holy water, destined for sacred uses, which is called most bitter, ver. 18, (Menochius) and cursed, (ver. 22,) on account of the imprecations used to detect the guilty. (Worthington)
Earth, to shew the woman, that if she had been unfaithful, she deserved to be trodden upon as dung, Ecclesiasticus 9:10.
Menochius
Head, that she may remember all is naked before the Lord. (Menochius)
Haydock
Hebrew may signify, "he shall cut the hair of her head," (see Leviticus 10:6.; Calmet) or take off her veil. (Josephus, [Antiquities?] 3:10.) (Haydock)
Menochius
Remembrance, by which God was requested to manifest the truth, either by punishing or by rewarding the woman, ver. 15, 28. (Menochius)
Calmet
Bitter, either on account of the wormwood, or because of their effects on the guilty. (Calmet)
5:19
Haydock
Adjure. The woman was put to her oath. (Josephus) (Haydock)
5:21
Haydock
Curse. Hebrew, "an object of execration, and an oath," etc., so that people can wish no greater misfortune to befall any one, than what thou shalt endure. (Haydock)
5:22
Calmet
Amen. Our Saviour often uses this form, to confirm what he says, verily, truly. The woman gives her assent to what had been proposed, "so be it." (Calmet)
5:23
Calmet
Book. Hebrew sepher, may also denote a board covered with wax, which was used as one of the most ancient modes of writing. (Calmet)
Josephus says, the priest wrote the name of God on parchment, and washed it out in the bitter waters.
5:24
Haydock
Up. Hebrew, "and the water, which causeth the malediction, shall enter into her, bitter." According to Josephus, the jealous husband threw first a handful of the gomer of barley flour, upon the altar, and gave the rest to the priest; and after the other ceremonies were finished, the woman drunk the water, and either had a son within ten months, or died with the marks of infamy. (B. [Antiquities?] 3:11. Edit. Bern.) Some Rabbins say she became livid and rotten, though she might linger on part of the year. (Sotae iii.) But if she proved innocent, she acquired fresh beauty and health, and was delivered with ease of a son. (Maimonides) (Haydock)
5:27
Through her. Hebrew, "into her," exerting all their efficacy.
5:28
Menochius
Children, that her husband may love her the more, and she may receive some compensation, for the stain thrown upon her character. (Menochius)
Calmet
We do not read in Scripture that any was ever subjected to this trial. The method of giving a bill of divorce was more easy. (Calmet)
5:31
Calmet
Blameless. To act in conformity with God's injunctions could not be reprehensible. But it would have been certainly criminal to tempt God in this manner, in order to discover a secret offence, if he had not authorized it expressly. If the husband wished to avoid the displeasure of God, he was bound to banish from his heart all malice, rash judgments, etc. The permission here granted, was owing to the hardness of heart of this stiff-necked people, as well as the laws regarding divorces and retaliation. Women, being of a more fickle and suspicious temper, are not indulged with the privilege of divorcing their husbands, or of making them drink the waters of jealousy. But if a man were taken in the act of adultery, he was put to death, Leviticus 20:10. The crime is equal in both parties. "The husband, says Lactantius, (de V. Cultu. xxiii.) ought, by the regularity of his conduct, to shew his wife what she owes him. For it is very unjust to exact from another, what you do not practise yourself. This injustice is the cause of the disorders, into which married women sometimes fall. They are vexed at being obliged to continue faithful to those, who will not be so to them." The Romans would not allow wives to bring an action against their husbands. "You would kill, with impunity, your wife taken in adultery, without any trial, said Cato, and she would not dare to touch you with her finger, if you fell into the same crime." (Gell. 10:23.) The authority which was given to husbands over their wives, was deemed a sufficient restraint; and men being obliged to be often from home, and in company, would have been exposed to continual alarms, from the suspicious temper of their wives, if they had been subjected to the like trials. (Calmet)
Haydock
In latter ages, however, the Jewish ladies began to assume the right of divorcing their husbands, in imitation of Salome, sister of Herod the great, and of Herodias, his grand-daughter, Matthew 14:3. (Josephus, Antiquities 15:11 and 18:7.) Grotius supposes that the Samaritan woman had divorced her five husbands, John 4:18. But this being contrary to the law, her first marriage alone subsisted. (Haydock)
Calmet
Her iniquity, in giving her husband any grounds of suspicion. The Rabbins observe, that he was bound first to admonish her, before witnesses, not to keep company with people of bad character; and if he could bring witnesses that she had been found afterwards with them for ever so short a time, he might have the remedy of the law. The pagans maintained, that several of their fountains and rivers had the power of disclosing and punishing perjury. Polemon mentions a fountain of this nature in Sicily; and Solinus (Numbers 11.) says, that one in Sardinia caused the perjured to go blind. The waters of the Styx were greatly feared on this account. (Hesiod, Theog. 783.) Tatitus (VII. 20,) mentions some other fountains, which had the same effects as the bitter waters. (Calmet)
Haydock
The various ordeal trials which were formerly in use, were probably established in imitation of this law of Moses; but not having the same authority or sanction, they were in danger of being looked upon as superstitious. (Haydock)
5:7
Shall confess.... This confession and satisfaction, ordained in the Old Law, was a figure of the sacrament of penance.
5:14
The spirit of jealousy, etc.... This ordinance was designed to clear the innocent, and to prevent jealous husbands from doing mischief to their wives: as likewise to give all a horror of adultery, by punishing it in so remarkable a manner.
5:2
Stil by the lesse (saieth Theodoret) God instructeth in the greatter. q 8. in Nū. If therfore lepers were cast out of the campe, how much more iustly are heretiques cast out of the Church?
5:7
7. Shal confesse their sinne.] General confession (such as Protestantes make) Particular confession of sinnes, & satisfaction, required by the law of God. sufficed not here for purging sinnes: but whosoeuer transgressed anie of Gods commandments, were bound by this diuine positiue law, to confesse expresly and distinctly their sinne, which in particular they had committed. Also to make restitution, if wrong were donne to anie other, with a fifth part aboue the principal. And for further satisfaction to God they must offer sacrifice. Al which did plainly prefigure & foreshew the necessitie of particular confession of sinnes, and satifaction, in the Sacrament of Penance, instituted by Christ. Ioan. 20.
5:14
God ordained this law, and miraculously concurred therin, to auoid wiuesslaughter, vpō vehement •elosie. Theod. q. 10. in Num.
5:15
about the eight part of our pe•k.
5:17
VVater sanctified by special rites is called holie water, and serueth to holie vse. chap. 8. v. 7. c. 19. v. 9.
5:22
The water wheron the priest laide curses to light on the woman if she were guiltie.
5:2
Anonymous A Treatise Against the Heretic Novatian by an Anonymous Bishop 2
… and as we read, we find that it was sent forth, and returned no more. Whoever should be found to resemble this bird, then, that is, the impure spirit, will no more be able to return to the Church, seeing that the Lord will forbid them, even if they should wish it, as He commanded Moses, saying, “Everything leprous and impure, cast abroad outside the camp.”
5:15
St Basil the Great † AD 379 The Letters 265.2
… He preaches partial baptisms after the one baptism, and the ashes of a heifer sprinkling the Church which, through its faith in Christ, has not spot or wrinkle, or any such thing; cleansing of leprosy after the painless state of the resurrection; an offering of jealousy
5:17
St Ephrem the Syrian † AD 373 Ephraim Syrus: Three Homilies 1.6
… The congregation therefore which had committed fornication in [the worship of] the calf, he caused to drink of the water of ordeal, that the mark of adulteresses might appear in it. From hence was derived that law about women,
5:22
St Augustine of Hippo † AD 430 Expositions on the Book of Psalms 109.17
… but the Jewish people still more decidedly refused blessing, unto whom he who had been enlightened by the Lord said, “Will ye also be His disciples?” “He clothed himself with cursing, like as with a raiment:” either Judas, or that people. “And it came into his bowels like water.”
5:2
In the Hebrew the cause is added, namely that I, that is God, who am most pure, dwell in the midst of you. I wish therefore that my camps be pure, and that lepers and other unclean persons be cast out from them. Those cast out here outside the camps are, first, lepers; secondly, those who suffered from a flux of seed; thirdly, those defiled by a dead body, that is, those who had contracted legal defilement, that is uncleanness, by contact with a corpse or human cadaver. The first two of these were banished from the camps until they were healed: for when healed, after the prescribed purification in Leviticus xiv and xv (except however the sacrifices prescribed there: for these were not performed in the wilderness), they were received back into the camps; the third, however, purified themselves on certain days, and after the seventh day without any other ceremony returned to the camps, as is evident from Numbers xix, 11 and 12.
By camps here is understood the assembly of the whole people, not however of the Levites alone, as is evident. Wherefore Lyra wrongly from Rabbi Solomon: Lepers, he says, were cast out outside the camps of the people, those with a flux of seed outside the camps of the Levites, those defiled by a dead body outside the camps of the Godhead, that is outside the tabernacle, which was as it were the house of God: for all these were excluded not only from the tabernacle but also from the entire camps of the people.
The moral and judicial precepts were observed by the Hebrews in the desert, equally as in the land of Canaan; but most of the ceremonial precepts were not observed in the desert, as is evident from circumcision, Joshua v, 6, and from sacrifices, Amos v, 25, and Acts vii, 42, and from feasts, at least as regards the sacrifices prescribed for each feast: for as regards cessation from work, feasts which required it were observed in the desert, unless the camps had to be moved, as is evident from the Sabbath: for he who violated it, and gathered wood on the Sabbath, was stoned, Num. cap. xv, vers. 35. In like manner in the desert the payment of priestly dues was not observed, namely firstfruits and tithes; nor the redemption of firstborn, after that first one made at Sinai, Numer. iii, 46. And this with good reason. For in the desert the priests did not perform their priestly office, which was to sacrifice; and therefore these dues, as it were their stipends, they did not earn. Again, they had no need of them, since all lived from manna: thus Abulensis. Except here some ceremonial precepts: for the unclean in the desert after the prescribed purifications were cleansed, as I said a little before. Again, the shewbread was to be set forth on the table before the Lord there, as is evident cap. iv, vers. 7. Moreover, the sacred fire was to be continually tended, as is evident Levit. cap. vi, vers. 13.
5:6
Namely, when they shall have committed some injury to their neighbour, into which sin men are wont to fall.
5:7
(Note here the use, indeed the precept of particular confession in the old law.) And they shall restore the principal. — In Hebrew, they shall restore the trespass on its principal, that is, they shall restore the principal itself, the very thing which they received. For in this case of injury and injustice, restitution is prescribed by this law and by the law of nature. See Levit. vi, 3, where this same case is explained.
5:8
In Hebrew, if there is no redeemer, that is, no kinsman or blood relative to receive it: for to the kinsman of the deceased belonged the redemption, and also the acceptance of the thing. They Shall Give To The Lord, And It Shall Be The Priest's — for the priest is the vicar, and as it were the heir of God. Excepting the ram (besides the ram) which is offered for expiation — as it were in satisfaction for the sin. Whence the Hebrews say: When the ram is led to death, the sinner ought to think and consider, as if he himself were being led to death for his sins and confess: "O Lord! I am guilty of death, I have deserved to be stoned, burned, or strangled for this sin. But because Thou dost not will the death of the sinner, accept this ram for me, which I offer to Thee."
5:9
"To the priest," that is to the priests: for firstfruits were divided among all the priests; it was otherwise with sacrifices: for these fell to the one offering them, as was said Levit. vi, 26, and cap. vii, vers. 8.
5:10
In Hebrew, each one's holy things, that is, offerings, and whatever a man shall have given to the priest, shall be his. For if anyone had cast something into the treasury, or given it to the priest in his hands for the uses of the temple or tabernacle, it fell to the temple or tabernacle; but if he gave it to the priest for his uses, it fell to him.
Tropologically Rabanus: Firstfruits, he says, of good will, of words and works, and whatever the true Israelites, that is, the children of the Church, offer in the sanctuary, that is, in the Church, to the Lord, is the priest's, that is, belongs to Christ the Lord; because it pertains to His grace, and is to be attributed to His merits, intercession and gift.
5:12
In Hebrew, shall have turned aside, namely to another man through adultery. Because She Is Not Found In Adultery — in adultery.
5:14
That is, if jealousy shall have stirred up the husband. — Thus the spirit of prudence, gentleness, mercy is called prudence, gentleness, mercy itself.
A wife who laboured under either the guilt or suspicion of adultery is commanded here by God to clear herself and prove herself by the waters of jealousy. By a miracle therefore, as it were established in the law and continually of old among the Jews, the crime of adultery was discovered; and this for this reason, namely lest if the fact which the jealous spouses suspected they could not prove, they should kill their wives. For the same reason to them, as being stiff-necked people, was permitted the bill of divorce. In like manner among Christians of old women suspected of adultery purged themselves by touching red-hot iron, if they were not burned by it, as happened to St. Cunegund: which trial, since it was not instituted by God, and therefore was a tempting of God, was justly condemned by the Canons.
Learn here that among the tribulations of the flesh which married persons experience, jealousy is not the least. Among the Persians, not only he who had called upon and touched the king's concubine, but also he who had passed by her more closely on the road, was punished with death, as Plutarch says in his life of Artaxerxes. Catullus grows angry at Gellius his rival, as a thief of his mistress. The same Catullus bears it ill that Gellius is preferred to him on account of his beauty, where he says: Gellius is fair, why not? whom Lesbia would prefer / To you with all your family, Catullus. Circe the sorceress, bearing it ill that the nymph Scylla was loved by Glaucus, infected with poison the spring in which she bathed, by whose power Scylla was changed into a sea monster, as the Poets fittingly feign. C. Sulpicius repudiated his wife because she had gone out of the house with uncovered head: "The law," he said, "has appointed to you my eyes alone, by which you may approve your beauty: be beautiful to these, not pleasing to the eyes of others." Antisthenes, when a young man consulted him what sort of wife he should marry: "If you marry a beautiful woman," he said, "you will have her in common; if an ugly one, you will have trouble." In Greek there is an allusion between koinēn and poinēn. He therefore advised that a woman of middle and moderate beauty be married, who would neither move disgust in her husband nor provoke the eyes of adulterers upon herself. Democritus, when he was tall, being asked why he had married so small a woman: "I," he said, "in choosing an evil, chose the smallest." The same answer was given by Blessed Thomas More. Pittacus refused to marry a wife: "Because if I marry a beautiful woman," he said, "I will have jealousy, if not my own, certainly that of others seeking her: if an ugly one, I will have disgust." Socrates said that he had acquired three evils: Grammar, poverty, and a pernicious wife; of which he had already escaped two, but could not escape the third. Plato, being asked "when should a wife be married?" "Not yet to a young man," he said, "never to an old one." In Greek it is more pleasant: oudepote and oudemote, suggesting that one should altogether abstain from marriage. Protagoras, being asked why he had given his daughter as wife to his enemy: "Because," he said, "I could give him nothing worse." Philoxenus, being asked why Sophocles introduced good women, but he himself bad ones: "Because," he said, "Sophocles tells what women ought to be; I, however, tell what they are." Wherefore Alfonso, king of Aragon, was wont to say, "Marriage would be without quarrels and tranquil, if the husband became deaf and the wife blind."
5:15
Because, as is added in verse 15 in the Hebrew, it is a sacrifice commemorating sin, which Our Interpreter renders, investigating adultery.
5:18
You will ask, what were these curses pronounced by the priest over the waters and heaped together? It is probable from verse 21 that these, or similar ones, were: O water, be cursed in the name of the Lord; and if this woman has sinned in adultery, enter into her womb, and burst it, and cause her thigh to rot, that you may be an example to all the people.
5:19
If you are not defiled, these waters will not harm you. — Noceo, by ancient syntax governed the accusative: hence it is said in Psalm 26:2: "Judge, O Lord, those who harm me;" and in Luke 4:35: "And it went out from him, and it did not harm him." Thus also Plautus says: "Swear that you will not harm a man."
5:20
This is the second curse; for the first was upon the water, this is upon the woman herself. In Hebrew it is, may the Lord make you an execration, and an oath in the midst of your people. "Into an oath," that is, into an imprecation, as if to say, Be so miserable and unhappy that this public and common imprecation of men be this: May what befell that adulteress befall you.
5:22
Note: Here was the order of this trial, as is evident from the Hebrew: First, the priest pronounced curses over the water. Second, he pronounced curses over the woman, the woman herself answering, Amen. Third, he wrote these second curses in a book: then he washed the writing in the waters of malediction to be given to the woman to drink. Fourth, he took from her a mincha, namely flour, and from it in the customary manner a handful to the Lord he burned and cremated; the rest he kept for himself. Fifth, he gave the woman the drink of cursed water, and if she was guilty of the crime, her belly swelled, and her thigh rotted. The Jews add: and she died; which our Interpreter also sufficiently indicates, and the Septuagint in verse 21, that it happened by the rupture of the womb: and this happened immediately, as it appears. For what Josephus, in book III, chapter 10, obscurely says, that this punishment was delayed to ten months, does not sufficiently accord with Holy Scripture here, nor with the manner of divine providence and vengeance. For this is wont to work its miracles and judgments most swiftly, especially through signs instituted by itself; especially since by this vengeance the crime of the wife was to be detected here, so that it might satisfy the jealous husband, who otherwise would have continued to vex her, indeed would have killed her; to prevent which, however, this trial was instituted by God.
This swelling of the womb and rotting of the thigh were produced not by any power inherent in the waters, but only by God applied to this ceremony. Moreover, by this law and penalty God testified, first, that He is the guardian and avenger of conjugal faith, and the witness and keeper of innocence, so that namely jealousy might not beget discord, quarrels, disputes and murders; secondly, that He sees, notes and brings to light hidden crimes; thirdly, that adultery is a grave crime, worthy of public and horrible punishment, so that wives might be kept in their duty and restrained from unchastity by fear of so grave a penalty. For these adulteries are wont to be committed in secret, so that they could scarcely be proved juridically: whence God here arrogates to Himself their judgment. Thus Vatablus. The Jews add that the same plague was inflicted upon the adulterer himself, even if he were hidden: let credence be given to them. Gerardus Spartanus, when asked by what penalty the Spartans punished an adulterer: "There is no adulterer in Sparta," said he. And when another pressed him, what if one should exist? "He will give," said he, "only an ox, so that with neck stretched beyond Taygetus, he may drink from the Eurotas." The other laughed, saying: It cannot be that so great an ox be found. "And how," said Gerardus, "should an adulterer exist in Sparta, in which luxuries, riches, and artificial cultivation of the body are held in disgrace?" Thales, when an adulterer asked him whether he would abjure perjury: "Perjury," said he, "is not worse than adultery," that is to say, Why do you ask about swearing falsely, when you do not hesitate to commit a crime equal to perjury? Add that adultery is often the cause of murders and parricides. Thus David, on account of adultery with Bathsheba, committed the murder of Uriah; Clytemnestra with her adulterer Aegisthus conspired for the destruction of her husband Agamemnon; when he was killed, the madness of Orestes was stirred up against his mother. Thus Euripides in the Orestes. Euridice, queen of the Macedonians, wife of Amyntas and mother of Philip, in order to hand over the kingdom to her adulterer, removed by poison her sons Alexander and Perdiccas; and she would have done the same to her husband, had not her daughter exposed the crime. Indeed, even beasts detest and avenge adultery. Hear William of Paris, in the first part of De Universo, part III, chapter viii: "In my time," said he, "a stork, as if convicted of adultery by the sense of smell of her mate, I know not how the male accusing or exposing her crime, was stripped of feathers and torn to pieces by all that multitude, as if by the council or judgment of all she had been judged guilty of adultery." The cuckoo is a disgrace to birds and men, because it invades the nests and eggs of other birds, sits upon them, and hatches them, as Pliny testifies, book X, chapter ix. See the sayings at Genesis xxxviii, 24.
5:24
The priest shall take from her hand the sacrifice. — "Shall have drunk," that is, shall have drunk or will drink. For almost at the same time and in the same moment, the woman drank the waters, and the priest burned the mincha, so that morally these two things were considered to be done as if at the same time. For the order was that which I said in verse 22, which our Interpreter also clearly expresses in verse 26, namely that the priest first burned the mincha, then gave the waters to the woman to drink.
5:27
In Hebrew, shall enter into her.
5:28
She shall be innocent (that is, unpunished, shall not be harmed by these waters of cursing: thus innocent is taken for unpunished, Exodus xx, 7), and shall bear children. — The Chaldean translates, and shall conceive a conception; the Septuagint, and shall sow seed, that is, shall produce a son from the seed conceived. It appears here that God promises to the innocent wife fruitfulness and children, on account of the suspicion of adultery and the ignominy of this good woman, which she undeservedly suffered. The Rabbis also add and fable that she conceived by miracle without seed, like the Blessed Virgin, as Abulensis, Lyra and Dionysius the Carthusian relate and refute.
See here how great a crime adultery is, and how hateful to God and men. Hear St. Job, chapter xxxi, 9: "If my heart hath been deceived concerning a woman, and if I have laid wait at my friend's door, let my wife be the harlot of another. For this is a heinous crime, and a most grievous iniquity. It is a fire that devoureth even to destruction, and rooteth up all things that grow." And Ecclesiasticus, chapter xxiii, 25: "Every man that transgresseth in his flesh, saying in his heart: Who seeth me? Darkness compasseth me about, and the walls cover me, and no one seeth me: whom do I fear? The Most High will not remember my sins. And he knoweth not that his eye is much brighter than the sun, beholding all the ways of men, and the depths of the abyss. Thus also every woman that leaveth her husband, and setteth her heir by another. For first she hath been unfaithful to the law of the Most High. Secondly, she hath offended against her husband. Thirdly, she hath committed fornication in adultery, and hath gotten her children by another man. She shall be brought into the assembly, and inquisition shall be made of her children. Her children shall not take root, and her branches shall not bring forth fruit. She shall leave her name for a curse to her generations, and her reproach shall not be blotted out."
Machine translation from the Latin, not reviewed.
5:2
besides a certain quantity of flour and oil. The expiatory sacrifice implies the concept of leprosy regarded as a punishment from God. In the Old Testament (cf. Ex. 4:6; Num. 5:2; 12:10; II Kings 5:1; 7:3; II Chron. 26:20 ff.) and in the New (cf. Mt. 8:2; 10:5; 11:5; 26:6) lepers are often spoken of, and the miraculous healing of some of them is narrated. …
… A person can become impure for physical reasons (leprosy: Lev. 13:3; Num. 5:2), for natural necessities (childbirth: Lev. 12:2-5), independent of his will (ibid. 15:25) or through necessary and undesired contacts (e.g., with a dead person: Num. 6:7; 9:6). Certain …
5:6
… offering of animals (Lev. 27, 10). g) Kērīthōth "cutting off": premature natural death, of which the Tōrah often speaks, which transgressions are punished in this way, sacrificial precepts (6 chapters). h) Mē'īlōh: "sacrifice" of trespass (Lev. 5, 15; Num. 5, 6 f.), in 6 chapters. i) Tāmīlōh ("perpetual" or "daily" sacrifice: Ex. 29, 38 f.; Num. 28, 3 f.). the watches of the priests, the ritual ablutions, the sacrificial fire, the morning prayer, …
5:7
… Despite the murmuring of the crowd, Jesus accepted the hospitality of Z., who declared that he would give half of his goods to the poor and, in case he had defrauded anyone, would restore fourfold (Luke 19:1-10), surpassing in generosity what the Mosaic law required (Lev. 6:6; Num. 5:7).
5:11
Adultery (from Latin adulterium, i.e., according to a probable etymology, ad alterum torum accessus)
… accomplice; and the same sanction was prescribed by the Mosaic law (Lev. 20:10; Deut. 22:22), which, in the case that the crime could not be proven in any other way, allowed the husband to have the wife subjected to the ordeal of the bitter water (Num. 5:11-31).
… Besides the Saint's distress, the Apocrypha relate the episode of the test of bitter water (cf. Num. 5:11 ff.), from which resulted the innocence of Joseph and Mary. …
LAW OF JEALOUSY. - According to the law contained in Num. 5:11 ff., a husband who harbors suspicions regarding his wife's fidelity, suspicions not corroborated by any testimony, brings the woman to the priest, bearing an offering for the evocation …
… of vows. d) Nāzīr "Nazirite" (Num. 6): duration, value, prohibitions, purity and impurity, decisions concerning the Nazirite vow; the Nazirite vow of women and of slaves (9 chapters). e) Sōtāh ("woman led astray"): a woman suspected of adultery (Num. 5, 11 ff.); it also deals with the heifer to be killed in the case of homicide by unknown persons (Deut. 21, 1-9); the signs foretelling the coming of the Messiah; various degrees of holiness …
5:12
… legislations (cf. code of Hammurabi, § 129; Hittite and Middle Assyrian laws in G. Furlani, Leggi dell'Asia anteriore antica, Rome 1920, pp. 87, 96-99). Even for the mere suspicion of adultery the woman was subjected to a terrible judgment of God (Num. 5:12 ff.; cf. code of Hammurabi, § 132).
5:15
Incense was prescribed for the oblations (Lev. 2, 1. 2. 15. 16), while it was forbidden in the sacrifices of expiation (ibid. 5, 11) and in the offerings for the rite of jealousy (Num. 5, 15); the twelve "loaves of presentation" were also sprinkled with it (Lev. 24, 7). So great was the importance of incense that sometimes it is expressly named together with the
… For this purpose there served: fine wheat flour (barley flour only in the sacrifice of jealousy [Num. 5:15]), roasted grain, cakes and unleavened bread (Lev. 2), the ears of grain for Passover and the firstfruits of the loaves for Pentecost; among liquids, wine and oil. To all the oblations …
5:18
… In 5 chapters. i) Hallāh ("bread," offering to the priest of the dough from which the bread is about to be baked: Num. 5:18-21): establishes which kinds of grain are subject to the offering, of which the woman of the house owes 1/24, the baker 1/48. In 4 chapters. …
5:19
… It speaks very often of the oath; sometimes it even reports its formula (cf. Num. 33:10; Deut. 1:34; II Kings 19:8; Jer. 22:3); all this without ever indicating or suggesting that it is a morally illicit act. Indeed more than once Scripture advises or commands swearing (cf., for example, Num. 5:19; 30:3-16; Deut. 6:13). As for the passage cited above from St. Matthew and that of St. James which repeats it, there Jesus intends to exclude the abuse and the frequency of the oath …
5:22
… hearer (yes, certainly) to what the speaker says, joined moreover, for the most part, to the wish that this very thing may come to pass (cf. 1 Kings 1:36; Jer. 11:5; 28:6). The a. thus takes on the value of a religious acclamation (Deut. 27:15-26; cf. Num. 5:22), especially in the exercise of worship (1 Chron. 16:36; Neh. 5:13; 8:6). In this sense it occurs in the final doxologies of the first four books of the Psalms (v.) (at the end of …
5:29
… directives on a given subject; this sense is common in the "priestly code" (P), especially in the formula "this is the t. ('body of norms or laws') of the holocaust, of the offering, of the leper, of the Nazirite, etc." (Lev. 6, 9-25 to 26, 46: 15 times; Num. 5, 29-30 to 31, 21: 7 times). …
Douay-Rheims (Challoner) · Vulgata Clementina · original Douay-Rheims (Douay 1609-10), transcription by EEBO-TCP (CC0) · La Sacra Bibbia, tradotta dalla Volgata da Antonio Martini (1769-1781) (LaParola (laparola.net), Martini OSIS text, Public domain (LaParola's electronic edition marks it 'Dominio pubblico')). Public domain.