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Voluntary, but Binding When Once Made. Vows were wholly voluntary. However, once a man made a vow, fulfillment was compulsory by divine law. Thus a vow was spoken of as being ‘bound upon his soul,’ implying that his very life became surety for the performance of his word. (Nu 30:2; see also Ro 1:31, 32.) Since life is at stake, it is understandable why the Scriptures urge one to use extreme caution before making a vow, carefully considering the obligations to be assumed. The Law stated: “In case you vow a vow to Jehovah . . . God will without fail require it of you, and it would indeed become a sin on your part. But in case you omit making a vow, it will not become a sin on your part.”—De 23:21, 22.
(Numbers 30:14, 15) 14 But if her husband offers no objection at all from day to day, he also establishes all her vows or all her abstinence vows that are upon her. He establishes them because he did not object on the day he heard her make them. 15 But if he annuls them later, sometime after the day he heard them, he will bear the consequences of her guilt.
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Vows of women, under the Law. The laws regulating vows made by women are outlined at Numbers 30:3-15: The vow of a daughter was binding once her father heard it and raised no objection; or, instead, he could annul it. The vow of a wife (or an engaged girl) likewise depended on her husband (or fiancé) for validation. If the man annulled the vow after first letting it stand, he bore her error. (Nu 30:14, 15)
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After Jerusalem’s destruction, Jeremiah reminded the Jews in Egypt that one reason for the calamity that befell them was their making vows to the “queen of the heavens” and offering sacrifices to her. The women who were taking a prominent part in this idol worship were quick to point out that their vows and worship to the “queen of the heavens” had been approved by their husbands and that they were determined to carry out their vows to this goddess. They thus made the excuse that they were acting in harmony with the Law regarding vows for women (Nu 30:10-15), but Jeremiah denounced their actions as being really law defying, since they were idolatrous.—Jer 44:19, 23-25; 2Co 6:16-18.
(Numbers 31:29) 29 You should take it from their half and give it to El·e·aʹzar the priest as Jehovah’s contribution.
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Sacred portions (heave offerings). The Hebrew word teru·mahʹ is sometimes translated “sacred portion” when referring to the part of the sacrifice that was lifted up, or heaved, off the sacrifice as the portion belonging to the priests. (Ex 29:27, 28; Le 7:14, 32; 10:14, 15) The word is also frequently rendered “contribution,” when referring to the things given to the sanctuary, which, with the exception of that which was sacrificed on the altar, also went to the priests for their sustenance.—Nu 18:8-13, 19, 24, 26-29; 31:29; De 12:6, 11.
(Numbers 31:17, 18) 17 Now you should kill every male among the children and kill every woman who has had sexual relations with a man. 18 But you may keep alive all the young girls who have not had sexual relations with a man.
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Marriage alliances with foreigners were prohibited, primarily because of the danger of corruption of pure worship. (Ex 34:16; De 7:3, 24; Jos 23:12, 13) All inhabitants of cities of the seven Canaanite nations were to be destroyed. (De 7:1; 20:15-18) But in the capture of a city not of the seven proscribed Canaanite nations, an Israelite soldier could take a virgin from the city as a wife after she had undergone a period of purification. In such cases no actual alliance would be formed with a foreign tribe or family, her parents having been slain when her city was taken.—De 21:10-14; Nu 31:17, 18; De 20:14.
(Numbers 31:21-24) 21 El·e·aʹzar the priest then said to the men of the army who had gone into the battle: “This is the statute of the law that Jehovah commanded Moses, 22 ‘Only the gold, the silver, the copper, the iron, the tin, and the lead, 23 everything that can be processed with fire, you should pass through the fire, and it will be clean. However, it should also be purified by the water for cleansing. Everything that cannot be processed with fire, you should pass through the water. 24 And you should wash your garments on the seventh day and be clean, and then you may come into the camp.’”
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Spoils of war had to be cleansed before they could be brought in. Combustible articles were washed with water, but metal objects had to pass through the fire.—Nu 31:21-24.
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