Discovery BoxNumbers 6:7 
Context6:7 He must not defile himself even 1 for his father or his mother or his brother or his sister if they die, 2 because the separation 3 for 4 his God is on his head.
Numbers 26:59
Context26:59 Now the name of Amram’s wife was Jochebed, daughter of Levi, who was born 5 to Levi in Egypt. And to Amram she bore Aaron, Moses, and Miriam their sister.
1 tn The vav (ו) conjunction at the beginning of the clause specifies the cases of corpses that are to be avoided, no matter how painful it might be.
2 tn The construction uses the infinitive construct with the preposition and the suffixed subjective genitive – “in the dying of them” – to form the adverbial clause of time.
sn The Nazirite would defile himself, i.e., ruin his vow, by contacting their corpses. Jesus’ hard saying in Matt 8:22, “let the dead bury their own dead,” makes sense in the light of this passage – Jesus was calling for commitment to himself.
3 tn The word “separation” here is metonymy of adjunct – what is on his head is long hair that goes with the vow.
4 tn The genitive could perhaps be interpreted as possession, i.e., “the vow of his God,” but it seems more likely that an objective genitive would be more to the point.
5 tn Heb “who she bore him to Levi.” The verb has no expressed subject. Either one could be supplied, such as “her mother,” or it could be treated as a passive.
