Numbers 6

Translator Notes

1. The standard divine speech formula (vaydabber YHWH el-Mosheh) introduces a new block of legislation. This section (v1-21) governs the Nazirite vow, followed immediately by the priestly blessing (v22-27) — voluntary human consecration paired with divine benediction.

Key Terms

Translator Notes

1. The verb yafli (from pala, 'to be extraordinary, wonderful') frames the Nazirite vow as something remarkable — not routine piety but an extraordinary act of devotion. Both men and women may take this vow, a notable inclusion. The root n-z-r ('to separate, consecrate') appears three times in this verse, emphasizing the total-separation concept.

Translator Notes

1. The prohibition extends far beyond wine itself to anything derived from the grapevine — vinegar, juice, fresh grapes, raisins. The comprehensiveness is deliberate: the vine represents celebration and ordinary pleasure, and the Nazirite renounces the entire category. The verb yazzir (from n-z-r) governs the sentence — 'they must separate themselves from wine.'

Translator Notes

1. The phrase 'from seeds to skin' (mechartsannim ve'ad-zag) is a Hebrew merism — naming both extremes to include everything in between. Nothing from the vine, in any form, may enter the Nazirite's body. The comprehensiveness underscores that this is not a dietary preference but a total separation from the domain the vine represents.

Key Terms

Translator Notes

1. The uncut hair is the visible sign of the vow — the Nazirite carries their consecration publicly. The text declares qadosh yihyeh ('they shall be holy') — a status otherwise reserved for priests and sacred objects. The growing hair functions as a kind of crown (nezer can mean both 'consecration' and 'crown'), marking the Nazirite as set apart in a way others can see.

Translator Notes

1. The Hebrew uses nephesh met ('dead person,' literally 'dead soul') — contact with death is the most serious source of ritual impurity in the Israelite system. This restriction parallels the high priest's rules in Leviticus 21:11. The Nazirite, though a layperson, takes on the highest priestly purity standard voluntarily.

Translator Notes

1. This exceeds even ordinary priestly obligations — regular priests may attend family funerals (Lev 21:1-3). Only the high priest shares this restriction (Lev 21:11). The phrase nezer Elohav al-rosho ('the consecration of his God is upon his head') treats the uncut hair as a sacred diadem. The vow outranks even the deepest family bonds — a stunning claim about the priority of voluntary holiness.

Translator Notes

1. A summary declaration — qadosh hu laYHWH ('holy, they are, to the LORD'). The brevity is emphatic. The Nazirite's holiness is not aspirational but actual during the vow period. This verse functions as the conclusion of the three prohibitions (wine, razor, corpse) — together they constitute what makes the person qadosh.

Translator Notes

1. The text imagines an accidental breach — someone dies 'suddenly, in an instant' (befeta pitom) beside the Nazirite through no fault of their own. Even unintentional contamination defiles 'the head of their consecration' — the hair that symbolizes the vow. The seven-day purification period follows the standard corpse-contamination protocol of Numbers 19. The contaminated hair must be removed before the vow can restart.

Translator Notes

1. Turtledoves (torim) and young pigeons (benei yonah) are the offering accessible to the poor — the same pair prescribed for purification after childbirth (Lev 12:8) and skin disease (Lev 14:22). The eighth day marks the transition from impurity back toward holiness, paralleling circumcision on the eighth day and the consecration of the altar (Lev 9:1).

Key Terms

Translator Notes

1. Two offerings work together: the chata't (purification offering) cleanses the contamination; the olah (burnt offering) represents renewed total devotion. The verb kipper ('make atonement') appears here alongside the unusual phrase chata al-hannephesh — the Nazirite 'sinned against the person' (i.e., incurred guilt through contact with the corpse). The priest then 'reconsecrates' (qiddash) the head — the vow restarts from zero.

Key Terms

Translator Notes

1. The asham (guilt offering) here addresses the trespass against holy status — the Nazirite's consecrated state was a sacred possession, and its contamination requires reparation. The harshest clause: all previous days of the vow 'fall away' (yippelu) — they count for nothing. The vow must be fulfilled in full from the beginning, no credit for time already served. Holiness does not accumulate partially.

Translator Notes

1. Torah here means 'instruction, law, procedure' — the technical regulations for completing the vow. The passive 'shall be brought' (yavi oto) suggests the Nazirite is presented formally, almost like a sacrificial offering being brought before the LORD. The entrance of the tent of meeting is the threshold between ordinary and sacred space.

Translator Notes

1. Three of the five Levitical offering types appear together: olah (burnt offering — total devotion), chata't (purification offering — cleansing), and shelamim (peace offering — communion meal). The Nazirite's completion ceremony recapitulates the entire sacrificial system in miniature. All three animals must be tamim ('unblemished, whole, complete') — the physical wholeness of the animal mirrors the completeness of the vow.

Translator Notes

1. The unleavened bread (matzot) echoes the Passover and exodus. The grain offering (minchah) and drink offerings (nesakhim) accompany the animal sacrifices. The KJV's 'meat offering' for minchah is misleading — minchah is specifically the grain offering, never meat. The elaborate provision — three animals, bread, grain, wine — shows that completing a Nazirite vow was a significant and costly act of worship.

Translator Notes

1. The order matters: purification (chata't) before burnt offering (olah). Cleansing precedes devotion — the sanctuary must be purified before the worshipper can offer total surrender. This sequence appears throughout Leviticus and Numbers whenever both offerings are prescribed together.

Key Terms

Translator Notes

1. The shelamim (peace offering) is the culminating sacrifice — the one the worshipper shares in as a meal. From the root shalom, this offering celebrates restored relationship. The Nazirite, having completed the vow, sits down to eat with God. The unleavened bread basket accompanies the fellowship meal, making this a communal feast of completion.

Translator Notes

1. The hair — which has been qadosh throughout the vow — is placed in the fire of the shelamim, effectively making it part of the offering to God. The hair is not merely cut and discarded but ritually consumed. It carried the holiness of the vow, and that holiness is returned to God through fire. The location at the tent entrance ensures this is a public, liturgical act, not a private grooming.

Translator Notes

1. The Hebrew beshelah means 'boiled, cooked' (not 'sodden' in the modern sense of 'soggy'). The shoulder (zeroa) placed in the Nazirite's hands is a ritually significant portion. The items placed on the palms — shoulder, loaf, wafer — are about to be waved before the LORD, making the Nazirite an active participant in the offering rather than a passive observer.

Translator Notes

1. The final clause — 'after this, the Nazirite may drink wine' — marks the formal end of the vow with striking simplicity. The very thing that was prohibited first (v3) is now permitted again. The wave offering (tenufah) involves a ritual lifting or swinging motion before the LORD, presenting the food to God before the priest receives it. The breast and thigh are the priest's standard portions from peace offerings (Lev 7:31-34).

Translator Notes

1. The phrase 'apart from whatever else their hand can reach' (millevad asher-tassig yado) acknowledges economic variability — the prescribed offerings are the minimum, and wealthier Nazirites may add more. The closing formula ('according to their vow, so they must do') treats the vow with absolute seriousness. What is promised to God must be fulfilled exactly. The Nazirite laws end here; verses 22-27 shift to an entirely different subject — the priestly blessing.

Translator Notes

1. A new divine speech formula introduces the priestly blessing (v23-27). The juxtaposition with the Nazirite vow is deliberate: after describing how an individual Israelite can voluntarily become holy, the text prescribes how God's blessing descends on the entire community through priestly mediation. Individual consecration and communal benediction side by side.

Translator Notes

1. God prescribes the exact words — koh tevarekhu ('thus you shall bless'). The priests do not compose their own blessings; they speak God's words. The verb amar ('say') in the infinitive absolute (amor) indicates the precise, formal pronunciation required. The blessing is not a wish or a prayer but a divinely authorized declaration spoken by priestly authority.

Key Terms

Translator Notes

1. The first line of the three-line priestly blessing. The Hebrew is three words: yevarekekha YHWH veyishmerekha. The verbs are jussive — expressing a wish or command that carries divine authority. 'Bless' (barakh) encompasses all forms of flourishing — life, provision, fertility, favor. 'Guard' (shamar) implies watchful protection, the same verb used for tending the garden in Genesis 2:15. The blessing begins with God's active care.

Key Terms

Translator Notes

1. The second line adds two words to the pattern (five Hebrew words vs. three in v24). 'Make His face shine' (ya'er panav) — a turned, radiant face means favorable attention, as opposed to a hidden or averted face which means rejection or absence. The metaphor is relational: God's 'face' directed toward you means God is personally engaged with you. Vichunneka ('show you grace/be gracious') — from chen, unmerited favor. Grace here is God's disposition to give beyond what is deserved.

Key Terms

Translator Notes

1. The third line is the longest — seven Hebrew words, completing the ascending pattern: 3-5-7. 'Lift up His face toward you' (yissa YHWH panav elekha) — a judge who 'lifts the face' of a petitioner looks at them with favor rather than dismissing them. The blessing asks God to regard Israel with the attentive gaze of a favorable judge, a loving parent, a protector. The final word is shalom — the theological summit of the entire blessing. The three-line structure builds: blessing → favor → peace. Each line is longer, weightier, and more comprehensive than the last.

Translator Notes

1. The chapter's final verse reveals the mechanics of the blessing: the priests 'place' (samu) God's name on Israel. The name functions as a seal of ownership and protection — to bear God's name is to belong to God. The emphatic final pronoun — va'ani avarekhem, 'and I, I will bless them' — makes clear that the priests are the instruments but God is the source. The priestly blessing is not priestly power; it is divinely authorized speech that God Himself ratifies and enacts.