Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of Numbers 6:5
All the days of the vow of his separation there shall no razor come upon his head: until the days be fulfilled, in the which he separateth [himself] unto the LORD, he shall be holy, [and] shall let the locks of the hair of his head grow.
5. Second regulation. The hair to be left uncut. This is found in every reference to the Nazirites, both in early and late times. Long hair was the visible mark of consecration.
Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges
Verse 5. There shall no razor come upon his head] The vow of the Nazarite consisted in the following particulars: –
1. He consecrated himself in a very especial and extraordinary manner to God.
2. This was to continue for a certain season, probably never less than a whole year, that he might have a full growth of hair to burn in the fire which is under the sacrifice of the peace-offering, Nu 6:18.
3. During the time of his separation, or nazarate, he drank no wine nor strong drink; nor used any vinegar formed from any inebriating liquor, nor ate the flesh or dried grapes, nor tasted even the kernels or husks of any thing that had grown upon the vine.
4. He never shaved his head, but let his hair grow, as the proof of his being in this separated state, and under vows of peculiar austerity.
5. He never touched any dead body, nor did any of the last offices, even to his nearest kin; but was considered as the priests, who were wholly taken up with the service of God, and regarded nothing else.
6. All the days of his separation he was holy, Nu 6:8.
During the whole time he was to be incessantly employed in religious acts.
Fuente: Adam Clarke’s Commentary and Critical Notes on the Bible
No razor, nor scissors, or other instrument to cut off any part of his hair. This was appointed, partly, as a sign of his mortification to worldly delights, and vain affectation of outward beauty, which is promoted by the polling or cutting off the hair; partly, as a testimony of that purity which hereby he professed, because the cutting off the hair was a sign of uncleanness, as appears from Num 6:9, and Lev 14:8,9; partly, that by the notorious length of his hair he might be constantly minded of his vow, and the exquisite holiness it required, and that others might thereby be admonished and stirred up to the imitation of his holy example; and partly, that he might reserve his hair entirely for God, to whom it was to be offered, Num 6:18.
He shall be holy, i.e. wholly consecrated to God and his service, whereby lie shows that inward and substantial holiness was the great thing which God required and valued in these, and consequently in other rites and ceremonies.
Fuente: English Annotations on the Holy Bible by Matthew Poole
All the days of the vow of his separation,…. Be the time he has vowed to be a Nazarite a week, a, month, or more, even a thousand days, but not less than thirty, as Ben Gersom observes:
there shall no razor come upon his head; he might not shave his beard, nor cut off his locks, and shave his head, nor cut short his locks with a pair of scissors, nor any with anything by which the hair may be removed, as Ben Gersom; nor pluck off his hair with his hands, as Maimonides says x; but let it grow as long as it would during the time of his separation, which is expressed in the latter part of the verse:
until the days be fulfilled, in the which he separateth [himself] unto the Lord; to his service, to which he wholly addicted himself as long as his vow continued:
he shall be holy; separate from other men, and their practices and customs, and spend his time in holy exercises, in a religious way, and abstain from what might be a temptation to sin, or in the least hinder him in his acts of devotion:
[and] shall let the locks of his hair grow; two reasons Fagius gives of this part of the law, the one is, because of the mystery of it; letting the hair grow signified an increase of virtue or grace, as Samson’s strength was increased and became very great while his hair was not cut; and so spiritual Nazarites, while they are in the way of their duty, grow in grace, and in knowledge of God and Christ, and all divine things, and grow stronger and stronger in the Lord, and in the power of his might; and Ainsworth hints at the same thing, and also supposes it might be an emblem of the subjection of the saints to Christ, as the letting the hair grow was a sign of the woman’s subjection to man: the other is, that it was appointed to take the Israelites off of the errors and superstitious they had imbibed in Egypt, by ordering them to perform those rites and ceremonies to the honour of the true God, which they had used in the service of demons; and for this he cites a passage out of Cyrill; but it does not appear, by any good authority, that such a custom obtained among the Egyptians, or any other Gentiles so early; and what were used among them in later times took their rise from hence, and were imitations of this law; though there seems to be no great likeness between this law of Nazariteship and the customs of the Heathens, who used to consecrate their hair to their deities, Apollo, Hercules, Bacchus, Minerva, and Diana: what seems best to agree is what Lucian says y, who observes, that young men consecrate their beards, and let their hair grow, consecrated from their birth, which they afterwards cut and lay up in vessels in the temple, some of gold, others of silver.
x Hilchot Nezirut, c. 5. sect. 11. y De Dea Syria.
Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible
5. There shall no razor come upon his head. It cannot be certainly determined why God would have the Nazarites let their hair grow, except that by this present mark of their consecration, they might be more and more reminded of their vow. Some think that it was a mark of honor, as if they wore a crown on their heads. In this the Popish clergy are more than ridiculous, comparing themselves to the Nazarites by their circular tonsure. (334) But this reason satisfies myself, that God would constantly exercise them in the faithful performance of their vow by this visible sign. It is a mark of manhood to cut the hair, and this, as Paul says, a natural feeling dictates. ( 1Co 11:14.) Therefore, the dedication of the Nazarites was shewn conspicuously by their heads, lest they should fail in their own vows through carelessness or forgetfulness. A question arises respecting the women, for whom this command appears superfluous; but this is easily answered, that they were thus bound to let their hair grow, so as to have it long not only from custom, but in accordance with their vow. Yet there will be nothing absurd in the synecdoche, whereby that is spoken of both the sexes which applies only to the males. Here also the devil formerly played his game, when he persuaded certain monks, as Augustine relates, (335) to make a shew of sanctity by wearing long hair; for, in order that the celibacy which they had vowed might be more conspicuous, they would not allow themselves to be men, having “made themselves eunuchs for the kingdom of heaven’s sake;” ( Mat 19:12😉 and, therefore, their long hair was a sign of their virginity. This example teaches us to beware of the wiles of Satan, lest our κακοζηλία make us rather the apes than the imitators of the ancients.
(334) “Sous l’ombre de la couronne, qu’ils appellent, quand ils ne sont pas rasez par les bors;” with reference to the crown, as they call it, when their heads are not shaved round the edges — Fr.
(335) De opere Monachorum, 40. (Edit. Benedict. t. 6:501.) “Jam illud, si dici potest, quam luctuose ridiculum est, quod rursus invenerunt ad defensionem crinium suorum. Virum, inquiunt, prohibuit Apostolus habere comam; qui autem se ipsos castraverunt propter regnum coelorum, jam non sunt viri. O dementiam singularem! etc.”
Fuente: Calvin’s Complete Commentary
(5) There shall no razor come upon his head.The hair was to be suffered to grow in all its luxuriance during the days of the Nazirite vow. The meaning may be illustrated by reference to Lev. 25:4-5; Lev. 25:11, where it is prescribed that in the seventh year the vine was not to be pruned, and that the grapes of the undressed vine (literally, the grapes of the Nazirite) should not be gathered.
Fuente: Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers (Old and New Testaments)
5. No razor come upon his head The unshorn head was not a symbol of holiness among the Hebrews, as Bahr suggests, but simply an ornament in which the whole strength and fulness of life were set forth in honour of Jehovah as a sign of the perfect consecration of all his energies to his service. It was not a sign of perfect liberty, still less of dependence upon some other power, nor of abasement, nor abstinence, nor of renunciation of the world.
Until the days be fulfilled The law prescribed no period.
Fuente: Whedon’s Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
Num 6:5. There shall no razor come upon his head The second rule which the Nazarite was to observe was, never to shave his head during the time of his vow, but to let his hair grow, in token of austerity. For the same reasons, such persons were accustomed, not only to let their beards and hair grow, but to wear a hairy garment: such a one John the Baptist wore, as did Elijah. Besides, the not shaving was a token that the Nazarite had kept himself pure from all legal defilements; for, if he had not, he must have shaved his head: compare Num 6:9 with Lev 14:8. This rite was common to other nations; and it appears from Hos 9:10 that the devil had his Nazarites as well as the true God: which is thought by some to be the reason why they are so often reminded in this chapter that they are separated and consecrated to the LORD. See Num 6:1; Num 6:5-8 and Archbishop Potter’s Grecian Antiquities, vol. 2: p. 196, &c. The Attic laws are in general believed to have been derived from the Mosaic.
Fuente: Commentary on the Holy Bible by Thomas Coke
How precious is it to behold, in this instance also, the blessed JESUS typified. The Church is described by Solomon under this similitude: Her hair is a flock of goats that appear from Mount Gilead. Song 1-8. And are not the LORD’S people like the hairs of his head, a multitude which grow upon him, and on which no razor of separation shall ever cone? Do not his people live upon him, depend upon him, draw all their life, and strength, and nourishment from him, and be part of himself, never to be separated from him? Oh! thou glorious Nazarene! however despised and rejected of men, be thou nearer and dearer to me than language can express; and may it be said of my soul among thy people, as it was of the church of old, by virtue of her union with thee; her Nazarites were purer than snow, they were whiter than milk, they were more ruddy in body than rubies, their polishing was of sapphire. Lam 4:7 .
Fuente: Hawker’s Poor Man’s Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
Num 6:5 All the days of the vow of his separation there shall no razor come upon his head: until the days be fulfilled, in the which he separateth [himself] unto the LORD, he shall be holy, [and] shall let the locks of the hair of his head grow.
Ver. 5. There shall no razor. ] In opposition to heathens, votaries who nourished their hair to offer to their gods. The popish priests also cut and shave their hair, that they may still look neat and effeminate; which God allowed not in his Nazarites. Amo 2:11
Fuente: John Trapp’s Complete Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
razor: Jdg 13:5, Jdg 16:17, Jdg 16:19, 1Sa 1:11, Lam 4:7, Lam 4:8, 1Co 11:10-15
Reciprocal: Num 6:2 – When Num 6:4 – separation Num 6:11 – and shall Num 6:18 – shave the head Eze 44:20 – nor suffer Act 18:18 – having Act 21:24 – that they
Fuente: The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
Num 6:5. No razor shall come upon his head Nor scissors, or other instrument, to cut off any part of his hair. This is the second rule he was to observe, and appointed, partly as a sign of his mortification to worldly delights and outward beauty; partly as a testimony of that purity which he professed, because the cutting off the hair was a sign of uncleanness, as appears from Num 6:9; partly that by the length of his hair he might be constantly put in mind of his vow. Holy That is, wholly consecrated to God and his service, whereby is shown that inward holiness was the great thing which God required and valued in these, and consequently in other rites and ceremonies.