The law of the Nazarites: the form of blessing the people.
Consecration, 14. and oblation of Nazareites. 22. Asette forme how the Priest shal blesse the people.
1And the Lord spoke to Moses, saying:E il Signore parlò a Mosè, e disse:AND our Lord spake vnto Moyses, saying:Locutusque est Dominus ad Moysen, dicens: 2Speak to the children of Israel, and thou shalt say to them: When a man, or woman, shall make a vow to be sanctified, and will consecrate themselves to the Lord:Parla a' figliuoli d'Israele, e di' loro: Quando un uomo, o una donna avran fatto voto di santificarsi, e vorran consacrarsi al Signore,Speake to the children of Israel, and thou shal say to them: Man, or woman, when they shal make a vow to be sanctified, and wil consecrate them selues to the Lord:Loquere ad filios Israël, et dices ad eos: Vir, sive mulier, cum fecerint votum ut sanctificentur, et se voluerint Domino consecrare: 3They shall abstain from wine, and from every thing that may make a man drunk. They shall not drink vinegar of wine, or of any other drink, nor any thing that is pressed out of the grape: nor shall they eat grapes either fresh or dried.Si asterranno dal vino, e da tutto quello che può ubbriacare: non beranno aceto fatto divino, o di qualunque altra bevanda, né di tutto quello che si spreme dall'uva; non mangeranno uve fresche, né secche.they shal absteine from wine, & euerie thing, that can make one drunke, vineger of wine, and of any other potion, and whatsoeuer is pressed out of the grape, they shal not drinke: new grapes and drie they shal not eatea vino, et omni quod inebriare potest, abstinebunt. Acetum ex vino, et ex qualibet alia potione, et quidquid de uva exprimitur, non bibent: uvas recentes siccasque non comedent 4All the days that they are consecrated to the Lord by vow: they shall eat nothing that cometh of the vineyard, from the raisin even to the kernel.Per tutto il tempo, in cui sono consacrati per voto al Signore, non mangeranno frutto di vite, né uva passa, né fiocino d'uva.al the daies wherin they are by vow cōsecrated to the Lord: whatsoeuer may be of the vineyard, from the reisen to the kernel they shal not eate.cunctis diebus quibus ex voto Domino consecrantur: quidquid ex vinea esse potest, ab uva passa usque ad acinum non comedent. 5All the time of his separation no razor shall pass over his head, until the day be fulfilled of his consecration to the Lord. He shall be holy, and shall let the hair of his head grow.Per tutto il tempo di loro separazione non passerà rasoio pel capo loro, fino a che sieno compiuti tutti i giorni, pei quali sono consacrati ai Signore. Egli (il Nazareo) sarà santo nel tempo che crescerà la chioma della sua testa.Al the time of his separation a rasour shal not passe ouer his head vntil the day be expired, that he is consecrated to the Lord. He shal be holie, whiles the bush of haire on his head doth grow.Omni tempore separationis suæ novacula non transibit per caput ejus usque ad completum diem, quo Domino consecratur. Sanctus erit, crescente cæsarie capitis ejus.
6All the time of his consecration he shall not go in to any dead,Per tutto il tempo della sua consacrazione non entrerà dove sia un morto,Al the time of his consecration he shal not enter in to the dead,Omni tempore consecrationis suæ, super mortuum non ingredietur, 7Neither shall he make himself unclean, even for his father, or for his mother, or for his brother, or for his sister, when they die, because the consecration of his God is upon his head.E non contrarrà immondezza per ragione del funerale neppur del padre, e della madre, e del fratello e della sorella; perché egli ha sulla sua testa il segno di uomo consacrato al suo Dio.neither shal he be contaminated no not on his fathers and mothers and brothers and sisters corps, because the consecration of his God is vpon his head.nec super patris quidem et matris et fratris sororisque funere contaminabitur, quia consecratio Dei sui super caput ejus est. 8All the days of his separation he shall be holy to the Lord.Per tutti i giorni di sua separazione sarà santo al Signore.Al the daies of his separation he shal be holie to the Lord.Omnibus diebus separationis suæ sanctus erit Domino. 9But if any man die suddenly before him: the head of his consecration shall be defiled: and he shall shave it forthwith on the same day of his purification, and again on the seventh day.Che se alcuno venga a morire subitamente davanti a lui, il capo di lui consacrato contrarrà immondezza: ed ei lo raderà immediatamente lo stesso dì in cui si purifica, e di poi il settimo giorno:But if anie man die sodenly before him, the head of his consecration shal be polluted: which he shal shaue forthwith in the same day of his purgation, and againe the seuenth day.Sin autem mortuus fuerit subito quispiam coram eo, polluetur caput consecrationis ejus: quod radet illico in eadem die purgationis suæ, et rursum septima. 10And on the eighth day he shall bring two turtles, or two young pigeons to the priest in the entry of the covenant of the testimony.L'ottavo giorno poi offerirà al sacerdote due tortore, o due colombini all'ingresso del tabernacolo dell'alleanza:and in the eight day he shal bring two turtles, or two young pigeons to the priest in the entrie of the couenant of testimonie.In octava autem die offeret duos turtures, vel duos pullos columbæ sacerdoti in introitu fœderis testimonii. 11And the priest shall offer one for sin, and the other for a holocaust, and shall pray for him, for that he hath sinned by the dead: and he shall sanctify his head that day:E il sacerdote ne immolerà uno per lo peccato, e l'altro in olocausto, e farà orazione per lui, che ha peccato per ragion di quel morto: e consacrerà in quel giorno il capo di lui:and the priest shal offer one for sinne, and the other for an holocaust, and shal pray for him, because he hath sinned by occasion of the dead: and he shal sanctifie his head that day:Faciet sacerdos unum pro peccato, et alterum in holocaustum, et deprecabitur pro eo, quia peccavit super mortuo: sanctificabitque caput ejus in die illo:
12And shall consecrate to the Lord the days of his separation, offering a lamb of one year for sin: yet so that the former days be made void, because his sanctification was profaned.Ed ei consacrerà al Signore i giorni di sua separazione, offerendo un agnello dell'anno per lo peccato: con questo però, che i giorni precedenti restino inutili, perché la santificazione di lui fu contaminata.and shal consecrate to the Lord the daies of his separation, offering a lambe of a yeare old for sinne: yet so that the former daies be made frustrate, because his sanctification was polluted.et consecrabit Domino dies separationis illius, offerens agnum anniculum pro peccato: ita tamen ut dies priores irriti fiant, quoniam polluta est sanctificatio ejus. 13This is the law of consecration. When the days which he had determined by vow shall be expired, he shall bring him to the door of the tabernacle of the covenant,Questa è la legge di tale consacrazione. Compiuti i giorni determinati nel voto (il sacerdote) lo condurrà alla porta del tabernacolo dell'alleanza.This is the law of consecration. When the daies, that by vow he had determined, shal be expired: he shal bring him to the doore of the tabernacle of couenant,Ista est lex consecrationis. Cum dies, quos ex voto decreverat, complebuntur, adducet eum ad ostium tabernaculi fœderis, 14And shall offer his oblation to the Lord: one he lamb of a year old without blemish for a holocaust, and one ewe lamb of a year old without blemish for a sin offering, and one ram without blemish for a victim of peace offering,E offerirà l'obblazione di lui al Signore, un agnello dell'anno senza macchia in olocausto, e una pecora dell'anno senza macchia per lo peccato, e un ariete senza macchia in ostia pacifica,and shal offer his oblation to the Lord, a male lambe of a yeare old without spotte for an holocaust, and an ewe lambe of a yeare old without spotte for sinne, and a ramme without spotte, for a pacifique hoste,et offeret oblationes ejus Domino, agnum anniculum immaculatum in holocaustum, et ovem anniculam immaculatam pro peccato, et arietem immaculatum, hostiam pacificam, 15A basket also of unleavened bread, tempered with oil, and wafers without leaven anointed with oil, and the libations of each:E di più un paniere di pani azzimi aspersi d'olio, e torte non lievitate unte d'olio, ciascuna cosa colle sue libagioni.a basket also of vnleuened breades that are tempered with oile, and wafers without leuen anointed with oile, and the libamentes of euerie one:canistrum quoque panum azymorum qui conspersi sint oleo, et lagana absque fermento uncta oleo, ac libamina singulorum:
16And the priest shall present them before the Lord, and shall offer both the sin offering and the holocaust.Le quali cose il sacerdote offerirà dinanzi al Signore, e farà il sacrifizio tanto per lo peccato, come dell'olocausto.which the priest shal offer before the Lord, and shal offer as wel for sinne, as for an holocaust.quæ offeret sacerdos coram Domino, et faciet tam pro peccato, quam in holocaustum. 17But the ram he shall immolate for a sacrifice of peace offering to the Lord, offering at the same time the basket of unleavened bread, and the libations that are due by custom.E immolerà l'ariete in ostia pacifica al Signore, offerendo insieme il paniere degli azzimi, e le libagioni, che vi vanno secondo il rito.But the ramme he shal immolate for a pacifique hoste to the Lord, offering withal the baskette of azymes, and the libamentes that by custome are dew.Arietem vero immolabit hostiam pacificam Domino, offerens simul canistrum azymorum, et libamenta quæ ex more debentur. 18Then shall the hair of the consecration of the Nazarite, be shaved off before the door of the tabernacle of the covenant: and he shall take his hair, and lay it upon the fire, which is under the sacrifice of the peace offerings.Allora la chioma del Nazareo consacrata si raderà dinanzi alla porta del tabernacolo dell'alleanza, e (il sacerdote) prenderà quei capelli, e li metterà sul fuoco, sopra di cui fu messa l'ostia pacifica.Then shal the Nazareite be shauen before the dore of the tabernacle of couenant, from the bush of the haire of his consecration: and he shal take his haires, and lay them vpon the fire, that is put vnder the sacrifice of pacifiques.Tunc radetur nazaræus ante ostium tabernaculi fœderis cæsarie consecrationis suæ: tolletque capillos ejus, et ponet super ignem, qui est suppositus sacrificio pacificorum: 19And shall take the boiled shoulder of the ram, and one unleavened cake out of the basket, and one unleavened wafer, and he shall deliver them into the hands of the Nazarite, after his head is shaven.E la spalla cotta dell'ariete, e una torta non lievitata presa dal paniere, e una stiacciata azzima porrà nelle mani del Nazareo, dopo che sarà stato raso il capo di lui.And a shoulder of the ramme boyled, and one cake without leuen out of the baskette, and one wafer vnleuened, and he shal deliuer them into the handes of the Nazareite, after that his head be shauen.et armum coctum arietis, tortamque absque fermento unam de canistro, et laganum azymum unum, et tradet in manus nazaræi, postquam rasum fuerit caput ejus.
20And receiving them again from him, he shall elevate them in the sight of the Lord: and they being sanctified shall belong to the priest, as the breast, which was commanded to be separated, and the shoulder. After this the Nazarite may drink wine.E riprese queste cose dalle mani di lui, le alzerà al cospetto del Signore: ed essendo cose santificate, apparterranno al sacerdote, come pure il petto, che si è detto doversi separare, e la coscia: dopo di questo il Nazareo può bever vino.And receiuing them againe from him, he shal eleuate them in the sight of the Lord: and being sanctified they shal be the priestes, as the breast, which was commanded to be separated, and the shoulder. after these thinges the Nazareite may drinke wine.Susceptaque rursum ab eo, elevabit in conspectu Domini: et sanctificata sacerdotis erunt, sicut pectusculum, quod separari jussum est, et femur. Post hæc, potest bibere nazaræus vinum. 21This is the law of the Nazarite, when he hath vowed his oblation to the Lord in the time of his consecration, besides those things which his hand shall find, according to that which he had vowed in his mind, so shall he do for the fulfilling of his sanctification.Questa è la legge del Nazareo, quando al tempo di sua consacrazione ha fatto al Signore il voto di sua offerta, lasciando da parte le cose che egli abbia possibilità di fare: ei farà secondo che ebbe in animo di promettere, affine di rendere perfetta la sua santificazione.This is the law of the Nazareite, when he shal vow his oblation to the Lord in the time of his consecration, besides those thinges which his hand shal find, according to that which he had vowed in his minde, so shal he do to the fulfilling of his sanctification.Ista est lex nazaræi, cum voverit oblationem suam Domino tempore consecrationis suæ, exceptis his, quæ invenerit manus ejus: juxta quod mente devoverat, ita faciet ad perfectionem sanctificationis suæ. 22And the Lord spoke to Moses, saying:E il Signore parlò a Mosè, e disse:And our Lord spake to Moyses, saying:Locutusque est Dominus ad Moysen, dicens: 23Say to Aaron and his sons: Thus shall you bless the children of Israel, and you shall say to them:Di' ad Aronne, e a' suoi figliuoli: Voi benedirete così i figliuoli d'Israele, e direte loro:Speake to Aaron and his sonnes: Thus shal you blesse the children of Israel, and you shal say to them:Loquere Aaron et filiis ejus: Sic benedicetis filiis Israël, et dicetis eis: 24The Lord bless thee, and keep thee.Il Signore ti benedica, e ti custodisca.Our Lord blesse thee, and keepe thee.Benedicat tibi Dominus, et custodiat te.
25The Lord shew his face to thee, and have mercy on thee.Il Signore ti mostri la sua faccia, e abbia pietà di te.Our Lord shew his face to thee, and haue mercie vpon thee.Ostendat Dominus faciem suam tibi, et misereatur tui. 26The Lord turn his countenance to thee, and give thee peace.Il Signore rivolga a te la sua faccia, e diati pace.Our Lord turne his countenance vnto thee, and geue thee peace.Convertat Dominus vultum suum ad te, et det tibi pacem. 27And they shall invoke my name upon the children of Israel, and I will bless them.Ed eglino invocheranno il nome mio sopra i figliuoli d'Israele, e io li benedirò.And they shal inuocate my name vpon the children of Israel, and I wil blesse them.Invocabuntque nomen meum super filios Israël, et ego benedicam eis.
6:1
Year of the World 2514.
6:2
Calmet
Sanctified, and separated from the common sort of people, and obliged to observe abstinence like the Nazarites, as the Hebrew intimates in one word, nazir. All this was done to acquire greater sanctity and perfection. Septuagint, "whoever has made a great vow to be very pure to the Lord," and intends thus to signalize his zeal for God's glory. The original term, means also to distinguish oneself by a wonderful thing. There were Nazarites for life, like Samson and St. John the Baptist; and others for a limited time, like St. Paul. Their abstinence from wine, etc., lasted generally for a month, and was to be performed at Jerusalem. Those of the female sex could not bind themselves by vow till they were ten years and a day old, nor boys before they were full 13. (Calmet)
Calmet
The custom of cutting the hair, in honour of some god, was very common among the pagans; and St. Cyril (de ador. 16,) seems to think that the Hebrews had seen it practised in Egypt, and that Moses judged it expedient to let them do so for the sake of the true God, in order to divert their minds from giving way to superstition. (Calmet)
Sat. ii
The Hebrews made vows to abstain from wine for 30 days, and then to offer sacrifices, and to cut their hair, when they were attacked by any dangerous illness. (Josephus, Jewish Wars 2:15.) St. Paul perhaps made a vow of this nature, in the perils of the sea, Acts 18:11. (Spencer, Rit. 3:6.) Juvenal alludes to this custom, when he observes, that sailors with their heads shaved, delight in safety to recount the dangers to which they have been exposed: Gaudent ubi vertice raso, Garrula securi narrare pericula Nautae. (Sat. ii.)
6:3
Drunk. Hebrew shecar, may signify old or palm wine, Leviticus 10:9.
Drink. Hebrew, "of shecar," which was a clear wine, with perhaps a mixture of sugar.
Vinegar was a common beverage among the ancients. (Pliny, [Natural History?] 14:16; Ruth 2:14.) The soldiers gave our Saviour some of theirs to drink. The Turks, who are not allowed to drink wine of the grape, make use of various other sorts of made wine.
Haydock
Grape, or the liquor procured from grapes, with a mixture of water, after they have served already to make wine. This liquor is called secondary wine by the Greeks, (Menochius) being designed for labourers in winter. (Varro 54, and Colum. 12:40.) Grapes of every description are forbidden to the Nazarites, as they either tend to inebriate, or at least are too luxurious. (Haydock)
Worthington
God deigns to give those a rule, who voluntarily consecrate themselves to his service. "What do the Nazarites designate, but the life of those who abstain, and are continent?" (St. Gregory, Mor. 32:23.) (Worthington)
6:4
Kernel, or stone. Neither the inside nor the outside must be eaten.
6:5
Calmet
Grow. At the commencement, and at the end of the Nazariteship, the hair was cut; though perhaps a sort of crown was left at the top of the head, as the 7th verse may be rendered, "the crown of his God," etc. (Calmet)
Menochius
The Nazarite is under the same regulations as the high priest, with respect to any corpse, ver. 6. (Maimonides; More, p. 3.; Leviticus 21:11.) Both were consecrated to God in the most perfect manner. (Menochius)
When the hair of Samson was cut off, he immediately lost his supernatural strength, (Judges 16.)
6:6
Haydock
Dead. To teach us that those who are consecrated to God, ought to abstain from the works of death. (Haydock)
6:9
Day. That none might escape; (Theodoret, q. 11,) though the Hebrew may imply that the hair was only shaved on the ninth day, when he was to be purified, (Numbers 19:12.) Then the Nazarite had to begin again, as if he had done nothing, (Calmet) if his vow were only for a time. Those who had taken a vow for life never shaved.
6:11
Sinned. Contracting a legal uncleanness.
Menochius
That day, and commence his vow. (Menochius)
6:13
He. The priest.
6:18
Tirinus
Fire, on the altar, where the ram has been sacrificed. (Abulensis.) Lyranus thinks it was burnt on the fire, with which the meat was boiled. (Menochius) (Chaldean) (Tirinus)
Calmet
The Septuagint, Philo, etc., understand it in the former sense; and Theodoret says the consecrated hair was placed upon the victim on the fire. (Calmet)
6:20
Priest, contrary to what was required in other sacrifices. (Jospehus, [Antiquities?] 4:4. Both the priest and the Nazarite waved the sacrifice towards the four quarters of the world.
6:21
Haydock
Mind. If he have vowed any thing more, he must perform it. (Haydock)
6:23
Sons. The three forms of benediction for the high priests, have all the same meaning, and they might choose which they pleased. Grotius observes, that they pronounced them aloud standing, with their hands lifted up. The books of Moses are the ritual of the priests.
6:25
Shew. Hebrew, "make his face shine," joyful and serene, (Calmet) like a light to direct thy steps, (Psalm 66:2.)
6:26
Menochius
Turn. With loving mercy, may he comfort and protect thee. (Menochius)
6:27
Haydock
Invoke. Hebrew, "they shall name my name (Yehovah, in pronouncing blessings) upon the sons of Israel," which I will ratify. (Haydock)
Calmet
"They shall place the blessing of my name," etc., Chaldean. They shall praise my name. (Calmet)
Haydock
God authorizes us to use a determinate form of blessing, and grants the effect, when his minister pronounces it, (Worthington) if no obstacle be put by the party. (Haydock)
6:2
2. VVil consecrate themselues] To such as of their owne accord, would bind God prescribed the rule of Nazareites, & the rites of their consecration. themselues by vow to certaine thinges not cōmanded, God prescribeth a Rule containing three special obseruations; not to drincke wine, or anie thing that may make drunck; not to cut their haire; and not to touch a dead corps. He appointeth likewise rites in making this profession, and calleth the professed Nazareites, that is, segregated or separated from the ordinarie state of people; though it was, for most part, but for a time, to be limited by the parties them selues, and in some perpetual, as in Samson. Iudic. 13. Now vvhat do Nazareites •. Aug. q. 52. in lib. Iudic. The same was a figure of vowes both temporal and perpetual. signifie, saith S. Gregorie (li. 33. c. 23. Moral.) but those that abstaine, and containe voluntarily from things oshervvise lavvful? As from eating flesh, either for certaine daies and times, or altogether; from Mariage; from proprietie in worldlie goodes; and the like.
6:5
VVhen Samson was depriued of these haires he lost his streingth ••d•c. 16.
6:23
A special and determinate forme of blessing.
6:27
VVhen the priest vttereth the wordes God geueth the effect.
6:1
St Methodius † AD 311 The Banquet of the Ten Virgins; or Concerning Chastity 5.1
… For the passage runs thus: “And the Lord spake unto Moses, saying, Speak unto the children of Israel, and say unto them, when either man or woman shall separate themselves…unto the Lord.”
St Methodius † AD 311 The Banquet of the Ten Virgins; or Concerning Chastity 5.5
I will now endeavour to explain to you, O virgins, the rest of that which is prescribed; for this is attached to your duties, consisting of laws concerning virginity, which are useful as teaching how we should abstain, and how advance to virginity. For it is written thus:
St John Chrysostom † AD 407 A Commentary on the Acts of the Apostles 46
(Recapitulation.) “Do therefore this that we say unto thee,” etc. ( v. 23, 24 .) He shows that it was not necessary to do this upon principle ( προηγουμένως )—whence also they obtain his compliance—but that it was economy and condescension.
St Jerome † AD 420 Against the Pelagians 1.28
Numbers vi. 1 . Offerings for the Nazarite.
6:2
St Methodius † AD 311 The Banquet of the Ten Virgins; or Concerning Chastity 5.4
That which is laid down in the Book of Numbers,
6:3
St John Chrysostom † AD 407 The Homilies of St. John Chrysostom on the Epistle to the Hebrews 15
… Seest thou? Thou hast eaten this, Thou hast not eaten that, which are matters of indifference. [“Which stood] only in meats and drinks, and divers washings.” “Thou hast drunk this,” he says: and yet nothing has been ordained concerning drink, but he said this, treating them as trifles.
6:5
St Augustine of Hippo † AD 430 Of the Work of Monks 39
… For those persons, hawking about a venal hypocrisy, fear lest shorn sanctity be held cheaper than long-haired; because forsooth he who sees them shall call to mind those ancients whom we read of, Samuel and the rest who did not cut off their hair.
6:6
Tertullian † AD 220 The Five Books Against Marcion 4.23
… “The priest,” says He, “shall not enter where there is any dead person; and for his father he shall not be defiled” ; as well as that in Numbers, which relates to the (Nazarite) vow of separation; for there he who devotes himself to God, among other things, is bidden “not to come at any dead body,” not even of his father, or his mother, or his brother.
6:24
Origen † AD 254 Origen Against Celsus 4.34
… And yet we know them from no other source than the sacred books of the Jews! Moreover, the phrases, “the God of Israel,” and “the God of the Hebrews,” and “the God who drowned in the Red Sea the king of Egypt and the Egyptians,” are formulæ
6:25
St Athanasius of Alexandria † AD 373 On the Incarnation of the Word 25-2
… 5. But if the Gentiles are honouring the same God that gave the law to Moses and made the promise to Abraham, and Whose word the Jews dishonoured,—why are they ignorant, or rather why do they choose to ignore, that the Lord foretold by the Scriptures has shone forth upon the world, and appeared to it in bodily form, as the Scripture said: “The
6:2
In Hebrew, when they have separated themselves, or made themselves wonderful by vowing, that is when they have vowed a Nazirite vow, so that they separate themselves from the common custom and manner of living of men (which is something new and wonderful), and consecrate themselves to the Lord. Sanctification therefore here signifies separation from the common life of men, and abstinence from wine and strong drink, that is from every drink which can intoxicate, and this for the honor and worship of God, from which separation the Nazirite, that is the separated one, is called. Concerning which more at verse 7.
Nazirites among the Jews were religious men who, so that they might more freely devote themselves to the law and meditation on divine things, withdrew themselves from the commerce of others, either always or for a time, and gave themselves wholly to the Lord; or who, when they had used wine and other delights excessively, afterwards bound themselves to abstinence and a stricter manner of life, so that they might afflict the body. These were penitent Nazirites; the former were as it were contemplative Nazirites. Thus Vatablus. Moreover Nazirites were of two kinds: for some had a perpetual vow, as Samuel, 1 Kings 28, and Samson, Judges 13:7; others for a certain time, which was not defined by law, but each one fixed the time for himself according to his devotion. Such a Nazirite was St. Paul, Acts 21:23.
Note, nezer signifies first, separation; second, consecration; third, a crown; fourth, hair or locks like a crown, which was consecrated to God. Hence from nezer is derived nazir, that is Nazirite, which signifies first, separated to God; second, consecrated; third, crowned; fourth, having hair or locks.
Allegorically, Rupertus accommodates all these things to Christ, of whom it is said in Matthew 2, at the end of the chapter, that it was predicted by the Prophets: "That he shall be called a Nazarene;" which St. Jerome expounding says: Nazarene, he says, is interpreted holy. And all Scripture commemorates that the Lord was to be holy, and these Nazirites all, and notably Joseph the patriarch, Genesis 49:26, and Samson, Judges 13:5, prefigured his holiness: by the symbol of which Christ was educated in Nazareth, God's providence signifying by this that he himself would be a Nazirite in life and morals; which Leo Castrius proves at length in chapter 11 of Isaiah, verse 1, both from other things and from the fact that the Evangelists always write Nazarene by the letter zeta, which corresponds to the Hebrew zain, by which letter these our Nazirites are written. For if Nazarene were derived from netser, Isaiah 11:1, that is flower or shoot, as many wish, then they would not write Nazarene by z, but by the letter s. For netser there is written by tsade, which letter is always turned by the sacred writers into s, never into z; but this matter must be treated more exactly in Matthew 2.
6:3
In Hebrew, the residue of grapes, that is, what is pressed out from grapes already pressed and afterwards either moistened with water or cooked. For Nazirites could eat or drink nothing of such a kind.
6:4
That is, not even a kernel of the grape, or nothing at all that is of the grape, shall they eat. For this is what this phrase of the Hebrews signifies. It is similar to chapter 8, verse 4, in the Hebrew, and Genesis chapter 14, verse 23, where it is said: "From the thread of the warp even to the strap of the shoe," that is, I will not take even a thread or a strap of all that is yours. Hence it is clear that Nazirites could not eat dried and withered grapes.
6:5
Namely for shaving or cutting the hair of the Nazirite. Until the day is completed, on which he is consecrated to the Lord. — In Hebrew, until the days are fulfilled, in which he has separated himself to the Lord. He shall be holy with the hair of his head growing, — that is to say, the Nazirite shall be and shall be known, if according to this command of mine he allows the promised hair to grow. God commanded the Nazirite to nourish his hair, partly so that by this sign it might be shown that he was separated from worship, equally as from the delights of the body, partly so that he might give them to the Lord at the end of his vow.
6:6
He shall not go to the funeral of a dead person, not even of father or mother. In this respect Nazirites were more perfect than common priests; for these could attend the funeral of father, mother, brother and sister, and they are equal to the high priest, who could not approach the funeral of father or mother, Leviticus 21:11.
Among the Hebrews someone was contaminated by a dead body in three ways: first, if he touched a corpse or bones, even found in a field; second, if he went to the funeral rites of those mourning the dead, or if he was in the house in which the dead person lay, or was giving up the ghost, as Abulensis says. Third, if he touched any of his vessels, as is clear from Numbers 19:10 and following.
6:7
That is to say, because the uncut hair upon his head is, which shows that he is separated to the Lord, crowned and consecrated; and in this hair or locks seemed to be the principal thing, and by which especially they were distinguished and denominated, the ceremony of Nazirites. Whence it follows:
6:9
That is, his consecration will be defiled, which appears especially in the hair of the head; and therefore lest these hairs of the Nazarites, as if sacred, should afterwards be profaned, when the vow was finished, they were burned to the Lord to whom they were consecrated, as is evident from verse 18.
Tropologically, Rabanus and Cyrillus, book XVI On Adoration, think that in the Nazarites the life of the abstinent and continent is signified. Whoever therefore wishes to consecrate himself to God by a great vow, that is, by a life of perfect justice, let him withdraw his mind from wine and strong drink, that is, from everything which can disturb it. These, however, are the worldly sense, earthly desires, solicitudes of the flesh, vain distractions. Let him nourish the hair of his head, that is, let him not have his mind bare, but adorned with divine thoughts and knowledge. Let him not enter to father and mother, that is, let him renounce carnal love, and prefer God to blood relationship.
Wherefore the Nazarites prefigured the life of our Religious, as St. Gregory Nazianzen teaches, oration in praise of St. Basil, St. Gregory, book XXXII Moral. cap. xvii, Innocent cited cap. iv, 49, St. Thomas, II II, Question CLXXXVI, art. 6. Religious therefore are true Nazarites, that is, separated from the common life of men, and likewise crowned on the head as Kings and Caesars, both of heaven and earth, of whom it is said, Lamentations IV: "Her Nazarites were whiter than snow, brighter than milk, more ruddy than old ivory, fairer than sapphire." In snow and milk is signified the chastity of Religious; in old ivory, constant and strong obedience; in sapphire, which is of a heavenly color, poverty which fixes hope in God alone. Hence verse 21, the Nazarite state is called a state of perfection and sanctification, namely of the old law: just as Religion in the new law is a state of perfection, not acquired (for this is the Episcopate), but to be acquired through three vows. For, as Eusebius Emissenus says: "A Religious ought to be a despiser of rest, a fugitive from pleasure, a seeker of labor, patient of abjection, impatient of honor, poor in money, rich in conscience, humble toward merits, proud against vices." Whence plainly do those err who have turned to Religion, "who, as Blessed Prosper says in On the Contemplative Life, renounce nothing of their former habits, because namely they are not changed in mind, but in garment; not in act, but in habit; not in work, but in speech. For they live secularly in Religion, they seek the appearance of virtue for virtue, they preach great things and do them not, they accuse vices and do not put them away, they publicly pretend to displease themselves with what they secretly commit."
Secondly, just as the Nazarites, so also Religious ought to abstain from wine and from everything which can disturb or defile the mind. Let them hear St. Jerome instituting the monk Paulinus: "Let your food be vile and taken in the evening, herbs and legumes; sometimes let you count small fish as the greatest delicacies: he who desires Christ and feeds on that bread does not greatly inquire about what precious foods he makes into dung." And below: "I am content that nothing in you be mediocre; I desire everything supreme, everything perfect." Thirdly, the Nazarites also had to abstain from grapes, lest namely from grapes they pass to bunches, from bunches to wine: so Religious ought to cut off every, even the smallest and remote, occasion of gluttony and sin. For, as the Gloss rightly says on that passage of Job xxxi, I made a covenant with my eyes: "Sight is followed by thought, thought by delight, delight by consent, consent by deed, deed by habit, habit by necessity, necessity by despair, despair by damnation." Let Religious hear, let Ecclesiastics hear, what the neglect of the smallest canons and ordinances effects, St. Antoninus teaching, II part. Hist., tit. XV, § 2, after he has treated of many Religious: "The aforesaid," he says, "Religious communities, which had their beginning with great fervor and sanctity of life, neglecting the smallest traditions of the Fathers, gradually declined in the course of time and were emptied, even to their foundation, namely their substantial vows; but by divine mercy, flourishing again after seventy years, they blossomed anew in the few who reformed themselves to regular life." Let them hear St. Anselm, epistle 6 to Monks: "It is most certain," he says, "which we have learned by experience in many Churches, that in a monastery where the smallest things are strictly guarded, where the rigor of monks remains inviolable, there is peace among the brethren, and complaints cease in chapter. But where the smallest excesses are neglected, there the whole Order is gradually scattered and destroyed. If therefore you wish to ascend from virtue to virtue, always fear to offend God in the smallest things." Meritedly therefore does St. Gregory Nazianzen admonish Religious men and women, oration On Cosmetics, saying: "I wish you to know this, that one wrinkle is more shameful to you than the greatest wounds to those who live in the world; for a stain has not so notable and conspicuous a deformity on soiled garments as on pure garments of one color."
Fourth, a Nazarite could not mourn a dead person, even a father or mother: thus all Religious ought to cut off all carnal affections toward their parents, and hear that word of Christ, Matt. viii, 22: "Follow me;" and: "Let the dead bury their dead;" and that from Psalm xliv: "Hear, O daughter, and see, and incline thy ear, and forget thy people and thy father's house, and the king shall greatly desire thy beauty." Fifth, a Nazarite was also defiled by the mere presence of a corpse: thus a Religious ought to be most remote from all sin, concerning which more at verse 9. Sixth, the sanctification of a Nazarite was chiefly situated in the nurturing of his hair. This mystically is the germination of holy thoughts, by which a man is made holy; these the Religious foster and nourish.
Seventh, if it happened that a Nazarite was defiled over a dead body, his hair as if defiled was shaved off, so that new hair might grow: thus Religious, if their thoughts and affections are stained by any blemish of sin, immediately cut them off, and summon other holy ones anew. Eighth, if a Nazarite was defiled, the days of his past Nazarite vow were reckoned void, and he was compelled to begin the time of his vow anew; for God rejoices most in continuous devotion. Thus a Religious, if he has fallen into negligence or another sin, must again with new effort, as if he had done nothing before, seize the way of virtue, and say with the Psalmist, Psalm lxxvi: "I said: Now I begin."
Ninth, when the time of his vow was completed, the Nazarite was shaved, and his hair was burned on the altar of the whole burnt offering; by which, says Gregory, lib. II of the Morals, cap. xxxix, it was signified that "we then attain to the summit of perfection, when we so overcome the worse vices that we also cut away superfluous thoughts from the mind, which indeed to burn in the fire of sacrifice is to set them ablaze with the flame of divine love, so that the heart of the Religious burns wholly with the love of God." Then the Nazarite offered himself first, a victim for sin, which signifies full remission of sins, which Religious receive at their entrance into Religion. Whence also by St. Jerome, epistle to Demetrias, and by St. Bernard, lib. On Precept and Dispensation, cap. xxiii, and others, entrance into Religion is called a second baptism; second, a peace offering, which signified that God is easily placated by the prayers of Religious and grants their petitions; third, a whole burnt offering, which signified that Religion is nothing other than a whole burnt offering, as St. Thomas teaches, II II, Question CLXXXVI, art. 7, because just as in a whole burnt offering the entire victim was burned, so a Religious has nothing that he does not offer to God. For he offers external goods through the vow of poverty, he offers the good of the body through the vow of chastity, he offers the good of the soul through the vow of obedience. Finally, so that Religion lacks no kind of sacrifice, it itself is also a most illustrious martyrdom. For, as St. Jerome says in the Epitaph of Paula, "the spotless service of a devoted mind is a daily martyrdom;" and St. Bernard, sermon 1 on the feast of All Saints: "Truly," he says, "voluntary poverty is a kind of martyrdom."
Hear what are the duties and martyrdoms of a monk, from St. Jerome to Rusticus: "In a monastery," he says, "let this one teach you silence, that one teach you gentleness; do not do what you wish; eat what you are commanded, wear what you receive; complete the measure of your work, be subject to one whom you do not wish; come to bed weary, and walking fall asleep, and before sleep is completed be compelled to rise. Recite a psalm in your turn, in which not the sweetness of voice but the affection of the mind is sought; serve the brothers, wash the feet of guests, bear injury in silence, fear the superior of the monastery as a lord, love him as a father; believe that whatever he commands is salutary for you, nor judge the opinion of your elders, whose office it is to obey and fulfill what has been commanded; let women not know your name, and not know your appearance; for a long time learn what you are to teach, nor believe your flatterers, or rather your mockers." These and more things Viegas in Apocal. ix, 2, sect. 11. See also Jerome Platus, On the Good of the Religious State, lib. II, cap. xix, and cap. xii and xv.
But if anyone die suddenly before him, the head of his consecration shall be defiled. — Why this? Lyra answers, so that the Nazirite might attribute such a death to his own sins. For there ought to be such great humility in a religious man that he attributes whatever evil happens to his own sins. Secondly, Viegas above: The Nazirite is reckoned defiled, he says, if anyone die before him, because he himself could be thought to be his slayer; so that it might be signified to a religious man that even the very appearance and suspicion of evil, even if free from guilt, ought to be avoided in every way, according to that passage in 1 Thessalonians v: "Abstain from all appearance of evil." Thirdly and truly genuinely, Abulensis: The Nazirite was defiled, he says, if anyone died before him, because he himself ought to be immune from all contamination; for he was abundantly most holy, but in the dead that law was the greatest contamination. Whence equally if some corpse or bones of the dead had fallen upon the Nazirite by chance, or if he himself had by chance fallen or been brought into the house of the dead, he would have been defiled, and this so that by this it might be signified that a religious man ought to be most remote from all sin (for the corpse was the type of this), even casual and stealthy, even another's.
He shall shave his head immediately on the same day of his purification, and again on the seventh day — he shall shave his head, and this for greater cleanliness. But the Hebrews and Vatablus think that the head of the Nazirite was to be shaved not on the first, but only on the seventh day; for this is what the Hebrew indicates, which reads thus: He shall shave his head on the day of his purification, on the seventh day he shall shave it. But our Interpreter sagaciously understood, after the Hebrew manner, that the conjunction "and" is to be supplied, as if to say: And on the seventh day he shall shave it. For it is not likely that the Nazirite remained in his defilement until the seventh day, but ought to have been purified and shaved immediately, and the Hebrew vav, that is "and," sufficiently indicates this, which our Interpreter rightly translated as "immediately"; for thus the Hebrew reads, and he shall be defiled and he shall shave, that is, as soon as he is defiled, he shall shave.
This shaving was to be done only by a temporary Nazirite: for a perpetual one was never shaved, however he might be defiled, and consequently neither did he offer turtledoves or young pigeons for his expiation, as Abulensis teaches, Question XI on chapter xiii of Judges. For all things prescribed in this chapter pertain only to the Nazirite who is such for a certain time, as is evident from verses 4, 5, 6, 13 and 18.
6:10
That is, at the entrance of the tabernacle of the testimony. Thus the Hebrew, Chaldean, and Septuagint. The tabernacle therefore is here called the covenant by metonymy: because it was the sign of the covenant between God and the people made through Moses.
6:11
"Shall make," that is, shall sacrifice and slay; but its flesh shall fall to the priest. For in the sacrifice for sin only the fat was to be burned and consumed according to the law of Leviticus vii, 1. But in the turtledove and pigeon there is no fat; therefore only their blood was to be poured out and shed to God. Because he sinned over the dead, — because he was defiled over the dead, namely because he was defiled from the funeral of the dead. For sin here signifies not guilt, but legal uncleanness. See what is said at Leviticus xv, 15.
And he shall sanctify his head on that day, and shall consecrate to the Lord the days of his separation, — In Hebrew, the days of his Naziriteship, that is, from that time he shall begin again to count the time of his Naziriteship, or the time in which he had vowed himself to be a Nazirite, as if to say: The priest shall restore by this lustration the head of the Nazirite to its former sanctity and consecration, so that from that day of lustration the days of his vow and consecration shall begin again: for the first days were made void by the defilement that followed.
6:13
When the days which he had decreed from his vow shall be completed, he shall bring (supply: the priest; for he is the minister of the tabernacle and of all sacred things) him (the Nazirite) to the door of the tabernacle of the covenant, — so that he may offer for him every, that is, triple, kind of sacrifice, namely "a lamb for a holocaust, a ram for a peace offering, and a ewe for sin" — not any certain and determined one, but for sin, that is for sins in general, if any he committed before, especially in his Naziriteship. Thus Abulensis.
6:15
Also a basket of unleavened bread, which are sprinkled (that is, mixed) with oil (when the flour was kneaded and worked), and the libations of each, — which are prescribed in chapter xv, 4.
6:18
Then the Nazarite shall be shaved before the door of the tabernacle of the covenant, etc., and the priest shall take his hair, and put it upon the fire. — The hair of the Nazarite is burned in honor of God, as if already sacred and consecrated to Him: for by the hair, which is the covering of the head, was signified that the head itself of the Nazarite was consecrated to God; and since the head itself could not be offered to God and burned without the death of the man, therefore in place of the head the hair was given to God and burned, so that by this symbol they might "consecrate to the Lord the perfection of their devotion," as Isidore says. In like manner the Gentiles dedicated their hair to gods, that is to demons, when they offered themselves to them, as Theodoret testifies in chapter xix of Leviticus, Question xxviii, and Cyril, book xvi On Adoration. Otherwise St. Gregory interprets this mystically, as I said in verse 7, book II of the Morals, chapter vi, and Rupert, namely that the hair signifies superfluous and presumptuous thoughts, and therefore they are commanded to be burned and consumed in honor of God.
Moreover, Isidore teaches in his *De Divin. Offic.* that the use of ecclesiastical tonsure began from the Nazarites: "The usage of this example (of the Nazarites)," he says, "was introduced by the Apostles, so that those who are devoted to divine worship and consecrated to the Lord, as it were Nazarites, that is, holy ones of God, might be renewed with hair cut short; so that by this sign and religious practice vices might be cut away, and we might be stripped of the crimes of our flesh, as it were of hairs, putting off the old man with his deeds: which renewal ought to take place in the mind, but to be demonstrated on the head, where the mind itself is known to dwell; but whereas the upper part of the head is shorn, below a circular crown is left, I consider the priesthood and kingdom of the Church to be figured in them. Hence also the tiara was established among the ancients on the head of priests, because *you are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood.*" Another reason is also given for this, namely on account of the continual remembrance of the crown of thorns of Christ: and that this was done by the Apostles and handed down to the Church, Bede teaches with certain assertion in book V of *De Gest. Anglor.* cap. xxii: "We are not," he says, "shorn into a crown for this reason alone, because Peter was thus shorn, but because Peter was thus shorn in remembrance of the Lord's passion: therefore we also, who desire to be saved through that same passion, bear the sign of that passion with him on the crown of the head. Just as therefore the faithful bear the sign of the cross on the forehead, against evil spirits, and so that they might be taught that they ought to crucify the flesh with its vices: so clerics and monks bear the form of the crown, which Christ in his passion wore of thorns on his head, so that he might bear the thorns and thistles of our sins, that is, carry them away and remove them from us: so that they themselves teach by the very forehead that they willingly and with ready mind suffer mockery and reproach for Christ; so that they always expect the crown of life, which God has promised to those who love him, and for the obtaining of this, they signify that they despise both the adversities and the prosperity of the world." Thus Beda and Alcuin the Grammarian speak of this and much more in *De Divinis Officiis*.
As for monks, indeed from the time of St. Dionysius the Areopagite, as he himself testifies in the Ecclesiastical Hierarchy, part II, III, chapter, the head has been customarily shaved: for the shaving of the head is an admonition and a symbol, first, of a man mourning and grieving; second, of chastity and "adorned with the ornament of modesty," as St. Paulinus says, epistle 7; third, of one despising earthly things and meditating on heavenly things. See more in Baronius in the year of Christ 58.
6:20
Sanctified (that is, elevated and offered to God) shall be the priest's, as the breast (thus) and the thigh,—the right arm, as the Hebrew has it; for this arm, as also the breast, in the peace offerings fell to the priest, and was separated to him from the victim, as appears in Leviticus vii, 31 and 32.
6:21
This is the law of the Nazarite, when he shall have vowed his oblation to the Lord in the time of his consecration,—that is to say, when he shall have vowed the Nazariteship, or to be a Nazarite, and consequently when he shall have vowed the oblation to be made at the end of his vow, which I have here prescribed for the Nazarites: he shall have vowed, I say, it on the day of his consecration, that is on the day on which he consecrated himself to God, and began to be a Nazarite. Besides those things which his hand shall find (that is to say, He shall offer the victims already prescribed in verse 14, besides those which he shall wish to offer of his own accord, according to his means and resources; and this) unto the perfection of his sanctification.—In Hebrew, according to the law of his Nazariteship, which namely regards his perfection in holiness of that state of his time, namely of the Old Testament.
6:23
6:25
In Hebrew, Let the Lord illuminate His face upon thee, that is, let God show Himself to thee benign, cheerful, propitious, liberal. For this is what light and illumination signify in Scripture, as in Psalm xcvi, 11: "Light is risen to the just, and joy to the right of heart;" and Psalm xliv, 4: "For they got not the land in possession by their own sword, neither did their own arm save them: but Thy right hand and Thy arm, and the light of Thy countenance, because Thou wast pleased with them." Secondly, a better and more genuine sense is, that is to say, the Lord be to thee as light and a lamp, that He may direct all thy acts. That this is so is evident from the fact that Psalm lxvi, 1, where these blessings are repeated, when the Psalmist had said: "Let (God) illuminate His countenance upon us," immediately explaining that, he adds: "That we may know Thy way upon the earth." Whence also Psalm iv, 7, it is said: "The light of Thy countenance, O Lord, is signed upon us," that is to say, The lamp of reason and faith is kindled in us by Thy divine light, O Lord. In a similar sense it is said Psalm xvii, 29: "For Thou wilt light my lamp, O Lord;" and Psalm cxviii, 135: "Make Thy face to shine upon Thy servant, and teach me Thy justifications;" and Luke i, 79: "To enlighten them that sit in darkness and in the shadow of death, to direct our feet into the way of peace;" and Psalm lxxxix, last verse: "And let the brightness of the Lord our God be upon us, and direct Thou the works of our hands over us."
6:26
That is to say, Let the Lord comfort thee, help and protect thee. Metaphorically the turning of His face is attributed to God, as also its turning away, signifying His present aid, as turning away signifies His abandonment. In this priestly blessing, says Rabanus, formed in a threefold manner, the name of the Lord is placed and repeated a third time, that the Most Holy Trinity, from which, through which, and in which are all good things, may be signified: whence also now among Christians, and the Ecclesiastical blessing is conferred through the names of the persons of the Most Holy Trinity, saying: May almighty God bless you, Father, and Son, and Holy Ghost; or: that God may be in thy heart, and in thy mouth, that thou mayest rightly announce His Gospel, in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost.
6:27
In Hebrew, and they shall put my name upon the children of Israel, namely by invoking it upon them; whence Vatablus and the Hebrews thus expound it, that is to say, When the priests shall bless the children of Israel, they shall add my name, the tetragrammaton, to their blessing.
And I will bless them. — Note here the efficacy and effect of priestly blessing, even in the old law. For God promises here that He will hear this blessing, and will truly grant it, and will bless, that is, will do good to the people thus blessed by the priest. Thus the blessing of parents, especially of the dying, given to their children was once efficacious, and therefore was eagerly sought by the children, as is evident in the blessing of Isaac, Gen. xxvii, and of Jacob, Gen. xxix, and of Moses, Deut. xxxi. And this is what the Wise Man says, Ecclesiasticus iii, 11: "The blessing of the father strengtheneth the houses of the children; but the curse of the mother rooteth up the foundations." What wonder then, if the blessing of the priests of the New Testament be efficacious? especially if it be sought and received with the faith and devotion which is fitting. Whence true Catholics are accustomed to seek and receive it religiously. Thus most English, even nobles, when a priest enters the house, prostrate themselves with their whole family on the ground, and humbly beseech a blessing from him. Thus from the holy Fathers and Anchorites of old Christians, even princes, sought a blessing, and experienced great fruit from it. Thus finally Christ the supreme priest, ascending into heaven, blessed His own, Luke, last chapter, verse 51. I have said more on this blessing of the Pontiffs in Ecclesiasticus xxxvi, 19.
Machine translation from the Latin, not reviewed.
6:1
Sanballat (Heb. Sanballat, in Akkadian Sin-uballit "[the god] Sin gave life")
means of hired men (Num. 6:1-14), but always without success. …
6:2
Women could also be nazirites (Num. 6:2), with limitations (Num. 30:4-6), as is the case with Berenice, sister of King Agrippa (Fl. Josephus, Bell. …
6:3
… Proto-Semitic root ndr, from which nāzīr also derives) of abstinence, for a religious reason (cf. the full expression "nazirite of [consecrated to] God": Judg. 13:5, 7; 16:17; Eccl. 6:13 [Heb.]) and from alcoholic drink (including grapes themselves: Num. 6:3); from the cutting of the hair, considered a refinement; moreover the nazirite had to avoid with particular care ritual impurities, especially contact with a corpse.
6:7
… A person can become impure for physical reasons (leprosy: Lev. 13:3; Num. 5:2), for natural necessities (childbirth: Lev. 12:2-5), independent of his will (ibid. 15:25) or through necessary and undesired contacts (e.g., with a dead person: Num. 6:7; 9:6). Certain animals are impure by nature (Lev. 11:10 ff.). …
6:10
… those prescribed for the consecration of the Levites, of the priests and of the high priest [Lev. 8]; for purification after childbirth [ibid. 12:6-8]; for the initiation of Nazirites [Num. 6:14-16] and for their purification from contact with a corpse [ibid. 6:10 ff.]; for purification from leprosy [Lev. 14:19 ff.]; and for the various legal purifications); others voluntary or of private devotion (to thank God for a signal benefit, to implore some …
6:12
"peace offering" (Lev. 3, 7-11) and "for sin" (Lev. 4, 32 [hēbhes: Vulg. de pecoribus]. 35). On all feasts and for almost every kind of sacrifice (v.) the Mosaic Law prescribed the immolation of lambs (cf. Gen. 4, 3-4; Num. 6, 12; I Sam. 7, 9; I Reg. 8, 63, where the generic term sōn is used: 120,000; etc.). …
6:14
The proper Hebrew term is hēbhes (Septuagint ἀμνός) with the feminine kibhsāh (ἀμνός, Vulg. agna; Num. 6, 14), or more rarely kēsebh and kisbāh (metathesis). …
Among private holocausts, some were obligatory (such were those prescribed for the consecration of the Levites, of the priests and of the high priest [Lev. 8]; for purification after childbirth [ibid. 12:6-8]; for the initiation of Nazirites [Num. 6:14-16] and for their purification from contact with a corpse [ibid. 6:10 ff.]; for purification from leprosy [Lev. 14:19 ff.]; and for the various legal purifications); others voluntary …
6:23
Aaron (Heb. 'Ahărān, of uncertain etymology)
… The "blessing" in the name of God (Num. 6:23-27) is reserved to A. and to his sons, as a priestly prerogative (Gen. 14:18 ff.; Deut. 10:8; 21:5).
The priests were the necessary mediators between the believer and God, praying, offering, sacrificing, purifying for all. "They shall put the name of Yahweh upon the sons of Israel" by blessing them with the threefold wish of divine custody, grace, salvation-peace (Num. 6:23-27). "Set apart" by God from the people of Israel, "set apart" from all peoples (Lev. 20:24. 26; Deut. 14:2; 26:18 ff.), they were the mediators of "holiness." To them, and through …
6:26
Eighteen Benedictions (Heb. Šēmōneh 'Ešrēh, understood as Bērākōth "Blessings")
… Jerusalem"; 15th b. Dāwīdh "pr. for (the kingdom of the house of) David"; 16th tēphilāh "prayer" (of petition); 17th ābhōdhāh "service" (of God); 18th hōdhāh "thanksgiving"; 19th b. hōhānīm "pr. of the priests" (and lacking the end of the priestly blessing [Num. 6, 26 ff.]). …
Douay-Rheims (Challoner) · Vulgata Clementina · original Douay-Rheims (Douay 1609-10), transcription by EEBO-TCP (CC0) · La Sacra Bibbia, tradotta dalla Volgata da Antonio Martini (1769-1781) (LaParola (laparola.net), Martini OSIS text, Public domain (LaParola's electronic edition marks it 'Dominio pubblico')). Public domain.