The big picture
Numbers 6 opens in verse 1 with “And the LORD spake unto Moses, saying,”, reaches its middle movement near verse 14 with “And he shall offer his offering unto the LORD , one he lamb of the first year without…”, and closes in verse 27 with “And they shall put my name upon the children of Israel; and I will bless them.” Repeated or prominent terms include LORD, offering, separation, days, head. Together, those details trace this chapter’s own movement from its opening to its conclusion.
Scripture beside the summary
Numbers · King James Version · 27Numbers 6:1-7
1–7: The LORD spake unto Moses, saying,
Numbers 6:1–7 opens with “And the LORD spake unto Moses, saying,” and reaches “He shall not make himself unclean for his father, or for his mother, for his brother, or for his…” by its final verse. That movement develops the focus on Numbers 6 develops its own movement around LORD, offering, separation, days, head, with particular weight carried by days, drink, LORD.
Context that brings the passage to life
“And the LORD spake unto Moses, saying,” Naming Moses keeps the account rooted in particular people or places. Follow where the name returns and what changes around it.
“Speak unto the children of Israel, and say unto them, When either man or woman shall separate themselves to vow a vow…” The command cannot be understood from the verb alone. Its recipient, purpose, and place in the larger covenant or argument define the responsibility.
“He shall separate himself from wine and strong drink, and shall drink no vinegar of wine, or vinegar of strong drink…” The command cannot be understood from the verb alone. Its recipient, purpose, and place in the larger covenant or argument define the responsibility.
Numbers 6:1-7
King James Version1And the LORD spake unto Moses, saying,
2Speak unto the children of Israel, and say unto them, When either man or woman shall separate themselves to vow a vow of a Nazarite, to separate themselves unto the LORD :
3He shall separate himself from wine and strong drink, and shall drink no vinegar of wine, or vinegar of strong drink, neither shall he drink any liquor of grapes, nor eat moist grapes, or dried.
4All the days of his separation shall he eat nothing that is made of the vine tree, from the kernels even to the husk.
5All 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.
6All the days that he separateth himself unto the LORD he shall come at no dead body.
7He shall not make himself unclean for his father, or for his mother, for his brother, or for his sister, when they die: because the consecration of his God is upon his head.
Numbers 6:8-14
8–14: All the days of his separation he is holy unto the LORD .
Numbers 6:8–14 opens with “All the days of his separation he is holy unto the LORD .” and reaches “And he shall offer his offering unto the LORD , one he lamb of the first year without blemish…” by its final verse. That movement develops the focus on Numbers 6 develops its own movement around LORD, offering, separation, days, head, with particular weight carried by offering, days, separation.
Context that brings the passage to life
“All the days of his separation he is holy unto the LORD .” Naming All keeps the account rooted in particular people or places. Follow where the name returns and what changes around it.
“And if any man die very suddenly by him, and he hath defiled the head of his consecration; then he shall shave his…” The command cannot be understood from the verb alone. Its recipient, purpose, and place in the larger covenant or argument define the responsibility.
“And on the eighth day he shall bring two turtles, or two young pigeons, to the priest, to the door of the tabernacle…” The command cannot be understood from the verb alone. Its recipient, purpose, and place in the larger covenant or argument define the responsibility.
Numbers 6:8-14
King James Version8All the days of his separation he is holy unto the LORD .
9And 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.
10And on the eighth day he shall bring two turtles, or two young pigeons, to the priest, to the door of the tabernacle of the congregation:
11And the priest shall offer the one for a sin offering, and the other for a burnt offering, and make an atonement for him, for that he sinned by the dead, and shall hallow his head that same day.
12And he shall consecrate unto the LORD the days of his separation, and shall bring a lamb of the first year for a trespass offering: but the days that were before shall be lost, because his separation was defiled.
13And this is the law of the Nazarite, when the days of his separation are fulfilled: he shall be brought unto the door of the tabernacle of the congregation:
14And he shall offer his offering unto the LORD , one he lamb of the first year without blemish for a burnt offering, and one ewe lamb of the first year without blemish for a sin offering, and one ram without blemish for peace offerings,
Numbers 6:15-21
15–21: A basket of unleavened bread, cakes of fine flour mingled with oil, and…
Numbers 6:15–21 opens with “And a basket of unleavened bread, cakes of fine flour mingled with oil, and wafers of unleavened…” and reaches “This is the law of the Nazarite who hath vowed, and of his offering unto the LORD for his…” by its final verse. That movement develops the focus on Numbers 6 develops its own movement around LORD, offering, separation, days, head, with particular weight carried by offering, priest, separation.
Context that brings the passage to life
“And a basket of unleavened bread, cakes of fine flour mingled with oil, and wafers of unleavened bread anointed with…” The line’s distinctive content terms include bread, unleavened, anointed. Its relationship to verses 16 shows what work it does in this passage.
“And the priest shall bring them before the LORD , and shall offer his sin offering, and his burnt offering:” The command cannot be understood from the verb alone. Its recipient, purpose, and place in the larger covenant or argument define the responsibility.
“And he shall offer the ram for a sacrifice of peace offerings unto the LORD , with the basket of unleavened bread: the…” The command cannot be understood from the verb alone. Its recipient, purpose, and place in the larger covenant or argument define the responsibility.
Numbers 6:15-21
King James Version15And a basket of unleavened bread, cakes of fine flour mingled with oil, and wafers of unleavened bread anointed with oil, and their meat offering, and their drink offerings.
16And the priest shall bring them before the LORD , and shall offer his sin offering, and his burnt offering:
17And he shall offer the ram for a sacrifice of peace offerings unto the LORD , with the basket of unleavened bread: the priest shall offer also his meat offering, and his drink offering.
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.
19And the priest shall take the sodden shoulder of the ram, and one unleavened cake out of the basket, and one unleavened wafer, and shall put them upon the hands of the Nazarite, after the hair of his separation is shaven:
20And the priest shall wave them for a wave offering before the LORD : this is holy for the priest, with the wave breast and heave shoulder: and after that the Nazarite may drink wine.
21This is the law of the Nazarite who hath vowed, and of his offering unto the LORD for his separation, beside that that his hand shall get: according to the vow which he vowed, so he must do after the law of his separation.
Numbers 6:22-27
22–27: The LORD spake unto Moses, saying,
Numbers 6:22–27 opens with “And the LORD spake unto Moses, saying,” and reaches “And they shall put my name upon the children of Israel; and I will bless them.” by its final verse. That movement develops the focus on Numbers 6 develops its own movement around LORD, offering, separation, days, head, with particular weight carried by LORD, bless, children.
Context that brings the passage to life
“And the LORD spake unto Moses, saying,” Naming Moses keeps the account rooted in particular people or places. Follow where the name returns and what changes around it.
Numbers 6:22-27
King James Version22And the LORD spake unto Moses, saying,
23Speak unto Aaron and unto his sons, saying, On this wise ye shall bless the children of Israel, saying unto them,
24The LORD bless thee, and keep thee:
25The LORD make his face shine upon thee, and be gracious unto thee:
26The LORD lift up his countenance upon thee, and give thee peace.
27And they shall put my name upon the children of Israel; and I will bless them.
Details worth noticing
The opening image
Numbers 6:1 begins with “And the LORD spake unto Moses, saying,”
Where the chapter turns
Numbers 6:5 forms a natural hinge: “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…”
The final note
Numbers 6:27 leaves the reader with “And they shall put my name upon the children of Israel; and I will bless them.”
A word trail through the chapter
The words LORD, offering, separation, days, head, drink help reveal the chapter’s repeated concerns.
What repeated description explains the judgment?
The earth is corrupt and filled with violence, especially in verses 11-13.
What does obedience look like here?
Detailed preparation, gathering provisions and constructing what God commands.
KJV words made clear
- unto
- to
- thee
- you
- hath
- has
- spake
- spoke
Text first
Where readers differ
The chapter summary begins with what the passage says and how its parts fit together. It does not assume one denomination has already settled every question. Where a conclusion depends on a tradition, literary theory, or historical reconstruction, that dependence is named openly.
The KJV text is presented first. Interpretive conclusions are labeled, and differences are introduced only when they help a reader understand why serious communities do not always reach the same answer.
Comparative interpretive notes for this chapter are in preparation. Until reviewed notes are ready, this page separates the KJV text from summary and application without claiming that serious readers agree on every question.