Bilangan 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.

Bilangan 19:7

19:7 Then the priest must wash ⁶  his clothes and bathe himself ⁷  in water, and afterward he may come ⁸  into the camp, but the priest will be ceremonially unclean until evening.

Bilangan 19:21

19:21 “‘So this will be a perpetual ordinance for them: The one who sprinkles ⁹  the water of purification must wash his clothes, and the one who touches the water of purification will be unclean until evening. ¹⁰ 

Bilangan 22:31

22:31 Then the Lord opened Balaam’s eyes, and he saw the angel of the Lord standing in the way with his sword drawn in his hand; so he bowed his head and threw himself down with his face to the ground. ¹¹ 

Bilangan 22:36

Balaam Meets Balak

22:36 When Balak heard that Balaam was coming, he went out to meet him at a city of Moab which was on the border of the Arnon at the boundary of his territory.

Bilangan 35:32

35:32 And you must not accept a ransom for anyone who has fled to a town of refuge, to allow him to return home and live on his own land before the death of the high priest. ¹² 

[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.”

[19:7]  ⁶ tn The sequence continues with the perfect tense and vav (ו) consecutive.

[19:7]  ⁷ tn Heb “his flesh.”

[19:7]  ⁸ tn This is the imperfect of permission.

[19:21]  ⁹ tn The form has the conjunction with it: וּמַזֵּה (umazzeh). The conjunction subordinates the following as the special law. It could literally be translated “and this shall be…that the one who sprinkles.”

[19:21]  ¹⁰ sn This gives the indication of the weight of the matter, for “until the evening” is the shortest period of ritual uncleanness in the Law. The problem of contamination had to be taken seriously, but this was a relatively simple matter to deal with – if one were willing to obey the Law.

[22:31]  ¹¹ tn The Hishtaphel verb חָוָה (khavah) – שָׁחָה (shakhah) with metathesis – has a basic idea of “bow oneself low to the ground,” and perhaps in some cases the idea of “coil up.” This is the normal posture of prayer and of deep humility in the ancient religious world.

[35:32]  ¹² tn Heb “the priest.” The Greek and the Syriac have “high priest.” The present translation, along with many English versions, uses “high priest” as a clarification.