Numbers 6:1

The general subject embracing this list of instructions is that of protecting the spiritual life of Israel, and this chapter has the rules for those who became Nazirites. There were two types of this vow:

(1) The Nazirite for Life, of which the Bible has only three examples: (a) Samuel; (b) Samson; and (c) John the Baptist; and

(2) the Nazirite of Days, the rules in this chapter applying only to the latter of the two classes. There are no certain examples anywhere in the Bible of persons actually becoming Nazirites, despite there having been apparently a very large number of these. This type of vow had existed for ages prior to the times of Moses and was known in pagan lands as well as among the Jews. Jonah (Jonah 1:16) states that the mariners on the Ship of Tarshish, "offered a sacrifice unto Jehovah, and made vows." The instructions provided here do not initiate a new practice but seek rather to regulate a custom already prevalent.

George W. Wade thought that the Jews who had made vows and were waiting to shave their heads (Acts 21:23) were Nazirites of Days, for whom Paul paid the charges;[1] however, the N.T. does not refer to them as Nazirites. Of the three known examples of the Nazirites for Life, it is significant that, "They were vowed or dedicated to the Lord by their parents even before they were born (Judges 13:5,14; 1 Samuel 1:11, and Luke 1:15)."[2]

In the fact that women were permitted to become Nazirites, Whitelaw saw:

"A recognition of the Divine liberty of the Holy Spirit, and an anticipation of the time when the spirit of self-devotion should be poured out without distinction upon men and women."[3]

A person wishing to become a Nazirite, either man or woman, offered himself "unto Jehovah" in a dedicatory sense, such an intention no doubt arising in unusually holy and spiritually-minded persons who desired a more strict and meaningful religious life than that which came of merely observing the ordinary requirements.

Our Lord Jesus was not a Nazirite. The word "Nazarene" means a citizen of NAZARETH, having no connection with NAZARITE. Neither Samuel nor John the Baptist are anywhere called a Nazirite, although, due to the circumstances attending the birth of each, coupled with their manner of life afterward, they are usually designated as Nazirites for Life. The very word in Hebrew for "Nazirite .... is spelled with exactly the same consonants as separate, and is thus closely related to the idea of separation."[4]

The Nazirites of the O.T. occupied somewhat the same status as that of the prophets in the early days of the church, in that both men and women were members of the class, and that they were an honored and respected minority in both cases. Also, in many instances, little was known of them personally. In the N.T., for example, not even the names are given of Philip's four virgin daughters who were "prophetesses." The great majority of the Nazirites of old also remained nameless in the sacred records.

"And Jehovah spake unto Moses, saying, Speak unto the children of Israel, and say unto them, When either man or woman shall make a special vow, the vow of a Nazirite, to separate himself unto Jehovah, he shall separate himself from wine and strong drink; he shall drink no vinegar of wine, or vinegar of strong drink, neither shall he drink any juice of grapes, nor eat fresh grapes or dried. All the days of his separation shall he eat nothing that is made of the grape-vine, from the kernels even to the husk."

The Nazirites were a special class of people "raised up by God himself' (Amos 2:11,12) to further and deepen the spiritual life of the people. They were even classed with the prophets by Amos. Unger noted that the sanctity of Israel as being "the people of God," attained "its highest expression in the Nazirite vow."[5]

"From the kernels even to the husks ..." (Numbers 6:4). Marsh noted that there is a wide disagreement among scholars as to the true meaning of the words thus rendered in our text, giving as his opinion, that they mean "unripe grapes and tendrils," as rendered in the American Translation.[6] Cook observed that, "A sour drink was made of the seeds of unripe grapes; and cakes were also made of the husks (skins)."[7] Grape leaves, of course, are widely used as food in the Middle East today, but the prohibition here is absolute. Nothing whatever pertaining to the grapevine was permissible to the Nazirite. The widespread use and cultivation of the grape among pagan populations justifies the conclusion that a rejection of pagan association with the vine and its products was included in the purpose of the Nazirite.