Bad Theology

Text for today: Numbers 30 iii-xv

God decrees that oaths, vows and pledges made by women are valid only when the women's husbands and fathers are not opposed to them. If a woman makes a vow while unmarried and living with her father, and the father expresses his opposition on the same day as he hears of the vow, then the vow does not stand. If a married woman makes a vow and her husband expresses his opposition on the day he hears of it, then the vow does not stand.

Clearly God believes that women, like oxen, asses, slaves and other livestock, bear no responsibility for their actions and are bound not by their own word but by that of their owners. A further indication of how seriously God takes a woman's vow lies in the condition He imposes for the master's veto, which must be exercised within an arbitrary time limit without regard for any other circumstances.

With the smugly patronising air common to bullies and tyrants who think they are being magnanimous, God proclaims that He will "forgive" those women whose vows are overruled: something which a ruler who was noted for exercising reason and mercy would arguably not need to point out. The vows of widows and divorced women are subject to no such indulgences: these women are defiled by having no owner, and God makes a point of reminding them that their vows will stand against them until they get back in their proper place.