Numbers 6:7
ContextNETBible | 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. |
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NET © Notes |
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. |