10 And on the eighth day he shall bring two turtle-doves, or two young pigeons, to the priest, at the entrance of the tent of meeting.
And if his hand be not able to bring what is so much as a sheep, then he shall bring for his trespass which he hath sinned two turtle-doves or two young pigeons, to Jehovah; one for a sin-offering, and the other for a burnt-offering. And he shall bring them unto the priest, who shall present that which is for the sin-offering first, and pinch off his head at the neck, but shall not divide it; and he shall sprinkle of the blood of the sin-offering on the wall of the altar; and the rest of the blood shall be wrung out at the bottom of the altar: it is a sin-offering. And he shall offer the other for a burnt-offering, according to the ordinance. And the priest shall make atonement for him [to cleanse him] from his sin which he hath sinned, and it shall be forgiven him.
And it came to pass on the eighth day, [that] Moses called Aaron and his sons, and the elders of Israel, and said to Aaron, Take thee a young calf for a sin-offering, and a ram for a burnt-offering, without blemish, and present [them] before Jehovah; and to the children of Israel shalt thou speak, saying, Take a buck of the goats for a sin-offering, and a calf and a lamb, yearlings, without blemish, for a burnt-offering; and a bullock and a ram for a peace-offering, to sacrifice before Jehovah; and an oblation mingled with oil; for to-day Jehovah will appear to you. And they brought what Moses commanded before the tent of meeting; and all the assembly approached and stood before Jehovah. And Moses said, This is the thing which Jehovah has commanded that ye should do; and the glory of Jehovah shall appear to you. And Moses said unto Aaron, Go to the altar, and offer thy sin-offering, and thy burnt-offering, and make atonement for thyself, and for the people; and offer the offering of the people, and make atonement for them, as Jehovah has commanded. And Aaron went to the altar and slaughtered the calf of the sin-offering which was for himself; and the sons of Aaron presented the blood to him, and he dipped his finger in the blood, and put [it] on the horns of the altar, and poured out the blood at the bottom of the altar. And the fat, and the kidneys, and the net above the liver, of the sin-offering, he burned on the altar, as Jehovah had commanded Moses. And the flesh and the skin he burned with fire outside the camp. And he slaughtered the burnt-offering; and Aaron's sons delivered to him the blood, which he sprinkled on the altar round about. And they delivered the burnt-offering to him, in the pieces thereof, and the head; and he burned [them] on the altar. And he washed the inwards and the legs, and burned [them] upon the burnt-offering, on the altar. And he presented the people's offering, and took the goat of the sin-offering which was for the people and slaughtered it, and offered it for sin, as the first. And he presented the burnt-offering and offered it according to the ordinance. And he presented the oblation, and took a handful of it, and burned it on the altar, besides the burnt-offering of the morning. And he slaughtered the bullock and the ram of the sacrifice of peace-offering which was for the people. And Aaron's sons delivered to him the blood, and he sprinkled it on the altar round about; and the pieces of fat of the bullock and of the ram, the fat tail and what covers [the inwards], and the kidneys, and the net of the liver; and they put the pieces of fat on the breast-pieces, and he burned the pieces of fat on the altar; and the breast-pieces and the right shoulder Aaron waved as a wave-offering before Jehovah, as Moses had commanded.
and two turtle-doves, or two young pigeons, as his hand may be able to get: the one shall be a sin-offering, and the other a burnt-offering. And he shall bring them on the eighth day of his cleansing unto the priest, unto the entrance of the tent of meeting, before Jehovah.
Worthy.Bible » Commentaries » Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible » Commentary on Numbers 6
Commentary on Numbers 6 Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible
CHAPTER 6
Nu 6:1-22. The Law of the Nazarite in His Separation.
2-8. When either man or woman … shall vow a vow of a Nazarite—that is, "a separated one," from a Hebrew word, "to separate." It was used to designate a class of persons who, under the impulse of extraordinary piety and with a view to higher degrees of religious improvement, voluntarily renounced the occupations and pleasures of the world to dedicate themselves unreservedly to the divine service. The vow might be taken by either sex, provided they had the disposal of themselves (Nu 30:4), and for a limited period—usually a month or a lifetime (Jud 13:5; 16:17). We do not know, perhaps, the whole extent of abstinence they practised. But they separated themselves from three things in particular—namely, from wine, and all the varieties of vinous produce; from the application of a razor to their head, allowing their hair to grow; and from pollution by a dead body. The reasons of the self-restrictions are obvious. The use of wine tended to inflame the passions, intoxicate the brain, and create a taste for luxurious indulgence. The cutting off the hair being a recognized sign of uncleanness (Le 14:8, 9), its unpolled luxuriance was a symbol of the purity he professed. Besides, its extraordinary length kept him in constant remembrance of his vow, as well as stimulated others to imitate his pious example. Moreover, contact with a dead body, disqualifying for the divine service, the Nazarite carefully avoided such a cause of unfitness, and, like the high priest, did not assist at the funeral rites of his nearest relatives, preferring his duty to God to the indulgence of his strongest natural affections.
9-12. If any man die very suddenly by him, and he hath defiled the head of his consecration—Cases of sudden death might occur to make him contract pollution; and in such circumstances he was required, after shaving his head, to make the prescribed offerings necessary for the removal of ceremonial defilement (Le 15:13; Nu 19:11). But by the terms of this law an accidental defilement vitiated the whole of his previous observances, and he was required to begin the period of his Nazaritism afresh. But even this full completion did not supersede the necessity of a sin offering at the close. Sin mingles with our best and holiest performances, and the blood of sprinkling is necessary to procure acceptance to us and our services.
13-20. when the days of his separation are fulfilled, &c.—On the accomplishment of a limited vow of Nazaritism, Nazarites might cut their hair wherever they happened to be (Ac 18:18); but the hair was to be carefully kept and brought to the door of the sanctuary. Then after the presentation of sin offerings and burnt offerings, it was put under the vessel in which the peace offerings were boiled; and the priest, taking the shoulder (Le 7:32), when boiled, and a cake and wafer of the meat offering, put them on the hands of the Nazarites to wave before the Lord, as a token of thanksgiving, and thus released them from their vow.
Nu 6:23-27. The Form of Blessing the People.
23-27. Speak unto Aaron and unto his sons, saying, On this wise ye shall bless the congregation of Israel, &c.—This passage records the solemn benediction which God appointed for dismissing the people at the close of the daily service. The repetition of the name "Lord" or "Jehovah" three times, expresses the great mystery of the Godhead—three persons, and yet one God. The expressions in the separate clauses correspond to the respective offices of the Father, to "bless and keep us"; of the Son, to be "gracious to us"; and of the Holy Ghost, to "give us peace." And because the benediction, though pronounced by the lips of a fellow man, derived its virtue, not from the priest but from God, the encouraging assurance was added, "I the Lord will bless them."