3. Accomplishment of the Nazarite vow, and the offerings connected therewith. —When the time of his Nazariteship was accomplished, the Nazarite had to present himself before the door of the sanc tuary with three sacrifices, corresponding to the three prohibitions of Nazaritism—i. A he-lamb of the first year for a burnt-offering ; ii. a ewe-lamb also of the first year for a sin-offering ; and iii. a ram for a peace-offering. With the latter he had to bring six tenth-deals and two-thirds of a tenth deal of flour, from which were baked twenty cakes, viz., ten unleavened cakes and ten unleavened wafers. These twenty cakes were anointed with a fourth part of a log of oil, as fixed by a law of Moses from Sinai, and were all brought in one vessel' (Maimonides, Hilchoth Neziraatla, viii. I). Besides these extraordinary cakes and wafers, he had to bring the ordinary meat-offering and drink offering appointed for all sacrifices (comp. Num. xxviii.) These three sacrifices were designed both as an atonement for the sins which the Nazarite unconsciously committed during his Nazariteship and as an expression of thanksgiving to him by whose grace he had happily fulfilled the time of his vow. After the priest had offered these sacri fices—sin-offering first, burnt-offering second, and peace-offering third (Maimonides, Hilchoth We ziruth, viii. 2)—the Nazarite cut off his head-crown , the hair which was his Nazarite pledge—at the door, threw it into the fire under the peace-offering, or, as the ancient Jewish canons have it, under the caldron in which the peace offering was being boiled (illishna, Nazir, vi. 8). Whereupon the priest took the boiled shoulder of the ram, one of the ten unleavened cakes from the basket, and one of the unleavened wafers, laid them on the Nazarite's hand, put his hands under those of the owner, and waved 'it all before the Lord' (illishna, Nazir, vi. 9). The fat was then salted and burned upon the altar, whilst the breast and the fore-leg were eaten by the priests after the fat was burned ; the cake, too, which was waved, and the boiled shoulder, were eaten by the priests, but the remaining bread and the meat were eaten by the owners' (Maimonides, Hilchoth Maase Ha Corbanoth, ix. 9-i i). Besides these sacrifices which were ordained, the Nazarite also brought a free-will offering proportioned to his circumstances (Num. vi. 13-20. In the time of the temple there was a Nazarite chamber in the woman's court in the south-east corner, where the Nazarites boiled their peace-offerings, cut off the hair of their heads, and cast it into the fire under the caldron. They were, however, also allowed to cut off their hair in the country. But whether the Nazarite cut it in the country or in the sanctuary, he was obliged to have the hair cast under the caldron, and was not allowed to do it before the appointed time for opening the door of the court, as it is written, the door of the tent' (Num. vi. 8) ; which does not mean that he is to cut off his hair before or at the door, for that would be treating the sanc tuary with contempt' (Illishna, Micidoth, ii. 5 ; Nazir, vi. 8 ; Maimouides, Hilchoth Nezirzztlz, viii. 3). The assertion, therefore, of Dr. Howson (Lift and Epistles of St. Paul, i. 499), Mr. S. Clark (Sptith's Dictionary of the Bible, s. v. Nazarite), and others, that the vow recorded in Acts xviii. cannot be regarded as a regular Nazarite vow, because it is said that Paul shaved his head in Cenchrea,' and because it was not cut off at the door of the temple where the sacrifices were offered, as was required by the law of the Nazarite,' is at variance with the practice of the Jews in the days of our Saviour. One could also take upon himself one of the obligations of a Nazarite, and then send his sacrifices through a Nazarite, as may be seen from the following remark : He who said, Lo, I take upon myself the shaving of a Nazarite,' is bound to bring the offerings of shavings for clean ness, and may offer them through any Nazarite he pleases. Or if he says, ` I take upon myself half the offerings of a Nazaiite,' or I take upon myself half the shaving of a Nazarite,' he has only to bring half the sacrifices, and can send them through any Nazarite he likes, and that Nazarite pays those offerings from his own' (Maimonides, Hilchoth Nezirxth, viii. i8). This circumstance, which evidently arose from the fact that the offerings re quired from a full Nazarite were beyond the means of the pious poor, and which made it also an act of piety for a rich man to pay the necessary expenses, and thus enable his poorer brethren to complete their vow (Joseph. Antiy. xis. 6. i), explains Acts xxi. 23, 24, 26, where we find that St. Paul could• only take upon himself a part of the vow, then pro ceed with the poor Nazarites to the temple, and offer through them, and thus make them partake of his charges about the sacrifices.
4- Duration of the Nazarite vow. —As the Bible says nothing about the duration of the Nazarite vow, but leaves every one who takes it to fix his own time, the administrators of the Mosaic law were obliged to specify a certain number of days as the lowest period for Nazariteship, since it not unfrequently happened that some took the vow without mentioning any definite time whatever, whilst others, if they could take it for a few days, would vow too often, and thereby diminish its solemn character. Hence the Jewish canons determined that if any one says, I will be a Nazarite, without mentioning expressly how long, he cannot be a Nazarite less than thirty days ; and even if he says, I take upon myself to be a Nazarite with an exceedingly great Nazariteship, it is not to be more than thirty days, because he pressed no time. If he mentions less than thirty
days, e.g., if he says I am a Nazarite for one day, or ten days, or twenty days, he is nevertheless a Nazarite for thirty days, for there is no Nazariteship for less than thirty days. This is a law transmitted by tradition. But if he mentions a time more than thirty days, e.g., if he says thirty-one days, or forty. or a hundred days, or a hundred years, he must be a Nazarite during the said period, neither less nor more' (Maimonides, Hilchoth Nezimeth, iii. 1-3 ; Nazir, i. 3, iii. I, vi. 3; Joseph. Wars, ii. 15. 1). The ancient expositors connect the fixing the indefinite vow at thirty days, with the words, he shall be holy' (rorr ty-rp, Num. vi. 5), by the exe getical rule called Gematria (inhli' 11111.1 0'V.)9V tvlp nnt.:.)v) or) where rrro (to + 5 + Jo + 5 = 30) amounts to thirty (comp. Siphri, in loco). It will be seen from this that there were some who took the Nazarite vow for life. These are called C9111 411:, perpetual Nazarites, in contradistinction to those who took the vow for a limited period, and are therefore called Nazarites for a certain number of days, or zlvp Ict +-on, Nazarites for a Aort time. The Bible mentions three Nazarites for life— Samson, Samuel, and John the Baptist. Fathers, and mothers with the consent of their husbands, could devote their prospective children to perpetual Nazaritism (i Sam. i. it, with illishna, Nazir, ix. 5), in which case the mother abstained during her pregnancy from wine and strong drink, and un clean things (Judg. xiii. 4 ; Luke i. 15). These life-long Nazarites were afterwards divided into two classes, viz., n.ir +-on, ordinary perpetual Naza rites, and T1tP3I.:' "On, Samson-Nazarites, and the distinction between the two was that the former were allowed to diminish their hair when it became too heavy, if they were willing to bring the three appointed sacrifices, and were obliged to bring a sacrifice in case they became defiled ; whilst the latter were not allowed to diminish their hair, how ever heavy, but were not required to bring a sacri fice in case they became defiled (illishna, Nazir, i. 2), because Samson brought no sacrifice after he was defiled by contact with the jaw-bone of a dead ass (Judg. xv. 16). Of course, any one who wished to become a Samson-Nazarite had distinctly to say so ('ln:rdn '')+In) when he took the vow.
5. Origin and import of NazaritzIrm. —That s Nazaritism existed in the patriarchal age, and that the Mosaic law simply regulated it, and brought it into harmony with the other divine institutions, is evident from the wording of the en actment in Num. vi. I, etc., and is now generally admitted. Since it was resorted to like prayers by pious people in cases of sickness (Joseph. Wars, ii. 15), or when starting on a long journey (Mishna, Nazir, i. 6), or when wishing for chil dren (ibid. ii. 7, ix. to), as a mode of approaching God, and of conciliating the divine favour, the Mosaic law has made Nazaritism a consecration to the Lard (n)ri+ cri) in the highest sense, and after the loftiest model of priestly piety, as may be seen from the following striking parallels : i. Like the priest, the Nazarite was prohibited taking wine and strong drink, and with this differ ence, that whilst the former had only to abstain from intoxicating liquors when ministering in the sanctuary, the latter had to abstain during the whole of his Nazariteship from even every production of the vine (Lev. x. 8, 9, with Num. vi. 3, 4) ; like the priest, the Nazarite had to avoid defile ment from the dead, only with this difference, that whilst an exception was made for the former, in case of his nearest and dearest relations, no excep tion whatever was tolerated for the latter (Lev. xxi. 1-3, with Num. vi. 6, x2), so that in this respect the Nazarite was even put on an equality with the high-priest himself (Lev. xxi. II, with Num. vi. 7) ; and, iii., like the high-priest, who was distinguished by (cripn in) a holy diadem (Exod. xxix. 6, xxxix.
3o ; Lev. viii. 9), the Nazarite had 1C441) the crown of God upon his head (Num. vi. 7), the very term employed for the sacerdotal crown (comp. Mishna, Nazir, vii. I ; Maimonides, More Nebuchim,iii. 48 ; and especially Abravanel, Com ment. on Num. vi.) 6. Literature.—The most ancient notices of Naza ritism are given in the Mishna Tract Nazir ; in the important commentary on Numbers and Deutero nomy, called Siphri, on Num. vi. —a description of this ancient work is given in the article MIDRASH of this Cyclopedia ; by Maimonides, lad Ha Chezaka, Hilchoth Nezirnth, vol. iii. p. 34, f ; Rashi, Rashbam, Ibn Ezra, and Abravanel on Num. vi. ; Spencer, De Legibus Hebraorum, lib. iii., cap. vi., sec. x ; Michaelis, Commentaries on the Laws of Moses, Book iii. sec. 145, vol. ii. p. 284, etc., English translation ; Bahr, Symbolik des Mosaischen Callus, vol. i. p. 364, vol. ii. p. 416, ff., 43o, ff. ; Ewald, Geschichte des Volkes Israel, ii. p. 516, ff. ; by the same author, Die Altenhiimer des Volkes Israel, p. 96, ff. ; Keil, Handbuch der biblischen Archdologie, vol. i. p. 322, 2d ed. ; and for the connection of Nazaritism with Essenism, see Graetz, Geschichte der 7nden, vol. iii., 2d ed., Leipzig 1863, p. So, ff.—C. D. G.