Chapter Text
The Purity of the Camp
And the LORD spake unto Moses, saying,
2Command the children of Israel, that they put out of the camp every leper, and every one that hath an issue, and whosoever is defiled by the dead:
3Both male and female shall ye put out, without the camp shall ye put them; that they defile not their camps, in the midst whereof I dwell.
4And the children of Israel did so, and put them out without the camp: as the LORD spake unto Moses, so did the children of Israel.
Restitution for Wrongs
5And the LORD spake unto Moses, saying,
6Speak unto the children of Israel, When a man or woman shall commit any sin that men commit, to do a trespass against the LORD, and that person be guilty;
7Then they shall confess their sin which they have done: and he shall recompense his trespass with the principal thereof, and add unto it the fifth part thereof, and give it unto him against whom he hath trespassed.
8But if the man have no kinsman to recompense the trespass unto, let the trespass be recompensed unto the LORD, even to the priest; beside the ram of the atonement, whereby an atonement shall be made for him.
9And every offering of all the holy things of the children of Israel, which they bring unto the priest, shall be his.
10And every man's hallowed things shall be his: whatsoever any man giveth the priest, it shall be his.
The Test for Adultery
11And the LORD spake unto Moses, saying,
12Speak unto the children of Israel, and say unto them, If any man's wife go aside, and commit a trespass against him,
13And a man lie with her carnally , and it be hid from the eyes of her husband, and be kept close, and she be defiled, and there be no witness against her, neither she be taken with the manner;
14And the spirit of jealousy come upon him, and he be jealous of his wife, and she be defiled: or if the spirit of jealousy come upon him, and he be jealous of his wife, and she be not defiled:
15Then shall the man bring his wife unto the priest, and he shall bring her offering for her, the tenth part of an ephah of barley meal; he shall pour no oil upon it, nor put frankincense thereon; for it is an offering of jealousy, an offering of memorial, bringing iniquity to remembrance.
16And the priest shall bring her near, and set her before the LORD:
17And the priest shall take holy water in an earthen vessel; and of the dust that is in the floor of the tabernacle the priest shall take, and put it into the water:
18And the priest shall set the woman before the LORD, and uncover the woman's head, and put the offering of memorial in her hands, which is the jealousy offering: and the priest shall have in his hand the bitter water that causeth the curse:
19And the priest shall charge her by an oath, and say unto the woman, If no man have lain with thee, and if thou hast not gone aside to uncleanness with another instead of thy husband, be thou free from this bitter water that causeth the curse:
20But if thou hast gone aside to another instead of thy husband, and if thou be defiled, and some man have lain with thee beside thine husband:
21Then the priest shall charge the woman with an oath of cursing, and the priest shall say unto the woman, The LORD make thee a curse and an oath among thy people, when the LORD doth make thy thigh to rot, and thy belly to swell;
22And this water that causeth the curse shall go into thy bowels, to make thy belly to swell, and thy thigh to rot: And the woman shall say, Amen, amen.
23And the priest shall write these curses in a book, and he shall blot them out with the bitter water:
24And he shall cause the woman to drink the bitter water that causeth the curse: and the water that causeth the curse shall enter into her, and become bitter.
25Then the priest shall take the jealousy offering out of the woman's hand, and shall wave the offering before the LORD, and offer it upon the altar:
26And the priest shall take an handful of the offering, even the memorial thereof, and burn it upon the altar, and afterward shall cause the woman to drink the water.
27And when he hath made her to drink the water, then it shall come to pass, that, if she be defiled, and have done trespass against her husband, that the water that causeth the curse shall enter into her, and become bitter, and her belly shall swell, and her thigh shall rot: and the woman shall be a curse among her people.
28And if the woman be not defiled, but be clean; then she shall be free, and shall conceive seed.
29This is the law of jealousies, when a wife goeth aside to another instead of her husband, and is defiled;
30Or when the spirit of jealousy cometh upon him, and he be jealous over his wife, and shall set the woman before the LORD, and the priest shall execute upon her all this law.
31Then shall the man be guiltless from iniquity, and this woman shall bear her iniquity.
Summary
The Gershonites are assigned to carry the curtains, coverings, and hangings of the tabernacle and the court under the direction of Ithamar, Aaron's son. The Merarites are tasked with transporting the boards, bars, pillars, sockets, and structural elements. A census counts the Levitical men between thirty and fifty years old who are eligible for tabernacle service.
Meaning
Every component of God's dwelling place matters, from the most sacred vessels to the structural boards and tent coverings. The Gershonites and Merarites demonstrate that seemingly ordinary service is essential to sustaining the place where God meets His people.
The age requirements for service reveal God's wisdom in matching responsibility with maturity and physical capability. Sacred work demands both spiritual readiness and practical competence.
Background
The division of labor among Levitical clans ensured that the tabernacle could be dismantled, transported, and reassembled efficiently during Israel's wilderness journey. This logistical organization was remarkable for a nomadic people and reflected careful divine planning.
Chapter Outline
- vv. 1-4Removal of the Unclean from Camp
- vv. 5-8Confession and Restitution for Trespass
- vv. 9-10Priestly Portions from Holy Offerings
- vv. 11-15The Case of Suspected Adultery
- vv. 16-22The Ordeal of Bitter Water
- vv. 23-28Administration of the Trial and Its Outcomes
- vv. 29-31Summary of the Law of Jealousies
Key Verses
“Both male and female shall ye put out, without the camp shall ye put them; that they defile not their camps, in the midst whereof I dwell.”— 5:3
This verse establishes the theological foundation for the entire chapter: God's holiness demands separation from defilement because He dwells among His people. It undergirds both the purity laws and the jealousy ordeal that follow.
“Then they shall confess their sin which they have done: and he shall recompense his trespass with the principal thereof, and add unto it the fifth part thereof, and give it unto him against whom he hath trespassed.”— 5:7
A key restitution principle requiring both confession and material compensation with a twenty-percent surcharge. This verse shaped later Jewish and Christian teaching on the inseparability of repentance and restitution.
“And this water that causeth the curse shall go into thy bowels, to make thy belly to swell, and thy thigh to rot: And the woman shall say, Amen, amen.”— 5:22
The woman's double 'Amen' is one of the earliest recorded instances of a verbal oath of consent to divine judgment, underscoring that she submits herself willingly to God's verdict rather than to mere human accusation.
People & Places
People
- Moses — Mediator through whom the LORD delivers the laws of purity, restitution, and the jealousy ordeal to Israel.
Places
- The Camp — Israel's wilderness encampment, from which the unclean must be expelled to preserve the holiness of God's dwelling place.
- The Tabernacle — The sanctuary of God's presence, whose floor dust is mixed into the bitter water used in the jealousy trial.
Devotional
Numbers 5 confronts us with an uncomfortable truth: unresolved sin contaminates community life. Whether physical uncleanness, financial dishonesty, or broken trust in marriage, God refuses to let hidden wrongs fester unchecked among His people.
The restitution law in verses 5–10 reminds us that genuine repentance is never abstract — it costs something. Confession must be matched by action. The twenty-percent surcharge teaches that making things right often means giving back more than we took.
The jealousy ordeal, unsettling as it seems, ultimately placed judgment in God's hands rather than in the fury of a suspicious spouse. It points us toward a God who sees what is hidden and who vindicates the innocent.
Literary Style
Legislative discourse delivered as direct divine speech to Moses. The chapter contains three distinct legal units joined by the repeated formula 'And the LORD spake unto Moses.' The jealousy ordeal section (vv. 11–31) is the most elaborate, employing ritualistic repetition, oath formulae, and conditional casuistic law ('if … then') characteristic of ancient Near Eastern trial procedures.