Taw — The Mark of God

Numberschapter 6

27 verses · ASV

This chapter sends 237 cross-references outward and receives 127 — heaviest partner: Leviticus.

See Numbers book hub for context

Chapter summary

The Nazarite vow and the Aaronic blessing. A man or woman who separates to the LORD — no wine or strong drink, no vinegar, no grape or raisin; no razor upon the head; no touching the dead, not even for closest kin. If a death happens suddenly near him, he begins the days over. At the vow's end, offerings: a ram, a lamb, a ewe lamb, unleavened cakes and wafers; the head shaved, the hair burned on the altar fire. Samson, Samuel, John the Baptist stand in this line. The chapter closes with the Aaronic blessing — ‘the LORD bless thee, and keep thee; the LORD make his face shine upon thee, and be gracious unto thee; the LORD lift up his countenance upon thee, and give thee peace’ (6:24–26). The book's signature.

Drafted from Matthew Henry, Calvin, Gill, Clarke, JFB, and Barnes.

Context

Law · Moses — see the Numbers overview for the book's full setting.

24–27 Taw — The Mark of God

1 And Jehovah spake unto Moses, saying,

2 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,

3 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.

4 All the days of his separation shall he eat nothing that is made of the grape-vine, from the kernels even to the husk.

5 All the days of his vow of separation there shall no razor come upon his head: until the days be fulfilled, in which he separateth himself unto Jehovah, he shall be holy; he shall let the locks of the hair of his head grow long.

6 All the days that he separateth himself unto Jehovah he shall not come near to a 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 his separation unto God is upon his head.

8 All the days of his separation he is holy unto Jehovah.

9 And if any man die very suddenly beside him, and he defile the head of his separation; then he shall shave his head in the day of his cleansing, on the seventh day shall he shave it.

10 And on the eighth day he shall bring two turtle-doves, or two young pigeons, to the priest, to the door of the tent of meeting:

11 and the priest shall offer one for a sin-offering, and the other for a burnt-offering, and make atonement for him, for that he sinned by reason of the dead, and shall hallow his head that same day.

12 And he shall separate unto Jehovah the days of his separation, and shall bring a he-lamb a year old for a trespass-offering; but the former days shall be void, because his separation was defiled.

13 And this is the law of the Nazirite, when the days of his separation are fulfilled: he shall be brought unto the door of the tent of meeting:

14 and he shall offer his oblation unto Jehovah, one he-lamb a year old without blemish for a burnt-offering, and one ewe-lamb a year old 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 unleavened wafers anointed with oil, and their meal-offering, and their drink-offerings.

16 And the priest shall present them before Jehovah, and shall offer his sin-offering, and his burnt-offering:

17 and he shall offer the ram for a sacrifice of peace-offerings unto Jehovah, with the basket of unleavened bread: the priest shall offer also the meal-offering thereof, and the drink-offering thereof.

18 And the Nazirite shall shave the head of his separation at the door of the tent of meeting, and shall take the hair of the head of his separation, and put it on the fire which is under the sacrifice of peace-offerings.

19 And the priest shall take the boiled 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 Nazirite, after he hath shaven the head of his separation;

20 and the priest shall wave them for a wave-offering before Jehovah; this is holy for the priest, together with the wave-breast and heave-thigh: and after that the Nazirite may drink wine.

21 This is the law of the Nazirite who voweth, and of his oblation unto Jehovah for his separation, besides that which he is able to get: according to his vow which he voweth, so he must do after the law of his separation.

22 And Jehovah spake unto Moses, saying,

23 Speak unto Aaron and unto his sons, saying, On this wise ye shall bless the children of Israel: ye shall say unto them,

24 Jehovah bless thee, and keep thee:

25 Jehovah make his face to shine upon thee, and be gracious unto thee:

26 Jehovah lift up his countenance upon thee, and give thee peace.

27 So shall they put my name upon the children of Israel; and I will bless them.

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