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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And Isaak will call to Jacob, and will bless him, and will command him, and will say to him, Thou shalt not take a wife from the daughters of Canaan.
And if a vow or a voluntary gift, the sacrifice of his offering in the day he brought it, his sacrifice it shall be eaten; and from the morrow that remaining from it shall be eaten.
A man when he shall vow a vow to Jehovah, or swear an oath to bind a binding upon his soul, he shall not profane his word; according to all going forth from his mouth he shall do. And a woman when she shall vow a vow to Jehovah, and bind a binding in the house of her father, in her youth; read more. And her father heard her vow and her binding which she bound upon her soul, and her father was silent to her; and all her vows stood, and all the binding which she bound upon her soul shall stand. And if her father refused her in the day of his hearing, all her vows and all her bindings which she bound upon her soul, it shall not stand; and Jehovah will forgive her, for her father refused her And if being she shall be to a husband, and her vows upon her, or the babbling of her lips which she bound upon her soul: And her husband heard in the day of his hearing, and was silent to her: and her vows stood, and the binding which she bound upon her soul shall stand. And if in the day her husband heard he shall refuse her, and he annulled her vows which were upon her, and the babbling of her lips which she bound upon her soul, and Jehovah will forgive her. And the vow of a widow, and of her driven away, all which she bound upon her soul shall stand upon her. And if in the house of her husband she vowed or bound a binding upon her soul with an oath: And her husband heard and was silent to her, he refused her not: and all her vows shall stand, and all the binding which she bound upon her soul shall stand. And if her husband annulling, shall annul them in the day of his hearing; all the going forth of her lips for her vows and for the binding of her soul, shall not stand: her husband annulled them, and Jehovah will forgive her. Every vow, and every oath of binding to afflict the soul, her husband shall cause it to stand, and her husband shall annul it
Thou shalt not bring the hire of a harlot, and the price of a dog to the house of Jehovah thy God, for any vow: for these two are also an abomination to Jehovah thy God.
And Jephthah will vow a vow to Jehovah, and he will say, If giving, thou wilt give the sons of Ammon into my hand,
And it will be from the end of two months, and she will turn back to her father and he will do to her his vow which he vowed: and she knew not man. And it will be a law in Israel,
And the men feared Jehovah with great fear, and they will sacrifice a sacrifice to Jehovah, and they will vow vows.
And Paul yet having remained sufficient days, having taken leave of the brethren, sailed out to Syria, and with him Priscilla and Aquila; having shorn the head in Cenchrea: for he had a vow.
Therefore do this which we say to thee: Four men are to us having a vow upon 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 will vow a vow, saying, If God will be with me, and will preserve me in this way which I went, and gave to me bread to eat, and covering to put on, And I turned back in peace to my father's house; and Jehovah was to me for God. read more. And this stone which I set a pillar shall be the house of God, and all which thou shalt give to me, the tenth I will tithe it to thee.
And Pharaoh will say, Behold, many now are the people of the land, and ye turned them away from their burdens.
But the first-born which shall be first to Jehovah among the cattle, a man shall not consecrate it; if an ox, if a sheep, it is to Jehovah. And if from unclean cattle, and he redeemed by thy estimation, and he shall add the fifth upon it: and if it shall not be redeemed, and it was sold by thy estimation. read more. But all consecrated which a man shall consecrate to Jehovah from all which is to him, from man and cattle, and from the field of his possession, shall not be sold and shall not be redeemed: every thing consecrated it is holy of holies to Jehovah. Every thing consecrated which shall be consecrated from man, shall not be redeemed: dying, it shall die.
And Moses will speak to the heads of the tribes to the sons of Israel, saying, This the word which Jehovah commanded. A man when he shall vow a vow to Jehovah, or swear an oath to bind a binding upon his soul, he shall not profane his word; according to all going forth from his mouth he shall do.
A man when he shall vow a vow to Jehovah, or swear an oath to bind a binding upon his soul, he shall not profane his word; according to all going forth from his mouth he shall do.
A man when he shall vow a vow to Jehovah, or swear an oath to bind a binding upon his soul, he shall not profane his word; according to all going forth from his mouth he shall do. And a woman when she shall vow a vow to Jehovah, and bind a binding in the house of her father, in her youth; read more. And her father heard her vow and her binding which she bound upon her soul, and her father was silent to her; and all her vows stood, and all the binding which she bound upon her soul shall stand. And if her father refused her in the day of his hearing, all her vows and all her bindings which she bound upon her soul, it shall not stand; and Jehovah will forgive her, for her father refused her And if being she shall be to a husband, and her vows upon her, or the babbling of her lips which she bound upon her soul: And her husband heard in the day of his hearing, and was silent to her: and her vows stood, and the binding which she bound upon her soul shall stand. And if in the day her husband heard he shall refuse her, and he annulled her vows which were upon her, and the babbling of her lips which she bound upon her soul, and Jehovah will forgive her.
When thou shalt vow a vow to Jehovah thy God thou shalt not delay to complete it, for Jehovah thy God requiring, will require it from thee; and it was sin in thee. And if thou shalt cease to vow, it shall not be sin in thee. read more. That going out of thy lips, thou shalt watch and do according as thou didst vow to Jehovah thy God; a voluntary gift which thou spakest with thy mouth.
And Jephthah will vow a vow to Jehovah, and he will say, If giving, thou wilt give the sons of Ammon into my hand, And it was, that coming forth which shall come forth from the doors of my house to my meeting in my turning back in peace from the sons of Ammon, and it was to Jehovah; and I brought it up a burnt-offering.
And it will be when he saw her, and he will tear his garments, and will say, Alas, my daughter bowing down, thou didst bow me down, and thou art in my trouble: and I opened my mouth to Jehovah, and I shall not be able to turn back.
And she will vow a vow, and say, Jehovah of armies, if seeing, thou wilt see the affliction of thy servant and remember me, and thou wilt not forget thy servant, and give to thy servant seed of men, and I gave him to Jehovah all the days of his life, and a razor shall not come up upon his head.
The snare of man swallowing down the holy thing, after the vows for seeking.
And cursed he deceiving, and there is in his flock a male, and he vowed and sacrificed a corrupt thing to Jehovah: for I am a great king, said Jehovah of armies, and my name terrible among the nations.
And ye say, Whoever should say to father or mother, A gift, whatever thou shouldest be profited by me;
And he said to them, Well do ye abrogate the command of God, that ye might keep your 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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And he being consecrated, shaved the head of his consecration at the door of the tent of appointment, and took the hair of the head of his consecration, and gave upon the fire which under the sacrifice of peace.
A man when he shall vow a vow to Jehovah, or swear an oath to bind a binding upon his soul, he shall not profane his word; according to all going forth from his mouth he shall do. And a woman when she shall vow a vow to Jehovah, and bind a binding in the house of her father, in her youth; read more. And her father heard her vow and her binding which she bound upon her soul, and her father was silent to her; and all her vows stood, and all the binding which she bound upon her soul shall stand. And if her father refused her in the day of his hearing, all her vows and all her bindings which she bound upon her soul, it shall not stand; and Jehovah will forgive her, for her father refused her And if being she shall be to a husband, and her vows upon her, or the babbling of her lips which she bound upon her soul: And her husband heard in the day of his hearing, and was silent to her: and her vows stood, and the binding which she bound upon her soul shall stand. And if in the day her husband heard he shall refuse her, and he annulled her vows which were upon her, and the babbling of her lips which she bound upon her soul, and Jehovah will forgive her. And the vow of a widow, and of her driven away, all which she bound upon her soul shall stand upon her. And if in the house of her husband she vowed or bound a binding upon her soul with an oath: And her husband heard and was silent to her, he refused her not: and all her vows shall stand, and all the binding which she bound upon her soul shall stand. And if her husband annulling, shall annul them in the day of his hearing; all the going forth of her lips for her vows and for the binding of her soul, shall not stand: her husband annulled them, and Jehovah will forgive her. Every vow, and every oath of binding to afflict the soul, her husband shall cause it to stand, and her husband shall annul it And if her husband being silent, shall be silent to her from day to day; and he caused to stand all her vows, or, all her bindings which were upon her: he caused them to stand, for he was silent to her in the day of his hearing.
When thou shalt vow a vow to Jehovah thy God thou shalt not delay to complete it, for Jehovah thy God requiring, will require it from thee; and it was sin in thee. And if thou shalt cease to vow, it shall not be sin in thee. read more. That going out of thy lips, thou shalt watch and do according as thou didst vow to Jehovah thy God; a voluntary gift which thou spakest with thy mouth.
When thou shalt vow a vow to God, thou shalt not delay to repay it; for there is no desire in the foolish: repay what thou shalt vow. Good that thou shalt not vow rather than thou shalt vow and not requite.
Behold upon the mountains the feet of him announcing good news, causing peace to be heard. O Judah, keep thy festivals, complete thy vows: for Belial shall no more add to pass through thee: he was completely cut off.
And Paul yet having remained sufficient days, having taken leave of the brethren, sailed out to Syria, and with him Priscilla and Aquila; having shorn the head in Cenchrea: for he had a vow.
Therefore do this which we say to thee: Four men are to us having a vow upon 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 will rise early in the morning, and take the stone which he put at his head, and will set it a pillar, and pour oil upon its head. And he will call the name of that place the house of God: and Ailam Luz the name of the city at the beginning. read more. And Jacob will vow a vow, saying, If God will be with me, and will preserve me in this way which I went, and gave to me bread to eat, and covering to put on, And I turned back in peace to my father's house; and Jehovah was to me for God. And this stone which I set a pillar shall be the house of God, and all which thou shalt give to me, the tenth I will tithe it to thee.
I the God of the house of God, where thou didst anoint there a pillar; where thou didst vow to me there a vow: now arise, go forth from this land, and turn back to the land of thy kindred.
And if cattle which they shall make an offering from them to Jehovah, all which he shall give from it to Jehovah shall be holy.
But all consecrated which a man shall consecrate to Jehovah from all which is to him, from man and cattle, and from the field of his possession, shall not be sold and shall not be redeemed: every thing consecrated it is holy of holies to Jehovah.
A man when he shall vow a vow to Jehovah, or swear an oath to bind a binding upon his soul, he shall not profane his word; according to all going forth from his mouth he shall do. And a woman when she shall vow a vow to Jehovah, and bind a binding in the house of her father, in her youth; read more. And her father heard her vow and her binding which she bound upon her soul, and her father was silent to her; and all her vows stood, and all the binding which she bound upon her soul shall stand. And if her father refused her in the day of his hearing, all her vows and all her bindings which she bound upon her soul, it shall not stand; and Jehovah will forgive her, for her father refused her And if being she shall be to a husband, and her vows upon her, or the babbling of her lips which she bound upon her soul: And her husband heard in the day of his hearing, and was silent to her: and her vows stood, and the binding which she bound upon her soul shall stand. And if in the day her husband heard he shall refuse her, and he annulled her vows which were upon her, and the babbling of her lips which she bound upon her soul, and Jehovah will forgive her. And the vow of a widow, and of her driven away, all which she bound upon her soul shall stand upon her. And if in the house of her husband she vowed or bound a binding upon her soul with an oath: And her husband heard and was silent to her, he refused her not: and all her vows shall stand, and all the binding which she bound upon her soul shall stand. And if her husband annulling, shall annul them in the day of his hearing; all the going forth of her lips for her vows and for the binding of her soul, shall not stand: her husband annulled them, and Jehovah will forgive her. Every vow, and every oath of binding to afflict the soul, her husband shall cause it to stand, and her husband shall annul it And if her husband being silent, shall be silent to her from day to day; and he caused to stand all her vows, or, all her bindings which were upon her: he caused them to stand, for he was silent to her in the day of his hearing. And if annulling, he annulled them after his hearing; and he bore the iniquity. These the laws which Jehovah commanded Moses between a man to his wife, between a father to his daughter, in her youth in her father's house.
Thou shalt not bring the hire of a harlot, and the price of a dog to the house of Jehovah thy God, for any vow: for these two are also an abomination to Jehovah thy God.
When thou shalt vow a vow to Jehovah thy God thou shalt not delay to complete it, for Jehovah thy God requiring, will require it from thee; and it was sin in thee.
For thy servant vowed a vow in my dwelling in Geshur in Aram, saying, If turning back, Jehovah shall turn me back to Jerusalem, and I served Jehovah.
And every one who shall not come in three days according to the counsel of the chiefs and the old men, all his substance shall be devoted, and he shall be separated from the convocation of the exile.
And thou shalt pray to him, and he will hear thee, and thou shalt repay thy vows.
When thou shalt vow a vow to God, thou shalt not delay to repay it; for there is no desire in the foolish: repay what thou shalt vow.
Arise and thresh, O daughter of Zion: for I will set thy horn iron, and thy hoofs of brass: and thou didst crush many peoples: and I devoted their plunder to Jehovah, and their wealth to the Lord of all the earth.
And Paul yet having remained sufficient days, having taken leave of the brethren, sailed out to Syria, and with him Priscilla and Aquila; having shorn the head in Cenchrea: for he had a vow.
Having taken these, be purified with them, and expend upon them, that they might shave the head: and all might know that what they are taught about thee is nothing; but thou proceedest in regular order, also thyself watching the law.