Numbers 6:5

Summary

Numbers 6:5 establishes the physical sign of the Nazirite vow: for the entire duration of the vow, no razor may touch the head, and the hair must be allowed to grow long. The verse frames this as a state of holiness tied to a fixed time period.

Key words

• niz.R ("Nazirite vow", H5145G) — masculine singular construct, forming a chain "vow of his Nazirite-status" (neder nizro), doubling the terminology for the vow itself.
• Ta.'ar ("a razor", H8593) — common gender singular noun, the subject of the negated verb, naming the specific instrument forbidden from use.
• ya.'a.Vor ("it will pass", H5674A) — qal imperfect, third person, describing the razor's prohibited action over the head; the imperfect conveys an ongoing prohibition throughout the vow period.
• ka.Dosh ("holy", H6918G) — masculine singular adjective, predicated of the Nazirite via the following verb yihyeh, stating a status rather than an action.
• ga.Del ("he will make grow", H1431) — piel infinitive, an intensive stem indicating deliberate, active growth (not passive lengthening) of the hair.

What the text says

The verse opens with a temporal construct chain: kol yemei neder nizro ("all the days of the vow of his Nazirite-status"), stacking three nouns in construct relationship to specify the scope of what follows — the entire duration of the vow. The main clause negates the verb ya'avor ("it will pass", H5674A) with lo' ("not", H3808), producing a strong prohibition: the razor (ta'ar) will not pass over the head ('al-ro'sho). This prohibition is bounded by the temporal clause 'ad-melot hayamim ("until the days are completed"), using the infinitive melot ("are completed", H4390) to mark the vow's endpoint.

The relative clause 'asher-yazir la-YHWH ("which he will be a Nazirite to Yehovah") uses the hiphil imperfect yazir (H5144B), a causative form of the same root as nezer, describing the act of setting oneself apart. The declaration qadosh yihyeh ("holy he will be") stands as an independent statement of status, using the qal imperfect yihyeh (H1961) rather than a stative verb, suggesting this holiness is an ongoing condition for the vow's duration rather than a single event.

The final clause repeats the construct chain structure seen at the verse's opening: gadel pera' se'ar ro'sho ("to let grow the locks of the hair of his head"), where gadel (H1431) is a piel infinitive — the intensive stem marking deliberate cultivation of growth, distinct from a simple qal form that might imply passive lengthening.

Differences between versions

The LXX renders neder nizro ("vow of his Nazirite-status") as τοῦ ἁγνισμοῦ ("of the consecration/purification"), a more general term that does not preserve the specific "Nazirite" terminology found in the Hebrew root nzr. The Vulgate similarly uses separationis suae ("of his separation"), also generalizing rather than transliterating the specific vow-name. Where the Hebrew states qadosh yihyeh ("holy he will be") as a standalone declarative clause, the Vulgate connects it more tightly to the preceding clause with quo Domino consecratur ("by which he is consecrated to the Lord"), shifting the syntactic link between consecration and holiness.