Numbers 6:5

6:5 “‘All the days of the vow ¹  of his separation no razor may be used on his head ²  until the time ³  is fulfilled for which he separated himself to the Lord. He will be holy, ⁴  and he must let ⁵  the locks of hair on his head grow long.

Numbers 6:9

Contingencies for Defilement

6:9 “‘If anyone dies very suddenly ⁶  beside him and he defiles ⁷  his consecrated head, ⁸  then he must shave his head on the day of his purification – on the seventh day he must shave it.

Acts 18:18

Paul Returns to Antioch in Syria

18:18 Paul, after staying ⁹  many more days in Corinth, ¹⁰  said farewell to ¹¹  the brothers and sailed away to Syria accompanied by ¹²  Priscilla and Aquila. ¹³  He ¹⁴  had his hair cut off ¹⁵  at Cenchrea ¹⁶  because he had made a vow. ¹⁷ 

Acts 21:24

21:24 take them and purify ¹⁸  yourself along with them and pay their expenses, ¹⁹  so that they may have their heads shaved. ²⁰  Then ²¹  everyone will know there is nothing in what they have been told ²²  about you, but that you yourself live in conformity with ²³  the law. ²⁴ 

Acts 21:26

21:26 Then Paul took the men the next day, ²⁵  and after he had purified himself ²⁶  along with them, he went to the temple and gave notice ²⁷  of the completion of the days of purification, ²⁸  when ²⁹  the sacrifice would be offered for each ³⁰  of them.

[6:5]  ¹ 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.

[6:5]  ² 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.

[6:5]  ³ tn Heb “days.”

[6:5]  ⁴ tn The word “holy” here has the sense of distinct, different, set apart.

[6:5]  ⁵ tn The Piel infinitive absolute functions as a verb in this passage; the Piel carries the sense of “grow lengthy” or “let grow long.”

[6:9]  ⁶ tn The construction uses the imperfect tense followed by the infinitive absolute, יָמוּת מֵת (yamut met). Because the verb is in a conditional clause, the emphasis that is to be given through the infinitive must stress the contingency. The point is “if someone dies – unexpectedly.” The next words underscore the suddenness of this.

[6:9]  ⁷ tn The verb is the Piel perfect with a vav (ו) consecutive; it continues the idea within the conditional clause.

[6:9]  ⁸ sn The expression is figurative for the vow that he took; the figure is the metonymy because the reference to the head is a reference to the long hair that symbolizes the oath.

[18:18]  ⁹ tn The participle προσμείνας (prosmeina") is taken temporally.

[18:18]  ¹⁰ map For location see JP1 C2; JP2 C2; JP3 C2; JP4 C2.

[18:18]  ¹¹ tn Or “Corinth, took leave of.” Grk “saying farewell to”; the participle ἀποταξάμενος (apotaxameno") has been translated as a finite verb due to requirements of contemporary English style.

[18:18]  ¹² tn Grk “Syria, and with him.”

[18:18]  ¹³ sn See the note on Aquila in 18:2.

[18:18]  ¹⁴ tn Or “Aquila, who.” The relationship of the participle κειράμενος (keirameno") is difficult to determine. Traditionally it is taken to refer to Paul, meaning that Paul had his hair cut off because of the vow. However, due to the proximity of the noun ᾿Ακύλας (Akula") and the reversal of the normal order (Aquila and Priscilla, Acts 17:34), the participle is taken as adjectival referring to Aquila by H. Greeven, TDNT 2:777, n. 11. The later references to Paul in Jerusalem (Acts 21:23) do not resolve the problem, because the cutting of Paul’s own hair, while it may be implied, is not specifically mentioned in connection with the completion of the vows made by the other four.

[18:18]  ¹⁵ tn The word “off” is supplied in the translation to indicate that this was not a normal haircut, but the shaving of the head connected with taking the vow (see Acts 21:24).

[18:18]  ¹⁶ tn That is, “before he sailed from Cenchrea.”

[18:18]  ¹⁷ sn He had made a vow. It is debated whether this vow is a private vow of thanksgiving or the Nazirite vow, because it is not clear whether the Nazirite vow could be taken outside Jerusalem. Some have cited the Mishnah (m. Nazir 3:6, 5:4) to argue that the shaving of the hair can occur outside Jerusalem, and Josephus, J. W. 2.15.1 (2.313) is sometimes suggested as a parallel, but these references are not clear. H. Greeven, TDNT 2:777, is certain that this refers to the Nazirite vow. Regardless, it is clear that Paul reflected his pious dependence on God.

[21:24]  ¹⁸ sn That is, undergo ritual cleansing. Paul’s cleansing would be necessary because of his travels in “unclean” Gentile territory. This act would represent a conciliatory gesture. Paul would have supported a “law-free” mission to the Gentiles as an option, but this gesture would represent an attempt to be sensitive to the Jews (1 Cor 9:15-22).

[21:24]  ¹⁹ tn L&N 57.146 has “δαπάνησον ἐπ᾿ αὐτοῖς ‘pay their expenses’ Ac 21:24.”

[21:24]  ²⁰ tn The future middle indicative has causative force here. BDAG 686 s.v. ξυράω has “mid. have oneself shaved…τὴν κεφαλήν have one’s head shaved…Ac 21:24.”

[21:24]  ²¹ tn Grk “and.” Because of the length and complexity of the Greek sentence, a new sentence was begun in the translation, and καί (kai) has been translated as “then” to indicate the logical sequence.

[21:24]  ²² tn The verb here describes a report or some type of information (BDAG 534 s.v. κατηχέω 1).

[21:24]  ²³ tn Grk “adhere to the keeping of the law.” L&N 41.12 has “στοιχέω: to live in conformity with some presumed standard or set of customs – ‘to live, to behave in accordance with.’”

[21:24]  ²⁴ sn The law refers to the law of Moses.

[21:26]  ²⁵ tn BDAG 422 s.v. ἔχω 11.b.β has “temporal, to be next, immediately following…τῇ ἐχομένῃ…on the next day Lk 13:33…Ac 20:15; w. ἡμέρᾳ added…21:26.”

[21:26]  ²⁶ tn That is, after he had undergone ritual cleansing. The aorist passive participle ἁγνισθείς (Jagnisqei") has been taken temporally of antecedent action.

[21:26]  ²⁷ tn Grk “entered the temple, giving notice.” The participle διαγγέλλων (diangellwn) has been translated as a finite verb due to requirements of contemporary English style.

[21:26]  ²⁸ sn The days of purification refers to the days of ritual cleansing.

[21:26]  ²⁹ tn Grk “until” (BDAG 423 s.v. ἕως 1.b.β.א), but since in English it is somewhat awkward to say “the completion of the days of purification, until the sacrifice would be offered,” the temporal clause was translated “when the sacrifice would be offered.” The point is that the sacrifice would be offered when the days were completed. Paul honored the request of the Jewish Christian leadership completely. As the following verse makes clear, the vow was made for seven days.

[21:26]  ³⁰ tn Grk “for each one.”