Chapter Six
The Nazirite Vow
6:1 And the LORD spoke to Moses, saying, 2 “Speak to the people of Israel and say to them, When either a man or a woman makes a special vow, the vow of a Nazirite, to separate himself to the LORD, 3 he shall separate himself from wine and strong drink. He shall drink no vinegar made from wine or strong drink and shall not drink any juice of grapes or eat grapes, fresh or dried. 4 All the days of his separation he shall eat nothing that is produced by the grapevine, not even the seeds or the skins.
The Hebrew word ‘nā·zîr’[1] has previously appeared in Genesis 49:26; Leviticus 25:5 and 25:11, but this is the first time that the word is transliterated as ‘Nazirite’, referring to a person making a special vow to God.[2] The vow was voluntary, although the most famous Nazirite was Samson (see Judges 13:1-16:31), who was a Nazirite from birth. The vow involved a solemn oath to do something for God and as such required the person to pull away from worldly pleasures and focus on God alone.
On the top of the list was the prohibition of drinking anything that was fermented. They were not allowed to consume wine, strong drink, or vinegar. Nor were they allowed to drink juice of any grape nor eat raisins or any form of grapes. Nothing from a grapevine was permitted to be eaten including the seeds or skins of the fruit.
6:5 “All the days of his vow of separation, no razor shall touch his head. Until the time is completed for which he separates himself to the LORD, he shall be holy. He shall let the locks of hair of his head grow long.
As an outward indicator of taking a Nazirite vow, the person is never to cut their hair until the vow has been accomplished. During that time, they are to remain holy.
6:6 “All the days that he separates himself to the LORD he shall not go near a dead body. 7 Not even for his father or for his mother, for brother or sister, if they die, shall he make himself unclean, because his separation to God is on his head. 8 All the days of his separation he is holy to the LORD.
To remain holy requires them to remain ceremonially clean, which involves avoiding being near a dead body, including a close family member, since the hair on their head serves as a mark of consecration that indicates their separation to YHWH.
6:9 “And if any man dies very suddenly beside him and he defiles his consecrated head, then he shall shave his head on the day of his cleansing; on the seventh day he shall shave it. 10 On the eighth day he shall bring two turtledoves or two pigeons to the priest to the entrance of the tent of meeting, 11 and the priest shall offer one for a sin offering and the other for a burnt offering, and make atonement for him, because he sinned by reason of the dead body. And he shall consecrate his head that same day 12 and separate himself to the LORD for the days of his separation and bring a male lamb a year old for a guilt offering. But the previous period shall be void, because his separation was defiled.
If someone were to die suddenly and unexpectedly near a Nazirite before the vow was completed, the death would defile them. Requiring them to become ceremonially clean again (see Numbers 19:11-19), and then on the seventh day they were to shave their heads again. On the following day they were to bring two turtledoves or two pigeons to the priest at the entrance to the Tabernacle. The priest is to offer one as a sin offering and the other as a burnt offering for their atonement, plus a year-old male lamb as a guilt offering. At that time the person is to be considered clean and the consecration of the vow that would be represented by the recently shaven head would then be valid again, however, the time prior to the death was invalidated.
6:13 “And this is the law for the Nazirite, when the time of his separation has been completed: he shall be brought to the entrance of the tent of meeting, 14 and he shall bring his gift to the LORD, one male lamb a year old without blemish for a burnt offering, and one ewe lamb a year old without blemish as a sin offering, and one ram without blemish as a peace offering, 15 and a basket of unleavened bread, loaves of fine flour mixed with oil, and unleavened wafers smeared with oil, and their grain offering and their drink offerings. 16 And the priest shall bring them before the LORD and offer his sin offering and his burnt offering, 17 and he shall offer the ram as a sacrifice of peace offering to the LORD, with the basket of unleavened bread. The priest shall offer also its grain offering and its drink offering. 18 And the Nazirite shall shave his consecrated head at the entrance of the tent of meeting and shall take the hair from his consecrated head and put it on the fire that is under the sacrifice of the peace offering. 19 And the priest shall take the shoulder of the ram, when it is boiled, and one unleavened loaf out of the basket and one unleavened wafer, and shall put them on the hands of the Nazirite, after he has shaved the hair of his consecration, 20 and the priest shall wave them for a wave offering before the LORD. They are a holy portion for the priest, together with the breast that is waved and the thigh that is contributed. And after that the Nazirite may drink wine.
After the vow was completed, the Nazirite was to come to the entrance of the Tabernacle to offer a gift to YHWH. Consisting of one year-old male lamb without blemish for a burnt offering (see Leviticus 1:3); one year-old ewe lamb without blemish for a sin offering (see Leviticus 4:32); one ram without blemish as a peace offering (see Leviticus 3:6); a basket of unleavened bread (see Exodus 29:2-3), loaves made of flour mixed with oil, unleavened wafers smeared with oil (see Exodus 29:2; Leviticus 2:4); and their associated grain offering (see Leviticus 2:1-16; 6:14-23; 7:9-10) and drink offerings (see Exodus 29:40-41; Leviticus 23:13; Numbers 15:7). The priest is to bring them before YHWH and offer them on behalf of the Nazirite.
The Nazirite is then to shave their head at the entrance of the Tabernacle and take the hair and put it in the flames of the bronze altar under the peace offering sacrifice. The priest is to take the shoulder of the ram after being boiled, along with one of the unleavened loaves out of the basket and one unleavened wafer and give them to the Nazirite to wave before God. They are then given back to the priest for the priest’s consumption which was to be eaten together with the ram’s breast (that was waved by the priest) and the ram’s thigh (see Exodus 29:27-28). Once completed, the Nazirite may drink wine if so desired.
6:21 “This is the law of the Nazirite. But if he vows an offering to the LORD above his Nazirite vow, as he can afford, in exact accordance with the vow that he takes, then he shall do in addition to the law of the Nazirite.”
If the vow made to God involved giving an offering greater than what was required per the “law of the Nazirite,” as listed here, they were to do as they originally vowed to do.
Considerations
The Hebrew term ‘Nā·zîr’, transliterated as ‘Nazirite’ (defined as one consecrated, one devoted, one that is separated, or to refer, as it does in this chapter, to a Nazirite) is not related to the word ‘Nazarene’, referring to a person from the city of Nazareth, a town located in the northern region of Galilee (Northern Israel). The city should sound familiar since Nazareth was the childhood home of Jesus. However, neither word, Nazarene nor Nazareth, can be found in the Old Testament. The name ‘Nazareth’ is believed to be derived from the Hebrew word ‘nēṣer’,[3] a noun referring to a branch or shoot from a plant, not one consecrated or separated.
It is interesting to note that some have questioned the history of Nazareth, claiming that since the Old Testament makes no reference to the town and that other historic sources seem to be void of any citation, that perhaps Nazareth did not exist until after the gospel record was written. This is of vital importance since the book of Matthew states, referring to Jesus, “And he went and lived in a city called Nazareth, so that what was spoken by the prophets might be fulfilled, that he would be called a Nazarene.” (Matthew 2:23) If the Old Testament does not mention Nazareth or Nazarene, what is Matthew referring to? Did he make a mistake?
Since Matthew’s reference did not mention a single prophet but used the plural term, ‘prophets’, signaling to the reader that one should not expect to find a single reference or a single verse, but mentioned several times. Some believe that since several of the Old Testament prophets referred to the coming Messiah as a ‘branch’, including:
“There shall come forth a shoot from the stump of Jesse, and a branch from his roots shall bear fruit.” (Isaiah 11:1, ESV, emphasis added)
“Behold, the days are coming, declares the LORD, when I will raise up for David a righteous Branch, and he shall reign as king and deal wisely, and shall execute justice and righteousness in the land.” (Jeremiah 23:5, ESV, emphasis added)
“In those days and at that time I will cause a righteous Branch to spring up for David, and he shall execute justice and righteousness in the land.” (Jeremiah 33:15, ESV, emphasis added)
“Hear now, O Joshua the high priest, you and your friends who sit before you, for they are men who are a sign: behold, I will bring my servant the Branch.” (Zechariah 3:8, ESV, emphasis added)
“And say to him, ‘Thus says the LORD of hosts, “Behold, the man whose name is the Branch: for he shall branch out from his place, and he shall build the temple of the LORD.” (Zechariah 6:12, ESV, emphasis added)
That perhaps Matthew was connecting the coming ‘Branch’ mentioned in these verses to that of being born in the city named ‘branch’.
Still others note that the city of Nazareth, where Jesus lived, was a despised place “on the other side of the tracks.” This is evident in Nathaniel’s response, “Can anything good come out of Nazareth?” (John 1:46) In this sense, “Nazarene” was a term of scorn appropriate to the Messiah whom the prophets predicted would be “despised and rejected of men” (Isa. 53:3; cf. Ps. 22:6; Dan. 9:26; Zech. 12:10).[4]
That still leaves the question as to why is Nazareth not mentioned in history? First, the city of Nazareth was known by several variant names, including Natzrat, an-Nāsira, and Nasrath. The city still exists today, and archaeology has found evidence of the ancient city below the modern city, with extensive diggings continuing today. There is no reason to believe that the city did not exist during Jesus’ life. On the contrary:
The archaeological data from excavations in the Nazareth area demonstrate that Nazareth was a small (60 acre) agricultural village, had a population of about 300-500 people, had several rolling-stone tombs in the vicinity (like the tomb of Jesus) used up until the destruction of Jerusalem in A.D. 70, and a third-century A.D. Jewish synagogue which was probably built over the top of an earlier synagogue that was familiar to Jesus. To be sure, it is not uncommon for a later synagogue to be built over an earlier synagogue structure as was accomplished at Capernaum. In addition, an assortment of pottery has been found in the Nazareth area dating from 900 B.C. to A.D. 640, suggesting the area was occupied at various times over a 1500-year period. Among these finds, there is no evidence that contradicts the view that Nazareth was a small historic village during the time of Jesus.[5]
As mentioned above the popular Bible-story character and Israelite judge known as Samson was a Nazarite. One might say he was a bit flamboyant, someone who seemed to enjoy the limelight. As such he could not be described as a typical man of God, let alone a Nazarite. God had used Samson primarily to fight the Philistines and did so in several odd encounters (see Judges 13:1-16:31). In one of those engagements, he singlehandedly killed over a thousand Philistines. This is interesting since we discovered in this chapter that a Nazarite would be defiled and rendered unclean by simply being near a dead person (see verses 6-12). However, in the story of Samson there is no mention of him cutting his hair and making the appropriate sacrifices to be ceremonially clean again as required for a Nazarite. So, the question that is often asked is, was Samson exempt from this clause for some reason? Did God view Samson differently, perhaps since he was dedicated and designated as a Nazarite before he was born? These and other questions regarding the Nazarite vow have been proposed and addressed by many sages and rabbis over the years, some were recorded in the Nazir Tractate of the Mishnah. One popular approach is to consider Nazarites like Samson to be a ‘higher’ than the normal Nazarite.
The Bible mentions three Nazarites for life: Samson, Samuel, and John the Baptist. Fathers, and mothers with the consent of their husbands, could devote their prospective children to perpetual Nazaritism (1 Sam. 1:11; Mishna, Nazir, ix, 5), in which case the mother abstained during her pregnancy from wine and strong drink and unclean things (Judg. 13:4; Luke 1:15). These life-long Nazarites were afterwards divided into two classes, viz. עולם נזירי, ordinary perpetual Nazarites, and נזירי שׁמשׁון, Samson-Nazarites, and the distinction between the two was that the former were allowed to diminish their hair when it became too heavy, if they were willing to bring the three appointed sacrifices, and were obliged to bring a sacrifice in case they became defiled; while the latter were not allowed to diminish their hair, however heavy, but were not required to bring a sacrifice in case they became defiled (Mishna, Nazir, i, 2), because Samson brought no sacrifice after he was defiled by contact with the jaw-bone of a dead ass (Judg. 15:16). Of course, any one who wished to become a Samson-Nazarite had distinctly to say so (הריני כשׁמשׁון) when he took the vow.[6]
Aaron’s Blessing
6:22 The LORD spoke to Moses, saying, 23 “Speak to Aaron and his sons, saying, Thus you shall bless the people of Israel: you shall say to them,
God gives to Moses the words to what is often referred to as “Aaron’s Blessing,” or the Aaronic blessing. This blessing reveals God’s nature to both the people of Israel and to the people who read these passages. Even though the word ‘love’ does not appear in the text, the theme is certainly about His love for His people.
While intended to be offered through a priest (an intermediary between mankind and God), each of these blessings come directly to the people from YHWH. Based on Leviticus 9:22, the rabbinic interpretation of these verses is that the blessing was to be given while standing up with arms raised.[7] Considered by most to be a model prayer (much like the “Lord’s Prayer”), many believe since the wording was specifically given to Moses by God, that it should not be modified or spoken to the people of Israel in a different language. “That is, when you bless, use this formula, not one of your devising.”[8]
6:24 The LORD bless you and keep you;
The first set of the three begins with the emphasis of a blessing (Hebrew ‘yeḇā·rěk’,[9] a verb derived from the noun ‘knee’)[10] from YHWH. Even though God instructed them to say the tetragrammaton (YHWH, see verse 23),[11] due to reverence to God and His name, it is rarely spoken or written.
“Thus you shall bless the children of Israel (Num. 6:23): using the Unique Name [of God]. You say that it is using the Unique Name of God, but perhaps it refers only to the use of a euphemism? Scripture states, “So they shall place my name …” (Num. 6:27), meaning, the name that is unique to me.[12]
Since the blessing was instituted from God and not a person, it began with a confident, “The LORD bless you,” instead of a “May the LORD bless you.” There was to be no doubt regarding what God was going to do for them, beginning with the promise to ‘keep’ them. The Hebrew word translated here as ‘keep’, is ‘yiš·merě’,[13] meaning to watch over, to preserve, to guard.[14]
6:25 the LORD make his face to shine upon you and be gracious to you;
The second part of this three-part blessing was the promise of God’s face shining on them. The Hebrew word ‘pā·nāy’,[15] refers to being in front of, a physical position and the Hebrew ‘yā·ēr’,[16] means to give light.[17] Being in God’s presence implies His provision of guidance, fellowship, favor, and kindness. It also serves as a reminder if one were to turn away from God, he can hide His face, and those provisions lost (see Deuteronomy 31:18).
God is also promising to be gracious; this is the seventh time the Hebrew word ‘ḥānan’[18] appears in Scripture (see Genesis 33:5, 11; 42:21; 43:29; Exodus 33:19 used twice). The word defines one of greatest attributes of God, being gracious or one that offers grace. The definition of grace is often linked with the word ‘mercy’, while related they are essentially opposites. Both convey the same concept but from reverse directions. Grace can be defined as granting something that is not deserved (such as leniency or forgiveness), while mercy could be defined as not granting something that is deserved (such as punishment). Here God is promising to bless even when undeserving.
6:26 the LORD lift up his countenance upon you and give you peace.
In the third and final component of the blessing, God is offering to “lift up his countenance,” the Hebrew word translated here as ‘countenance’ is the same word translated in verse 25 as ‘face’ (‘pā·nāy’). In this verse He is promising to “lift up” in His presence, to bring His face to the face of His people. The conjunction ‘wāw’ (or ‘vav’), translated as ‘and’ can also be translated ‘that is’, allowing an alternate potential translation of, “the LORD lift you up into His presence so that you can have peace.”
6:27 “So shall they put my name upon the people of Israel, and I will bless them.”
God identifies another reason for the blessing, and in so doing, clarifies the importance of using His name. The blessing was to ‘put’ (Hebrew ‘śā·mû’,[19] meaning to place) His name on the people of Israel. God[20] wants the people of Israel to be identified as His people and, as a result, He will bless them.
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[1] Strong’s Hebrew 5139.
[2] See commentary under Genesis 49:22-26.
[3] Strong’s Hebrew 5342.
[4] Geisler, N. L., & Howe, T. A. (1992). When critics ask: a popular handbook on Bible difficulties (p. 328). Wheaton, Ill.: Victor Books.
[5] Holden, J. M., Ph. D. (2012). Category: Archaeology. Retrieved May 16, 2019, from http://normangeisler.com/category/archaeology/ See article Is Jesus’ Hometown (Nazareth) a Myth? for more information.
[6] M’Clintock, J., & Strong, J. (1894). Naz′arite. In Cyclopædia of Biblical, Theological, and Ecclesiastical Literature (Vol. 6, p. 881). New York: Harper & Brothers, Publishers.
[7] Neusner, J. (2011). The Babylonian Talmud: A Translation and Commentary (Vol. 11a, pp. 182–183). Peabody, MA: Hendrickson Publishers.
[8] Milgrom, J. (1990). Numbers (p. 51). Philadelphia: Jewish Publication Society.
[9] Strong’s Hebrew 1288.
[10] See commentary under Genesis 1:28-30 and Considerations under Genesis 14:19-24.
[11] See also commentary under Genesis 15:2-6 and Considerations under Exodus 3:18-22.
[12] Neusner, J. (2011). The Babylonian Talmud: A Translation and Commentary (Vol. 11a, p. 183). Peabody, MA: Hendrickson Publishers.
[13] Strong’s Hebrew 8104.
[14] See commentary under Genesis 2:15-17.
[15] Strong’s Hebrew 3942.
[16] Strong’s Hebrew 215.
[17] See commentary under Genesis 1:14-19.
[18] Strong’s Hebrew 2603.
[19] Strong’s Hebrew 7760.
[20] See commentary under Exodus 20:7 regarding the name of God.