6:18 “ ‘Then the Nazirite must shave his consecrated head46 at the entrance to the tent of meeting and must take the hair from his consecrated head and put it on the fire47 where the peace offering is burning.48
tn Some versions simply interpret this to say that he shaves his hair, for it is the hair that is the sign of the consecration to God. But the text says he shaves his consecrated head. The whole person is obviously consecrated to God—not just the head. But the symbolic act of cutting the hair shows that the vow has been completed (see Acts 21:23–24). The understanding of the importance of the hair in the ancient world has been the subject of considerable study over the years (see R. de Vaux, Ancient Israel, 436; and J. A. Thompson, “Numbers,” New Bible Commentary: Revised, 177).
47
sn Some commentators see this burning of the hair as an offering (McNeile, Numbers, 35; G. B. Gray, Numbers [ICC], 68). But others probably with more foundation see it as destroying something that has served a purpose, something that if left alone might be venerated (see R. de Vaux, Israel, 436).
48
tnHeb “which is under the peace offering.” The verse does not mean that the hair had to be put under that sacrifice and directly on the fire.