Tyndale Open Study NotesNumbers 30

Vows were an important way to show devotion or piety. But people sometimes made them quickly and forgot them. People often made voluntary pledges during special religious events or in times of war. The mention of vows and voluntary offerings might have led to further discussion here (29:39; compare 15:3; see also 6:1–21; Leviticus 5:4–5; 27:1–34; Deuteronomy 23:21–23).

These instructions applied to Hannah and Elkanah (1 Samuel 1:1–28). Such practices, including fasting, continued into the New Testament period (for example, Matthew 6:16; 15:3–9; Acts 18:18; 21:23). Vows made by females needed approval from the responsible male who would share financial responsibility for the vow. This applied to young and unmarried or adult and married women. No one, male or female, young or old, should make a vow to God and then ignore it.

Vows included promises to give offerings, like Hannah's vow in 1 Samuel 1. It included pledges to abstain from certain things, like the Nazirite vow in Numbers 6. Jesus mentioned the teachings about vows in the Sermon on the Mount in Matthew 5:33.

A young woman was under her father's authority. He was responsible for her actions and financial obligations.

When a young Hebrew woman married, her husband gained authority over her. He could cancel any vow or pledge she made while under her father's authority. This was only true if he canceled it as soon as he heard about it.

A widow or divorced woman usually returned to her father's family (Leviticus 22:13). Yet, a mature single woman who made a vow or pledge had to fulfill her religious duties.

A married woman needed her husband's approval to make vows and pledges. Her husband could cancel her religious promise. But he had to decide on the day he heard about it. God did not blame the married woman for breaking the promise if her husband canceled it correctly (compare 30:5, 8, 12).

The self-denial mentioned in 30:13 probably refers to fasting. If he did not object, the husband's silence meant he agreed. He could not delay his objection, or he would be guilty of a broken vow (compare Leviticus 5:4–13).