Bible Discussion Thread

Does Numbers 5:27 support abotion?

NIV apparently indicates that her "womb will miscarry" while other versions seem to indicate just a physical condition making childbirth impossible. In either case; after that point physical malady occurs. This penalty is no more severe than that of David when he sinned committing adultery with Bathsheeba then summarily sending her husband Uriah to his death deliberately being put on the front lines of battle. ( 2 Samuel 12; also see Psalm 51). The sin of adultery was a capital offense as well as murder so only the grace of God could supersede this. In the case of the woman mentioned in Numbers; there was no proof corroborated beyond the husband's suspicions (2 or more witnesses were needed to enact punishment). Therefore; the Lord used this method to determine supernaturally guilt or innocence. We see with David's child as well as in this hypothetical case that surely occurred with real life examples that a child would die as the result of God's judgment for behavior of someone else. This is different than man's arbitrary decision to terminate life and peculiar to the Jews. The soul of the child was never in question here; but it shows how the sin of one can affect others; and we can't pretend to understand all of God's ways.

Again; this showed the seriousness of God's covenant marriage relationship. It says nothing of how someone not engaged who commits fornication would be treated; other scriptures state that a man should marry a virgin in that instance; and there are other verses that say he must stay married if he finds nothing appealing in a wife (we see Leah having more kids to prove that point). Since adultery was a capital punishment; then by default sadly if she was already conceiving a child it would become part of the "collateral damage".

We should see from this the seriousness of marriage and how it holds the framework of a society together. God used this concept of a Theocracy with His chosen people in that dispensation.

Hi Diego. I don't believe that Numbers 5:27 supports abortion. As you have probably read the whole chapter, specifically from verses 12 to 31, you can see that determining the guilt is intended & not the destruction of the embryo.

If the husband becomes suspicious of his wife, that she has been unfaithful to him, his wife would be brought to the priest for judging whether the husband's anger & suspicions are warranted. When the priest applies the test of the 'bitter waters', with the curse that if "her belly does not swell nor her thigh rot", then she is innocent & she will be able to become pregnant by her husband. But if guilty, then she will suffer physically & be a cast-off from society. These verses don't speak of whether conception had taken place if she was guilty - but certainly her organs around the belly might well include the womb which no longer would be able to bear children. I don't see anything more than the suffering of a guilty woman or the health of an innocent woman.