The Nazarite vow is one of special dedication to God. A non-obligatory oath, meaning it is neither mandatory nor immoral but voluntary, this sets a person apart for God for the duration of the vow. Numbers 6:4-6 repeatedly speaks of a limited amount of time that the vow can be active for, so it in no way has to bring a permanent status. Despite being a very secondary issue on one level, the Nazarite vow truly touches upon many vital matters of morality and Biblical doctrines. For starters, this optional level of dedication to God is of course open to men and women alike (6:2).
Like the examples described here [1], the passage detailing the Nazarite vow starts out with a reference to men and women (in some cases, other passages use male language but would obviously apply to women or vice versa) but then uses pronouns like "he" to refer to a person of either gender. Once again, the Bible does not make the prescriptions for only women or only men that many assume are taught though they have nothing to do with literal genitalia. What it does say is that men and women are fully equal (Genesis 1:26-27, 5:1-2). Anyone who makes a vow to God is to keep it unless their parents or spouse nullifies it under certain conditions (Numbers 30:1-16), no matter their gender (Deuteronomy 23:21-23), so men and women are free to choose this status at will.
The Nazarite is to forgo all alcohol and other fermented drinks, such as kombucha (6:3). They are to not even drink ordinary grape juice, eat grapes, or consume the seeds or skins or anything else from a grapevine (6:4). Alcohol would not need to specifically be forbidden for Nazarites if alcohol is sinful on its own, for everyone in all contexts. This aspect of the Nazarite status pertains to being voluntarily set apart for God at one's own whim. No one has to give up the moral freedom to use alcohol (Deuteronomy 4:2, John 2:1-11), but if one makes a vow to God, one is obligated to keep it unless one promised to do something evil (again, Deuteronomy 23:21-23).
Another requirement for the time of the vow is that no one is to shave their head or use any razor on it (Numbers 6:5). They are said to be holy during this time. In this context, holy does not strictly mean righteous, for there is nothing broadly immoral by Biblical standards about having short or long hair--neither is ever prescribed or condemned, so to treat them otherwise is itself sin (Deuteronomy 4:2 yet again!), since it does not logically follow from any other command that a particular length of hair is morally obligatory. Holy only means set apart from something else.
In fact, this part of Numbers 6 shows that Paul's comment about it being unnatural for men to have long hair (1 Corinthians 11:14-15) is, like so many other things he says, not saying what it might initially appear to (2 Peter 3:15-16). The male and female Nazarite is supposed to have long hair, the text says. Sin is clarified in the Torah (Romans 7:7), so Paul either is not really condemning long hair on men, just as he does not really prescribe submission for only wives to only husbands (see Ephesians 5:21), or he is a heretic who contradicts Mosaic Law. There is no other possibility if this is what the Bible says in each respective place.
Also, the Nazarite should never be near a dead body, not even that of a family member (Numbers 6:6-7). If someone abruptly, unexpectedly dies in a Nazarite's presence, they have still sinned, so that when Israel had an operating priesthood, the Nazarite man or woman would have to make a sin offering (6:9-11). He or she would then be obligated to start the period of their consecration over again since their previous days were not completed under all the conditions of the vow (6:12). When the duration pledged is over, the Nazarite should then cut their hair that has outwardly represented their special dedication (6:13, 18).
Little is said of Nazarites in the Bible outside of Numbers 6. Samson is called a Nazarite from birth since his mother was told by the angel of the Lord to abstain from alcohol and that he would be supposed to never cut his hair (Judges 13:2-5). This, once again, contradicts the popular conservative interpretation of 1 Corinthians 11:14. It might surprise some people what Numbers 6 nonetheless clarifies or touches upon that goes far beyond the mere morality of keeping vows. The optional nature of vows and multiple things pertaining to gender equality (the vow is open to all people and men, like woman, can have long hair) are addressed in this single passage that has none of these things as its focus.
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