Reference: Vows
Easton
voluntary promises which, when once made, were to be kept if the thing vowed was right. They were made under a great variety of circumstances (Ge 28:1; 18-22; Le 7:16; Nu 30:2-13; De 23:18; Jg 11:30,39; 1Sa 1:11; Jon 1:16; Ac 18:18; 21:23).
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Then Isaac called Jacob and blessed him and charged him, saying, Thou shalt not take a wife of the daughters of Canaan.
But if the sacrifice of his offering is a vow, or voluntary, it shall be eaten the same day that he offers his sacrifice; and that which is left of it shall be eaten the next day;
When a man vows a vow unto the LORD or swears an oath to bind his soul with a bond, he shall not defile his word: he shall do according to all that proceeded out of his mouth. But the woman, when she shall vow a vow unto the LORD and bind herself by a bond, being in her father's house in her youth, read more. and her father hears her vow and her bond with which she has bound her soul, and her father shall remain silent regarding it, then all her promises shall stand, and every bond with which she has bound her soul shall stand. But if her father disallows her in the day that he hears all of her vows and of her bonds with which she has bound her soul, they shall not stand, and the LORD shall forgive her, because her father disallowed her. But if she had at all a husband when she vowed or pronounced anything out of her lips, with which she bound her soul, if her husband heard it and remained silent regarding it in the day that he heard it, then her vows shall stand, and her bonds with which she bound her soul shall stand. But if her husband disallowed her on the day that he heard it, then her vow which she vowed and that which she pronounced with her lips, with which she bound her soul, shall be of no effect, and the LORD shall forgive her. But every vow of a widow and of her that is divorced, with which they have bound their souls, shall stand. And if she vowed in her husband's house or bound her soul by a bond with an oath; if her husband heard it and remained silent regarding it and did not disallow her, then all her vows shall stand, and every bond with which she bound her soul shall stand. But if her husband has utterly made them void on the day he heard them, then whatever proceeded out of her lips concerning her vows or concerning the bond of her soul, shall not stand; her husband has made them void, and the LORD shall forgive her. Every vow and every binding oath to afflict the soul, her husband may establish it, or her husband may make it void.
Thou shalt not bring the hire of a whore, or the price of a dog, into the house of the LORD thy God for any vow; for even both these are abomination unto the LORD thy God.
And Jephthah vowed a vow unto the LORD and said, If thou shalt without fail deliver the sons of Ammon into my hands,
And it came to pass at the end of two months that she returned unto her father, who did with her according to his vow which he had vowed. And she had never known a man. From here came the custom in Israel
Then the men feared the LORD exceedingly and offered a sacrifice unto the LORD and made vows.
And Paul after this tarried there yet a good while and then took his leave of the brethren and sailed from there into Syria and with him Priscilla and Aquila, having shorn his head in Cenchrea, for he had a vow.
Do therefore this that we say to thee: We have four men among us who have a vow on them;
Hastings
In common with most peoples of the ancient world, the making of vows was of frequent occurrence among the Israelites. The underlying idea in making a vow was to propitiate the Deity; this was done either by promising to do something for Him, or to please Him by the exercise of self-denial. Vows were made from a variety of motives: Jacob vows a vow according to which he will please Jahweh by becoming His worshipper, on condition that Jahweh will keep him safe during his journey and give him food and raiment (Ge 28:20-22). Jephthah vows to offer to Jahweh the first person he sees coming out of his house on his return from battle, provided he is victorious (Jg 11:30-31). Hannah vows that if Jahweh gives her a son, she will dedicate him to the service of God (1Sa 1:11). These cases are typical: in each something is promised to God, on condition that God will do something for him who makes the vow. But there was another class of vows which were of a more disinterested character; the most striking here would be the Nazirite vow, according to which a man undertook to lead a strenuously austere life, which was supposed to approximate to the simple life of the patriarchs; that was done out of protest against the current mode of life, which had been largely adopted from the Canaanites; indeed, the Nazirite vow implied, and was intended to be, a life of greater loyalty to Jahweh.
There are two words in Hebrew for a vow
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And Jacob vowed a vow, saying, If God will be with me and will keep me in this way that I go and will give me bread to eat and clothing to put on so that I come again to my father's house in peace, then shall the LORD be my God; read more. and this stone, which I have set for a pillar, shall be God's house; and of all that thou shalt give me I will surely give the tenth part unto thee.
Pharaoh also said, Behold, the people of the land now are many, and ye make them cease from their burdens.
But the firstborn of the animals, which because it is firstborn belongs to the LORD, no one shall sanctify it; whether it is ox or sheep, it is the LORD's. And if it is of an unclean beast, it shall be ransomed according to thy estimation, and they shall add a fifth part unto it; or if it is not redeemed, then it shall be sold according to thy estimation. read more. But no anathema, that anyone shall devote unto the LORD of all that they have of men and animals and of the fields of his possession, shall be sold or redeemed. All anathema is most holy unto the LORD. Any anathema of men which is devoted shall not be ransomed, but shall surely be put to death.
And Moses spoke unto the princes of the tribes concerning the sons of Israel, saying, This is the thing which the LORD has commanded. When a man vows a vow unto the LORD or swears an oath to bind his soul with a bond, he shall not defile his word: he shall do according to all that proceeded out of his mouth.
When a man vows a vow unto the LORD or swears an oath to bind his soul with a bond, he shall not defile his word: he shall do according to all that proceeded out of his mouth.
When a man vows a vow unto the LORD or swears an oath to bind his soul with a bond, he shall not defile his word: he shall do according to all that proceeded out of his mouth. But the woman, when she shall vow a vow unto the LORD and bind herself by a bond, being in her father's house in her youth, read more. and her father hears her vow and her bond with which she has bound her soul, and her father shall remain silent regarding it, then all her promises shall stand, and every bond with which she has bound her soul shall stand. But if her father disallows her in the day that he hears all of her vows and of her bonds with which she has bound her soul, they shall not stand, and the LORD shall forgive her, because her father disallowed her. But if she had at all a husband when she vowed or pronounced anything out of her lips, with which she bound her soul, if her husband heard it and remained silent regarding it in the day that he heard it, then her vows shall stand, and her bonds with which she bound her soul shall stand. But if her husband disallowed her on the day that he heard it, then her vow which she vowed and that which she pronounced with her lips, with which she bound her soul, shall be of no effect, and the LORD shall forgive her.
When thou shalt vow a vow unto the LORD thy God, thou shalt not delay to pay it; for the LORD thy God will surely require it of thee; and it would be sin in thee. But if thou shalt forbear to vow, it shall not be sin in thee. read more. That which is gone out of thy lips thou shalt keep and perform, that which thou hast promised unto the LORD thy God, that which thou hast spoken of thy free will with thy mouth.
And Jephthah vowed a vow unto the LORD and said, If thou shalt without fail deliver the sons of Ammon into my hands, whoever comes forth of the doors of my house to meet me when I return in peace from the sons of Ammon shall surely be the LORD's, and I will offer them up for a burnt offering.
And it came to pass, when he saw her, that he rent his clothes and said, Alas, my daughter! thou hast brought me very low, and thou art one of those that trouble me, for I have opened my mouth unto the LORD, and I cannot go back.
and she vowed a vow and said, O LORD of the hosts, if thou wilt indeed look on the affliction of thy handmaid and remember me and not forget thy handmaid but wilt give unto thy handmaid a man child, then I will give him unto the LORD all the days of his life, and no razor shall come upon his head.
It is a snare unto man to devour that which is holy and afterward to reconsider his vows.
But cursed be the deceiver, who has in his flock a male and vows and sacrifices unto the Lord a corrupt thing: for I am a great King, saith the LORD of the hosts, and my name is formidable among the Gentiles.
But ye say, Whosoever shall say to his father or his mother, Whatever I might have helped thee with is already my offering unto God,
And he also said unto them, Full well ye reject the commandment of God, that ye may keep your own tradition.
Morish
The Israelites were not told to make vows, but if they voluntarily made them, God said they must conscientiously perform them. Man is ever ready to boast of his strength, not being conscious of his own weakness. Israel, on hearing the law, did not hesitate to say, "all that the Lord hath said we will do;" but they alas, miserably failed. The law made vows binding, and gave directions as to exceptional cases where it was impossible to perform them. Nu 30:2-14; De 23:21-23; Ps. 1:14; Ec 5:4-5; Na 1:15; etc.
The only instances of vows in the N.T. are those of Paul (or Aquila, as some judge) at Cenchrea, which is shrouded in mystery, and the four men at Jerusalem. Ac 18:18; 21:23. These were probably the vows of Nazariteship, by the head being shaven. According to the law the final shaving must be at the tabernacle or temple. Nu 6:18.
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Then the Nazarite shall shave the head of their Nazariteship at the door of the tabernacle of the testimony and shall take the hair of the head of their Nazariteship and put it upon the fire which is under the sacrifice of the peace.
When a man vows a vow unto the LORD or swears an oath to bind his soul with a bond, he shall not defile his word: he shall do according to all that proceeded out of his mouth. But the woman, when she shall vow a vow unto the LORD and bind herself by a bond, being in her father's house in her youth, read more. and her father hears her vow and her bond with which she has bound her soul, and her father shall remain silent regarding it, then all her promises shall stand, and every bond with which she has bound her soul shall stand. But if her father disallows her in the day that he hears all of her vows and of her bonds with which she has bound her soul, they shall not stand, and the LORD shall forgive her, because her father disallowed her. But if she had at all a husband when she vowed or pronounced anything out of her lips, with which she bound her soul, if her husband heard it and remained silent regarding it in the day that he heard it, then her vows shall stand, and her bonds with which she bound her soul shall stand. But if her husband disallowed her on the day that he heard it, then her vow which she vowed and that which she pronounced with her lips, with which she bound her soul, shall be of no effect, and the LORD shall forgive her. But every vow of a widow and of her that is divorced, with which they have bound their souls, shall stand. And if she vowed in her husband's house or bound her soul by a bond with an oath; if her husband heard it and remained silent regarding it and did not disallow her, then all her vows shall stand, and every bond with which she bound her soul shall stand. But if her husband has utterly made them void on the day he heard them, then whatever proceeded out of her lips concerning her vows or concerning the bond of her soul, shall not stand; her husband has made them void, and the LORD shall forgive her. Every vow and every binding oath to afflict the soul, her husband may establish it, or her husband may make it void. But if her husband remained silent regarding this from day to day; then he establishes all her vows or all her bonds, which are upon her; he confirms them because he remained silent regarding this in the day that he heard them.
When thou shalt vow a vow unto the LORD thy God, thou shalt not delay to pay it; for the LORD thy God will surely require it of thee; and it would be sin in thee. But if thou shalt forbear to vow, it shall not be sin in thee. read more. That which is gone out of thy lips thou shalt keep and perform, that which thou hast promised unto the LORD thy God, that which thou hast spoken of thy free will with thy mouth.
When thou dost vow a vow unto God, do not defer to pay it; for he has no pleasure in fools; pay that which thou hast vowed. It is better that thou should not vow than that thou should vow and not pay.
Behold upon the mountains the feet of him that brings good tidings, of him that publishes peace! O Judah, keep thy solemn feasts, perform thy vows; for Belial shall no longer pass through thee; he is utterly cut off.
And Paul after this tarried there yet a good while and then took his leave of the brethren and sailed from there into Syria and with him Priscilla and Aquila, having shorn his head in Cenchrea, for he had a vow.
Do therefore this that we say to thee: We have four men among us who have a vow on them;
Smith
Vows.
A vow is a solemn promise made to God to perform or to abstain from performing a certain thing. The earliest mention of a vow is that of Jacob.
Vows in general are also mentioned in the book of Job,
The law therefore did not introduce, but regulated the practice of, vows. Three sorts are mentioned: 1, vows of devotion; 2, vows of abstinence; 3, vows of destruction.
1. As to vows of devotion, the following rules are laid down: A man might devote to sacred uses possessions or persons, but not the first-born of either man or beast, which was devoted already.
(a) If he vowed land, he might either redeem it or not Levi 25,27. (b) Animals fit for sacrifice if devoted, were not to be redeemed or changed,
persons devoted stood thus: devote either himself, his child (not the first-born) or his slave. If no redemption took place, the devoted person became a slave of the sanctuary: see the case of Absalom.
Otherwise he might be redeemed at a valuation according to age and sex, on the scale given in
Among general regulations affecting vows the following may be mentioned: (1) Vows were entirely voluntary but once made were regarded as compulsory.
(2) If persons In a dependent condition made vows as (a) an unmarried daughter living in her father's house, or (b) a wife, even if she afterward became a widow the vow, if (a) in the first case her father, or (b) in the second her husband, heard and disallowed it, was void; but,if they heard without disallowance, it was to remain good.
(3) Votive offerings arising from the produce of any impure traffic were wholly forbidden.
De 23:18
2. For vows of abstinence, see CORBAN.
See Corban
3. For vows of extermination ANATHEMA and
See Anathema
It seems that the practice of shaving the head at the expiration of a votive period was not limited to the Nazaritic vow.
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And Jacob rose up early in the morning and took the stone that he had put for his pillows and set it up for a pillar and poured oil upon the top of it. And he called the name of that place Bethel, since the name of that city was called Luz at first. read more. And Jacob vowed a vow, saying, If God will be with me and will keep me in this way that I go and will give me bread to eat and clothing to put on so that I come again to my father's house in peace, then shall the LORD be my God; and this stone, which I have set for a pillar, shall be God's house; and of all that thou shalt give me I will surely give the tenth part unto thee.
I am the God of Bethel, where thou didst anoint the pillar and where thou didst vow a vow unto me. Now arise, go out from this land and return unto the land of thy nature.
And if it is an animal which is offered unto the LORD, all that anyone gives of such unto the LORD shall be holy.
But no anathema, that anyone shall devote unto the LORD of all that they have of men and animals and of the fields of his possession, shall be sold or redeemed. All anathema is most holy unto the LORD.
When a man vows a vow unto the LORD or swears an oath to bind his soul with a bond, he shall not defile his word: he shall do according to all that proceeded out of his mouth. But the woman, when she shall vow a vow unto the LORD and bind herself by a bond, being in her father's house in her youth, read more. and her father hears her vow and her bond with which she has bound her soul, and her father shall remain silent regarding it, then all her promises shall stand, and every bond with which she has bound her soul shall stand. But if her father disallows her in the day that he hears all of her vows and of her bonds with which she has bound her soul, they shall not stand, and the LORD shall forgive her, because her father disallowed her. But if she had at all a husband when she vowed or pronounced anything out of her lips, with which she bound her soul, if her husband heard it and remained silent regarding it in the day that he heard it, then her vows shall stand, and her bonds with which she bound her soul shall stand. But if her husband disallowed her on the day that he heard it, then her vow which she vowed and that which she pronounced with her lips, with which she bound her soul, shall be of no effect, and the LORD shall forgive her. But every vow of a widow and of her that is divorced, with which they have bound their souls, shall stand. And if she vowed in her husband's house or bound her soul by a bond with an oath; if her husband heard it and remained silent regarding it and did not disallow her, then all her vows shall stand, and every bond with which she bound her soul shall stand. But if her husband has utterly made them void on the day he heard them, then whatever proceeded out of her lips concerning her vows or concerning the bond of her soul, shall not stand; her husband has made them void, and the LORD shall forgive her. Every vow and every binding oath to afflict the soul, her husband may establish it, or her husband may make it void. But if her husband remained silent regarding this from day to day; then he establishes all her vows or all her bonds, which are upon her; he confirms them because he remained silent regarding this in the day that he heard them. But if he shall in any way make them void after that he has heard them, then he shall bear her iniquity. These are the statutes which the LORD commanded Moses between a man and his wife and between the father and his daughter, being yet in her youth in her father's house.
Thou shalt not bring the hire of a whore, or the price of a dog, into the house of the LORD thy God for any vow; for even both these are abomination unto the LORD thy God.
When thou shalt vow a vow unto the LORD thy God, thou shalt not delay to pay it; for the LORD thy God will surely require it of thee; and it would be sin in thee.
For thy slave vowed a vow while I abode at Geshur in Syria, saying, If the LORD shall bring me again indeed to Jerusalem, then I will serve the LORD.
and that whoever would not come within three days, according to the counsel of the princes and of the elders, all his substance should be forfeited and himself separated from the congregation of those that had been carried away.
Thou shalt make thy prayer unto him, and he shall hear thee, and thou shalt pay thy vows.
When thou dost vow a vow unto God, do not defer to pay it; for he has no pleasure in fools; pay that which thou hast vowed.
Arise and thresh, O daughter of Zion; for I will make thine horn iron, and I will make thy hoofs bronze; and thou shalt break in pieces many peoples; and thou shalt consecrate their spoil unto the LORD and their riches unto the Lord of the whole earth.
And Paul after this tarried there yet a good while and then took his leave of the brethren and sailed from there into Syria and with him Priscilla and Aquila, having shorn his head in Cenchrea, for he had a vow.
them take, and purify thyself with them, and pay their expenses, that they may shave their heads, and all may know that those things, of which they were informed concerning thee, are nothing, but that thou thyself dost also walk orderly and keep the law.