Numbers 5

Numbers 5:2

Theodoret of Cyrus: Why did he command these men, and lepers, and those with gonorrhea, to dwell outside the camp?He teaches us great things from small things. For if one who touches a dead body is unclean, so much the more is one who kills a man, because he incurs blood guilt. And if a leper is unclean, so much the more is one who perpetrates various forms of iniquity. And through the condemnation of one with gonorrhea, adultery is condemned. For if an involuntary act is abominable, so much the more is an act committed deliberately. — QUESTIONS ON Numbers 8

Theodoret of Cyrus: What does “unclean in soul” mean?The man who has touched a corpse or approached the bones of a dead man. — QUESTIONS ON Numbers 7

Numbers 5:6

Theodoret of Cyrus: What does this mean: “if any man or woman commits one of all the human sins”?Scripture call the smaller sins human. It is not possible for human nature, subject to change as it is, to be delivered from every sin. For “no one is clean from filth, even if his life is one day long.” This is why holy David says, “Do not enter into judgment with your servant, for in your sight no living man will be justified.” Only Christ the Lord, both as God and as man, is blameless. The prophet Isaiah foresaw this and said, “He committed no transgression, nor was deceit found in his mouth.” For this reason he took upon himself the sins of others, for he had none of his own. For Isaiah also says, “He bears our sins, and he is afflicted for us.” And the great John says, “Behold the lamb of God, who bears the sins of the world.” For this reason he is also called “free among the dead,” since he suffered death unjustly. The divine law teaches how those who have sinned moderately are to be healed. For the law commands that he who has done wrong in a matter of contracts should first confess the sin and then give back what was taken to the one he wronged, adding one fifth to the principal. If it happens that the one wronged dies before the sinner repents of his sin, he should pay the amount to the man’s nearest relative. The law names as his nearest relative the one related to him by generation. The order of generation is this: first his son, then his daughter, then the brother of his father, then the brother of his grandfather. If there is none of these, then it should be another close kinsman. If no kinsman can be found, the law declares that he should offer the stated sum to God. For the law says this: “If the man has no near relative, so that the sinner can give him what he owes, then the debt is paid to the Lord in the person of the priest, except for the ram of expiation, through which expiation is made for him.” The law mandates that the priests should eat the first fruits that are offered. For the Levites were the first fruits of the people, and the priests were the first fruits of the Levites. As first fruits, then, they acquire the first fruits. — QUESTIONS ON Numbers 9

Numbers 5:7

Richard Challoner: Shall confess: This confession and satisfaction, ordained in the Old Law, was a figure of the sacrament of penance.

Numbers 5:14

Richard Challoner: The spirit of jealousy: This ordinance was designed to clear the innocent, and to prevent jealous husbands from doing mischief to their wives: as likewise to give all a horror of adultery, by punishing it in so remarkable a manner.