Numbers 6:9

“‘If anyone dies very suddenly ¹  beside him and he defiles ²  his consecrated head, ³  then he must shave his head on the day of his purification – on the seventh day he must shave it.

Nu 6:18; Nu 19:14-19; Ac 18:18; Ac 21:23,24; Php 3:8,9

¹ tn The construction uses the imperfect tense followed by the infinitive absolute, יָמוּת מֵת (yamut met). Because the verb is in a conditional clause, the emphasis that is to be given through the infinitive must stress the contingency. The point is “if someone dies – unexpectedly.” The next words underscore the suddenness of this.

² tn The verb is the Piel perfect with a vav (ו) consecutive; it continues the idea within the conditional clause.

³ sn The expression is figurative for the vow that he took; the figure is the metonymy because the reference to the head is a reference to the long hair that symbolizes the oath.