Numbers 6:4
in Numbers 6All the days of his separation, he is not to eat anything that comes from the grapevine, not even the seeds or skins.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
All the days of his separation shall he eat nothing that is made of the grape-vine, from the kernels even to the husk.
KJV
All the days of his separation shall he eat nothing that is made of the vine tree, from the kernels even to the husk.
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This verse in Numbers 6
Commentary
5 notes on this verseThis site's exposition
he is to abstain from wine and strong drink
on Numbers 6:3-4
The abstention takes in the whole vine, down to “the seeds or skins”. Leviticus 10:9 kept wine and strong drink from Aaron and his sons when they entered the tabernacle. A lay Israelite takes up for a season what a priest kept on duty.
This site's exposition
not even the seeds or skins
John Wesley reads the ban on grapes as a fence set back from the wine itself. Matthew Henry reports the older view that the Nazirite pictured Adam before the fall, and that the forbidden tree of Eden was a vine. Adam Clarke credits the picture of innocence to John Lightfoot.
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
All the days of his separation shall he eat nothing that is made of the vine tree,....
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
13 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| כֹּ֖ל | kol | all | H3605 → | 5413 times |
| יְמֵ֣י | yemei | [the] days of | H3117 → | 2304 times |
| נִזְר֑וֹ | nizro | Nazirite vow his | H5145 → | 25 times |
| מִכֹּל֩ | mikol | any of all | H3605 → | 5413 times |
| אֲשֶׁ֨ר | ʾasher | that | H834 → | 5497 times |
| יֵעָשֶׂ֜ה | yeaseh | it is made | H6213 → | 2628 times |
| מִגֶּ֣פֶן | migefen | from [the] vine of | H1612 → | |
| הַיַּ֗יִן | haiyayin | the wine | H3196 → | 141 times |
| מֵחַרְצַנִּ֛ים | mechartzanim | from seeds | H2785 → | |
| וְעַד־ | vead- | and unto | H5704 → | 1261 times |
| זָ֖ג | zag | skin | H2085 → | |
| לֹ֥א | lo' | not | H3808 → | 5168 times |
| יֹאכֵֽל׃ | yokhel | he will eat | H398 → | 810 times |
כֹּ֖לall
kolH3605 →5413 times
יְמֵ֣י[the] days of
yemeiH3117 →2304 times
נִזְר֑וֹNazirite vow his
nizroH5145 →25 times
מִכֹּל֩any of all
mikolH3605 →5413 times
אֲשֶׁ֨רthat
ʾasherH834 →5497 times
יֵעָשֶׂ֜הit is made
yeasehH6213 →2628 times
מִגֶּ֣פֶןfrom [the] vine of
migefenH1612 →
הַיַּ֗יִןthe wine
haiyayinH3196 →141 times
מֵחַרְצַנִּ֛יםfrom seeds
mechartzanimH2785 →
וְעַד־and unto
vead-H5704 →1261 times
זָ֖גskin
zagH2085 →
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
Numbers 6:5For the entire period of his vow of separation, no razor shall pass over his head. He must be holy until the time of his separation to the LORD is complete; he must let…
it leads to
- 1 Samuel 1:11
And she made a vow, pleading, “O LORD of Hosts, if only You will look upon the affliction of Your maidservant and remember me, not forgetting Your maidservant but giving her a son, then…
- Judges 13:5
For behold, you will conceive and give birth to a son. And no razor shall come over his head, because the boy will be a Nazirite to God from the womb, and he will…
- Judges 16:17
Samson told her all that was in his heart: “My hair has never been cut, because I have been a Nazirite to God from my mother’s womb. If I am shaved, my strength will…
- Lamentations 4:7–8
Her dignitaries were brighter than snow, whiter than milk; their bodies were more ruddy than rubies, their appearance like sapphires.
- 1 Corinthians 11:10–15
For this reason a woman ought to have a sign of authority on her head, because of the angels.
- 1 Samuel 1:11
Through
Numbers 6:21This is the law of the Nazirite who vows his offering to the LORD for his separation, in addition to whatever else he can afford; he must fulfill whatever vow he makes, according to…
it leads to
- Galatians 6:6
Nevertheless, the one who receives instruction in the word must share in all good things with his instructor.
- Hebrews 13:16
And do not neglect to do good and to share with others, for with such sacrifices God is pleased.
- Numbers 5:29
This is the law of jealousy when a wife goes astray and defiles herself while under her husband’s authority,
- Galatians 6:6
Where this verse is studied
On this page
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); John Wesley, Explanatory Notes upon the Old Testament; Keil and Delitzsch, Biblical Commentary on the Old Testament: The Pentateuch and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.