Numbers 6:11

Num 6:11 And the priest shall offer the one for a sin offering, and the other for a burnt offering, and make an atonement for him, for that he sinned by the dead, and shall hallow his head that same day.

Ver. 11. For that he sinned by the dead.] Heb., By a soul. See on Num 5:2.

John Trapp, A Commentary or Exposition upon All the Books of the Old and New Testament (1647–1656) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Num 6:11-12. A sin-offering — Because such a pollution was, though not his sin, yet the chastisement of his sin. He sinned by the dead — That is, contracted a ceremonial uncleanness, which is called sinning, because it was a type of sin, and a violation of a law, though through ignorance and inadvertency. Hallow his head — Begin again to hallow or consecrate it.

The days of his separation — As many days as he had before vowed to God. Lost — Hebrew, fall to the ground; that is, be void, or of none effect.

Joseph Benson's Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1811–1818) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

By being present where the dead was.

Geneva Bible (1599) marginal notes — public domain. Text via Bolls.life.

(11) And the priest shall offer . . . —The word which is here rendered “offer” (asah), like the Greek poiein, means literally “do.” Its sacrificial signification, however, in this place, is entirely dependent upon the context.

By the dead.—i.e., by reason of, or on account of the dead body with which he had been brought in contact.

A Bible Commentary for English Readers, edited by Charles John Ellicott (1878–1897) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

11. a sin-offering] A form of sacrifice not mentioned in the historical or prophetical books. Its purpose was the removal of defilement, separation from all that was not holy. It was thus used at the consecration of places (Exo_29:36, Lev_8:14 f.), and of persons—priests (Exo_29:14, Lev_4:3; Lev_8:2; Lev_8:14 &c.), and Levites (Num_8:8; Num_8:12); and also to make atonement for inadvertent transgressions (Num_15:24; Num_15:27, Lev_4:2; Lev_4:13 &c.), and for ceremonial uncleanness (here, Lev_12:6; Lev_12:8; Lev_14:19; Lev_15:15).

Before the exile the sin-offering appears only as a fine levied by the priests at the sanctuary (2Ki_12:16).

a burnt-offering] A very ancient rite, expressing self-dedication to God.

hallow his head] It had become free from pollution on the previous day, but needed re-hallowing for the purposes of the vow.

The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges (gen. ed. J. J. S. Perowne; Cambridge University Press, 1878–1918) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

And he shall consecrate unto the Lord the days of his separation,.... He was to begin his account again, from the time of his shaving his head, and devote as many days to the service of the Lord as what he had vowed before:

and shall bring a lamb of the first year for a trespass offering; we see how much trouble and expense were brought by a single act of pollution, and that involuntary too; how much more need is there of an atoning sacrifice for the sins of men, even for all of them, and for which only the sacrifice of Christ is sufficient?

but the days that were before shall be lost; which were before the pollution, how near soever the time of Nazariteship being at an end was, whether his vow was for thirty days, or a hundred, or a whole year; be it what it will, and the pollution happened on the last of those days, all were lost; he was obliged to begin again, and go through the whole time he at first vowed; and this was the case if he drank the least quantity of wine, or shaved ever so little of the hair of his head, or was any ways polluted by the dead; and this severity, as it may seem, was used to make him cautious that he broke not his vow by any means:

because his separation was defiled; in the case instanced in, by the dead, but it was the same if he broke the law of Nazariteship in any of the other articles of it.

John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible (1746–1763) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.

Sinned. Contracting a legal uncleanness. --- That day, and commence his vow. (Menochius)

George Leo Haydock (1774–1849), Haydock's Catholic Family Bible and Commentary, 1859 edition — public domain. Excludes Psalms (Douay-Rheims chapter numbering differs from Protestant) and Deuterocanonical books (Catholic canon only).

Shall offer, Heb. make, which is oft put for sacrificing or offering, as Exo 29:36;1Ch 21:23, compared with 2Sa 24:22.

For a sin-offering, because such a pollution was, though not his sin, yet the chastisement of his sin, and had an appearance of sin, to wit, of negligence in not standing sufficiently upon his guard, which in such persons was in a manner equivalent to a sin. For that he sinned, i.e. contracted a ceremonial uncleanness, which is called sinning, because it was a type of sin, and a violation of a law, though through ignorance and inadvertency, as many other sins were.

Shall hallow; begin again to hallow or consecrate it.

Matthew Poole's English Annotations on the Holy Bible (1683–1685) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

11. Sin offering — See Leviticus 4, notes. Moral and ceremonial impurities are treated alike in the Levitical law.

Burnt offering — See Leviticus i, notes.

Atonement — See Lev_1:4; Lev_4:20, notes. It is equivalent to the covering up or concealing of that which God cannot allow in his presence. In Hebrew phraseology, to atone is to remove or annihilate. Atonement is the basal notion and essential characteristic of every bloody sacrifice in Mosaism. But we have no proof that the Hebrews saw in the typical atonement the great expiation made by the coming Antitype. The type, to one ignorant of the antitype, predicts and elucidates nothing. Though nowhere in the Old Testament is faith in an atoning Messiah required as the condition of pardon, yet faith in a priestly atonement involving blood was certainly the condition of both pardon and pretty in Mosaism. Thus was foreshadowed the necessity of a satisfaction of the ethical nature of both God and man, in the justification of sinners.

Sinned — An act without the concurrence of the will cannot be properly called sin, yet it may be in the eye of the law such a “missing of the mark” as may need an atonement.

By the dead — Literally, upon the nephesh, or soul. See Num_5:2, note.

Hallow his head — “Begin again the count of his Nazariteship.” — Jarchi.

Daniel D. Whedon (gen. ed.), Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1874–1909) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

For that he sinned by the dead. This is one of the cases in which the law seemed to teach plainly that an outward, accidental, and involuntary defilement was sin, and had need to be atoned for. The opposite principle was declared by our Lord. (Mar_7:18-23) The Septuagint has here the strange reading peri wn hmarte peri thv quchv . Shall hallow his head. By dedicating again to God the free growth of his hair.

The Pulpit Commentary (1880–1919), ed. H.D.M. Spence-Jones & Joseph S. Exell — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

A sin-offering - Because such a pollution was, though not his sin, yet the chastisement of his sin. He sinned - That is, contracted a ceremonial uncleanness, which is called sinning, because it was a type of sin, and a violation of a law, tho' through ignorance and inadvertency. Hallow - Begin again to hallow or consecrate it.

John Wesley, Explanatory Notes Upon the Whole Bible (1754–1765) — public domain. Text via the GEBible commentary corpus.

atonement

(See Scofield "Exo 29:33").

The Scofield Reference Bible (1917 edition), notes by C. I. Scofield — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

מאשר חטא על הנפש [AND THE PRIEST … MAKE EXPIATION FOR HIM] FOR THAT HE HATH SINNED BY THE DEAD — i.e., that he has not been on his guard against defilement by a corpse. — R. Eleazer ha-Kappar said, “his sin consists in that he has afflicted himself by abstaining from the enjoyment of wine (Sifrei Bamidbar 30; Nazir 19a).

וקדש את ראשו AND HE SHALL HALLOW HIS HEAD [THAT SAME DAY] by beginning again the counting of his Nazaritehood (i.e., he resumes his Nazaritehood).

Rashi on the Tanakh — English translations: “The Judaica Press complete Tanach with Rashi, translated by A. J. Rosenberg” (CC BY 4.0); “Pentateuch with Rashi's commentary by M. Rosenbaum and A.M. Silbermann, 1929-1934” (public domain); “The Metsudah Tanach series, Lakewood, N.J” (CC BY 4.0); and “The Book of Joshua, Metsudah Publications, 1997” (CC BY 4.0). Text via Sefaria.

AND THE PRIEST SHALL PREPARE ONE FOR A SIN-OFFERING. The reason why a Nazirite must bring a sin-offering when the days of his Naziritehood are fulfilled has not been explained. In accordance with the plain meaning of Scripture, [it is because] this man sins against his soul on the day of completion of his Naziritehood; for until now he was separated in sanctity and the service of G-d, and he should therefore have remained separated forever, continuing all his life consecrated and sanctified to his G-d, as it is said, And I raised up of your sons for prophets, and of your young men for Nazirites, where Scripture compares the Nazirite to a prophet, and as it is written, All the days of his Naziritehood he is holy unto the Eternal. Thus [when he completes his Naziritehood and returns to his normal life] he requires atonement, since he goes back to be defiled by [material] desires of the world.

Ramban (Nachmanides) on the Tanakh — English translation: “Commentary on the Torah by Ramban (Nachmanides). Translated and annotated by Charles B. Chavel. New York, Shilo Pub. House, 1971-1976” (CC BY 4.0). Text via Sefaria.