Numbers 6 — Hebrew and Greek compared
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Same 3 Similar 7 Different 11 Divergent 3 Disparate 3
Disparate in this chapter: 6:12, 6:13, 6:20
Each verse is rendered independently from the Hebrew (Rabbinic reading tradition) and from the Greek (Saints reading tradition). The badge classifies the relationship between the two readings; the note beneath records the source document’s comparison and attributed interpretation. Each column retains its own verse references where numbering differs.
The Nazirite Vow
6:1 Same
Hebrew · Rabbinic priority
6:1 YHWH spoke to Moses, saying:
Greek · Saints priority
6:1 The Lord spoke to Moses, saying:
6:2 Different
Hebrew · Rabbinic priority
6:2 Speak to the sons of Israel and say to them: When a man or woman makes a special vow, a Nazirite vow of separation to YHWH,
Greek · Saints priority
6:2 Speak to the sons of Israel and say to them: When a man or woman solemnly makes a vow to purify oneself in consecration to the Lord,
Hebrew names the Nazirite and separation; Greek describes the vow through purification and consecration vocabulary, without the technical title here. Both include women.
Rabbinic reception: Rashi connects the Nazirite section with the preceding jealousy ordeal: witnessing sexual disgrace should prompt abstention from wine. This explains the juxtaposition in his interpretation.
Source: Rashi, Numbers 6:2
6:3 Divergent
Hebrew · Rabbinic priority
6:3 They shall abstain from wine and strong drink. They shall not drink wine vinegar, strong-drink vinegar, or any grape infusion, and shall not eat fresh or dried grapes.
Greek · Saints priority
6:3 From wine and strong drink they shall be set apart: they shall not drink wine, wine vinegar, strong-drink vinegar, or anything prepared from grapes, and shall not eat fresh grapes or raisins.
Greek expressly repeats the wine prohibition in the list; the practical abstinence largely agrees.
6:4 Different
Hebrew · Rabbinic priority
6:4 Throughout the days of their separation, they shall eat nothing produced by the grapevine, from seed to skin.
Greek · Saints priority
6:4 Throughout the days of the vow, they shall consume nothing produced by the vine—wine, from pressed grape skins to seed.
Greek expressly includes wine and uses pressed grape residue and seed. Both comprehensively prohibit grape products; the Greek wording is compressed.
6:5 Different
Hebrew · Rabbinic priority
6:5 Throughout the days of the vow of separation, no razor shall pass over their head. Until the days of separation to YHWH are fulfilled, they shall be holy, letting the locks of hair on their head grow.
Greek · Saints priority
6:5 Throughout the days of the vow of purification, no razor shall come upon their head. Until the days vowed to the Lord are fulfilled, they shall be holy, growing the hair of their head long.
Separation / purification characterizes the vow differently; the hair rule agrees.
6:6 Similar
Hebrew · Rabbinic priority
6:6 Throughout the days of separation to YHWH, they shall not approach a dead person.
Greek · Saints priority
6:6 Throughout the days of the vow to the Lord, they shall not enter where any dead person is.
Hebrew approach and Greek enter express going to a dead person in this prohibition. The wording does not establish different legal boundaries for corpse contact.
6:7 Different
Hebrew · Rabbinic priority
6:7 They shall not make themselves unclean for their father, mother, brother, or sister when they die, because the consecration of their God is upon their head.
Greek · Saints priority
6:7 They shall not become defiled for their father, mother, brother, or sister when they die, because the vow to their God is upon them, upon their head.
Consecration, with its Hebrew nezer association, / vow. The kinship exceptions are denied in both texts.
6:8 Similar
Hebrew · Rabbinic priority
6:8 Throughout the days of their separation, they are holy to YHWH.
Greek · Saints priority
6:8 Throughout the days of their vow, they shall be holy to the Lord.
Protocols for Sudden Defilement
6:9 Similar
Hebrew · Rabbinic priority
6:9 If someone dies very suddenly beside them and defiles their consecrated head, they shall shave their head on the day of cleansing; they shall shave it on the seventh day.
Greek · Saints priority
6:9 If someone suddenly dies beside them, the head of their vow shall immediately be defiled. They shall shave their head on the day they are cleansed; on the seventh day it shall be shaved.
The sudden death, defilement, and seventh-day shaving agree.
6:10 Different
Hebrew · Rabbinic priority
6:10 On the eighth day they shall bring two turtledoves or two young pigeons to the priest, at the entrance to the Tent of Meeting.
Greek · Saints priority
6:10 On the eighth day they shall bring two turtledoves or two young pigeons to the priest, at the doors of the Tent of Testimony.
Entrance / doors, Meeting / Testimony. The birds and timing agree.
6:11 Different
Hebrew · Rabbinic priority
6:11 The priest shall offer one as a sin offering and one as a burnt offering, and make atonement for them concerning their sin in connection with the dead person. They shall consecrate their head that day.
Greek · Saints priority
6:11 The priest shall offer one for sin and one as a whole burnt offering. The priest shall make propitiation for them concerning their sin in connection with the dead person, and shall consecrate their head on that day,
Greek explicitly repeats the priest and continues with a relative clause in verse twelve. Both associate the offering with corpse-related defilement.
6:12 Disparate
Hebrew · Rabbinic priority
6:12 They shall dedicate to YHWH the days of their separation and bring a year-old male lamb as a guilt offering. The former days shall fall away, because their separation was defiled.
Greek · Saints priority
6:12 On which they were consecrated to the Lord for the days of the vow. They shall bring a year-old lamb for an offense. The former days shall not be counted, because the head of their vow was defiled.
Hebrew commands renewed dedication of the days; Greek connects the statement to the day of consecration. Both cancel the former days, but the explicit instruction differs.
Completion Ceremonies of the Vow
6:13 Disparate
Hebrew · Rabbinic priority
6:13 This is the instruction for the Nazirite: on the day the days of separation are fulfilled, the person shall be brought to the entrance of the Tent of Meeting.
Greek · Saints priority
6:13 This is the law for the person who has vowed: on the day the days of the vow are fulfilled, that person shall present an offering at the doors of the Tent of Testimony.
Hebrew’s “bring him” concerns the person’s presentation, sometimes read reflexively; Greek’s active offering verb leads into the gift. The formal action and subject relation differ.
6:14 Different
Hebrew · Rabbinic priority
6:14 They shall present their offering to YHWH: one unblemished year-old male lamb as a burnt offering, one unblemished year-old ewe lamb as a sin offering, and one unblemished ram for well-being offerings,
Greek · Saints priority
6:14 They shall present their gift to the Lord: one unblemished year-old male lamb for whole burning, one unblemished year-old ewe lamb for sin, and one unblemished ram for deliverance,
The animal requirements agree. Well-being / deliverance and the other offering terms are preserved as contextual equivalents with different wording.
6:15 Different
Hebrew · Rabbinic priority
6:15 A basket of unleavened bread of fine flour—cakes mixed with oil and unleavened wafers spread with oil—with their grain offering and drink offerings.
Greek · Saints priority
6:15 A basket of unleavened bread of fine flour—loaves prepared with oil and unleavened flat cakes anointed with oil—with their sacrifice and libation.
Grain offering / sacrifice; Hebrew drink offerings is plural, Greek libation singular.
6:16 Similar
Hebrew · Rabbinic priority
6:16 The priest shall present them before YHWH and offer the person’s sin offering and burnt offering.
Greek · Saints priority
6:16 The priest shall present them before the Lord and offer what is for the person’s sin and the whole burnt offering.
6:17 Different
Hebrew · Rabbinic priority
6:17 He shall offer the ram as a well-being sacrifice to YHWH, with the basket of unleavened bread. The priest shall offer its grain offering and drink offering.
Greek · Saints priority
6:17 He shall offer the ram as a sacrifice of deliverance to the Lord, with the basket of unleavened bread. The priest shall offer its sacrifice and libation.
The corresponding rites use distinct sacrifice terminology.
6:18 Different
Hebrew · Rabbinic priority
6:18 The Nazirite shall shave the consecrated head at the entrance of the Tent of Meeting, take the hair of the consecrated head, and put it on the fire under the well-being sacrifice.
Greek · Saints priority
6:18 The person who has vowed shall shave the head of the vow at the doors of the Tent of Testimony and put the hair on the fire under the sacrifice of deliverance.
Greek omits the separate taking clause. Both explicitly burn the shorn hair beneath the sacrifice.
Apostolic reception: Acts presents Paul participating in purification with four men under a vow and paying expenses associated with their shaved heads and offerings. This is a later setting for comparable vow practices; it is not an added instruction in Numbers.
Source: Acts 21:23–26
6:19 Similar
Hebrew · Rabbinic priority
6:19 The priest shall take the boiled shoulder from the ram, one unleavened cake from the basket, and one unleavened wafer, and put them on the Nazirite’s palms after the consecrated hair is shaved.
Greek · Saints priority
6:19 The priest shall take the boiled foreleg from the ram, one unleavened loaf from the basket, and one unleavened flat cake, and put them on the hands of the person who has vowed after the hair of the vow is shaved.
Shoulder/foreleg render the corresponding limb; the accompanying bread portions agree.
6:20 Disparate
Hebrew · Rabbinic priority
6:20 The priest shall wave them as a wave offering before YHWH. They are holy for the priest, together with the breast of the wave offering and the thigh of the contribution. Afterward the Nazirite may drink wine.
Greek · Saints priority
6:20 The priest shall present them as a presentation before the Lord. They shall be holy for the priest, together with the breast of presentation and the foreleg of the portion removed. Afterward the person who has vowed may drink wine.
Wave / present, and thigh / foreleg change the expressed action and priestly portion. The permission to resume drinking wine agrees.
6:21 Different
Hebrew · Rabbinic priority
6:21 This is the instruction for the Nazirite who vows an offering to YHWH for the separation, besides whatever their hand can afford. According to the vow made, so they shall act, in addition to the instruction for their separation.
Greek · Saints priority
6:21 This is the law for the person who vows to the Lord, the gift to the Lord concerning the vow, apart from whatever their hand may find, according to the extent of the vow made under the law of consecration.
Hebrew expressly says “so they shall act”; Greek is a compressed description of gift, resources, and vow. It does not erase the obligation to fulfill the vow.
The Divine Benediction
6:22 Same
Hebrew · Rabbinic priority
6:22 YHWH spoke to Moses, saying:
Greek · Saints priority
6:22 The Lord spoke to Moses, saying:
6:23 Divergent
Hebrew · Rabbinic priority
6:23 Speak to Aaron and his sons, saying: Thus you shall bless the sons of Israel; say to them:
Greek · Saints priority
6:23 Speak to Aaron and his sons, saying: Thus you shall bless the sons of Israel, saying to them:
Immediately here Greek places the name-bearing promise aligned below at Hebrew 6:27. It precedes the blessing in Greek rather than following it.
6:24 Same
Hebrew · Rabbinic priority
6:24 May YHWH bless you and keep you.
Greek · Saints priority
6:24 May the Lord bless you and keep you.
Singular “you” addresses the recipient in both texts.
6:25 Similar
Hebrew · Rabbinic priority
6:25 May YHWH make His face shine upon you and be gracious to you.
Greek · Saints priority
6:25 May the Lord make His face shine upon you and show mercy to you.
Grace / mercy expresses the corresponding divine favor.
6:26 Similar
Hebrew · Rabbinic priority
6:26 May YHWH lift His face toward you and set peace for you.
Greek · Saints priority
6:26 May the Lord lift His face upon you and give you peace.
6:27 Divergent
Hebrew · Rabbinic priority
6:27 They shall put My name upon the sons of Israel, and I will bless them.
Greek · Saints priority
6:27 (LXX 6:23) [parenthesis] They shall put My name upon the sons of Israel, and I, the Lord, will bless them.
In Rahlfs–Hanhart this clause stands parenthetically after 6:23; it is aligned here by content. Greek also explicitly identifies the speaker as the Lord.
Rabbinic reception: Rashi offers two referents for those God blesses: Israel, confirming the priests’ blessing, or the priests themselves. The translation retains them rather than settling the pronoun by an inserted explanation.
Source: Rashi, Numbers 6:27
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Saints Translation · Companion comparison edition · working draft awaiting specialist review.