7. Numbers 30

The most persuasive arguments to allow a widowed woman to vote would come from three passages: The first passage is Numbers 30, which gives a husband or father authority to annul the vows a woman makes while she lives in his house. However, the text also says, “any vow of a widow or a divorced woman, by which she has bound herself, shall stand against her” (v. 9). This implies that a previously married woman does not always have to be under the authority of a man. A similar conclusion could be derived from the case of Lydia (Acts 16:14-40), though it is difficult to derive moral reasoning from a narrative passage.

In response it can be said that if this argument is true, it would simply mean that single women do not always have to be connected to a male leader (whether brother, father, or elder). However, it is questionable as to whether the Scripture considers such a situation as a privilege. The pervasive evidence seems to treat the plight of widowhood as a curse (Ex. 22:24) that needs the protection of law (Ex. 22:22; Deut. 10:18; 14:29; 16:11,14; 24:17,19-21; 26:12-13; 27:19) and which should be remedied as soon as possible by marriage (Deut. 25:5; Ruth; 1 Tim. 5:14) or (if meeting the Biblical qualifications) being employed by and under the authority of the church (1 Tim. 5:9-10).

The Scriptures given in the previous section assume that being under the care of a male is the ideal. However, we will grant that this is not always possible. Does such an exception allow the woman to vote? The simple answer is that coming out from the authority of a husband (or in the case of an orphan – a father) does not convey any additional authority or leadership over men. If anything, Numbers 30 strongly reinforces the position of this booklet that the Bible assumes male authority. Leviticus 22:13 implies that a widow will come under the protection of her father. There is no reason why a widow who cannot find familial representation cannot convey her concerns to an elder in the church. The purpose of this booklet is to determine if there is any positive evidence for female voting. To this point we have found none.