Numbers 6:2

6:2 “Speak to the Israelites, and tell them, ‘When either a man or a woman ¹  takes a special vow, ²  to take a vow ³  as a Nazirite, ⁴  to separate ⁵  himself to the Lord,

Numbers 9:10

9:10 “Tell the Israelites, ‘If any ⁶  of you or of your posterity become ceremonially defiled by touching a dead body, or are on a journey far away, then he may ⁷  observe the Passover to the Lord.

Numbers 15:38

15:38 “Speak to the Israelites and tell them to make ⁸  tassels ⁹  for themselves on the corners of their garments throughout their generations, and put a blue thread ¹⁰  on the tassel of the corners.

Numbers 16:37

16:37 “Tell ¹¹  Eleazar son of Aaron the priest to pick up ¹²  the censers out of the flame, for they are holy, and then scatter the coals of fire ¹³  at a distance.

Numbers 23:3

23:3 Balaam said to Balak, “Station yourself ¹⁴  by your burnt offering, and I will go off; perhaps the Lord will come to meet me, and whatever he reveals to me ¹⁵  I will tell you.” ¹⁶  Then he went to a deserted height. ¹⁷ 

Numbers 34:2

34:2 “Give these instructions ¹⁸  to the Israelites, and tell them: ‘When you enter Canaan, the land that has been assigned to you as an inheritance, ¹⁹  the land of Canaan with its borders,

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¹ tn The formula is used here again: “a man or a woman – when he takes.” The vow is open to both men and women.

² tn The vow is considered special in view of the use of the verb יַפְלִא (yafli’), the Hiphil imperfect of the verb “to be wonderful, extraordinary.”

³ tn The construction uses the infinitive construct followed by the cognate accusative: “to vow a vow.” This intensifies the idea that the vow is being taken carefully.

⁴ tn The name of the vow is taken from the verb that follows; נָזַר (nazar) means “to consecrate oneself,” and so the Nazirite is a consecrated one. These are folks who would make a decision to take an oath for a time or for a lifetime to be committed to the Lord and show signs of separation from the world. Samuel was to be a Nazirite, as the fragment of the text from Qumran confirms – “he will be a נָזִיר (nazir) forever” (1 Sam 1:22).

⁵ tn The form of the verb is an Hiphil infinitive construct, forming the wordplay and explanation for the name Nazirite. The Hiphil is here an internal causative, having the meaning of “consecrate oneself” or just “consecrate to the Lord.”

⁶ tn This sense is conveyed by the repetition of “man” – “if a man, a man becomes unclean.”

⁷ tn The perfect tense with vav (ו) consecutive functions as the equivalent of an imperfect tense. In the apodosis of this conditional sentence, the permission nuance fits well.

⁸ tn The construction uses the imperative followed by perfect tenses with vav (ו) consecutives. The first perfect tense may be translated as the imperative, but the second, being a third common plural form, has to be subordinated as a purpose clause, or as the object of the preceding verb: “speak…and say…that they make.”

⁹ sn This is a reference to the צִיצִת (tsitsit), the fringes on the borders of the robes. They were meant to hang from the corners of the upper garment (Deut 22:12), which was worn on top of the clothing. The tassel was probably made by twisting the overhanging threads of the garment into a knot that would hang down. This was a reminder of the covenant. The tassels were retained down through history, and today more elaborate prayer shawls with tassels are worn during prayer. For more information, see F. J. Stephens, “The Ancient Significance of Sisith,” JBL 50 (1931): 59-70; and S. Bertman, “Tasselled Garments in the Ancient East Mediterranean,” BA 24 (1961): 119-28.

¹⁰ sn The blue color may represent the heavenly origin of the Law, or perhaps, since it is a royal color, the majesty of the Lord.

¹¹ tn Heb “say to.”

¹² tn The verb is the jussive with a vav (ו) coming after the imperative; it may be subordinated to form a purpose clause (“that he may pick up”) or the object of the imperative.

¹³ tn The Hebrew text just has “fire,” but it would be hard to conceive of this action apart from the idea of coals of fire.

¹⁴ tn The verb הִתְיַצֵּב (hityatsev) means “to take a stand, station oneself.” It is more intentional than simply standing by something. He was to position himself by the sacrifice as Balaam withdrew to seek the oracle.

¹⁵ tn Heb “and the word of what he shows me.” The noun is in construct, and so the clause that follows functions as a noun clause in the genitive. The point is that the word will consist of divine revelation.

¹⁶ tn The verb is the perfect tense with vav (ו) consecutive. This clause is dependent on the clause that precedes it.

¹⁷ sn He went up to a bald spot, to a barren height. The statement underscores the general belief that such tops were the closest things to the gods. On such heights people built their shrines and temples.

¹⁸ tn Or “command.”

¹⁹ tn Heb “this is the land that will fall to you as an inheritance.”