Topical Bible: Priests: Services of Deciding in Cases of Jealousy

◄ Priests: Services of Deciding in Cases of Jealousy ►

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In the ancient Israelite community, priests held a significant role in maintaining the spiritual and social order, acting as intermediaries between God and the people. One of their specific duties was to adjudicate in cases of jealousy, particularly those involving suspicions of marital infidelity. This responsibility is detailed in the Book of Numbers, where the law concerning a spirit of jealousy is outlined.

The primary scriptural reference for this priestly duty is found in Numbers 5:11-31. This passage describes the ritual known as the "ordeal of jealousy," which was designed to address suspicions of adultery when a husband suspected his wife of being unfaithful but lacked evidence. The process was intended to reveal the truth and restore harmony within the marriage, while also upholding the sanctity of the marital covenant.

According to the Berean Standard Bible, the procedure begins with the husband bringing his wife to the priest, along with an offering of barley flour. Numbers 5:15 states, "Then he is to bring his wife to the priest and present an offering on her behalf of a tenth of an ephah of barley flour. He must not pour oil or incense on it, because it is a grain offering for jealousy, a reminder offering to draw attention to iniquity."

The priest then prepares a mixture of holy water and dust from the tabernacle floor, which the woman is required to drink. Numbers 5:17-18 describes this part of the ritual: "The priest shall take holy water in a clay jar and put some dust from the tabernacle floor 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 reminder offering, the grain offering for jealousy, while he himself holds the bitter water that brings a curse."

The priest pronounces a curse that will take effect if the woman is guilty, causing her to suffer physical afflictions. Numbers 5:21-22 records the priest's words: "Then the priest shall have the woman swear under the oath of the curse, and he shall say to her, 'May the LORD make you a curse and an oath among your people by causing your thigh to waste away and your belly to swell. May this water that brings a curse enter your stomach and cause your belly to swell and your thigh to waste away.' And the woman is to say, 'Amen, Amen.'"

If the woman is innocent, the ritual serves to clear her of suspicion, allowing her to return to her husband without stigma. Numbers 5:28 assures, "But if the woman has not defiled herself and is clean, she will be unaffected and able to conceive children."

This ritual underscores the priest's role as a mediator of divine justice, ensuring that accusations of infidelity were handled with both spiritual and communal integrity. The process reflects the seriousness with which marital fidelity was regarded in Israelite society and the priest's duty to uphold God's law in personal and communal matters. The ordeal of jealousy was not merely a legal procedure but a sacred act that sought to reveal truth through divine intervention, emphasizing the belief that God Himself would vindicate the innocent and judge the guilty.

Torrey's Topical Textbook

Numbers 5:14,15
And the spirit of jealousy come on him, and he be jealous of his wife, and she be defiled: or if the spirit of jealousy come on him, and he be jealous of his wife, and she be not defiled:
Torrey's Topical Textbook

Library

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/.../chapter iv the counter-reformation.htm

The Religious Revolution
... Though he encouraged bishops and priests to marry, and ... the temporal goods, and of
deciding legal difficulties ... that in all solemn religious services the place ...
/.../chapter ii the religious revolution.htm