And if any man die very suddenly by him, and he hath defiled the head of his consecration; then he shall shave his head in the day of his cleansing, on the seventh day shall he shave it.
Parallel translations
- WEB “‘If any man dies very suddenly beside him, and he defiles the head of his separation; then he shall shave his head in the day of his cleansing. On the seventh day he shall shave it.
- BSB If someone suddenly dies in his presence and defiles his consecrated head of hair, he must shave his head on the day of his cleansing—the seventh day.
- NKJV ‘And if anyone dies very suddenly beside him, and he defiles his consecrated head, then he shall shave his head on the day of his cleansing; on the seventh day he shall shave it.
- NASB ‘But if someone dies very suddenly beside him and he defiles his consecrated head of hair, then he shall shave his head on the day when he becomes clean; he shall shave it on the seventh day.
- NLT “If someone falls dead beside them, the hair they have dedicated will be defiled. They must wait for seven days and then shave their heads. Then they will be cleansed from their defilement.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org
Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
Quick answer
If someone dies suddenly nearby, the Nazirite is defiled and must shave his head as part of cleansing.
Overview
Even accidental defilement by an unexpected death interrupted the vow and required purification. Shaving the consecrated hair acknowledged that the separation had been broken and must be restarted. This sensitivity to even unintended uncleanness highlights the seriousness with which God regards holiness.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 6
- Num 6:18And the Nazarite shall shave the head of his separation at the door of the tabernacle of the congregation, and shall take the hair of the head of his separation, and put it in the fire which is under the sacrifice of the peace offerings.
- Acts 18:18And Paul after this tarried there yet a good while, and then took his leave of the brethren, and sailed thence into Syria, and with him Priscilla and Aquila; having shorn his head in Cenchrea: for he had a vow.
- Lev 14:9But it shall be on the seventh day, that he shall shave all his hair off his head and his beard and his eyebrows, even all his hair he shall shave off: and he shall wash his clothes, also he shall wash his flesh in water, and he shall be clean.
- Phil 3:8–9Yea doubtless, and I count all things but loss for the excellency of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord: for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and do count them but dung, that I may win Christ,
- Num 19:14–19This is the law, when a man dieth in a tent: all that come into the tent, and all that is in the tent, shall be unclean seven days.
- Acts 21:23–24Do therefore this that we say to thee: We have four men which have a vow on them;
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Christ at the center
In the wilderness Christ is the water from the rock, the bronze serpent lifted up that the dying might look and live (John 3:14), and the star and scepter that Balaam saw rising out of Jacob.
How Numbers 6:9 points to him is part of the one story that runs through all Scripture — meet Jesus at the heart of the web, or follow a trail that traces him from Genesis to Revelation.
Original language
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