Holy water — Water of purification appointed for such uses. This was used, that if she were guilty, she might be afraid to add profaneness to her other crime. An earthen vessel — Because, after this use, it was to be broken in pieces, that the remembrance of it might be blotted out as far as was possible. Dust — An emblem of vileness and misery. From the floor of the tabernacle — Which made it holy dust, and struck the greater terror into the woman, if she were guilty.
Related Commentaries of Numbers 5:17
Numbers 5:17
17 And the priest shall take holy water in an earthen vessel; and of the dust that is in the floor of the tabernacle the priest shall take, and put it into the water: