Numbers 5 and the “Waters of Judgment”

Numbers 5:11–31 contains what has been regarded as either an “ordeal of jealousy” or a “rite to establish a child’s paternity.” ¹ The narrative has usually been assigned to P, but, in view of comparative Near Eastern data dealing with ordeals, it certainly reflects a tradition deeply imbedded in the past. ² It concerns a husband seized by a fit of jealousy who, lacking the proper number of witnesses [cf. Deut. 19:15; Numb. 35:30], brings his wife to the temple and forces her to undergo a divinely controlled trial. ³ Preparation for the ritual begins with the husband providing a meal-offering, an act, perhaps, designed to involve him in the proceedings. ⁴ A priest, perhaps equivalent to the manzaduḫlu of the Nuzi ordeals, ⁵ accompanies the wife before YHWH. ⁶ Dust ⁷ from the tabernacle’s floor is then added to the sacred waters ⁸ of an earthen vessel. The priest loosens the woman’s hair, ⁹ and places the meal offering between her hands. In his hands, the priest carries a liquid, mēy hammārîm ha-me’āmrîm.