Page 233 - The MacArthur Daily Bible

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MARCH 4
the man shall bring his wife to the priest. He of jealousy comes upon a man, and he becomes
shall bring the offering required for her, one- jealous of his wife; then he shall stand the
tenth of an ephah of barley meal; he shall pour woman before the LORD, and the priest shall
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no oil on it and put no frankincense on it, execute all this law upon her. Then the man
because it is a grain offering of jealousy, an shall be free from iniquity, but that woman
offering for remembering, for bringing iniquity shall bear her guilt.’ ”
to remembrance. Then the LORD spoke to Moses, saying,
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16 ‘And the priest shall bring her near, and set 6 “Speak to the children of Israel, and say to
her before the LORD. The priest shall take them: ‘When either a man or woman conse-
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holy water in an earthen vessel, and take crates an offering to take the vow of a Nazirite,
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some of the dust that is on the floor of the tab- to separate himself to the LORD, he shall sepa-
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ernacle and put it into the water. Then the rate himself from wine and similar drink; he
priest shall stand the woman before the LORD,
uncover the woman’s head, and put the offer-
ing for remembering in her hands, which is the
grain offering of jealousy. And the priest shall 6:2 the vow of a Nazirite. The word “vow”
have in his hand the bitter water that brings a here is related to the word “wonder,” which
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curse. And the priest shall put her under oath, signifies something out of the ordinary.
and say to the woman, “If no man has lain with “Nazirite” transliterates a Hebrew term mean-
you, and if you have not gone astray to ing “dedication by separation.” The Nazirite
uncleanness while under your husband’s au- separated himself to the Lord by separating
thority, be free from this bitter water that himself from 1) grape products (6:3,4), 2) the
brings a curse. But if you have gone astray cutting of one’s hair (6:5), and 3) contact with
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while under your husband’s authority, and if a dead body (6:6,7). The high priest was also
you have defiled yourself and some man other forbidden 1) to drink wine while serving in the
than your husband has lain with you”— then tabernacle (Lev. 10:9) and 2) to touch dead
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the priest shall put the woman under the oath of bodies (Lev. 21:11). Further, both the high
the curse, and he shall say to the woman—“the priest’s crown (Ex. 29:6; 39:30; Lev. 8:9) and the
LORD make you a curse and an oath among Nazirite’s head (6:9,18) are referred to by the
same Hebrew word.The Nazirite’s hair was like
your people, when the LORD makes your thigh the high priest’s crown. Like the high priest,
rot and your belly swell; and may this water the Nazirite was holy to the Lord (6:8; Ex.
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that causes the curse go into your stomach, 28:36) all the days (6:4,5,6,8) of his vow.
and make your belly swell and your thigh rot.”
Then the woman shall say, “Amen, so be it.”
23 ‘Then the priest shall write these curses in shall drink neither vinegar made from wine
a book, and he shall scrape them off into the nor vinegar made from similar drink; neither
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bitter water. And he shall make the woman shall he drink any grape juice, nor eat fresh
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drink the bitter water that brings a curse, and grapes or raisins. All the days of his separa-
the water that brings the curse shall enter her tion he shall eat nothing that is produced by
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to become bitter. Then the priest shall take the grapevine, from seed to skin.
the grain offering of jealousy from the 5 ‘All the days of the vow of his separation no
woman’s hand, shall wave the offering before razor shall come upon his head; until the days
the LORD, and bring it to the altar; and the are fulfilled for which he separated himself to
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priest shall take a handful of the offering, as the LORD, he shall be holy. Then he shall let
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its memorial portion, burn it on the altar, and the locks of the hair of his head grow. All the
afterward make the woman drink the water. days that he separates himself to the LORD he
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27 When he has made her drink the water, then shall not go near a dead body. He shall not
it shall be, if she has defiled herself and make himself unclean even for his father or
behaved unfaithfully toward her husband, that his mother, for his brother or his sister, when
the water that brings a curse will enter her they die, because his separation to God is on
and become bitter, and her belly will swell, her his head. All the days of his separation he
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thigh will rot, and the woman will become a shall be holy to the LORD.
curse among her people. But if the woman 9 ‘And if anyone dies very suddenly beside
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has not defiled herself, and is clean, then she him, and he defiles his consecrated head, then
shall be free and may conceive children. he shall shave his head on the day of his
29 ‘This is the law of jealousy, when a wife, cleansing; on the seventh day he shall shave it.
while under her husband’s authority, goes 10 Then on the eighth day he shall bring two tur-
astray and defiles herself, or when the spirit tledoves or two young pigeons to the priest, to
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