NúmerosCapítulo 5

Este capítulo aún no está disponible en español — se muestra el texto original.

+ Texto secundario Texto original ← Anterior Siguiente →Contribuir

The LORD said to Moses:

"Command the Israelites to send out of the camp everyone with a skin disease, everyone with a discharge, and everyone who is unclean through contact with a dead body.

Send away male and female alike; send them outside the camp, so that they do not defile their camp, where I dwell among them."

So the Israelites did this and sent them outside the camp. Just as the LORD had said to Moses, so the Israelites did.

The LORD said to Moses:

"Say to the Israelites: When a man or a woman commits any sin against another person, thereby breaking faith with the LORD, that person is guilty.

They must confess the sin they have committed. The guilty one shall make full restitution, adding a fifth of its value to it, and give it to the one who was wronged.

But if the wronged person has no close relative to receive the restitution, it belongs to the LORD and shall be given to the priest, along with the ram of atonement by which atonement is made for the guilty one.

Every contribution from all the holy gifts that the Israelites bring to the priest belongs to him.

Each person's holy gifts are his own, but whatever he gives to the priest belongs to the priest."

The LORD said to Moses:

"Speak to the Israelites and say to them: If a man's wife goes astray and is unfaithful to him,

if another man sleeps with her and it is hidden from her husband—she has defiled herself in secret, with no witness against her, and she was not caught in the act—

and if a spirit of jealousy comes over the husband and he suspects his wife, whether she has defiled herself or not—

then the man shall bring his wife to the priest. He shall also bring on her behalf an offering of a tenth of an ephah of barley flour.* He must not pour oil on it or put frankincense on it, because it is a grain offering for jealousy, a grain offering of remembrance that brings sin to mind. [*footnote: About 3.5 pounds, or 1.6 kilograms.]

The priest shall bring her forward and have her stand before the LORD.

Then the priest shall take holy water in a clay jar, and take some of the dust from the floor of the tabernacle and put it into the water.

After the priest has had the woman stand before the LORD, he shall loosen her hair and place in her hands the grain offering of remembrance, the grain offering for jealousy, while he himself holds the bitter water that brings a curse.

Then the priest shall put her under oath and say to her: 'If no man has slept with you and you have not gone astray into impurity while under your husband's authority, may you be free from this bitter water that brings a curse.

But if you have gone astray while under your husband's authority and have defiled yourself by sleeping with a man other than your husband'—

here the priest shall put the woman under this oath of cursing—'may the LORD make you a curse and a byword among your people, making your womb miscarry and your belly swell.

May this water that brings a curse enter your body, so that your belly swells and your womb miscarries.' And the woman shall say, 'Amen. Amen.'

Then the priest shall write these curses on a scroll and wash them off into the bitter water.

He shall have the woman drink the bitter water that brings a curse, and this water will enter her and cause bitter suffering.

The priest shall take the grain offering for jealousy from her hand, wave it before the LORD, and bring it to the altar.

He shall take a handful of the grain offering as its memorial portion and burn it on the altar; after that, he shall have the woman drink the water.

When he has made her drink the water, then if she has defiled herself and been unfaithful to her husband, the water that brings a curse will enter her and cause bitter suffering; her belly will swell and her womb will miscarry, and she will become a curse among her people.

But if the woman has not defiled herself and is clean, she will be cleared of guilt and will be able to bear children.

This, then, is the law for jealousy, when a wife goes astray and defiles herself while under her husband's authority,

or when a spirit of jealousy comes over a man and he suspects his wife. The priest shall have her stand before the LORD and carry out this entire law for her.

The husband will be free from guilt, but the woman will bear the consequences of her sin."

Consulta

Resumen2

Capítulo 5

Main Theme: The chapter deals with purity in the camp and procedures for handling sin and suspicion of adultery.

Content: God commands that anyone with a skin disease, a discharge, or who has touched a dead body must be sent outside the camp to preserve its holiness where He dwells. Furthermore, rules are given for making restitution when someone sins against another: the guilty party must confess, pay full compensation plus one-fifth—and if no relative is available, the compensation goes to the priest along with a ram of atonement. The chapter concludes with the "trial of bitter water" for a woman suspected of adultery, where she is brought before the Lord and must drink "the bitter water"—holy water mixed with dust from the tabernacle floor and words of curse washed off a scroll—which will reveal guilt or innocence.

Key Words/Images:

Purity in the Camp: The unclean must be sent out because God dwells in the midst of the camp, and uncleanness is incompatible with His holiness.
Confession and Restitution: Sin requires both open confession and full restoration plus one-fifth to the wronged party or to the priest.
The Bitter Water (מֵי הַמָּרִים): A divine test in which the water reveals the truth when human witnesses are lacking.
Standing Before the Lord: The woman is brought before the Lord with her hair loosened, emphasizing that God Himself is the judge in this matter.

Contexto histórico

Historical and Cultural Context for Numbers 5

Events and Customs

Expulsion of the Unclean from the Camp (vv. 1–4)

The chapter begins with the command to send out persons with skin diseases (צָרוּעַ, tsarua), those with a discharge (זָב, zav), and those who had become unclean through contact with dead bodies. This reflects the Israelite understanding of the camp as a holy space where God "dwells among them" (v. 3). The purity requirements were not primarily hygienic but theological—uncleanness and holiness could not exist side by side. Similar concepts of sacred zones with stricter purity regulations are found in Mesopotamian temple complexes.

The Ritual for the Suspected Wife – Sotah (vv. 11–31)

This ritual, known in rabbinic tradition as the sotah ritual, is an ordeal (a divine judgment) where the outcome is left to divine intervention. A man who suspects his wife of adultery but lacks proof brings her to the priest. The ritual involves "bitter water" (מֵי הַמָּרִים, mei ha-marim) mixed with dust from the tabernacle floor and ink from the curses written on a scroll. Ordeals were common in the ancient Near East; Hammurabi’s law code (§132) prescribed an ordeal by river for women accused of adultery—the woman was thrown into the river, and if she survived, she was declared innocent. The Israelite ritual is notably milder and leaves judgment entirely to God.

Restitution and Guilt Offering (vv. 5–10)

The laws concerning restitution in cases of fraud include full repayment plus one-fifth. If the wronged party is dead and has no redeemer (גֹּאֵל, goel), the restitution goes to the priest. The term goel refers to a close relative responsible for protecting the family’s interests—the same institution that later plays a central role in the book of Ruth.

Key Terms

מַעַל (ma'al) – "treachery" or "breach of faith," used both for sin against God (v. 6) and marital unfaithfulness (vv. 12, 27). The word implies a breach of trust within a covenant relationship.

רוּחַ קִנְאָה (ruach qin'ah) – "the spirit of jealousy" (vv. 14, 30). This expression describes the husband’s intense suspicion, whether justified or not. The ritual addresses both possibilities and provides a resolution when the accusation can neither be proven nor disproven.

מִנְחַת קְנָאֹת (minchat qena'ot) – "the grain offering for jealousy" (vv. 15, 18). The offering of barley flour without oil or incense was unusual. The absence of these ingredients marked this as a mourning or trial offering rather than an offering of joy.

אָמֵן אָמֵן (amen amen) – The woman’s double "amen" (v. 22) is her consent to submit to divine judgment. This is one of the earliest occurrences of "amen" used as a confirmation in a liturgical context.

Personas1

Moses3

Ver todo: personas →

Palabras clave8

Purification — The process of removing impurities, both physical and spiritual, in accordance with God's commands.
Sin — An action or thought that breaks God's laws and moral standards.
Offering — A gift to God, often an animal, as a way to show devotion, gratitude, or atonement.
Priest — A religious leader who performs ceremonies and rituals in service to God and the people.
Oath — A solemn promise or vow made by a person to confirm truthfulness or fulfill an obligation.
Guilt — The feeling of having done something wrong, or the actual responsibility for committing a sin.
Restoration — The act of correcting a past mistake, harm, or injustice, often by providing compensation.
Tithe — A portion, usually one-tenth, of one's harvest or income given to God or the priesthood as an expression of thanks and support.