🔢WEB · Numbers 6:18
What does Numbers 6:18 mean?
"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."
— Numbers 6:18 (World English Bible)
Surrounding context
and a basket of unleavened bread, cakes of fine flour mixed with oil, and unleavened wafers anointed with oil, and their meal offering, and their drink offerings.
The priest shall present them before Yahweh, and shall offer his sin offering, and his burnt offering.
He shall offer the ram for a sacrifice of peace offerings to Yahweh, with the basket of unleavened bread. The priest shall offer also its meal offering, and its drink offering.
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.
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 on the hands of the Nazirite, after he has shaved the head of his separation;
and the priest shall wave them for a wave offering before Yahweh. This is holy for the priest, together with the breast that is waved and the thigh that is offered. After that the Nazirite may drink wine.
“‘This is the law of the Nazirite who vows, and of his offering to Yahweh for his separation, besides that which he is able to get. According to his vow which he vows, so he must do after the law of his separation.’”
Explanation
Numbers 6:18 describes the closing ritual of a Nazirite vow. The person who had taken this vow—someone who had separated themselves to the Lord for a set period of time—had let their hair grow uncut as a visible sign of their dedication. When that period of separation came to an end, the Nazirite was to shave their head completely at the entrance of the Tent of Meeting, the place of worship where sacrifices were offered. The hair that had grown throughout the vow was then taken and placed into the fire burning beneath the peace offering, one of the sacrifices required to mark the vow's completion.
This verse sits within Numbers 6:1-21, a passage giving instructions for the Nazirite vow, a voluntary commitment an Israelite man or woman could make to consecrate themselves to God for a specific time. Moses received this law from God in the wilderness as part of the broader instructions governing Israel's worship and holiness. During the vow, the Nazirite avoided wine and any product of the grape, refrained from cutting their hair, and stayed away from contact with the dead, even the bodies of close family members. These restrictions marked the person as set apart, much like a priest, though they remained a layperson. The hair itself was not magical or inherently powerful; rather, it functioned as an outward, tangible symbol of an inward vow. Its uncut length throughout the vow, and its removal at the vow's end, visibly framed the beginning and completion of the commitment.
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