Numbers 6:1-27

The Old Testament Book of Numbers

In the Desert

Numbers

Marion Adams

Chapter 6

Rules for *Nazirites – Numbers 6:1-21

v1 The *LORD said to Moses, v2 ‘Speak to the *Israelites and tell them this: ‘A man or woman might want to make a special promise to me. That man or woman may become a *Nazirite. v3 If so, he (or she) must not drink wine. He must not drink any beer or vinegar (a type of sour wine). He must not drink the juice of *grapes or eat *grapes or raisins. (Raisins are *grapes that people have dried in the sun.) v4 He must not eat even the seeds or the skins (outer covers) of *grapes.

v5 A person must not cut his hair during the time that he is a *Nazirite. A *Nazirite’s hair shows that he is holy. That person has made a special promise to me.

v6 During the time that the person is a *Nazirite, he must not go near to a dead body. v7 Even if the dead person is his father, mother, brother, or sister, the *Nazirite must stay away from the dead body. He must obey this rule because he is a *Nazirite. His hair shows that he is holy. v8 During the time that the person is a *Nazirite, he must remain holy.

v9 If someone dies suddenly next to a *Nazirite, the *Nazirite must shave off his own hair 7 days later. This will make the *Nazirite *clean again. v10 On the next day, he must bring two doves or two pigeons. He must hand them to the priest at the entrance to *God’s Tent. (Doves and pigeons are similar types of birds.) v11 The priest must *sacrifice one bird as a *sin offering and the other bird as a *burnt offering. The priest must do this because the *Nazirite went too near to a dead body. This will make the *Nazirite *clean again. On the same day, the *Nazirite must make his special promise again and let his hair grow again. v12 He has to begin his time as a *Nazirite again, with a new promise. He cannot include the days before he became *unclean. He must bring a male sheep that is one year old. This is a *sacrifice to make things right again between himself and God.

v13 He is a *Nazirite for a certain period of time. When that period of time finishes, he must go to *God’s Tent. v14 He must offer to me three animals that have nothing wrong with them. He must offer a young male sheep that is one year old. This is a *burnt offering. He must offer a young female sheep that is one year old. This is a *sin offering. He must offer a male sheep. This is a *peace offering. v15 He must bring *offerings of wine and grain too. He must bring a basket of bread that people have made with the best flour and oil. But the bread must not have any *yeast in it. Also, he must bring thin biscuits with oil on them.

v16 The priest must take these gifts to my *altar and he must offer them to me. He must make the *sin offering and the *burnt offering. v17 Then the priest must *sacrifice the male sheep as a *peace offering. He must offer to me the wine, the grain and the bread.

v18 Afterwards, the *Nazirite must stand at the entrance to *God’s Tent. He must shave his head. He must put his hair into the same fire where the priest has cooked the male sheep. v19 When the male sheep is ready to eat, the priest must take it. Also, he must take a loaf and a thin biscuit from the basket. Both the loaf and the biscuit must not have *yeast in them. The priest must give the sheep’s shoulder, the loaf and the biscuit to the *Nazirite who has shaved his head. v20 The *Nazirite must give them back to the priest. The priest must lift them up to me as a special gift. They belong to the priest. Also, the priest can eat the front part of the sheep and its back leg. After that, the *Nazirite may drink wine.

v21 This is what *Nazirites must do at the end of their time as *Nazirites. In addition to these *sacrifices, the *Nazirite may give whatever else he can afford. And he must bring any other *offering that he promised to me.’

Verses 1-21 The word ‘*Nazirite’ is from the *Hebrew word ‘nazir’. ‘Nazir’ means to separate someone (or something) from everything else for a special purpose. The *Nazirites’ special purpose was to give themselves to God completely for a period of time.

*Nazirites were not priests. A person chose to become a *Nazirite. Women could become *Nazirites too. But in this passage and notes, we have used the word ‘he’ to make it easier to read.

A person did not have to be a *Nazirite for all of his life. He promised to give himself to God completely for a particular period of time. This period of time varied. When his time as a *Nazirite finished, he had to bring *sacrifices to *God’s Tent (verses 13-20). Then, he was free from the promise.

It was usual for the *Israelites to make promises to God. Usually, people promised to give or to do something for God. People became *Nazirites for different reasons. Perhaps they had problems that had made them depend on God only. So they wanted to show this when they gave themselves to him completely.

*Nazirites made special promises. In verse 2, the *Hebrew word for ‘to make a promise’ means ‘to do something wonderful or extraordinary’. *Nazirites had to obey special rules.

1. God did not allow them to eat *grapes or raisins (*grapes that people have dried in the sun), or to drink alcohol or vinegar (a type of sour wine). A *Nazirite could never become a drunk!

2. *Nazirites had to grow their hair. Hair that was growing was a *symbol of their life. They had given their life to God for a particular period of time. During that time, they did not cut their hair. Their long hair showed that they belonged to God completely. Female *Nazirites had long hair anyway. Probably, they did not tie it up.

3. *Nazirites had to avoid dead bodies. If an ordinary *Israelite touched a dead body, he had to wash in a special liquid (Numbers chapter 19). But if someone died near a *Nazirite, the *Nazirite had to bring expensive *offerings to *God’s Tent. He had to shave off his hair and he had to make his promises again. Even if his time as a *Nazirite had finished almost, he had to start again!

*Nazirites were holy, like priests. But *Nazirites could not enter *God’s Tent or offer *sacrifices. Priests wore special clothes, but *Nazirites did not. People gave *offerings to the priests. *Nazirites did not receive *offerings. They had to give *offerings to the priests, too. When a person’s time as a *Nazirite was over, they gave the four main types of *offering (see Leviticus Chapter s 1 to 4).

1. The *burnt offering

The animal that the person offered had to be perfect, without any spots or marks. The person put his hands on the animal. This showed that the animal represented him. (To represent means to do something on behalf of someone else.) He wanted to show that he had given himself to God completely.

This offering showed the end of a person’s time as a *Nazirite. Then the priest burned the whole animal on the *altar. The smell pleased God. It was an act of the total *sacrifice of the *Nazirite.

2. The *grain offering

Flour, bread and biscuits were types of *grain offerings. People burned part of the *grain offering on the *altar. The grain had to be the best that the person could give. It was a gift to God. Also, it was a gift for the priests.

3. The *peace offering

This was similar to the *burnt offering. However, the priests burned the animal’s fat only. The *Israelites thought that this was the best part of the animal. But they offered it to God because God had told them to offer it. It was usual for the person who brought it to share the meat with their family. The priest received some of the meat also. Usually, he received the front part and the back leg only. But from a *Nazirite, the priest received the shoulder, a loaf and a biscuit too. This was an *offering to show that the person was at *peace with God. It showed that God accepted that person.

4. The *sin offering

The person made this *offering so that God would forgive their *sins.

It was the custom to give *offerings of wine with the *burnt offering and the *peace offering.

The priest’s prayer for the people – Numbers 6:22-27

v22 The *LORD spoke to Moses. He said, v23 ‘When Aaron and his sons bless the *Israelites, they must say certain words.

v24 They must say, “I pray for the *LORD to *bless you.

I pray that the *LORD will protect you.

v25 I pray that the *LORD will be kind and merciful (not to punish people when they deserve it).

v26 I pray that the *LORD will be good to you.

I pray that he will give you *peace.” ’

v27 Then the *LORD said, ‘I shall *bless the *Israelites. Aaron and his sons will speak my name as they bless the *Israelites. So I shall give my *blessing to them.’

Verses 22-27 This beautiful prayer is one of the most popular poems in the Bible. Both *Jews and *Christians still say it today. The prayer asks for God’s *blessing. His *blessing is life with him always. His *blessing includes all that we need to live this kind of life. It includes all that we need to help other people. It includes strength to do what God wants. And it includes God’s protection from bad things. We must not use God’s gifts to do things that are wrong and selfish.

All of us deserve God’s punishment for our *sins. But God is kind. We can ask him to forgive us. He will answer that prayer always, if we are sincere (1 John 1:9). Then we will know his *peace. Jesus died to make this possible (John 3:16).

The *Hebrew word for *peace is ‘shalom’. It is one of the most important words in the *Hebrew language. It is a gift from God. We have *peace when we obey God. God’s *peace helps us not to be anxious, even when we are in danger. We feel content inside our spirits, whatever happens to us. God takes care of us. He provides everything that we need. When we realise this, we have *peace.

LORD ~ a special name for God that his people use. In Hebrew, it is Yahweh. This name means something like ‘I am’ or ‘always alive’.

Lord ~ one who rules. God is the Lord who rules everyone.

Hebrew ~ the language of the *Jews.
Israel ~ the Israelites and their nation.
clean ~ in the Jewish religion, this means something or someone that God accepts. People had to be clean in order to approach *God’s Tent. People had to be clean to be in the Israelites’ camp. There is no human way to explain what was clean or unclean. We know only because God has shown us, in the Bible.

Jewish ~ the word that describes a *Jew or anything that belongs to the *Jews.

Israel ~ the Israelites and their nation.

unclean ~ in the Jewish religion, an unclean person could not go near to *God’s Tent or into the Israelites’ camp, depending on the type of uncleanness. There is no human way to explain what was clean or unclean. We know only because God has shown us, in the Bible.

uncleanness ~ the state of something that is unclean.
sin ~ the nature of all people since Adam chose not to obey God. People’s lives are not acceptable to God because of sin. ‘Sins’ are states, attitudes and acts that are not acceptable to God. A person sins whenever that person is guilty of a sin.'burnt offering ~ an animal that the priests burnt on the altar as a *sacrifice.

altar ~ a special table where the priests burned animals or other gifts as a *sacrifice to God (or, to a false god).
unclean ~ in the Jewish religion, an unclean person could not go near to *God’s Tent or into the Israelites’ camp, depending on the type of uncleanness. There is no human way to explain what was clean or unclean. We know only because God has shown us, in the Bible.

Jewish ~ the word that describes a *Jew or anything that belongs to the *Jews.

Israel ~ the Israelites and their nation.

uncleanness ~ the state of something that is unclean.

clean ~ in the Jewish religion, this means something or someone that God accepts. People had to be clean in order to approach *God’s Tent. People had to be clean to be in the Israelites’ camp. There is no human way to explain what was clean or unclean. We know only because God has shown us, in the Bible.
peace ~ a calm and content attitude, even when there are problems.
yeast ~ a substance that people use to make bread. It makes the bread rise.
altar ~ a special table where the priests burned animals or other gifts as a *sacrifice to God (or, to a false god).
Hebrew ~ the language of the *Jews.'grain offering ~ an *offering of something that people made from grain.
bless ~ 1. To ask God to do good things for a person or people. 2. God blesses us when he does good things for us. He guards us and he keeps us safe from evil things.