Numbers 6:3
in Numbers 6he is to abstain from wine and strong drink. He must not drink vinegar made from wine or strong drink, and he must not drink any grape juice or eat fresh grapes or raisins.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
he shall separate himself from wine and strong drink; he shall drink no vinegar of wine, or vinegar of strong drink, neither shall he drink any juice of grapes, nor eat fresh grapes or dried.
KJV
He 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.
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This verse in Numbers 6
Commentary
5 notes on this verseNo vinegar of wine, etc. - חמץ chomets signifies fermented wine, and is probably used here to signify wine of a strong body, or any highly intoxicating liquor. Dr. Lightfoot supposes that the Leper being the most defiled and loathsome of creatures, was an emblem of the wretched, miserable state of man by the fall; and that the Nazarite was the emblem of man in his state of innocence.
This site's exposition
He shall separate himself from wine
on Numbers 6:3-4
The first abstention takes in the whole vine, wine, strong drink, vinegar made of either, any liquor of grapes, grapes moist or dried, and at verse 4 the kernels and the husk. Leviticus 10:9 kept wine and strong drink from Aaron and his sons whenever they went into the tabernacle, so a lay Israelite takes up for a season what a priest carried on duty. The same Hebrew root that names this man names the unpruned vine of the sabbath year at Leviticus 25:5 and 25:11, which the King James renders thy vine undressed. Numbers gives no reason for the rule, and Judges 13:14 hands the same terms to Samson's mother before he is born.
The record, by era
The Puritans and the Awakening2 voices
15), that, as the ceremonial pollutions by leprosy and otherwise represented the sinful state of fallen man, so the institution of the order of Nazarites was designed to represent the pure and perfect state of man in innocency, and that the tree of knowledge, forbidden to Adam, was the vine, and for that reason it was forbidden to the Nazarites, and all the produce of it.
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — leading-citation-number+unbalanced-parens
He shall separate himself from wine,....
The Nineteenth Century1 voice
A commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
proposed
When either man or woman . . . shall vow a vow of a Nazarite--that is, "a separated one," from a Hebrew word, "to separate." It was used to designate a class of persons who, under the impulse of extraordinary piety and with a view to higher degrees of religious improvement, voluntarily renounced the occupations and pleasures of the world to dedicate themselves unreservedly to the divine service.
The words behind it
19 Hebrew wordsEvery Hebrew word of this verse in the order it stands, with what it means and the door to its own study. The last column counts the times a word stands in the whole Bible: the rarer the word, the more the places it appears belong together.
| Hebrew | Sound | Meaning | Word study | In the Bible |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| מִיַּ֤יִן | miyayin | from wine | H3196 → | 141 times |
| וְשֵׁכָר֙ | veshekhar | and strong drink | H7941 → | 23 times |
| יַזִּ֔יר | yazir | he will keep separate | H5144 → | 10 times |
| חֹ֥מֶץ | chometz | vinegar of | H2558 → | |
| יַ֛יִן | yayin | wine | H3196 → | 141 times |
| וְחֹ֥מֶץ | vechometz | and vinegar of | H2558 → | |
| שֵׁכָ֖ר | shekhar | strong drink | H7941 → | 23 times |
| לֹ֣א | lo' | not | H3808 → | 5168 times |
| יִשְׁתֶּ֑ה | yishteh | he will drink | H8354 → | 217 times |
| וְכָל־ | vekhol | and any | H3605 → | 5413 times |
| מִשְׁרַ֤ת | mishrat | juice of | H4952 → | |
| עֲנָבִים֙ | ʾanavim | grapes | H6025 → | 19 times |
| לֹ֣א | lo' | not | H3808 → | 5168 times |
| יִשְׁתֶּ֔ה | yishteh | he will drink | H8354 → | 217 times |
| וַעֲנָבִ֛ים | vaanavim | and grapes | H6025 → | 19 times |
| לַחִ֥ים | lachim | fresh | H3892 → | |
| וִיבֵשִׁ֖ים | viveshim | and dried | H3002 → | |
| לֹ֥א | lo' | not | H3808 → | 5168 times |
| יֹאכֵֽל׃ | yokhel | he will eat | H398 → | 810 times |
מִיַּ֤יִןfrom wine
miyayinH3196 →141 times
וְשֵׁכָר֙and strong drink
veshekharH7941 →23 times
יַזִּ֔ירhe will keep separate
yazirH5144 →10 times
חֹ֥מֶץvinegar of
chometzH2558 →
יַ֛יִןwine
yayinH3196 →141 times
וְחֹ֥מֶץand vinegar of
vechometzH2558 →
שֵׁכָ֖רstrong drink
shekharH7941 →23 times
לֹ֣אnot
lo'H3808 →5168 times
יִשְׁתֶּ֑הhe will drink
yishtehH8354 →217 times
וְכָל־and any
vekholH3605 →5413 times
מִשְׁרַ֤תjuice of
mishratH4952 →
עֲנָבִים֙grapes
ʾanavimH6025 →19 times
לֹ֣אnot
lo'H3808 →5168 times
יִשְׁתֶּ֔הhe will drink
yishtehH8354 →217 times
וַעֲנָבִ֛יםand grapes
vaanavimH6025 →19 times
לַחִ֥יםfresh
lachimH3892 →
וִיבֵשִׁ֖יםand dried
viveshimH3002 →
לֹ֥אnot
lo'H3808 →5168 times
יֹאכֵֽל׃he will eat
yokhelH398 →810 times
A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.
The walk
8 stopsEach card is a verse this one points to, and under it the verses that one points to in turn. Where several paths arrive at the same place, that place is listed first: the text keeps returning to it.
Through
Ephesians 5:18Do not get drunk on wine, which leads to reckless indiscretion. Instead, be filled with the Spirit.
it leads to
- Luke 1:15
for he will be great in the sight of the Lord. He shall never take wine or strong drink, and he will be filled with the Holy Spirit even from his mother’s womb.
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- Proverbs 20:1
Wine is a mocker, strong drink is a brawler, and whoever is led astray by them is not wise.
- Romans 13:13
Let us behave decently, as in the daytime, not in carousing and drunkenness, not in sexual immorality and debauchery, not in dissension and jealousy.
- Galatians 5:21–25
and envy; drunkenness, orgies, and the like. I warn you, as I did before, that those who practice such things will not inherit the kingdom of God.
- Acts 11:24
Barnabas was a good man, full of the Holy Spirit and faith, and a great number of people were brought to the Lord.
- Luke 1:15
Through
Luke 1:15for he will be great in the sight of the Lord. He shall never take wine or strong drink, and he will be filled with the Holy Spirit even from his mother’s womb.
it leads to
- Ephesians 5:18
Do not get drunk on wine, which leads to reckless indiscretion. Instead, be filled with the Spirit.
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- Jeremiah 1:5
“Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, and before you were born I set you apart and appointed you as a prophet to the nations.”
- Ephesians 5:18
Through
Leviticus 10:9“You and your sons are not to drink wine or strong drink when you enter the Tent of Meeting, or else you will die; this is a permanent statute for the generations to come.
it leads to
- 1 Timothy 3:3
not dependent on wine, not violent but gentle, peaceable, and free of the love of money.
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- 1 Timothy 3:3
Where this verse is studied
About Numbers
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763); Keil and Delitzsch, Biblical Commentary on the Old Testament: The Pentateuch and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.