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Numbers 6:6

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.
All the days that he separateth himself unto the LORD he shall come at no dead body.

KJV

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“‘All the days that he separates himself to Yahweh he shall not go near a dead body.

All the days that he separateth himself unto the Lord he shall come at no dead body.

All the days that he separates himself to the LORD he shall come at no dead body.

6:7 He 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. consecration: Heb. separation

What does Numbers 6:6 mean?

Numbers 6:6 is a verse in the book of Numbers, in the Old Testament. In the original Hebrew, key words include יוֹם (yôwm), נָזַר (nâzar), יְהֹוָה (Yᵉhôvâh). It connects to 17 cross-referenced passages elsewhere in Scripture.

Hebrew interlinear

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All
the
daysיוֹםyôwm/yome/H3117a day (as the warm hours), whether literal (from sunrise to sunset, or from one sunset to the next), or figurative (a space of time defined by an associated term), (often used adverb)
that
he
separatethנָזַרnâzar/naw-zar'/H5144to hold aloof, i.e. (intransitivey) abstain (from food and drink, from impurity, and even from divine worship (i.e. apostatize)); specifically, to set apart (to sacred purposes), i.e. devote
himself
unto
the
LORDיְהֹוָהYᵉhôvâh/yeh-ho-vaw'/H3068Jehovah, Jewish national name of God
he
shall
comeבּוֹאbôwʼ/bo/H935to go or come (in a wide variety of applications)
at
no
deadמוּתmûwth/mooth/H4191to die (literally or figuratively); causatively, to kill
body.נֶפֶשׁnephesh/neh'-fesh/H5315properly, a breathing creature, i.e. animal of (abstractly) vitality; used very widely in a literal, accommodated or figurative sense (bodily or mental)

Commentary on Numbers 6:6

HENRY_FULL · Numbers 6:2–9
47 But the Levites after the tribe of their fathers were not numbered among them. 48 For the Lord had spoken unto Moses, saying, 49 Only thou shalt not number the tribe of Levi, neither take the sum of them among the children of Israel: 50 But thou shalt appoint the Levites over the tabernacle of testimony, and over all the vessels thereof, and over all things that belong to it: they shall bear the tabernacle, and all the vessels thereof; and they shall minister unto it, and shall encamp round about the tabernacle. 51 And when the tabernacle setteth forward, the Levites shall take it down: and when the tabernacle is to be pitched, the Levites shall set it up: and the stranger that cometh nigh shall be put to death. 52 And the children of Israel shall pitch their tents, every man by his own camp, and every man by his own standard, throughout their hosts. 53 But the Levites shall pitch round about the tabernacle of testimony, that there be no wrath upon the congregation of the children of Israel: and the Levites shall keep the charge of the tabernacle of testimony. 54 And the children of Israel did according to all that the Lord commanded Moses, so did they. Care is here taken to distinguish from the rest of the tribes the tribe of Levi, which, in the matter of the golden calf, had distinguished itself, Exod. xxxii. 26 . Note, Singular services shall be recompensed with singular honours. Now, I. It was the honour of the Levites that they were made guardians of the spiritualities; to them was committed the care of the tabernacle and the treasures thereof, both in their camps and in their marches. 1. When they moved the Levites were to take down the tabernacle, to carry it and all that belonged to it, and then to set it up again in the place appointed, v. 50, 51 . It was for the honour of the holy things that none should be permitted to see them, or touch them, but those only who were called of God to the service. Thus we all are unfit and unworthy to have fellowship with God until we are first called by his grace into the fellowship of his Son Jesus Christ our Lord, and so, being the spiritual seed of that great high priest, are made priests to our God; and it is promised that God would take Levites to himself, even from the Gentiles, Isa. lxvi. 21 . 2. When they rested the Levites were to encamp round about the tabernacle ( v. 50 , 53 ), that they might be near their work, and resident upon their charge, always ready to attend, and that they might be a guard upon the tabernacle, to preserve it from being either plundered or profaned. They must pitch round about the tabernacle, that there be no wrath upon the congregation, as there would be if the tabernacle and the charge of it were neglected, or those crowded upon it that were not allowed to come near. Note, Great care must be taken to prevent sin, because the preventing of sin is the preventing of wrath. II. It was their further honour that as Israel, being a holy people, was not reckoned among the nations, so they, being a holy tribe, were not reckoned among other Israelites, but numbered afterwards by themselves, v. 49 . The service which the Levites were to do about the sanctuary is called (as we render it in the margin) a warfare, ch. iv. 23 . And, being engaged in that warfare, they were discharged from military services, and therefore not numbered with those that were to go out to war. Note, Those that minister about holy things should neither entangle themselves, nor be entangled, in secular affairs. The ministry is itself work enough for a whole man, and all little enough to be employed in it. It is an admonition to ministers to distinguish themselves by their exemplary conversation from common Israelites, not affecting to seem greater, but aiming to be really better, every way better than others.

Cross-references

Related passages from the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge.

Leviticus 10:6

And Moses said unto Aaron, and unto Eleazar and unto Ithamar, his sons, Uncover not your heads, neither rend your clothes; lest ye die, and lest wrath come upon all the people: but let your brethren, the whole house of Israel, bewail the burning which the LORD hath kindled.

Numbers 3:7

And they shall keep his charge, and the charge of the whole congregation before the tabernacle of the congregation, to do the service of the tabernacle.

Numbers 3:8

And they shall keep all the instruments of the tabernacle of the congregation, and the charge of the children of Israel, to do the service of the tabernacle.

Numbers 8:19

And I have given the Levites as a gift to Aaron and to his sons from among the children of Israel, to do the service of the children of Israel in the tabernacle of the congregation, and to make an atonement for the children of Israel: that there be no plague among the children of Israel, when the children of Israel come nigh unto the sanctuary. a gift: Heb. given

Numbers 8:24

This is it that belongeth unto the Levites: from twenty and five years old and upward they shall go in to wait upon the service of the tabernacle of the congregation: to: Heb. to war the warfare of, etc

Numbers 16:46

And Moses said unto Aaron, Take a censer, and put fire therein from off the altar, and put on incense, and go quickly unto the congregation, and make an atonement for them: for there is wrath gone out from the LORD; the plague is begun.

Numbers 18:3

And they shall keep thy charge, and the charge of all the tabernacle: only they shall not come nigh the vessels of the sanctuary and the altar, that neither they, nor ye also, die.

Numbers 18:5

And ye shall keep the charge of the sanctuary, and the charge of the altar: that there be no wrath any more upon the children of Israel.

Numbers 31:30

And of the children of Israel's half, thou shalt take one portion of fifty, of the persons, of the beeves, of the asses, and of the flocks, of all manner of beasts, and give them unto the Levites, which keep the charge of the tabernacle of the LORD. flocks: or, goats

Numbers 31:47

Even of the children of Israel's half, Moses took one portion of fifty, both of man and of beast, and gave them unto the Levites, which kept the charge of the tabernacle of the LORD; as the LORD commanded Moses.

1 Samuel 6:19

And he smote the men of Bethshemesh, because they had looked into the ark of the LORD, even he smote of the people fifty thousand and threescore and ten men: and the people lamented, because the LORD had smitten many of the people with a great slaughter.

1 Chronicles 23:32

And that they should keep the charge of the tabernacle of the congregation, and the charge of the holy place, and the charge of the sons of Aaron their brethren, in the service of the house of the LORD.

2 Chronicles 13:10

But as for us, the LORD is our God, and we have not forsaken him; and the priests, which minister unto the LORD, are the sons of Aaron, and the Levites wait upon their business:

Jeremiah 5:31

The prophets prophesy falsely, and the priests bear rule by their means; and my people love to have it so: and what will ye do in the end thereof? bear: or, take into their hands

Jeremiah 23:15

Therefore thus saith the LORD of hosts concerning the prophets; Behold, I will feed them with wormwood, and make them drink the water of gall: for from the prophets of Jerusalem is profaneness gone forth into all the land. profaneness: or, hypocrisy

1 Timothy 4:13

Till I come, give attendance to reading, to exhortation, to doctrine.

2 Timothy 4:2

Preach the word; be instant in season, out of season; reprove, rebuke, exhort with all longsuffering and doctrine.

Topics

NazariteNazarites

Verses like this

Other verses that share key original-language words with Numbers 6:6.

Genesis 2:19

And out of the ground the LORD God formed every beast of the field, and every fowl of the air; and brought them unto Adam to see what he would call them: and whatsoever Adam called every living creature, that was the name thereof. Adam: or, the man

Genesis 4:3

And in process of time it came to pass, that Cain brought of the fruit of the ground an offering unto the LORD. in process: Heb. at the end of days

Genesis 12:5

And Abram took Sarai his wife, and Lot his brother's son, and all their substance that they had gathered, and the souls that they had gotten in Haran; and they went forth to go into the land of Canaan; and into the land of Canaan they came.

Genesis 19:19

Behold now, thy servant hath found grace in thy sight, and thou hast magnified thy mercy, which thou hast shewed unto me in saving my life; and I cannot escape to the mountain, lest some evil take me, and I die:

Genesis 2:17

But of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, thou shalt not eat of it: for in the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die. thou shalt surely: Heb. dying thou shalt die

Genesis 2:22

And the rib, which the LORD God had taken from man, made he a woman, and brought her unto the man. made: Heb. builded

Genesis 2:4

These are the generations of the heavens and of the earth when they were created, in the day that the LORD God made the earth and the heavens,

Genesis 2:7

And the LORD God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living soul. of the dust: Heb. dust of the ground

Frequently asked questions

What does Numbers 6:6 say?

Numbers 6:6 (King James Version) reads: "All the days that he separateth himself unto the LORD he shall come at no dead body."

Is Numbers 6:6 in the Old or New Testament?

Numbers 6:6 is in the Old Testament of the Bible, in the book of Numbers.

Reflect

As you read Numbers 6:6, what is one truth here you can carry into today?

Plan a sermon or study on Numbers 6:6
6:5Read all of Numbers 66:7