🔢WEB · Numbers 6:2
What does Numbers 6:2 mean?
"“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,"
— Numbers 6:2 (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.
“‘All the days of his vow of separation no razor shall come on his head, until the days are fulfilled, in which he separates himself to Yahweh. He shall be holy. He shall let the locks of the hair of his head grow long.
Explanation
Numbers 6:2 introduces the law of the Nazirite vow, a voluntary and special commitment that any Israelite—man or woman—could choose to make in order to set themselves apart specifically for the Lord. The verse itself is simple: God instructs Moses to tell the people that if someone wants to take this particular vow, here are the terms that will follow. It functions as a formal introduction to the more detailed regulations that come in the rest of the chapter (verses 3-21), which describe the specific restrictions involved: abstaining from wine and anything from the grapevine, not cutting one's hair, and avoiding contact with the dead.
The context is the wilderness period after Israel's exodus from Egypt, when Moses was receiving and transmitting a comprehensive set of laws governing worship, purity, and social life for the newly formed nation. Numbers as a whole organizes Israel's camp, priesthood, and practices in preparation for entering the Promised Land. The Nazirite vow fits within this broader concern for holiness—the idea that ordinary people, not just priests, could pursue a heightened, temporary state of consecration to God. The Hebrew word "Nazirite" comes from a root meaning "to separate" or "to consecrate," which the verse itself echoes in the phrase "to separate himself to Yahweh."
Theologically, this verse highlights an important principle: holiness and devotion to God in Israel were not restricted to the priestly class by birth. Any ordinary Israelite, regardless of gender, could voluntarily choose a
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