Regarding the power of a father and husband to annul a woman's vow

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Numbers » Chapter 30

Vows
30:2    Moses spoke to the tribal heads of the Israelites, telling them that this is the word that God had commanded:
30:3    If a man makes a vow to God, or makes an oath to obligate himself, he must not break his word. He must do all that he expressed verbally.
30:4    [This is the law] when a woman makes a vow to God or binds herself by an obligation while still a girl in her father's house.
30:5    If her father remains silent when he hears her vow or self-imposed obligation, then all her vows and self-imposed obligations must be kept.
30:6    However, if he obstructs her on the day he hears [it], then any such vow or self-imposed obligation of hers shall not be fulfilled. Since her father has obstructed her, God will forgive her.
30:7    [This is the law] if she is [betrothed] to a man and is bound by her vows and self-imposed verbal obligations.
30:8    If the men in her life hear about it and remain silent on the day they hear, then her vows and self-imposed obligations must be kept.
30:9    However, if the men in her life obstruct her on the day they hear about it, they can annul her vows and self-imposed verbal obligations, and God will forgive her.
30:10    The vow of a widow or divorcee must be kept, no matter what obligation she takes upon herself.
30:11    [This is the law] if [a woman] makes a vow or an oath for a self-imposed obligation in her husband's house.
30:12    If her husband hears it and remains silent without obstructing her, then all her vows and self-imposed obligations must be kept.
30:13    However, if her husband annuls them on the day he hears them, then all her verbally expressed vows and self-imposed obligations need not be kept. Since her husband has annulled them, God will forgive her.
30:14    Thus, in the case of every vow or oath involving self-denial, [a woman's] husband can uphold them, and her husband can annul them.
30:15    If her husband remains silent for the entire day, then he has [automatically] upheld any vow or obligation that she has assumed. He has upheld them simply by remaining silent on the day he heard them.
30:16    However, if he annuls them after hearing them, he removes any guilt that she may have [for violating them].
30:17    These are the rules that God commanded Moses regarding the relationship between a man and his wife, [and] between a father and his daughter as long as she is a girl in her father's house.


Commentary:

him
  Literally, 'Moses.' This ends God's word to Moses (Rashi; cf. Ramban).

Moses spoke
  Some say that this was given after the war with Midian (Numbers 31) (Ibn Ezra; Chizzkuni).

obligate himself
  (Yerushalmi, Nedarim 9:1; Septuagint). Assar in Hebrew. Or, 'forbid' (Sifri).

he must not...
  This is a commandment (Sefer HaMitzvoth, Negative Commandment 157).

girl
  From age 11 until 12-1/2 (Yad, Nedarim 11:7). Before that age, her vows are not binding, and later, her father can no longer annul them.

hears
  There is a question as to whether this means that he must actually hear the vow, or if he merely hears of it (Yoreh Deah 334:25).

obstructs
  (Rashi). Heyni in Hebrew. Or, 'breaks' (Ibn Ezra), 'annuls' (Sifri; cf. Mizrachi); or 'countermands' (Septuagint). Any wording that negates the vow is effective (Nedarim 77b; Yad, Nedarim 13:1,2).

on the day
  Until nightfall of that day; Numbers 30:15 (Nedarim 76b; Yad, Nedarim 12:15).

betrothed
  (Nedarim 67a; Rashi). See Exodus 22:15.

verbal
  (Malbim). Bata in Hebrew. Or, 'oath' (Shevuoth 20a). See Leviticus 5:4.

men in her life
  That is, both her father and her husband together (Nedarim 66b, 67a; Yad, Nedarim 11:9). Although the Torah literally says, 'her man,' it denotes both (Yad, Nedarim 12:17; Tzafanath Paneach). Or, 'If her husband [also]' (Rashi, Ran, Nedarim, 67a).

in her husband's house
  Once a woman enters her husband's house, she is considered fully married, and is no longer under her father's control. The wedding canopy (chupah) is a symbolic 'home' into which the husband brings her. The husband can annul the vows of his wife even when she is an adult (cf. Yad, Nedarim 11,8).

hears
  Here too there is a question as to whether he must actually hear it (see Numbers 30:5).

self-denial
  While the father of a young girl can annul any vow, a husband can only annul a vow that involves self-denial (Nedarim 79b; Yad, Nedarim 12:1). It does not matter how minor the self-denial is (Yad 12:4). Any self-denial on the part of the wife will ultimately affect the husband (HaKethav VeHaKabbalah). Others, however, maintain that the father also can annul only vows that involve self-denial (Ran, Nedarim 68a, s.v. Lomer: Rosh, Nedarim 79a, s.v. VeElu; Yoreh Deah 234:58).

entire day
  (Nedarim 76b; Rashi). Literally, 'from day to day.'