Nazirite Vows

(Book of Numbers 6:1 - 6:21) 
Jehovah then told Moses to give the following instructions to the people of Israel: "If any of the people, whether a man or a woman, takes the special vow of the Nazirite, to consecrate themselves to Jehovah, he must abstain from wine and fermented drink.  He must not use vinegar made from wine or from any fermented juice.  He must not drink grape juice or eat grapes or raisins.  As long as one is under the vow of the Nazirite, he must refrain from consuming any part of the grape, even the seeds or skins.

"During the time of the vow, no razor must touch his head.  He must remain holy until the period of his dedication to Jehovah is over: he must let the hair on his head grow long.

"And throughout this period of dedication, the Nazirite must not be exposed to a dead body.  Even if the deceased is a close family member, he must refrain from so defiling himself.  The uncut hair on his head is a sign of his dedication to Jehovah; he must remain holy during the duration of that dedication.

"However, if it happens that someone dies suddenly in the presence of a Nazirite, thus defiling the hair that symbolizes his dedication, he must wait a period of seven days and then, on the seventh day, shave his head to be cleansed of this defilement.  On the eighth day he must bring to the priest at the entrance to the Sanctum, two turtledoves or young pigeons.  One of the birds will be given as a sin offering, the second as a burnt offering, so that the Nazirite may be purified from the defilement caused by contact with the dead body.  On that same day he should reconsecrate himself and let his hair grow again.  He must then bring a male yearling lamb as a guilt offering.  (The days spent before this defilement will not count toward fulfilling the vow.)

"When the period of consecration has ended, this is proper procedure for the Nazirite.  He should be brought to the entrance to the Sanctum and present to Jehovah a male yearling lamb without flaw as a burnt offering, a female yearling lamb without flaw as a sin offering, a ram without flaw as a peace offering, a basket of unleavened bread, cakes made with choice flour mixed with olive oil, and wafers spread with olive oil, along with the requisite grain and liquid offerings.  The priest will present these offerings at the altar, first the sin offering and the burnt offering, then the ram as peace offering along with the basket of unleavened bread, the grain offering, and the drink offering.

"Then, at the entrance to the Sanctum, the Nazirite should shave his head and take the cut hair symbolizing his consecration and put it in the altar fire under the peace offering.  The priest should take the shoulder of the ram, after it has been boiled, one cake from the basket of unleavened bread, and one unleavened wafer and present them to the Nazirite after his head has been shaven.  The priest should raise and wave them above the altar as an offering to Jehovah.  These portions are reserved for the priest, along with the breast that was raised above the altar and the thigh that was offered.  After this ceremony, the Nazirite will be permitted to drink wine again.

"These are the rules that must be followed for the Nazirite when, in accordance with his vow, he brings to the altar the aforementioned sacrifices, (in addition to any others he may afford).  He must, as well, be dutiful in fulfilling the conditions of the vow he made when he consecrated himself as a Nazirite.

Notes
1.  A Nazirite is someone who has made a vow to dedicate himself to Jehovah, or, as we might say, to devote a certain part of his life to serving God.  The only requirements are to steer clear of the grape -- no wine or strong drink, to refrain from cutting the hair, and to avoid contact with dead bodies.  For a religion that is ritually demanding, these seem fairly modest departures from normal life.  But, of course, there are the sacrifices to be made at the end of the consecration period.  They would seem financially onerous to a poor man, much more so if his stint as a Nazirite was interrupted and spoiled by some chance exposure to a corpse, thus necessitating additional sacrifices.

2.  The uncut hair symbolizes the Nazirites consecration to the vow.  Apparently the duration of the consecration was long enough that the length of one's unshorn hair would become noticeable.  Traditional, it is at least 30 days, but can be much longer, even lasting a lifetime.  How long Israelites may have grown their hair at every period in their history is not known with certainty, but they must have regularly cut it short enough so that someone with long, unshorn hair would be noticeable.