1.
And the LORD spake unto Moses, saying,
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:
2-8. When either man or woman . . .
shall vow a vow of a Nazarite—that is, "a separated one,"
from a Hebrew word, "to separate." It was used to
designate a class of persons who, under the impulse of extraordinary
piety and with a view to higher degrees of religious improvement,
voluntarily renounced the occupations and pleasures of the world to
dedicate themselves unreservedly to the divine service. The vow might
be taken by either sex, provided they had the disposal of themselves
(Numbers 30:4), and for a limited
period—usually a month or a lifetime (Judges 13:5;
Judges 16:17). We do not know,
perhaps, the whole extent of abstinence they practised. But they
separated themselves from three things in particular—namely, from
wine, and all the varieties of vinous produce; from the application
of a razor to their head, allowing their hair to grow; and from
pollution by a dead body. The reasons of the self-restrictions are
obvious. The use of wine tended to inflame the passions, intoxicate
the brain, and create a taste for luxurious indulgence. The cutting
off the hair being a recognized sign of uncleanness (Leviticus 14:8;
Leviticus 14:9), its unpolled luxuriance
was a symbol of the purity he professed. Besides, its extraordinary
length kept him in constant remembrance of his vow, as well as
stimulated others to imitate his pious example. Moreover, contact
with a dead body, disqualifying for the divine service, the Nazarite
carefully avoided such a cause of unfitness, and, like the high
priest, did not assist at the funeral rites of his nearest relatives,
preferring his duty to God to the indulgence of his strongest natural
affections.
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.
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.
5.
All the days of the vow of his separation there shall no rasor 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.
All the days that he separateth himself unto the LORD he shall come at no dead body.
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.
8.
All the days of his separation he is holy unto the LORD.
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.
9-12. If any man die very suddenly
by him, and he hath defiled the head of his consecration—Cases
of sudden death might occur to make him contract pollution; and in
such circumstances he was required, after shaving his head, to make
the prescribed offerings necessary for the removal of ceremonial
defilement (Leviticus 15:13; Numbers 19:11).
But by the terms of this law an accidental defilement vitiated the
whole of his previous observances, and he was required to begin the
period of his Nazaritism afresh. But even this full completion did
not supersede the necessity of a sin offering at the close. Sin
mingles with our best and holiest performances, and the blood of
sprinkling is necessary to procure acceptance to us and our services.
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:
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.
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.
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:
13-20. when the days of his
separation are fulfilled, c.—On the accomplishment of a limited
vow of Nazaritism, Nazarites might cut their hair wherever they
happened to be (Acts 18:18) but
the hair was to be carefully kept and brought to the door of the
sanctuary. Then after the presentation of sin offerings and burnt
offerings, it was put under the vessel in which the peace offerings
were boiled; and the priest, taking the shoulder (Acts 18:18), when boiled, and a cake and wafer of the meat offering,
put them on the hands of the Nazarites to wave before the Lord, as a
token of thanksgiving, and thus released them from their vow.
Acts 18:18. THE FORM
OF BLESSING THE
PEOPLE.
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,
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.
16.
And the priest shall bring them before the LORD, and shall offer his sin offering, and his burnt offering:
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.
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.
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:
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.
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.
22.
And the LORD spake unto Moses, saying,
23.
Speak unto Aaron and unto his sons, saying, On this wise ye shall bless the children of Israel, saying unto them,
23-27. Speak unto Aaron and unto his
sons, saying, On this wise ye shall bless the congregation of Israel,
c.—This passage records the solemn benediction which God appointed
for dismissing the people at the close of the daily service. The
repetition of the name "Lord" or "Jehovah" three
times, expresses the great mystery of the Godhead—three persons,
and yet one God. The expressions in the separate clauses correspond
to the respective offices of the Father, to "bless and keep us"
of the Son, to be "gracious to us"; and of the Holy Ghost,
to "give us peace." And because the benediction, though
pronounced by the lips of a fellow man, derived its virtue, not from
the priest but from God, the encouraging assurance was added, "I
the Lord will bless them."
24.
The LORD bless thee, and keep thee:
25.
The LORD make his face shine upon thee, and be gracious unto thee:
26.
The LORD lift up his countenance upon thee, and give thee peace.
27.
And they shall put my name upon the children of Israel; and I will bless them.