Numbers 6:3-4

6:3 he must separate ¹  himself from wine and strong drink, he must drink neither vinegar ²  made from wine nor vinegar made from strong drink, nor may he drink any juice ³  of grapes, nor eat fresh grapes or raisins. ⁴  6:4 All the days of his separation he must not eat anything that is produced by the grapevine, from seed ⁵  to skin. ⁶ 

[6:3]  ¹ tn The operative verb now will be the Hiphil of נָזַר (nazar); the consecration to the Lord meant separation from certain things in the world. The first will be wine and strong drink – barley beer (from Akkadian sikaru, a fermented beer). But the second word may be somewhat wider in its application than beer. The Nazirite, then, was to avoid all intoxicants as a sign of his commitment to the Lord. The restriction may have proved a hardship in the daily diet of the one taking the vow, but it spoke a protest to the corrupt religious and social world that used alcohol to excess.

[6:3]  ² tn The “vinegar” (חֹמֶץ, homets) is some kind of drink preparation that has been allowed to go sour.

[6:3]  ³ tn This word occurs only here. It may come from the word “to water, to be moist,” and so refer to juice.

[6:3]  ⁴ tn Heb “dried” (so KJV, ASV, NRSV).

[6:4]  ⁵ tn This word also is rare, occurring only here.

[6:4]  ⁶ sn Here is another hapax legomenon, a word only found here. The word seems linked to the verb “to be clear,” and so may mean the thin skin of the grape. The reason for the strictness with these two words in this verse is uncertain. We know the actual meanings of the words, and the combination must form a merism here, meaning no part of the grape could be eaten. Abstaining from these common elements of food was to be a mark of commitment to the Lord. Hos 3:1 even denounces the raisin cakes as part of a pagan world, and eating them would be a violation of the oath.