Numbers 6:4

6:4 All the days of his separation he must not eat anything that is produced by the grapevine, from seed ¹  to skin. ² 

Numbers 6:13

Fulfilling the Vows

6:13 “‘Now this is the law of the Nazirite: When the days of his separation are fulfilled, he must be brought ³  to the entrance of the tent of meeting,

Numbers 9:19

9:19 When the cloud remained over the tabernacle many days, then the Israelites obeyed the instructions ⁴  of the Lord and did not journey.

Numbers 12:15

12:15 So Miriam was shut outside of the camp for seven days, and the people did not journey on until Miriam was brought back in. ⁵ 

Numbers 28:17

28:17 And on the fifteenth day of this month is the festival. For seven days bread made without yeast must be eaten.

---

¹ tn This word also is rare, occurring only here.

² 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.

³ tn The Hebrew text has “he/one shall bring him”; since there is no expressed subject, this verb should be taken in the passive sense – “he shall be brought.” Since the context suggests an obligatory nuance, the translation “he must be brought” has been used. Some scholars solve the problem by emending the Hebrew text here, but there is no manuscript evidence to support the emendation.

⁴ tn This is the same Hebrew expression that was used earlier for the Levites “keeping their charge” or more clearly, “fulfilling their obligations” to take care of the needs of the people and the sanctuary. It is a general expression using שָׁמַר (shamar) followed by its cognate noun מִשְׁמֶרֶת (mishmeret).

⁵ tn The clause has the Niphal infinitive construct after a temporal preposition.