🔢WEB · Numbers 6:1
What does Numbers 6:1 mean?
"Yahweh spoke to Moses, saying,"
— Numbers 6:1 (World English Bible)
Surrounding context
Yahweh spoke to Moses, saying,
“Speak to the children of Israel, and tell them: ‘When either man or woman shall make a special vow, the vow of a Nazirite, to separate himself to Yahweh,
he shall separate himself from wine and strong drink. He shall drink no vinegar of wine, or vinegar of fermented drink, neither shall he drink any juice of grapes, nor eat fresh grapes or dried.
All the days of his separation he shall eat nothing that is made of the grapevine, from the seeds even to the skins.
Explanation
Numbers 6:1 is one of the many introductory formulas found throughout the book of Numbers, and indeed throughout the Pentateuch. On its own, it simply states that Yahweh spoke to Moses. It does not yet reveal the content of what God said — that follows in verse 2, where God gives instructions concerning the Nazirite vow, a special vow of separation and dedication that any Israelite man or woman could take. So this verse functions as a doorway into the section that follows rather than a stand-alone teaching.
In its original context, Numbers records the story of Israel's journey from Sinai toward the Promised Land, including the organization of the camp, the duties of the priests and Levites, and various laws meant to keep the community holy as they traveled with God's presence among them. Moses is understood as the mediator through whom God communicates his will to the people. Phrases like "Yahweh spoke to Moses, saying" appear dozens of times in Numbers and the surrounding books (Exodus, Leviticus) because these books are structured as a series of divine speeches given at specific moments, each addressing a particular aspect of Israel's worship, conduct, or social order. This particular instance introduces the law of the Nazirite, which will occupy the rest of chapter 6.
Theologically, even this brief, formul
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