Numbers 4:19

4:19 but in order that they will live ¹  and not die when they approach the most holy things, do this for them: Aaron and his sons will go in and appoint ²  each man ³  to his service and his responsibility.

Numbers 6:5

6:5 “‘All the days of the vow ⁴  of his separation no razor may be used on his head ⁵  until the time ⁶  is fulfilled for which he separated himself to the Lord. He will be holy, ⁷  and he must let ⁸  the locks of hair on his head grow long.

Numbers 6:20

6:20 then the priest must wave them as a wave offering ⁹  before the Lord; it is a holy portion for the priest, together with the breast of the wave offering and the thigh of the raised offering. ¹⁰  After this the Nazirite may drink ¹¹  wine.’

Numbers 18:9

18:9 Of all the most holy offerings reserved ¹²  from the fire this will be yours: Every offering of theirs, whether from every grain offering or from every purification offering or from every reparation offering which they bring to me, will be most holy for you and for your sons.

Numbers 18:17

18:17 But you must not redeem the firstborn of a cow or a sheep or a goat; they are holy. You must splash ¹³  their blood on the altar and burn their fat for an offering made by fire for a pleasing aroma to the Lord.

Numbers 29:12

The Feast of Temporary Shelters

29:12 “‘On the fifteenth day of the seventh month you are to have a holy assembly; you must do no ordinary work, and you must keep a festival to the Lord for seven days.

¹ tn The word order is different in the Hebrew text: Do this…and they will live. Consequently, the verb “and they will live” is a perfect tense with a vav (ו) consecutive to express the future consequence of “doing this” for them.

² tn The perfect tense with vav (ו) consecutive continues the instruction for Aaron.

³ tn The distributive sense is obtained by the repetition, “a man” and “a man.”

⁴ tc The parallel expression in v. 8 (“all the days of his separation”) lacks the word “vow.” This word is also absent in v. 5 in a few medieval Hebrew manuscripts. The presence of the word in v. 5 may be due to dittography.

⁵ sn There is an interesting parallel between this prohibition and the planting of trees. They could not be pruned or trimmed for three years, but allowed to grow free (Lev 20:23). Only then could the tree be cut and the fruit eaten. The natural condition was to be a sign that it was the Lord’s. It was to be undisturbed by humans. Since the Nazirite was to be consecrated to the Lord, that meant his whole person, hair included. In the pagan world the trimming of the beard and the cutting of the hair was often a sign of devotion to some deity.

⁶ tn Heb “days.”

⁷ tn The word “holy” here has the sense of distinct, different, set apart.

⁸ tn The Piel infinitive absolute functions as a verb in this passage; the Piel carries the sense of “grow lengthy” or “let grow long.”

⁷ sn The ritual of lifting the hands filled with the offering and waving them in the presence of the Lord was designed to symbolize the transfer of the offering to God in the sight of all. This concludes the worshiper’s part; the offering now becomes the property of the priest – his priest’s due (or “raised/heave offering”).

⁸ sn The “wave offering” may be interpreted as a “special gift” to be transferred to the Lord, and the “heave offering” as a “special contribution” to God – the priest’s due. These two offerings have also inspired a good deal of study.

⁹ tn The imperfect tense here would then have the nuance of permission. It is not an instruction at this point; rather, the prohibition has been lifted and the person is free to drink wine.

¹⁰ tn Heb “from the fire.” It probably refers to those parts that were not burned.

¹³ tn Or “throw, toss.”