Numbers 6:20

20 And the priest shall raise (up) in the sight of the Lord the things taken again of him. And those things hallowed shall be the priest's part, as the breast which is commanded to be separated, and the hip. After these things the Nazarite may (again) drink wine. (And then the priest shall take these things from him, and raise them up as a special gift before the Lord. And these consecrated things shall be the priest's portion, including the special gift of the breast, and the special contribution of the leg. And after these things be done, the Nazarite can drink wine again.)

Numbers 6:20 Meaning and Commentary

Numbers 6:20

And the priest shall wave them [for] a wave offering before
the Lord
Putting his hands under the Nazarite's, as in other cases where this ceremony was used; and so moving them to and fro, backwards and forwards, upwards and downwards, testifying hereby the goodness of God unto him, his sovereign dominion over him, that all he had depended on him, and was received from him; and that all he did, particularly in keeping his vow of Nazariteship, was through his assistance, and for which he made this grateful acknowledgment by delivering the above, together with what follows, to his priest:

this [is] holy for the priest, with the wave breast and heave shoulder;
besides these which were given him by another law, the wave shoulder of the Nazarite's ram was given him to eat; it was holy, and set apart for his use, and his only, and it belonged not in common to the course of the priests then on duty, but to him only that officiated in this peculiar service; and so it is observed by the Jewish writers F3, that the Nazarite's ram and some other things were not given to every priest, but to him that offered the sacrifice, as it is said, "he shall wave this is holy to the priest"; upon which it is observed, that it follows from hence, that the priest that waves is he that eats the sacrifice:

and after that the Nazarite may drink wine;
and cut his hair, and shave his head, and be defiled for the dead as other persons, the vow of his Nazariteship being fulfilled.


FOOTNOTES:

F3 Maimon. in Misn. Challah, c. 4. sect. 9.

Numbers 6:20 In-Context

18 Then the Nazarite, or he that is hallowed, shall be shaven from the hair of his hallowing, before the door of the tabernacle of [the] bond of peace; and the priest shall take his hairs, and he shall put them upon the fire, which is put under the sacrifice of peaceable things. (Then the Nazarite, that is, he who is consecrated, shall shave off the hair of his consecration, at the entrance to the Tabernacle of the Covenant; and the priest shall take his hair, and he shall put it on the fire which is under the peace offering.)
19 And he shall take the shoulder sodden of the ram, and one therf cake from the basket, and one [thin] therf cake first sodden in water and afterward fried in oil, and he shall betake them into the hands of the Nazarite, after that his head is shaven. (And he shall take the boiled shoulder of the ram, and one unleavened cake from the basket, and one thin unleavened wafer first boiled in water and then fried in oil, and he shall put them into the hands of the Nazarite, after that he hath shaved his head.)
20 And the priest shall raise (up) in the sight of the Lord the things taken again of him. And those things hallowed shall be the priest's part, as the breast which is commanded to be separated, and the hip. After these things the Nazarite may (again) drink wine. (And then the priest shall take these things from him, and raise them up as a special gift before the Lord. And these consecrated things shall be the priest's portion, including the special gift of the breast, and the special contribution of the leg. And after these things be done, the Nazarite can drink wine again.)
21 This is the law of the Nazarite, when he hath avowed his offering to the Lord, in the time of his consecration, or hallowing, besides these things which his hand findeth. By this that he [hath] avowed in soul, or in will, so he shall do, to the perfection of his hallowing. (This is the law for the Nazarite, when he hath vowed his offering to the Lord, at the time of his consecration, besides these things which his hand findeth. By this that he hath vowed with his soul, or with his will, so he shall do, to the perfection, or the completion, of his dedication.)
22 And the Lord spake to Moses and said,
Copyright © 2001 by Terence P. Noble. For personal use only.