Then shall the man bring his wife unto the priest, and he shall bring her offering for her, the tenth part of an ephah of barley meal; he shall pour no oil upon it, nor put frankincense thereon; for it is an offering of jealousy, an offering of memorial, bringing iniquity to remembrance.
Then the husband must bring his wife to the priest, along with her required offering of about two quarts of barley flour. He must not pour oil on it or add frankincense to it, because this is a jealousy offering—a memorial offering that brings wrongdoing into the open.
This verse describes a ritual where a husband suspicious of his wife's faithfulness brings her and a plain offering to the priest for God's judgment.
📚 Historical Context
This is part of the ancient Israelite law describing the 'trial of bitter water' for a wife suspected of adultery when there were no witnesses. The barley offering was deliberately plain (no oil or frankincense) to reflect the serious, somber nature of the accusation. This ritual was designed to let God reveal the truth when human testimony was insufficient.
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