Bible Commentaries
Numbers 29

Verses 1-40

Numbers 29:7 And ye shall have on the tenth day of this seventh month an holy convocation; and ye shall afflict your souls: ye shall not do any work therein:

Numbers 29:7 “ye shall afflict your souls” Comments The phrase “you shall afflict your souls” is found a number of times in the Old Testament (Leviticus 16:29; Leviticus 16:31; Leviticus 23:27; Leviticus 23:29; Leviticus 23:32, Numbers 29:7, Isaiah 58:3; Isaiah 58:5; Isaiah 58:10). It is generally understood to mean a fast, to abstain from food and drink, as described in Psalms 35:13, “But as for me, when they were sick, my clothing was sackcloth: I humbled my soul with fasting; and my prayer returned into mine own bosom.” However, John Hartley notes that use of the word ענה (affliction) rather than צום (fast) implies that an individual should feel compelled to afflict himself in other ways as well as fasting, such as “wearing sackcloth, mourning, and prayer,” as described in Psalms 35:13. [36]

[36] John E. Hartley, Leviticus, in Word Biblical Commentary: 58 Volumes on CD-Rom, vol. 4, eds. Bruce M. Metzger, David A. Hubbard and Glenn W. Barker (Dallas: Word Inc., 2002), in Libronix Digital Library System, v. 3.0b [CD-ROM] (Bellingham, WA: Libronix Corp., 2004), notes on Leviticus 16:29-31.