meta: {"file": "/data/tomer/Sefaria-Export/txt/Tanakh/Commentary/Rashbam/Torah/Rashbam on Numbers/English/Sefaria Community Translation.txt"}
text: Rashbam on Numbers
  רשב"ם על במדבר
  Sefaria Community Translation
  
  
  Rashbam on Numbers
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
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  SINS [AGAINST] PERSONS. Which are recorded in the secton on the asham offered in connection with theft, at the end of Parashat VaYikra: "Dealing etc. deceitfully with his fellow in the matter of a pledge ...," and it is repeated here for the sake of the convert without a redeeming kinsman.
  
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  HE SHALL RESTORE THE /ASHAM/. I.e., the principal.
  
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  (1) BESIDES THE RAM. The /asham/ discussed in VaYikra.  
  (2) THE /ASHAM/ THAT IS REPAID.  The principal returns to the priests.
  
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  EVERY /T'RUMAH/.  The /t'rumah/ of the first, which Israel separates, and the /t'rumah/ of the tithe, which the Levites separate, [both of] which are elaborated in Parashat Sh'lah L'cha.
  
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  (2) IT SHALL BE HIS.  In other words, the person must give it to a kohen.
  (3) And a midrash: AND IF A PERSON GIVES TO A KOHEN what he is required to give him, THERE SHALL BE TO HIM much wealth.  Because it is superfluous, they expounded on it.
  
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  (1) THERE IS NO WITNESS AGAINST HER that she was unfaithful. 
  (2) AND SHE WAS NOT GRABBED. She was not coerced, for if she was alone with him by force, she is exempt.
  
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  A CURSE AND AN IMPRECATION.  When a person requires his fellow to take an oath, the person says, "I hereby require you to swear by the Name regarding this matter that, if you lie, you shall be cursed like such-and-such woman, whose belly distended and whose thigh sagged."
  
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  THE MAN SHALL BE CLEAR OF GUILT.  Even though he caused her retribution through the warning that he issued to her.  {But it seems to me that "the man shall be clear of guilt" because he did not tolerate his wife being unfaithful, for if he had remained silent, he would not be clear of guilt, for she is forbidden to him [if he suspects her].}  Rather SHE BEARS RESPONSIBILITY FOR HER GUILT for after all, she was unfaithful, and therefore she received retribution.
  
  
  
  
  
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  ANYTHING IN WHICH GRAPES HAVE BEEN STEEPED [MISHRAT ANAVIM].  Menahem [ben Seruk] explains this [as related to] (Num. 8:26), "He will serve [sheiret] with his brothers."  So the mem [in mishrat] is like the mem of "mirmas" ("a thing trampled" Isa. 10:6) and of "mishmar" ("custody" Gen. 40:3), and of (Isa. 17:4) "the fatness [mishman] of his body become lean."  But there cannot be language of "sherut" except in connection with work of people for their masters.  So I say that "mishrat" is among the words where the third letter of the root is removed, and is from the root shin-reish-heh, as "miknat kesef" (Ex. 12:44 "monetary purchase") is from the root kof-nun-heh, and its meaning, even though it [the root] does not appear in Scripture, it does appear in the Talmud, "the Nazir who soaks [shesheirah] his bread in wine."  And as for the language of Scripture, we find in Jeremiah (15:11), "I will spare [sheiriticha] for a better fate."  And its meaning is like "m'sharei kitrin" ("solve problems," "untie knots") in Daniel (5:12) -- in other words, "I have opened your chains."   And it says [the vocalization is] "sheiriticha," like (Ma. 2:3) "I will strew [v'zeiriti] dung on your faces" from the root (Num. 17:2) "cast" [z'reh].  Likewise here, "mishrat" of grapes means anything that separates from and falls from the grapes, like a person who is separated from and freed from the bonds and chains in which he is bound.  
  
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  THUS SHALL YOU BLESS THE PEOPLE OF ISRAEL.  In other words, do not bless them with a blessing of your own mouth [your own creation], like a person who says, "may there befall so-and-so such-and-such."  Rather, you should pray to Me that I bless them, as it says, "May Adonai bless you," and I will hear your voice, as you say it.  AND I WILL BLESS THEM.  Israel, as it says, "THEY SHALL PLACE MY NAME ON THE ISRAELITES," when the kohanim bless Israel in My name and not in their own.  I WILL BLESS THEM -- Israel, as the kohanim prayed, and said, "May Adonai bless you."
  
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  MAY ADONAI LIFT UP HIS FACE TOWARD YOU.  As it is written (Lev. 26:9), "I will look with favor on you [lit.:  will face you]."  That He should not hide His face from you.  And that which is written (Deut. 10:17 -- misquoting), "Who will not lift up the face of any person" [means] the Holy One, blessed be He, will not "lift up" the face of any person so as to clear him of all his sins, but rather He will lift up His own face towards His loved one; He will face him to be gracious to him, as it is written (Lev. 26:9), "I will look with favor upon you, ... and multiply you."
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
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  THIS IS THE RULE FOR THE LEVITES.  This is a new commandment, which has not been mentioned, for in Parashat B'midbar Sinai, and in Parashat Naso, the Holy One blessed be He commanded to count those between ages 30 and 50, for "service and carrying," "to carry the Mishkan."  Now in this parasha, it comes to explain the mitzvot of the service of guarding the Mishkan, that five years before the 30th year, when he is not fit for carrying, he is fit for, and commanded regarding, the guarding of the Mishkan and its appurtenances.  And from 50 years on, when he is not fit for carrying, he is fit for, and commanded regarding, the guarding of the Mishkan and its appurtenances, as it continues to explain:  
  FROM TWENTY-FIVE YEARS OF AGE UP THEY SHALL PARTICIPATE IN THE WORK FORCE IN THE SERVICE OF THE TENT OF MEETING -- the work of guarding, as it explains immediately below (v.26):  "They may assist their brother Levites ... by standing guard."
  
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  (1) THEY MAY ASSIST/SERVE -- both groups -- THEIR BROTHER LEVITES ... BY STANDING GUARD, BUT THEY SHALL PERFORM NO LABOR.
  (2) THUS YOU SHALL DEAL WITH THE LEVITES IN REGARD TO THEIR DUTIES.  Five years before the 30th year and from age 50 on they shall be commanded regarding the guarding of the Mishkan.
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
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  FOR YOU have KNOW[n].  You have paid attention to our needs  in OUR CAMPING IN THE WILDERNESS.  Also YOU HAVE BEEN OUR EYES to give us good counsel, as it is written (Ex. 18:1), "Yitro heard," as in (Job 29:15) "I was eyes to the blind."
  
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  (1) FROM THE MOUNTAIN OF ADONAI.  For they still had not moved from facing Mt. Horev, which is in the Wilderness of Sinai.  And this was after the Mishkan had been erected, as I explained above, but nevertheless, they were beside Mt. Sinai until now.  
  (2) THREE DAYS' DISTANCE. They traveled for three days, and did not camp until the end of the third day.  And because of the arduousness of the traveling, "the people took to complaining" (11:1), as we find in Parashat Parah [i.e., Hukkat] (Num. 21:4-5):  "But the people grew restive on the journey, And the people spoke against God and against Moshe."  
  (3) THE ARK OF THE COVENANT OF ADONAI TRAVELED IN FRONT OF THEM those three days TO SEEK OUT A RESTING PLACE FOR THEM, for the cloud traveled over the Ark.  
  
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  ARISE, ADONAI.  For it was then that the Sh'chinah would leave [its usual place] over the Ark cover.
  
  
  
  
  
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  NOW THE MANNA WAS LIKE CORIANDER SEED, and its appearance was like the appearance of BDELLIUM. In other words, it appeared to be tough and dry, and that is why they said (v.6), "Now our spirits are parched [JPS: our gullets are shriveled]" -- like a person who eats dry wheat. If so, why did the Holy One, blessed be He, get angry, as it says below (v.10)? So now it explains the reason for the anger, for when they would (v.8) "grind it between millstones or pound it in a mortar," _then_ "it tasted like rich cream"; i.e., then its taste would change. For initially it was sweet, "like wafers in honey" (Exod. 16:31), like olives and walnuts before being ground, but after grinding, or being crushed in a mortar, then its taste becomes like the moistness of oil or fatty meat, like the taste of olives or walnuts after grinding, when their taste changes. Therefore [misquoting v.10], "Adonai heard [in verse, "Moses heard"] ... and He was angry," for whenever they wanted, they would grind it, and it would become like oil, and their food would not be dry. Here it is written (v.8), "Its taste was," for its initial taste changed. But in Parashat B'shalah, it is written (Exod. 16:31), "Its taste was like wafers in honey," for that was its taste before it had the taste of oil.
  
  
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  (1) L'SHAD.  All of it [all of the letters] are the root.  As in (Ps. 32:4), "my vigor waned as in the summer drought" -- my moistness has changed into the dryness of figs that have dried.  
  (2) WOULD GO ABOUT.  As in (Job 1:7) "roaming the earth," (Jer. 5:1) "Roam the streets of Jerusalem."
  
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  (1) UNTIL IT COMES OUT OF YOUR NOSTRILS.  As in the Targum [Onkelos -- until you get sick of it].  
  (2) WHY DID WE EVER LEAVE EGYPT.  For you said (v.5), "We remember the fish that we used to eat in Egypt," and because you should be grateful, you will be punished.   But if you had [merely] had a yen for meat but had not complained about leaving Egypt, you would not be punished so much, as with other complaints, for there are some for which they were not punished.
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
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  (1) KOL NASI BAHEM. The essence of the straightforward meaning is as follows: Take these 12 men from among those of Israel whose mind impels them to go. You shall (set out the people) [proclaim to the people:] Who is the one who wants to go spy out the land? And from those who propose to go, take and choolse 12 from them. And because the men would be strong, that they would not be afraid or weak of spirit, they are fit to go into a strange land and also to fortify themselves and to take from the fruit of the land, therefore it was necessary to make this announcement, and the Holy One, blessed be He, did not specify them by name as He did with the N'si'im who counted Israel [Num. 1:3 ff.], and with the N'si'im who apportioned the land among Israel in [Parashat] Mas'ei [Num. 34:16 ff.], for those were specified by name. 
  (2) KOL NASI VAHEM. The trop mark under "kol" shows the meaning: Each of these 12 would be "nasi" among those who volunteered to go. As in (Ps. 8;7): "laying the world at his feet." 
  
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  MOSHE CALLED HOSHEA BIN NUN YEHOSHUA. It was not now that he called him such, for already before this he had been called Yehoshua; rather this is the meaning: Hoshea bin Nun whom we have mentioned above, who was called such in his father's home, is the same one whom Moshe called [Yehoshua] when he became his servant and he set him over his household. For such was their practice, as in: "Pharaoh then gave Joseph the name Tsafenat-paneah" (Gen. 41:45), and he called Daniel "Belteshazzar after the name of my god" (Dan. 4:5).
  
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  WHAT IS THE COUNTRY LIKE IN WHICH THEY DWELL.  And the "What is the land" that we have mentioned above speaks about the land that is at the beginning of the kingdom, where there is no settlement, and now it speaks about the land in which they dwell.  
  
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  (1) HE CAME TO HEVRON. The aggada seems to be the plain sense -- that Scripture is referring to Kalev, as it says (Deut. 1:36), "to him ... will I give the land on which he set foot," and (14:24), "him will I bring into the land that he entered, and his offspring shall hold it as a possession." Therefore, "he came to Hevron" refers to Kalev, and he prostrated himself on the graves of his ancestors and prayed to be saved from the counsel of the [other] spies. And we find in Joshua that he gave Hevron to Kalev, as it is written (Josh. 21:12), "They gave the fields and the villages of the town to Kalev son of Yefunneh as his holding." Nevertheless, the real plain sense, it is "each of them came to Hevron, since they said (see v.28), "we also saw the Anakites there" -- in Hevron (v.22); it is also written (v.33), "and there we saw the N'filim, the Anakites." 
  (2) BEFORE TZO'AN OF EGYPT. According to the plain sense, it was built before Tzo'an, and also, the older city is more important than the new city. For Israel were familiar with the importance of Tzo'an; it was necessary to say that the cities of Israel were more important. And also, because of its age, there giants there who were from the early generations.
  
  
  
  
  
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  THEY [THE EGYPTIANS] WILL SAY TO THE INHABITANTS OF THIS LAND. The Egyptians will say about the inhabitants of the land of Canaan, as is made explicit below (v.16), that the Egyptians would say, "because of the inability ..."
  
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  But now it explains why in the first place why the Egyptians would say this.  For they heard that You had brought them [the Israelites] out with great strength, with a pillar of fire, and with a pillar of cloud, all from surpassing love and care, but that in the end You would kill them all as one?  And the Egyptians would say, "It wasn't from hate that He treated them this way, but rather it was because of His inability to wage war against 31 kings.  And now (Exod. 32:12), "Turn from Your blazing anger," for the sake of Your name, that it not be desecrated.
  
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  TEN TIMES. Many, as in (Gen. 31:7) "time and time again," (Lev. 26:26) "ten women shall bake," (Job 19:3) "Time and again you humiliate me."
  
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  (1) AS FOR THE MEN WHOM MOSES SENT [and who] after he sent them, CAME BACK from the Land of Israel, and after that, CAUSED [the whole community] TO MUTTER, after their return, as is written above.  And now [v.37] THEY DIED.  
  (2) DIBAH [CALUMNIES].  From (Song 7:10) "Moving gently [dovev] the lips of sleepers" [Old JPS; New JPS:  "Gliding over the lips of sleepers"; others:  "causing to speak"].  [Other examples of nouns of the form XiYah from roots of the form XYY:]  As with (Prov. 11:10), "When the wicked perish there are shouts of joy [rinah]" [is from] (Job 20:5) "The joy [rin'nat] of the wicked has been brief."  And (I Kings 12:15) "the LORD had brought it about" [lit., the cause [sibah] was from Adonai].  From "sovev" [to cause], [we derive] "sibah."
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
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  (1) KORAH TOOK.  As in (Gen. 12:5), "Abram took his wife Sarai and Lot."  So here, "Korah took."  
  (2) AND DATAN AND AVIRAM, many men, until there arose before Moshe with them 250.  
  
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  HE FELL ON HIS FACE. In prayer, and there it was said to him what he would say to Korah.
  
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  TRULY YOU AND ALL OF YOUR COMPANY are the ones WHO HAVE BANDED TOGETHER AGAINST ADONAI.
  
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  THEY SAID, "WE WILL NOT COME UP" to you for judgment.  An expression of "going up" is normal to use in connection with going to the judges:  "his brother's widow shall go up to the gate" (Deut. 25:7); "the Israelites would go up to her for decisions" (Jud. 4:5); "Boaz had gone up to the gate" (Ruth 4:1).
  
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  [YOU WOULD LORD IT OVER US] ALSO LORD IT OVER US.  "Gam"s in the Torah are [often] reversed [i.e., out of order]: "you would also lord it over us [also] lord it over us."  Likewise (Ex. 12:32), "And bless me also" -- And also bless me.  Likewise (Gen. 29:30), "he loved Rahel also" -- he also loved Rahel.  "You also I would have killed" (Num. 22:33) -- I would also have killed you.
  
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  WE WILL NOT GO UP.  Therefore, we will not come up to you.  This is a "general followed by a specific followed by a general."  "We will not go up" it said initially, and afterwrds, it explained why, and then it went back to the general; therefore, "we will not go up."
  
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  (1) PAY NO REGARD.  From p-n-h, as (Gen. 43:14) "Binyamin's gift was bigger" ["vateireiv"] is from r-b-h.  "Al teifen" [with a tzeirei under the first letter] is "al tifneh" [binyan kal - do not turn]; "al tefen" [with a segol under the first letter] is "al tafneh" [binyan hif'il - do not cause another to turn].  
  (2) I HAVE NOT TAKEN A SINGLE ASS OF THEIRS.  Not even one ass have I taken from them [as do] others who lord it over people.  And so why do they accuse me of lording it over them?  And if it were vocalized "lo hamor ahad mehem" (with a patah), its meaning would be "the ass of one of them," as in (Gen. 26:10) "one of the people" [ahad ha'am].
  
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  GOD OF THE SPIRITS [OF ALL FLESH]. You know the spirits and minds of the rest of the people, who did not sin.
  
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  NOT MY OWN DEVISING.  That I inaugurated them into the [ritual of the] incense, when I said (v.17), "you and Aaron also [bring] your fire pans." 
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
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  (1) THIS IS THE LAW OF THE TORAH.  Below it will explain to which "Torah" it refers:  "This is the Torah when a person dies in a tent" (v.14).  In other words, "the law of the Torah" when He said to Moshe, "This is the Torah ..."  
  (2) RED COW.  He commanded to take [the cow] and perform the Torah [instruction] of purification of "When a person dies in a tent" -- to become purified through it [one who] touches, carryies, or covers with a tent.
  
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  (1) AND ANYONE WHO TOUCHES IN THE OPEN FIELD.  In other words, one who enters the tent where the corpse is becomes impure without touching, but if the corpse is in the open field, and not in the tent, one does not become impure except by touching.
  
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  (1) AND THE PERSON WHO TOUCHES the one who touched the corpse will be impure until evening, because the corpse is the granddaddy of all impurity.
  
  
  
  
  
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  AND MIRIAM DIED THERE.  "In the first month" that was at the end of 40 years, since Aharon died after her, in the fifth month in the 40th year of the Israelites' exodus, as it is written in Parashat Mas'ei.
  
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  (1) TAKE THE STAFF.  From before the Testimony.  
  (2) SPEAK TO THE ROCK. The Holy One, blessed be He, did not command to take the staff in order to strike the rock with it, as he did at R'fidim, as it is written there (Exod. 17:6), "Strike the rock and water will come out of it."  Rather, he commanded taking the staff in order to demonstrate with it their stubborn rebelliousness, as it is written (Num. 17:25), "for safekeeping, as a sign to rebels."  But it would be through speaking to the rock that it would yield its water.  
  (3) YOU SHALL PRODUCE WATER FOR THEM.  Through your speaking to the rock.
  
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  (1) HE SAID TO THEM, LISTEN, YOU REBELS.  As this staff, which has almonds, shows that it is "for safekeeping as a sign to rebels."  
  (2) WILL WE PRODUCE WATER FOR YOU FROM THIS ROCK?  At the moment of lifting up his hand with the staff [see v. 11], "he hit the rock" with it "twice."  Then he said to them, in anger and rage, "do you think that, from this rock, we can produce water for you?"  It was out of doubt that Moshe said this, for he erred with respect to what the Holy One, blessed be He, had said to him, "take your staff," for he did not believe that by talking to the rock, he could produce water, but rather by striking [with] the staff, as he had done at R'fidim.  And the Holy One's, blessed be He, statement to him (v.8), "speak to the rock," he thought that this "speaking" to the rock that was mentioned was with the staff, and so he hit the rock twice, as with anger and rage, and out of doubt:  if it produces water, good, and if not, I will speak to the rock afterwards.  And the Holy One, blessed be He, ratified [what] Moshe [said, for the water] to go out through his striking, and even so, he was punished, because the Holy One, blessed be He, is exacting with the righteous ones, and this is what the Holy One, blessed be He, said (v.12): "because you did not trust Me enough to sanctify Me" -- through their speaking to the rock.  For He is exacting with the righteous ones, even by as much as a hair's breadth.  And because I know, I the commentator, that our Master Moshe transgressed the words of the Holy One, blessed be He, only unintentionally, therefore I am constrained to explain that our Master Moshe erred, as I have explained. 
  
  
  
  
  
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  (1) DWELLING IN THE NEGEV ... BY WAY OF THE ATARIM.  The tarim [scouts] -- the spies.  As it is written there (Num. 13:7), "Go up there into the Negev"; (Num. 13:29), "Amalek dwells in [the land of] the Negev"; and the Canaanites are nearby (Num. 14:43), "For the Amalekites and the Canaanites will be there to face you."  
  (2) HA'ATARIM.  Like efroah (see Deut. 22:6), etmol (see Ps. 90:4), ezroa (see Jer. 32:21).  There are many alefs that are auxiliary letters at the beginning of the word.
  
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  HAK'LOKEL.  As in (Ezek. 21:26), "kilkel arrows," white, "like bdellium" (11:7), and dry, "luisent" in the vernacular.
  
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  ONE WHO SEES IT.  Who looks towards heaven above.
  
  
  
  
  
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  MOAV DREADED.  [Was fed up with] his life, as in (Gen. 27:46) "I am disgusted with my life."
  
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  THE LAND OF HIS KINDRED -- Balak's.
  
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  WHOM YOU BLESS.  Through prophecy.  Balak, as well, knew that he [Bil'am] was [only] a prophet, and that it was through his prophecy, or through divination devices, that he saw the future, for he [Bil'am] is indeed called "the diviner" in Joshua (13:22).  But he [Balak] thought that his [Bil'am's] prayers and sacrifices would be efficacious.
  
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  [REFUSED TO] GO WITH US. Since we were not esteemed in his view.
  
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  (1) ULAI SHE HAD STRAYED BEFORE ME. Every "ulai" in Scripture has a meaning like "im" and like "ilu." And those who explain this "im" as like "lulei hitmah'mahnu" (If we had not delayed - Gen. 43:10) and like "lulei Adonai" (If not for the God of my father - Gen. 31:42; better, e.g.: Ps. 94:17 - Were not Adonai my help) are mistaken. Rather, its meaning is as in "ulai yesh tikva" (Maybe there is hope - Lam. 3:29) or "Maybe Adonai of hosts will be gracious" (Amos 5:15) or "Maybe it was a mistake" (Gen. 43:12). Likewise, the angel asks, "Why did you hit your ass three times? You acted improperly for "it shied away (vatet lifanai) three times" -- all of her shyings were lifanai (in front of me) and not mipanai (from in front of me) since she did not pass me by. 
  (2) ULAI NAT'TAH MIPANAI. In other words, if (ulai) she had passed from before me (mipanai) rather than before me (lifanai), in other words, if she had passed me on the way, until she was behind me, I would also have killed you (gam haragti ot'cha), in other words, you would not have gotten away with a minor injury of pressing your leg, but rather I would even have killed you (af ot'cha haragti) and she would not have lost anything, because I would have kept her alive as she is even now, for it was not she who sinned but you, for you sinned against Me, in that you struck your ass. 
  (3) GAM OT'CHA (you also). I would also (even) have killed you, as in (Exod. 12:32) "uveirachtem gam oti" (me also may you bless) -- may you even bless me.
  
  
  
  
  
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  (1) YAN'HEINI (lit. "he will bring me").  He has brought me (hin'hani).  
  (2) FROM THE MOUNTAINS OF THE EAST.  This is repetition, for it is written (Isa. 9:11) "Aram from the east."  In other words, a big burden, and from a distant land, and for nought, since it won't be effective.  
  (3) ZA'AMAH.  It seems to me that the zayin is with a patah ("ah"), which is an imperative ("Curse!"), but zo'amah with a m'lapom ("oh") would imply feminine zo'emet (i.e., present tense indicative mood), as in "esh ochlah" (Deut. 4:24 - a fire that burns), and "hi shoftah et yisrael" (Jud. 4:4 - she judging).
  
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  THE LORD HAS NOT DOOMED them; He did not anger them.  As it is written (Mal. 1:4), "the people damned ... of the Lord" (JPS), that the Holy One blessed be He angered them.  It is an expression of causing other persons to be angry.
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
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  MOSHE SPOKE TO THE HEADS OF THE TRIBES.  I was asked in Anjou, in the city Loudun, according to the simple sense of the text, where do we find any other section that begins this way?  For it does not say above, "The LORD spoke to Moshe saying, 'If a man make a vow etc.'"  How can the section begin with Moshe's speech which is not explicitly from the mouth of the Almighty?  And this was my answer:  Above, it is written (Num. 29:39), "All these you shall offer to the LORD at the stated times, in addition to your votive and freewill offerings," that if you must bring on one of the three festivals, on account of "Do not be tardy," as is set out in Tractate Rosh Hashana, Moshe went and spoke to the heads of the tribes, who were the judges, for them to instruct Israel in the laws of vows, and he told them, "The Holy One blessed be He commanded me that they should bring their votive and freewill offerings on the festival lest they be tardy in their vows."  Therefore -- 
  IF A MAN MAKES A VOW TO THE LORD -- a sacrifice -- OR TAKES AN OATH -- of self-denial (see v. 14).
  
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  (1) IMPOSING AN OBLIGATION ON HIMSELF ... HE SHALL NOT BREAK HIS PLEDGE. This refers to the votive offering. In other words, he must not delay his votive offering until after the festivals, as the Holy One, blessed be He, commanded. For this is the explanation of "he shall not break [lo yahel]," as in (Jud. 3:25) "He waited [actually, "They waited"] a long time"; (Gen. 8:10) "He waited another seven days"; (Ps. 130:7) "O Israel, wait for the LORD" -- wait and anticipate Him. And one who explains [this] as an expression of desecration [hilul] according to the straightforward sense is in error.
  (2) HE MUST CARRY OUT ALL THAT HAS CROSSED HIS LIPS. This refers back to "taking an oath" (hishava sh'vu'ah) [i.e., not to "makes a vow" (yidor neder)] -- he must do according to what he specified in taking an oath, according to the time he specified, whether short or long. And a proof of the matter,of what these two things mean, is what Moshe said in Deuteronomy (23:22), "When you make a vow to the LORD your God, do not put off fulfilling it, ... You must fulfill what has crossed your lips and perform ...." Takes an oath, etc. 
  
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  IF, WHILE IN HER HUSBAND’S HOUSEHOLD, SHE MAKES A VOW.  But above (v.7), it is written, "[If she should marry] while her vow ... is still in force."  That verse deals with prior vows, before she married, and the implication, according to the plain sense, is that the husband can nullify prior vows.
  
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  BUT IF HE ANNULS THEM AFTER [THE DAY] HE FINDS OUT.  And she does not know that he had heard [them prior to then] HE SHALL BEAR HER GUILT.  In that they are not annulled, and she violates unintentionally, since she did not know whether or not he had heard them before now.
  
  
  
  
  
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  WERE FURNISHED.  Involuntarily, because the Holy One, blessed be He, said (v.20, "THEN YOU SHALL BE GATHERED TO YOUR KIN."  This is a midrash.
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
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  וגבול ים, as if the Torah had written an introductory line: “how was the westerly boundary?” [clearly, it is difficult to justify these two words. Ed.]
  וגבול, the word “western” is missing. Our sages explain the repetition of this word as small islands in the sea.
  