The Nazirites
1 Yahweh spoke to Moses, “Speak to the people of Israel
2 and say to them: When either a man or a woman makes a special vow, the vow of a Nazi rite, to dedicate himself to Yahweh,
3 he shall abstain from wine and strong drink. He shall not drink vinegar made from wine or strong drink; nor shall he drink the juice of the grape or eat fresh or dried grapes.
4 All the time he lives as a Na zirite he shall eat nothing produced by the grapevine, from the pips to the skin.
5 All the days of his vow of separation no razor shall touch his head. Until the time of his dedication to Yahweh is over, he will be a consecrated person and he shall let his hair grow freely.
6 For all the time of his separation in honor of Yahweh he shall not go near a dead person,
7 not even for his father, mother, brother or sister, lest he be defiled, for he bears on his head the sign of his consecration to God.
8 All the time he lives as a Nazirite he is consecrated to Yahweh.
9 If someone suddenly dies near him, his dedicated head is defiled. He then shall be purified on the seventh day and shave his head on that day.
10 Then on the eighth day he shall bring two turtledoves or two young pigeons to the priest at the entrance to the Tent of Meeting.
11 The priest shall offer one as a sin offering and the other as a burnt offering; so he shall make atonement for his sin because of the dead person.
12 And that same day the Nazirite shall again consecrate his head and bring a yearling lamb as a guilt offering. The time of his consecration begins again from that day. The former days are not valid for his separation has been defiled.
13 This is the ritual regarding the Nazirite on the day when his period of consecration is completed. He is to be led to the entrance of the Tent of Meeting,
14 and must make his offering to Yahweh: a one-year-old male lamb without any defect for burnt offering, a one-year-old lamb without any defect for sacrifice for sin; a ram without any defect for peace offering;
15 and a basket of unleavened loaves made of fine flour mixed with oil, and of unleavened wafers spread with oil, with the required offerings of grain and wine.
16 When he has brought all this before Yahweh, the priest must offer the sacrifice for sin and the burnt offering for the Nazirite.
17 Then he shall offer the peace offer ing with the ram and the un leavened bread in the basket, and finally the priest shall offer the accompanying offerings of grain and wine.
18 Then the Nazirite shall shave off his consecrated hair at the entrance to the Tent of Meet ing, and put it in the fire of peace offering.
19 The priest is to take the shoulder of the ram, as soon as it is cooked, with an unleavened cake from the basket, and an unleavened wafer. He is to put them into the hands of the Nazirite who has just shaved off his hair.
20 With them he must make the gesture of offering before Yah weh; as it is a holy thing, it belongs by law to the priest, in addition to the breast that has been presented and the leg of the ram that has been set aside. After this the Nazirite may once more drink wine.
21 Such is the ritual for the Nazirite, if, besides the hair, he has also vowed a personal offering to Yahweh, he must fulfill the vow he has made, in addition to what the ritual prescribes for his hair.”
The blessing
22 Then Yahweh spoke to Mo ses saying,
23 “Speak to Aaron and his sons and say to them: This is how you shall bless the people of Israel; you shall say:
24 May Yahweh bless you and keep you!
25 May Yahweh let his face shine on you, and be gracious to you!
26 May Yahweh look kindly on you, and give you his peace!
27 In that way shall they put my name on the people of Israel and I will bless them.”
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Comments Numbers, Chapter 6
• 6.1 The Nazirites were men who consecrated themselves to God for a while or for life. Samson was a Nazirite (Jdg 13:5) and John the Baptist may have also been one (see Lk 1:15). There were also Nazirites among the first Christians of Jewish descent (Acts 21:23). See also Paul’s vow (Acts 18:18).
We do not know of any religious congregations in Israel as we now have in the church. There fore the law concerning the Nazirites enabled any believer to dedicate himself to God in a personal way.
• 22. Blessing of Moses which St. Francis of Assisi always used.