Numbers 6:13-20 meaning

Completion of the Nazirite Vow

When the time of the vow had been fulfilled, a ceremony must take place involving numerous sacrifices and offerings. Once these were completed, the person was no longer under obligation to the vow’s regulations.

This section concerns the law of the Nazirite when the days of his separation are fulfilled (v. 13). The person was required to bring the offering to the doorway of the tent of meeting. This was done so the person could present his offering to the Lord (v. 14).

The “offering” consisted of:

One male lamb a year old without defect for a burnt offering. The “burnt offering” was a free will offering, and is a translation of the Hebrew word “olah” which means “ascent.” This possibly signifies that the aroma ascended to God and was pleasing to Him (Leviticus 1:13).
One ewe-lamb a year old without defect for a sin offering. The “sin offering” was a required offering. It was given in order to atone for any sins (intentional or unintentional) committed during the time of the vow (Leviticus 5:1 – 6).
One ram without defect for a peace offering. The “peace offering” (or “fellowship offering”) symbolized the close fellowship the Nazirite had with the LORD (Leviticus 3:6 – 11).
A basket of unleavened cakes of fine flour mixed with oil and unleavened wafers spread with oil (v. 15). The combination of ingredients seen here is specified in Leviticus 2:4f. The Feast of Unleavened Bread was closely tied to the Passover Feast. In fact, it began the day after the Passover (Leviticus 23:5 – 5). This offering was a demonstration of the LORD’s deliverance and provision for His covenant people.
Their grain offering. This offering symbolized the reliance of the person on the LORD.
Their drink offering. The “drink offering” came with the grain offering and thus was another symbol of the person’s total dependence on the LORD.

After these offerings were brought to the tabernacle, then the priest shall present them before the Lord and shall offer his sin offering and his burnt offering (v. 16). After that, the priest would then offer the ram for a sacrifice of peace offerings to the Lord, together with the basket of unleavened cakes (v. 17). Lastly, the priest would offer its grain offering and its drink offering.

As can be seen, this was a complex, elaborate, and probably costly ceremony to end someone’s time under the Nazirite vow. However, it illustrated the precious nature of someone’s vow to commit his or her dedication to the service of the LORD. As in the case of Hannah, the mother of Samuel, it could be that this time of specially dedicated service was intended to serve as a special form of petitioning God. Hannah vowed to God that if He would give her a son, she would devote her son to His service all his days (1 Samuel 1:11).

Biblical Text

¹³‘Now this is the law of the Nazirite when the days of his separation are fulfilled, he shall bring the offering to the doorway of the tent of meeting. ¹⁴He shall present his offering to the Lord: one male lamb a year old without defect for a burnt offering and one ewe-lamb a year old without defect for a sin offering and one ram without defect for a peace offering, ¹⁵and a basket of unleavened cakes of fine flour mixed with oil and unleavened wafers spread with oil, along with their grain offering and their drink offering. ¹⁶Then the priest shall present them before the Lord and shall offer his sin offering and his burnt offering. ¹⁷He shall also offer the ram for a sacrifice of peace offerings to the Lord, together with the basket of unleavened cakes; the priest shall likewise offer its grain offering and its drink offering. ¹⁸The Nazirite shall then shave his dedicated head of hair at the doorway of the tent of meeting, and take the dedicated hair of his head and put it on the fire which is under the sacrifice of peace offerings. ¹⁹The priest shall take the ram’s shoulder when it has been boiled, and one unleavened cake out of the basket and one unleavened wafer, and shall put them on the hands of the Nazirite after he has shaved his dedicated hair. ²⁰Then the priest shall wave them for a wave offering before the Lord. It is holy for the priest, together with the breast offered by waving and the thigh offered by lifting up; and afterward the Nazirite may drink wine.’

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Additional Resources

Book Theme

The book of Numbers is the fourth of the five books of Moses that comprise the Torah, which means “Law.” It gets its English name from the Greek Old Testament called the Septuagint (or LXX). The LXX named this book, “Arithmoi,” meaning “Numbers.” Its Hebrew name means “in the desert” or “in the wilderness.” Both names are appropriate. The Hebrew name is appropriate because Numbers covers the Israelites’ wanderings in the wilderness (or “desert”) from Sinai to the plains of Moab. The Greek name is also appropriate because of the many lists, and the numbers within those lists.

At the beginning of the book, the Israelites had been camped at Mount Sinai for about a year. The book of Exodus covered their escape from Egypt and their journey to Sinai. The LORD commanded Moses to organize the people in preparation to leave Sinai and go to the Promised Land. The book covers around 38 years of the Israelites’ journey from Egypt to the Promised Land, and describes many of Israel’s failures, including mutinies against Moses and outright disobedience to the word of the LORD. In Numbers, the LORD declares that the generation that left Egypt would die in the wilderness due to their disobedience. Only two, Joshua and Caleb, were allowed to enter the Promised Land, due to their faithfulness. Even Moses died without entering the Land due to disobedience.

The book of Numbers can be outlined in many ways. The most general outline involves the generation that leaves Egypt and the one after it, as seen below:
• Events Involving the Exodus Generation (Num. 1 – 25)
• Events Involving the Second Generation (Num. 26 – 36)

Another outline sees the book having three major divisions based on the major encampments of the Israelites:
• Israel at Sinai (Num. 1:1 – 10:10)
• Israel at Kadesh Barnea (Num. 10:11 – 19:22)
• Israel on the Plains of Moab (Num. 20:1 – 36:13)

Still another outline (the one followed here) is as follows:
• The Exodus Generation in the Wilderness (chaps. 1 – 25)
◦ The Israelites Prepare to Leave Mount Sinai (1:1 – 10:10)
◦ The Israelites Depart to Kadesh Barnea (10:11 – 14:45)
◦ The Israelites Journey to the Plains of Moab (15:1 – 22:1)
◦ The Israelites Are Confronted by Balaam the Prophet (22:2 – 25:18)
• The Second Generation Prepares to Enter the Promised Land (26:1 – 36:13)
◦ The Rules Concerning Inheritance (Num. 26:1 – 27:11)
◦ The Provision for Moses’ Successor (Num. 27:12 – 23)
◦ The Laws Concerning Offerings (Num. 28:1 – 29:40)
◦ The Laws Concerning Vows (Num. 30:1 –16)
◦ The LORD’s Judgment Against the Midianites (Num. 31:1 – 54)
◦ The Inheritance of the Eastern Tribes (Num. 32:1 – 42)
◦ The Review of the Journey to Canaan (Num. 33:1 – 56)
◦ The LORD’s Instructions Before Conquering Canaan (Num. 33:50 – 36:13)

There are two themes that flow from the book of Numbers. The first concerns the LORD’s infinite grace in light of the people’s many failures and transgressions. There is hardly a book in the Bible where the LORD had to exercise His grace to His people more often than this one. The book of Numbers contains a record of Israel’s failure after failure and the LORD’s gracious forgiveness after forgiveness. Even when He judged them, there was grace.

Second, and related to the first, the book stresses the importance of obedience. God chose the Israelites unconditionally; they were the LORD’s chosen people regardless of their behavior. However, He demanded obedience to show His people that their obedience results in blessing. God set forth a way of life for His people in the covenant He and the people entered into at Sinai (Exodus 19:5-8). The Ten Commandments made it clear that God would make the law, and that the pinnacle requirement of His law was for the people to respect and serve one another. The strong were to serve the weak. This was in stark contrast to the surrounding cultures, which centered around the strong exploiting the weak (Leviticus 18). God’s judgment brought discipline upon Israel in order to shepherd them toward living in harmony and service to one another.

Chapter Context

Chapter 6 continues the theme of purity among the LORD’s covenant people. There are two subjects covered in this chapter. The first one establishes the law concerning a Nazirite vow. The second one spells out what the priest was to say to bless the people.

Numbers 6 can be outlined as follows:

The Law of the Nazirite (Numbers 6:1 – 21)
- The Terms of the Nazirite Vow (Numbers 6:1 – 12)
- Completion of the Nazirite Vow (Numbers 6:13 – 20)
- Summary of the Nazirite Vow (Numbers 6:21)
The Priestly Blessing (Numbers 6:22 – 27)

Numbers 6:13-20 meaning

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Deuteronomy 33:12 meaning

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Additional Resources

Book Theme

Chapter Context

Maps and Charts

Videos

The Bible Project - Numbers Summary

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