Catholic Commentary on Numbers 30

"When a man makes a vow to the LORD or takes an oath to bind himself by a pledge, he must not break his word but must do everything he said." (Numbers 30:2)

The Law of Vows

God gives the law of vows: When a man makes a vow to the LORD or takes an oath to bind himself by a pledge, he must not break his word but must do everything he said. The chapter addresses the specific case of women's vows in relation to their fathers or husbands: a young woman's vow can be annulled by her father on the day he hears of it, and a wife's vow can be annulled by her husband on the day he hears of it, but only on that day. Silence implies ratification. Any vow not annulled when it is first heard is confirmed.

The theology of the vow reflects the sacred weight of speech directed toward God. The Catechism draws from this the principle of the binding force of vows and promises made to God: they are acts of religion, the deliberate commitment of the person before God, and their faithful keeping is an expression of the virtue of justice owed to God and of the truth owed in all speech (CCC 2101). Religious vows of poverty, chastity, and obedience are the formal continuation of this principle in the new covenant. The breaking of a vow is not merely a moral failure but a form of irreverence toward the God before whom the vow was made.

Living the Word

Brothers and sisters, he must not break his word but must do everything he said. The weight of this principle applies to every promise made: to God in vows, to a spouse in marriage vows, to an employer in a contract, to a friend in a commitment. Your word, given before God, is your bond. Say less and mean all of it.

Prayer

Lord God, you hold us to every word we have spoken before you. Give us the wisdom to make only the vows we will keep, and the faithfulness to keep every vow we have made. Through Christ our Lord. Amen.

30
Laws about Vows
(Matthew 5:33–37)
 
 
1 Then Moses said to the heads of the tribes of Israel, “This is what the LORD has commanded: 2 If a man makes a vow to the LORD or swears an oath to obligate himself by a pledge, he must not break his word; he must do everything he has promised.* 30:2 Cited in Matthew 5:33
 
3 And if a woman in her father’s house during her youth makes a vow to the LORD or obligates herself by a pledge, 4 and her father hears about her vow or pledge but says nothing to her, then all the vows or pledges by which she has bound herself shall stand. 5 But if her father prohibits her on the day he hears about it, then none of the vows or pledges by which she has bound herself shall stand. The LORD will absolve her because her father has prohibited her.
 
6 If a woman marries while under a vow or rash promise by which she has bound herself, 7 and her husband hears of it but says nothing to her on that day, then the vows or pledges by which she has bound herself shall stand. 8 But if her husband prohibits her when he hears of it, he nullifies the vow that binds her or the rash promise she has made, and the LORD will absolve her.
 
9 Every vow a widow or divorced woman pledges to fulfill is binding on her.
 
10 If a woman in her husband’s house has made a vow or put herself under an obligation with an oath, 11 and her husband hears of it but says nothing to her and does not prohibit her, then all the vows or pledges by which she has bound herself shall stand. 12 But if her husband nullifies them on the day he hears of them, then nothing that came from her lips, whether her vows or pledges, shall stand. Her husband has nullified them, and the LORD will absolve her.
 
13 Her husband may confirm or nullify any vow or any sworn pledge to deny herself.† 30:13 Or to fast 14 But if her husband says nothing to her from day to day, then he confirms all the vows and pledges that bind her. He has confirmed them, because he said nothing to her on the day he heard about them. 15 But if he nullifies them after he hears of them, then he will bear her iniquity.”
 
16 These are the statutes that the LORD commanded Moses concerning the relationship between a man and his wife, and between a father and a young daughter still in his home.

*30:2 30:2 Cited in Matthew 5:33

†30:13 30:13 Or to fast

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