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Numbers 5:23-28 meaning

Numbers 5:23-28 contain additional activities that needed to happen prior to the woman drinking the water.

After the woman suspected of adultery had accepted the curse uttered by the priest (in verses 21-22), the priest was then instructed to do the following:

Write these curses on a scroll (v. 23). The “scroll” would contain the curses that would apply to any woman who was guilty.
- It could be that Jesus had this provision in mind when He wrote in the dust after the adulterous woman was brought to Him, writing the curses in the dust (John 8:6). Just as dust would forget these curses, so would Jesus’ forgiveness wipe away the sins of the woman.
Wash them off into the water of bitterness. The picture is that the ink used to write the curses on the scroll are washed off and placed into a jar with the “water of bitterness.”
Make the woman drink the water of bitterness that brings a curse, so that the water which brings a curse will go into her and cause bitterness (v. 24). Not only did the woman hear the curses, she had to take them internally. Symbolically, the curses would become a part of her body. If she was guilty, the “curses” would activate trauma in her body.

When Moses shattered the tablets upon which the Ten Commandments were written, and ground the golden calf into dust, mixed it with water then made the people drink it, it might picture this ceremony of jealousy, where God creates consequences for unfaithfulness, but also restores fellowship between Himself as the husband of Israel, and Israel as His wife (Exodus 32:20).

The next part of the process was the giving of an offering to the LORD. Here, the priest shall take the grain offering of jealousy from the woman’s hand, and he shall wave the grain offering before the Lord and bring it to the altar (v. 25). In addition to waving the offering, the priest shall take a handful of the grain offering as its memorial offering and offer it up in smoke on the altar (v. 26).

Then, the priest made the woman drink the water. This states that the grain offering was to be offered first, and then the woman was to drink the water.

Verses 27-28 repeat what was said earlier in verse 23. It was stated again that when the priest made her drink the water, then it shall come about, if she has defiled herself and has been unfaithful to her husband, that the water which brings a curse will go into her and cause bitterness, and her abdomen will swell and her thigh will waste away, and the woman will become a curse among her people (v. 27). If the woman was guilty, the water would cause a severe physical reaction

Again, the LORD will cause the water to interact with her body in such a way as to make it obvious that she was guilty of adultery. Note also that capital punishment was not involved in this situation as it was when both adulterous partners were known (Leviticus 20:10).

The other outcome was described again in verse 28. Here, it was described when the woman has not defiled herself and is clean, she will then be free and conceive children (v. 28). If the woman was innocent, there would be no consequences from drinking the water.

This ceremony reflects several principles found throughout scripture. One not previously mentioned is to bring difficulties before the Lord. In this instance, God is taking on the responsibility of suspicion. By submitting to this ceremony, the husband is releasing any right he might claim to judge his wife. He should be releasing bitterness, and allowing God to deal with the situation. This principle is throughout scripture, as in the New Testament verse that tells believers that we should be:

“…casting all your care upon Him, for He cares for you”
(1 Peter 5:7)

It is also a way to exercise the core principle of the Lord’s prayer, which is to forgive others as God forgives us (see commentary on Matthew 6:9-15 ). In making this provision, God is providing a way for a struggling couple to allow God’s forgiveness to heal their marriage.

However, forgiving others means handing judgement from our hands into God’s. And God makes clear that He will judge sin. God has judged all the sins of the world on the cross of Christ, making it possible for anyone who receives the free gift of God’s grace to become a child of God (John 3:14-16; Ephesians 2:8-9). However, even though Jesus’ death on the cross heals our separation from God, sin still has consequences. We still die, because of sin. And anyone who sins will experience the consequence of sin. The consequence of sin always includes some form of death (Romans 6:23). Death is separation. In this case, if the woman is guilty, she will be separated from her desire to bear children. However, the couple is to leave that in the hands of God. The husband is to release his judgement to God, and the woman is to trust that God will be just to her.

Biblical Text

²³‘The priest shall then write these curses on a scroll, and he shall wash them off into the water of bitterness. ²⁴Then he shall make the woman drink the water of bitterness that brings a curse, so that the water which brings a curse will go into her and cause bitterness. ²⁵The priest shall take the grain offering of jealousy from the woman’s hand, and he shall wave the grain offering before the Lord and bring it to the altar; ²⁶and the priest shall take a handful of the grain offering as its memorial offering and offer it up in smoke on the altar, and afterward he shall make the woman drink the water. ²⁷When he has made her drink the water, then it shall come about, if she has defiled herself and has been unfaithful to her husband, that the water which brings a curse will go into her and cause bitterness, and her abdomen will swell and her thigh will waste away, and the woman will become a curse among her people. ²⁸But if the woman has not defiled herself and is clean, she will then be free and conceive children.

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Additional Resources

Book Theme

The book of Numbers is the fourth of the five books of Moses that comprise the Torah, which means “Law.” It gets its English name from the Greek Old Testament called the Septuagint (or LXX). The LXX named this book, “Arithmoi,” meaning “Numbers.” Its Hebrew name means “in the desert” or “in the wilderness.” Both names are appropriate. The Hebrew name is appropriate because Numbers covers the Israelites’ wanderings in the wilderness (or “desert”) from Sinai to the plains of Moab. The Greek name is also appropriate because of the many lists, and the numbers within those lists.

At the beginning of the book, the Israelites had been camped at Mount Sinai for about a year. The book of Exodus covered their escape from Egypt and their journey to Sinai. The LORD commanded Moses to organize the people in preparation to leave Sinai and go to the Promised Land. The book covers around 38 years of the Israelites’ journey from Egypt to the Promised Land, and describes many of Israel’s failures, including mutinies against Moses and outright disobedience to the word of the LORD. In Numbers, the LORD declares that the generation that left Egypt would die in the wilderness due to their disobedience. Only two, Joshua and Caleb, were allowed to enter the Promised Land, due to their faithfulness. Even Moses died without entering the Land due to disobedience.

The book of Numbers can be outlined in many ways. The most general outline involves the generation that leaves Egypt and the one after it, as seen below:
• Events Involving the Exodus Generation (Num. 1 – 25)
• Events Involving the Second Generation (Num. 26 – 36)

Another outline sees the book having three major divisions based on the major encampments of the Israelites:
• Israel at Sinai (Num. 1:1 – 10:10)
• Israel at Kadesh Barnea (Num. 10:11 – 19:22)
• Israel on the Plains of Moab (Num. 20:1 – 36:13)

Still another outline (the one followed here) is as follows:
• The Exodus Generation in the Wilderness (chaps. 1 – 25)
◦ The Israelites Prepare to Leave Mount Sinai (1:1 – 10:10)
◦ The Israelites Depart to Kadesh Barnea (10:11 – 14:45)
◦ The Israelites Journey to the Plains of Moab (15:1 – 22:1)
◦ The Israelites Are Confronted by Balaam the Prophet (22:2 – 25:18)
• The Second Generation Prepares to Enter the Promised Land (26:1 – 36:13)
◦ The Rules Concerning Inheritance (Num. 26:1 – 27:11)
◦ The Provision for Moses’ Successor (Num. 27:12 – 23)
◦ The Laws Concerning Offerings (Num. 28:1 – 29:40)
◦ The Laws Concerning Vows (Num. 30:1 –16)
◦ The LORD’s Judgment Against the Midianites (Num. 31:1 – 54)
◦ The Inheritance of the Eastern Tribes (Num. 32:1 – 42)
◦ The Review of the Journey to Canaan (Num. 33:1 – 56)
◦ The LORD’s Instructions Before Conquering Canaan (Num. 33:50 – 36:13)

There are two themes that flow from the book of Numbers. The first concerns the LORD’s infinite grace in light of the people’s many failures and transgressions. There is hardly a book in the Bible where the LORD had to exercise His grace to His people more often than this one. The book of Numbers contains a record of Israel’s failure after failure and the LORD’s gracious forgiveness after forgiveness. Even when He judged them, there was grace.

Second, and related to the first, the book stresses the importance of obedience. God chose the Israelites unconditionally; they were the LORD’s chosen people regardless of their behavior. However, He demanded obedience to show His people that their obedience results in blessing. God set forth a way of life for His people in the covenant He and the people entered into at Sinai (Exodus 19:5-8). The Ten Commandments made it clear that God would make the law, and that the pinnacle requirement of His law was for the people to respect and serve one another. The strong were to serve the weak. This was in stark contrast to the surrounding cultures, which centered around the strong exploiting the weak (Leviticus 18). God’s judgment brought discipline upon Israel in order to shepherd them toward living in harmony and service to one another.

Chapter Context

The first four chapters of the book of Numbers focused on organizing the tribes around the tabernacle, providing for a military force to defend the people, and dealing with the needs of transporting the tabernacle.

Numbers 5 begins a new extended section of the book that continues through chapter 9. This section contains commands from the LORD as well as rituals to be observed as the Israelites prepare to leave Mount Sinai and enter the Promised Land.

Chapters 5-6 concentrate on the need for holiness among the people. This included personal, physical holiness as well as holiness in interpersonal relationships. Holiness means to be separated from the world’s ways by following the commands of God. The surrounding cultures were full of exploitation (Leviticus 18). God’s people were to love others as they loved themselves (Leviticus 19:18). Being holy to the Lord meant serving and helping others, such that the community could thrive and prosper, both materially as well as spiritually.

Numbers 5 can be outlined as follows:

Dealing with the Ceremonially Unclean (Numbers 5:1-4)
Dealing with Paying for Personal Wrongdoing (Numbers 5:5-10)
Dealing with Adultery (Numbers 5:11-31)
- The Suspicion of Adultery (Numbers 5:11-15)
- The Water of Bitterness (Numbers 5:16-22)
- The Ritual of the Law of Jealousy (Numbers 5:23-28)
- The Summary of the Law of Jealousy (Numbers 5:29-31)

The “law of jealousy” provided a means to provide relief for an innocent woman suspected of adultery. This would protect women from the abuse of suspicion, and properly turn over judgement of sin to the hand of God. The building block of a self-governing society is the family, which begins with marriages. This ceremony allows for truth and justice to create relational harmony.

Numbers 5:23-28 meaning

Check out our other commentaries:

Exodus 6:28-30 meaning

Zechariah 9:11-13 meaning

1 Samuel 17:50-58 meaning

Matthew 10:16 meaning

Galatians 1:3-5 meaning

Additional Resources

Book Theme

Chapter Context

Maps and Charts

Videos

The Bible Project - Numbers Summary

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