What Does Numbers 30:14 Mean in the King James?
But if her husband altogether hold his peace at her from day to day; then he establisheth all her vows, or all her bonds, which are upon her: he confirmeth them, because he held his peace at her in the day that he heard them.
The analysis reads the King James wording.
King James Version The King James Version, first published in 1611. Selah Verse shows the standard text.
THE KEY
A husband’s silence after hearing her vow is not empty space: it is the act that lets the vow stand.
THE MEANING
A vow heard and left unanswered carries force: the silence itself lets it stand. The woman’s vow remains upon her, and her husband’s continued nonresponse establishes it.
WHAT THIS UNDOES
The lie that silence after hearing a vow is consequence-free is undone here: his continued silence confirms the vow.
THE ROOT
הַחֲרֵשׁ יַחֲרִישׁ
haḥarēsh yaḥărîsh
GROWS FROM
חָרַשׁ
ḥāraš
To be silent, to keep quiet.
“hold his peace” in this verse is haḥarēsh yaḥărîsh. The repeated form intensifies the silence: he keeps quiet from day to day. The verse makes that silence consequential by linking it directly to the vow standing.
ALSO GROWS
heḥĕrîš: He was silent.
הֶחֱרִישׁ
The same root returns when the verse says he held his peace on the day he heard the vows, linking the original silence to its continued effect.
ḥērēš: Deaf.
חֵרֵשׁ
This related form means deaf; beside the verse’s explicit hearing, it sharpens the distinction between not hearing and choosing not to respond after hearing.
וְהֵקִים
wehēqîm
GROWS FROM
קוּם
qûm
To rise, stand, or be set upright.
“establisheth” in this verse is wehēqîm. The Hebrew verb carries the image of raising something so it stands. His silence lets the vows stand as binding commitments.
ALSO GROWS
qûm: Rise or stand.
קוּם
This basic verb shows the image beneath establish: what was spoken is left standing.
māqôm: Place, a standing place.
מָקוֹם
This noun from the same root evokes a place where something stands; the vows remain in force rather than falling away.
אֱסָרֶיהָ
ʾĕsārêhā
GROWS FROM
אָסַר
ʾāsar
To bind, tie, or restrain.
The verse places bonds beside vows and says they are upon her. The root makes the commitment tangible: her words bind, and the husband’s silence leaves that binding in place.
ALSO GROWS
ʾāsar: To bind or tie.
אָסַר
This verb shows the force carried by the bonds: they hold rather than merely describe a promise.
ʾāsûr: Bound or forbidden.
אָסוּר
This form keeps the binding sense visible, illuminating why the verse treats the obligation as something that remains upon her.
ʾāsîr: A captive or prisoner.
אֲסִיר
The related noun names one held in bonds, revealing the restrictive weight contained in the verse’s word for obligations.
THE PATTERN
Vows and their reception carry force: a spoken commitment can stand or fall through the response it receives.
But if her father disallow her in the day that he heareth; not any of her vows, or of her bonds wherewith she hath bound her soul, shall stand: and the LORD shall forgive her, because her father disallowed her.That which is gone out of thy lips thou shalt keep and perform; even a freewill offering, according as thou hast vowed unto the LORD thy God, which thou hast promised with thy mouth.But above all things, my brethren, swear not, neither by heaven, neither by the earth, neither by any other oath: but let your yea be yea; and your nay, nay; lest ye fall into condemnation.THE THREAD
That which is gone out of thy lips thou shalt keep and perform; even a freewill offering, according as thou hast vowed unto the LORD thy God, which thou hast promised with thy mouth.Both verses use נדר (n-d-r; nādar, to vow): Numbers names her vows, while Deuteronomy names what the mouth has vowed. Deuteronomy holds the speaker to the spoken commitment; this verse shows the hearer’s silence letting that commitment stand over her.
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