Nazirite
na.zir denotes a person set apart under a vow or designation, and in two agricultural clauses marks unpruned growth.
The predominant usage identifies a person under a special vow or consecrated designation, especially in the instructions of Numbers and the accounts of the child in Judges. Two blessing passages apply the singular construct form to Joseph in relation to his brothers, while two Leviticus clauses use plural construct forms in instructions about growth not to be gathered.
Senses in use
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Person under a vow or consecrated designation · dominant
In Numbers 6:2, the singular absolute form occurs in the clause about a man or woman making a special vow to separate himself to the LORD; the APB renders the phrase "a Nazirite vow." Numbers 6:13, Numbers 6:18, Numbers 6:19, Numbers 6:20, and Numbers 6:21 place the same singular absolute form in instructions concerning fulfillment of consecration, shaving the head, offerings, and drinking wine afterward. In Judges 13:5, Judges 13:7, and Judges 16:17, the singular construct form identifies the child or speaker as "a Nazirite of God," alongside statements about hair and wine; Amos 2:11 and Amos 2:12 use the masculine plural for a group raised up and later made to drink wine.
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Designation of Joseph among his brothers · rare
Genesis 49:26 places the masculine singular construct form in the blessing upon Joseph's head and brow; the APB renders him as "him who was set apart from his brothers." Deuteronomy 33:16 likewise places the construct form with Joseph's head and the crown associated with his brothers, though the APB does not separately make its contribution clear.
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Unpruned agricultural growth · rare
Leviticus 25:5 uses a masculine plural construct form in the prohibition on gathering "the grapes of your untrimmed vines." Leviticus 25:11 uses the same morphology in the jubilee instruction not to gather "its unpruned growth," indicating an agricultural use distinct from the passages about persons.
In the Anselm Project Bible: Across Numbers, Judges, Amos, and Lamentations, the APB commonly presents the person-designation with "Nazirite" or "Nazirites." In Genesis 49:26 it renders the clause "him who was set apart from his brothers," while the Leviticus clauses present agricultural "untrimmed vines" and "unpruned growth"; these are verse-level renderings rather than definitions.