Numbers 6
How to become a Nazarite
(and what to do if you are defiled)
6:1-27 [
1]
6:1
And the LORD spake unto Moses, saying,
6:2
Speak unto the children of Israel, and say unto them, When either man or
woman shall separate themselves to vow a vow of a Nazarite, to separate
themselves unto the LORD:
6:3
He shall separate himself from wine and strong drink, and shall drink no
vinegar of wine, or vinegar of strong drink, neither shall he drink any
liquor of grapes, nor eat moist grapes, or dried.
6:4
All the days of his separation shall he eat nothing that is made of the
vine tree, from the kernels even to the husk.
God said to Moses,
Say this to the Israelites,
When a man or woman vows a vow of a Nazarite to separate themselves to me, they must not drink wine, strong drink,
vinegar, or grape juice, nor eat moist or dried grapes, or anything from a grape vine.
6:5
All the days of the vow
of his separation there shall no razor come upon his head: until the
days be fulfilled, in the which he separateth himself unto the LORD, he shall
be holy, and shall
let the locks of the hair of his head grow.
While he is a Nazarite, he must not cut his hair.
He is holy and must let the hair on his head grow.
6:6
All the days that he separateth himself unto the LORD he shall come at no dead body.
6:7
He shall not make himself unclean for his father, or for his mother, for
his brother, or for his sister, when they die: because the consecration of
his God is upon his head.
While he is a Nazarite, he must come at no dead body, including his father, mother, brother or sister when they die.
[2]
Because my consecration is on his head.
6:8
All the days of his separation he is holy unto the LORD.
During their separation, Nazarites are holy to me.
6:9 And if any man die very suddenly by him, and he hath defiled the head of
his consecration; then he shall shave his head in the day of his cleansing,
on the seventh day shall he shave it.
If someone dies near a Nazarite [3], the Nazarite has defiled the head of his consecration, and must shave his head seven days after being
near the dead body.
6:10
And on the eighth day he shall bring two turtles, or two young pigeons, to
the priest, to the door of the tabernacle of the congregation:
6:11
And the priest shall offer the one for a sin offering, and the other for a
burnt offering, and make an atonement for him, for that he sinned by the
dead, and shall hallow his head that same day.
On the eighth day, the Nazarite must offer two doves or pigeons. One for a sin offering and the other
for a burnt offering.
6:12
And he shall consecrate unto the LORD the days of his separation, and
shall bring a lamb of the first year for a trespass offering: but the days
that were before shall be lost, because his separation was defiled.
6:13
And this is the law of the Nazarite, when the days of his separation are
fulfilled: he shall be brought unto the door of the tabernacle of the
congregation:
Then a first-year lamb for a trespass offering.
6:14
And he shall offer his offering unto the LORD, one he lamb of the first
year without blemish for a burnt offering, and one ewe lamb of the first
year without blemish for a sin offering, and one ram without blemish for
peace offerings,
6:15
And a basket of unleavened bread, cakes of fine flour mingled with oil,
and wafers of unleavened bread anointed with oil, and their meat offering,
and their drink offerings.
And an unblemished male first-year lamb for a burnt offering, an unblemished female first-year lamb for a sin offering, and
an unblemished ram for a peace offering.
6:16
And the priest shall bring them before the LORD, and shall offer his sin
offering, and his burnt offering:
6:17
And he shall offer the ram for a sacrifice of peace offerings unto the
LORD, with the basket of unleavened bread: the priest shall offer also his
meat offering, and his drink offering.
The priest will bring them before me and offer the Nazarite's sin, burnt, and meat offerings.
6:18
And the Nazarite shall shave the head of his separation at the door of the
tabernacle of the congregation, and shall take the hair of the head of his
separation, and put it in the fire which is under the sacrifice of the peace
offerings.
The Nazarite will then shave his head and burn his hair as a peace offering.
6:19
And the priest shall take the sodden shoulder of the ram, and one
unleavened cake out of the basket, and one unleavened wafer, and shall put
them upon the hands of the Nazarite, after the hair of his separation is shaven:
The priest will take the sodden shoulder of the ram, along with an unleaved cake and wafer, and put them in the
hands of the Nazarite, after he has shaven.
6:20
And the priest shall wave them for a wave offering before the LORD: this
is holy for the priest, with the wave breast and heave shoulder: and after
that the Nazarite may drink wine.
6:21
This is the law of the Nazarite who hath vowed, and of his offering unto
the LORD for his separation, beside that that his hand shall get: according
to the vow which he vowed, so he must do after the law of his separation.
Then the priest will wave them for a wave offering in front of me, with the wave breast and heave shoulder.
This is holy for the priest.
After that the Nazarite may drink wine.
This is the law of the Nazarite.
6:22
And the LORD spake unto Moses, saying,
6:23
Speak unto Aaron and unto his sons, saying, On this wise ye shall bless
the children of Israel, saying unto them,
6:24
The LORD bless thee, and keep thee:
6:25
The LORD make his face shine upon thee, and be gracious unto thee:
6:26
The LORD lift up his countenance upon thee, and give thee peace.
6:27
And they shall put my name upon the children of Israel, and I will bless
them.
Notes
- When either man or woman shall separate themselves to vow a vow of a Nazarite....
(vv.1-27)
If you want to become a Nazarite, here's what you must do - or rather not do: Don't drink alcohol (or vinegar),
eat grapes, cut your hair, come near any dead bodies, or make yourself unclean for dead relatives.
Is it OK to drink alcohol?
Is it OK for men to have long hair?
- He shall come at no dead body. (v.6)
I don't know what "coming at a dead body" might be, but I guess it means to stay away from them.
If so, then it must have been a problem for the Bible's most famous Nazarite -- Samson, since he was a mass murderer and was
around lots of dead bodies.
- If any man die very suddenly by him, and he hath defiled the head of his consecration;
then he shall shave his head. (v.9)
If, after becoming a Nazarite, you defile yourself somehow (like if someone dies right next to you),
here's what you must do to become a Nazarite again: Shave your head and sacrfice a couple of pigeons,
two unblemished lambs and an unblemished ram, a basket of unleavened bread, cakes and wafers mixed with oil,
and some meat and drink offerings.
After you're done with all that, burn the hair that you cut off
in the same fire in which you burned the above-mentioned sacrifices.
Finally have a priest take the sodden shoulder of the ram, along with one of the
cakes and wafers, put them on your hands, and then wave whole mess before the Lord.
After that you can drink
wine and be a Nazarite once again (and then stop drinking wine again).
- A Nazarite may not drink any alcoholic beverages.
- And the Lord spake unto Moses, saying, Speak unto the children of Israel, and say unto them, When either man or woman shall separate themselves to vow a vow of a Nazarite,
to separate themselves unto the Lord: He shall separate himself from wine and strong drink, and shall drink no vinegar of wine, or vinegar of strong drink, neither shall he drink any liquor of grapes.
6:1-3a
- Or eat anything that comes from a grapevine.
- Nor eat moist grapes, or dried. All the days of his separation shall he eat nothing that is made of the vine tree, from the kernels even to the husk. 6:3b-4
- He must not cut his hair.
- All the days of the vow of his separation there shall no razor come upon his head: until the days be fulfilled, in the which he separateth himself unto the Lord, he shall be holy,
and shall let the locks of the hair of his head grow. 6:5
- And he must stay away from dead bodies, including dead family members.
- All the days that he separateth himself unto the Lord he shall come at no dead body. He shall not make himself unclean for his father, or for his mother, for his brother, or for his sister,
when they die: because the consecration of his God is upon his head. 6:6-7
- If you are a Nazarite and happen to be nearby when someone dies, you must: 6:8-12
- All the days of his separation he is holy unto the Lord. And if any man die very suddenly by him, and he hath defiled the head of his consecration; then he shall.... 6:8-12
- When you decide to quit being a Nazarite, you must:
- And this is the law of the Nazarite, when the days of his separation are fulfilled: he shall be brought unto the door of the tabernacle of the congregation: And he shall.... 6:13-20a
- After you retire, you may drink wine once again.
- And after that the Nazarite may drink wine. This is the law of the Nazarite who hath vowed, and of his offering unto the LORD for his separation, beside that that his hand shall get: according to
the vow which he vowed, so he must do after the law of his separation. 6:20b-21
- Priests must bless the children of Israel, using these words.
- Speak unto Aaron and unto his sons, saying, On this wise ye shall bless the children of Israel, saying unto them, The Lord bless thee, and keep thee:
The Lord make his face shine upon thee, and be gracious unto thee: The Lord lift up his countenance upon thee, and give thee peace. 6:23-26
- Dwindling in Unbelief
- How many animals has God killed?
(Numbers 6:10-20)
- Theologikos
- A haircut in the name of the LORD...
- Slate Blogs the Bible by David Plotz
- Biblical Racism and the Story of Moses' African Wife
Get the SAB on CD