Numbers 5:17

Numbers 5:17 in other versions

• King James Version (KJV)And 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:
• New International Version (NIV)Then he shall take some holy water in a clay jar and put some dust from the tabernacle floor into the water.
• English Standard Version (ESV)And the priest shall take holy water in an earthenware vessel and take some of the dust that is on the floor of the tabernacle and put it into the water.
• New King James Version (NKJV)The priest shall take holy water in an earthen vessel, and take some of the dust that is on the floor of the tabernacle and put it into the water.

Context of Numbers 5:17

15“Then he should take his wife to the kohen. He must also bring a tenth of an ephah of barley flour as an offering for her. He is not to pour oil or put incense on it, because it is an offering for jealousy, a reminder offering drawing attention to guiltiness. 16“The kohen is to bring her near and have her stand before Adonai. Then the kohen is to take some holy water in a clay jar and take some dust from the floor of the Tabernacle and put it into the water. 18Then the kohen will have the woman stand before Adonai, loosen the woman’s hair, put into her hands the reminder offering, the offering for jealousy, while in the kohen’s own hands are the bitter waters that bring a curse. 19Then the kohen will have her swear under oath, then say to the woman, ‘If no man other than your husband has slept with you, and if you have not gone astray into impurity from your husband, may this bitter water that brings a curse not harm you.

Numbers 5:17 word by word

וְלָקַ֧ח הַכֹּהֵ֛ן מַ֥יִם קְדֹשִׁ֖ים בִּכְלִי־חָ֑רֶשׂ וּמִן־הֶֽעָפָ֗ר אֲשֶׁ֤ר יִהְיֶה֙ בְּקַרְקַ֣ע הַמִּשְׁכָּ֔ן יִקַּ֥ח הַכֹּהֵ֖ן וְנָתַ֥ן אֶל־הַמָּֽיִם׃Read the interlinear

Words taken from the KJV.

• And the priestכֹּהֵןkôhên · priestH3548
• shall takeלָקַחlâqach · to take: takeH3947
• holyקָדוֹשׁqâdôsh qâdôsh · holyH6918
• waterמַיmayim · waterH4325
• in an earthenחֶ֫רֶשׂchereώ · earthenwareH2789
• vesselכְּלִיkelîy · article/utensilH3627
• and of the dustעָפָר‛âphâr · dustH6083
• that is in the floorקַרְקַעqarqa‛ · floorH7172
• of the tabernacleמִשְׁכָּןmishkân · tabernacleH4908
• and putנָתַןnâthan · to give: putH5414

Cross-references for Numbers 5:17

• Numbers 19:2“This is the statute of the Torah which Adonai commanded saying: Speak to Bnei-Yisrael that they bring to you a flawless red heifer on which there is no blemish and on which has never been a yoke.
• Exodus 30:18“You will also make a basin of bronze with a bronze stand for washing. You are to place it between the Tent of Meeting and the altar and put water in it.
• Job 2:12But when they saw him from a distance they did not recognize him, and they raised their voices and wept. Each one tore his robe and threw dust into the air onto their heads.
• Jeremiah 17:13Adonai, You are the hope of Israel! All who forsake You will be ashamed. Those who depart from You will be written in the dirt, for they have forsaken Adonai, the fountain of living waters.
• Lamentations 3:29Let him put his mouth in the dust— there may yet be hope.
• John 8:6Now they were saying this to trap Him, so that they would have grounds to accuse Him. But Yeshua knelt down and started writing in the dirt with His finger.

Commentaries on Numbers 5:17

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 17Holy water - Water out of the laver, called holy because consecrated to sacred uses. This is the most ancient case of the trial by ordeal. See at Numbers 5:31; (note). In an earthen vessel - Supposed by the Jews to be such as had never been previously used. Dust that is in the floor - Probably intended to point out the baseness of the crime of which she was accused.Read the comment
• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 11-31Verses 11-31 The trial of jealousy. Since the crime of adultery is especially defiling and destructive of the very foundations of social order, the whole subject is dealt with at a length proportionate to its importance. The process prescribed has lately been strikingly illustrated from an Egyptian “romance,” which refers to the time of Rameses the Great, and may therefore well serve to illustrate the manners and customs of the Mosaic times. This mode of…Read the comment
• Matthew Henry Concise Commentary · v. 11-31Verses 11-31 This law would make the women of Israel watch against giving cause for suspicion. On the other hand, it would hinder the cruel treatment such suspicions might occasion. It would also hinder the guilty from escaping, and the innocent from coming under just suspicion. When no proof could be brought, the wife was called on to make this solemn appeal to a heart-searching God. No woman, if she were guilty, could say "Amen" to the adjuration, and…Read the comment
• Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 17The holy water and the dust were sacred because of their association with the sanctuary.Read the comment
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 17-1817-18. the priest shall take holy water--Water from the laver, which was to be mixed with dust--an emblem of vileness and misery (Ge 3:14; Psa 22:15). in an earthen vessel--This fragile ware was chosen because, after being used, it was broken in pieces (Le 6:28; 11:33). All the circumstances of this awful ceremony--her being placed with her face toward the ark--her uncovered head, a sign of her being deprived of the protection of her husband (1Co…Read the comment

Topics related to Numbers 5:17

• Adultery
• Husband
• Jealousy
• Priest
• Self-Incrimination
• Wife
• Women

In the dictionaries

• Adultery
• Close
• Conceive
• Cross
• Curse
• Jealousy, Waters of
• Recompense
• Sinai
• Water of jealousy
• Alexander

Commentaries on Numbers 5

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary
• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
• Matthew Henry Concise Commentary
• Tyndale Open Study Notes
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary
• Rashi on Tanakh
• Calvin’s Commentaries
• Keil & Delitzsch Commentary
• John Wesley’s Notes
• Darby Translation Notes
• Geneva Bible Translation Notes
• Kingcomments
• Matthew Henry’s Complete Commentary
• Matthew Henry’s Modern English Commentary
• Original Douay–Rheims Annotations
• Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary