Hebrew word · H5144

נָזַר

yazir

be a Nazarite

To set oneself apart or dedicate oneself, usually to a deity or to a holy regime of life. It is the root of nazir, the Nazirite who vows himself to God (Numbers 6). In the reflexive stem it means 'to consecrate oneself' or 'to hold oneself apart'.

Appears 10 times in 10 verses of the Hebrew Old Testament. ·

What it means

1) to dedicate, consecrate, separate

1a) (Niphal) to dedicate oneself, devote oneself

1b) (Hiphil) to keep sacredly separate

Abridged from Brown, Driver and Briggs, A Hebrew and English Lexicon of the Old Testament (1906), via STEPBible.org (CC BY 4.0).

In depth

From the study of Ezekiel 14:7

Range of meaning

To set oneself apart or dedicate oneself, usually to a deity or to a holy regime of life. It is the root of nazir, the Nazirite who vows himself to God (Numbers 6). In the reflexive stem it means 'to consecrate oneself' or 'to hold oneself apart'.

Against the English

'Separates himself' (BSB, KJV, WEB) is accurate but flat. A modern reader hears drifting away or simple withdrawal. The Hebrew carries the language of religious dedication turned in the wrong direction.

Used elsewhere in the period

Hosea 9:10 is the closest parallel: at Baal-peor 'they consecrated themselves (wayyinnazru) to Shame', i.e. to Baal. Leviticus 22:2 has priests 'keeping themselves apart' from holy things. Zechariah 7:3 uses it for a fast of abstinence.

From the study of Hosea 9:10

Range of meaning

To separate oneself, hold oneself apart, dedicate oneself, especially by a vow. The same root gives nāzîr (Nazirite) and nēzer (consecration; crown).

Against the English

KJV 'separated themselves' sounds to a modern ear like withdrawal or moving away. BSB/WEB 'consecrated' and NASB 'devoted' catch the religious-vow sense better.

How it drifted

In current English, 'separated' mostly means 'apart from'. The Hebrew stresses being dedicated 'to' something.

Used elsewhere in the period

Num 6:2–12 (the Nazirite 'separates himself to the LORD'); Lev 22:2 (priests holding themselves apart from holy things); Ezek 14:7 ('separates himself from me', of idolaters); Zech 7:3 (fasting). Numbers 25:3 describes the same event with a different verb: Israel 'yoked itself' (ṣāmad) to Baal-Peor.

From the study of Leviticus 15:31

Range of meaning

To separate, set apart, hold back from, abstain from. Hence nēzer, 'consecration' or 'crown', and nāzîr, the Nazirite set apart by a vow. In the Niphal it means 'keep oneself away from' (Lev 22:2: priests are to 'keep away from' the holy offerings when impure; Ezek 14:7: separating oneself from God).

Against the English

'Separate' can suggest physically segregating people, as if impure Israelites were driven out. Here the object of the separation is their impurity: the priests make sure Israel and its impurity are kept apart from the holy, through instruction, boundaries and rites of purification. NIV's 'keep… separate from things that make them unclean' moves the focus to avoiding impure sources. That loses the point that impurity often cannot be avoided and has to be managed.

Used elsewhere in the period

The close parallel in Lev 22:2–3 uses the same root and the same logic: impure contact with holy things leads to being 'cut off'. The Samaritan Pentateuch reads a different root here, zhr ('warn'), and the Septuagint's eulabeis poiēsete ('make cautious') and the Vulgate's 'teach… to beware' point to a teaching role.

Where it appears

Leviticus · 2

  1. Leviticus 15:31 וְהִזַּרְתֶּ֥ם and you will keep separate

    You must keep the children of Israel separate from their uncleanness, so that they do not die by defiling My tabernacle, which is among them.

    Here: A causative form ('you shall cause to be apart') addressed to a plural 'you', meaning Moses and Aaron (15:1), and through them the priests. The joined 'and' with the perfect makes it a standing instruction: this is the priests' job. It shares a root with nazir, the 'Nazirite', a person set apart.

  2. Leviticus 22:2 וְיִנָּֽזְרוּ֙ so they may separate themselves

    “Tell Aaron and his sons to treat with respect the sacred offerings that the Israelites have consecrated to Me, so that they do not profane My holy name. I am the LORD.

Numbers · 5

  1. Numbers 6:2 לְהַזִּ֖יר to be a Nazirite

    “Speak to the Israelites and tell them that if a man or woman makes a special vow, the vow of a Nazirite, to separate himself to the LORD,

    Here: A verb from the same root as nazir, giving a wordplay: the person vows a nazir-vow 'to nazir' themselves. The same verb returns in verse 3 for keeping away from wine, so the dedication shows itself in specific abstentions.

  2. Numbers 6:3 יַזִּ֔יר he will keep separate

    he is to abstain from wine and strong drink. He must not drink vinegar made from wine or strong drink, and he must not drink any grape juice or eat fresh grapes or raisins.

  3. Numbers 6:5 יַזִּ֤יר he will be a Nazirite

    For the entire period of his vow of separation, no razor shall touch his head. He must be holy until the time of his separation to the LORD is complete; he must let the hair of his head grow long.

    Here: "He dedicates himself". The person acts on himself: he is not set apart by a priest or by birth but puts himself into this holy status by choice.

  4. Numbers 6:6 הַזִּיר֖וֹ being a Nazirite he

    Throughout the days of his separation to the LORD, he must not go near a dead body.

  5. Numbers 6:12 וְהִזִּ֤יר and he will be a Nazirite

    He must rededicate his time of separation to the LORD and bring a year-old male lamb as a guilt offering. But the preceding days shall not be counted, because his separation was defiled.

Ezekiel · 1

  1. Ezekiel 14:7 וְיִנָּזֵ֣ר so he may separate himself

    For when any Israelite or any foreigner dwelling in Israel separates himself from Me, sets up idols in his heart, and puts a wicked stumbling block before his face, and then comes to the prophet to inquire of Me, I the LORD will answer him Myself.

    Here: 'And he dedicates himself away'. This is the root of 'Nazirite', a word for holy setting-apart. The irony is sharp: the man consecrates himself, but away from YHWH.

Hosea · 1

  1. Hosea 9:10 וַיִּנָּֽזְרוּ֙ and they devoted themselves

    I found Israel like grapes in the wilderness. I saw your fathers as the firstfruits of the fig tree in its first season. But they went to Baal-peor, and consecrated themselves to Shame; so they became as detestable as the thing they loved.

    Here: 'They set themselves apart / consecrated themselves.' This is the root behind 'Nazirite', the person specially vowed to God, so the irony is bitter: they made a sacred vow of devotion, but to the wrong god.

Zechariah · 1

  1. Zechariah 7:3 הִנָּזֵ֕ר will I consecrate myself?

    by asking the priests of the house of the LORD of Hosts, as well as the prophets, “Should I weep and fast in the fifth month, as I have done these many years?”

    Here: 'Abstaining', 'holding myself apart' from ordinary pleasures, above all food. It is the same root as 'Nazirite'. It describes how the weeping was done: mourning with fasting and self-denial. God's reply in verse 5 calls it fasting (ṣûm).

Word data: STEPBible.org (CC BY 4.0), main text only.