Paul's Nazarite Vow

(Thread begun by RandyP )

Paul in kjv@Acts:18:18 and kjv@Acts:21:15-40 performs what appears to be a temporary Nazarite vow for purification yet in Galatians:2 etc.. insists that believers are dead to the Law. Is there contradiction with Paul? Is there a place for the Law after all?

Today's introductory text: jub@Acts:18:18

jub@Acts:18:18 @ And Paul [after this] tarried [there] yet a good while and then took his leave of the brethren and sailed from there into Syria and with him Priscilla and Aquila, having shorn [his] head in Cenchrea, for he had a vow.

The vow that Paul was under most likely was a form of the Nazarite vow originally established in jub@Numbers:6:1-21

jub@Numbers:6:1 @ And the LORD spoke unto Moses, saying,

jub@Numbers:6:2 @ Speak unto the sons of Israel and say unto them, When either man or woman shall separate [themselves] to vow a vow of a Nazarite, to dedicate [themselves] unto the LORD,

jub@Numbers:6:3 @ they shall separate [themselves] from wine and strong drink and shall drink no vinegar of wine or vinegar of strong drink, neither shall they drink any liquor of grapes, nor eat moist grapes or dried.

jub@Numbers:6:4 @ All the days of their Nazariteship they shall eat nothing that is made of the wine vine, from the kernels even to the husk.

jub@Numbers:6:5 @ All the days of the vow of their Nazariteship no razor shall come upon their head, until the days are fulfilled of their separation unto the LORD; they shall be holy [and] shall let the locks of the hair of their head grow.

jub@Numbers:6:6 @ All the days that they separate [themselves] unto the LORD they shall come in unto no dead body.

jub@Numbers:6:7 @ They shall not make themselves unclean for their father or for their mother, for their brother or for their sister, when they die because the consecration of their God [is] upon their head.

jub@Numbers:6:8 @ All the days of their Nazariteship they [are] holy unto the LORD.

jub@Numbers:6:9 @ And if anyone dies very suddenly beside them, and they have defiled the head of their Nazariteship, then they shall shave their head in the day of their cleansing; on the seventh day shall they shave it.

jub@Numbers:6:10 @ And on the eighth day they shall bring two turtledoves or two young pigeons to the priest to the door of the tabernacle of the testimony,

jub@Numbers:6:11 @ and the priest shall offer the one as the sin and the other as a burnt offering and reconcile the one that sinned upon the dead and shall sanctify their head that same day.

jub@Numbers:6:12 @ And they shall consecrate unto the LORD the days of their Nazariteship and shall bring a lamb of the first year for their guilt; but the days that were before shall be lost because their Nazariteship was defiled.

jub@Numbers:6:13 @ This is, therefore, the law of the Nazarite, in the day in which their Nazariteship is fulfilled: they shall be brought unto the door of the tabernacle of the testimony;

jub@Numbers:6:14 @ and they shall offer their offering unto the LORD, one he lamb of the first year without blemish for a burnt offering and one ewe lamb of the first year without blemish as [the] sin and one ram without blemish for peace offerings,

jub@Numbers:6:15 @ and a basket of unleavened bread, cakes of fine flour mingled with oil and wafers of unleavened bread anointed with oil and their present and their drink offerings.

jub@Numbers:6:16 @ And the priest shall bring [them] before the LORD and shall offer his sin and his burnt offering;

jub@Numbers:6:17 @ and he shall offer the ram [for] a sacrifice of peace unto the LORD, with the basket of unleavened bread; the priest shall likewise offer his present and his drink offering.

jub@Numbers:6:18 @ Then the Nazarite shall shave the head of their Nazariteship [at] the door of the tabernacle of the testimony and shall take the hair of the head of their Nazariteship and put it upon the fire which is under the sacrifice of the peace.

jub@Numbers:6:19 @ Then the priest shall take the boiled shoulder of the ram and one unleavened cake out of the basket and one unleavened wafer and shall put [them] upon the hands of the Nazarite after their Nazariteship is shaven;

jub@Numbers:6:20 @ and the priest shall wave them [for] a wave [offering] before the LORD, which shall be a holy thing of the priest, with the wave breast and heave shoulder; and after that the Nazarite shall drink wine.

jub@Numbers:6:21 @ This [is] the law of the Nazarite who made a vow of their offering unto the LORD for their Nazariteship, beside that which their means allows, according to the vow which they vowed, so they must do according to the law of their Nazariteship.

3 well known men in the bible under a life long commitment to the Nazarite vow:

Judge - Samson jub@Judges:13:4-5
Judge/Prophet - Samuel jub@1Samuel:1:11
Prophet - John the Baptist jub@Luke:1:15

(see: dict:all NAZARITE )
(Note: both men and women could take the oath)
(Note: It later became possible to take a temporary oath lasting at least 1 week and there became the possibility of a "sponsor" who could pay the expenses+sacrifices of others thereby not having to due the complete time other than the 1 week purification)

With that vow in mind let's now examine what Paul submitted himself to in jub@Acts:21:15-40

jub@Acts:21:15 @ And after those days we packed our baggage and went up to Jerusalem.

jub@Acts:21:16 @ There went with us also [certain] of the disciples of Caesarea and brought with them one Mnason of Cyprus, an old disciple, with whom we should lodge.

jub@Acts:21:17 @ And when we arrived at Jerusalem, the brethren received us gladly.

jub@Acts:21:18 @ And the [day] following, Paul went in with us to [see] James, and all the elders were gathered.

jub@Acts:21:19 @ And when he had saluted them, he declared particularly what things God had wrought among the Gentiles by his ministry.

jub@Acts:21:20 @ And when they heard [it], they glorified the Lord and said unto him, Thou seest, brother, how many thousands of Jews there are who have believed, and they are all zealous of the law;

jub@Acts:21:21 @ and they are informed of thee that thou teachest all the Jews who are among the Gentiles to forsake Moses, saying that they ought not to circumcise [their] children, neither to walk after the customs.

jub@Acts:21:22 @ What is it therefore? The multitude must needs come together, for they will hear that thou art come.

jub@Acts:21:23 @ Do therefore this that we say to thee: We have four men among us who have a vow on them;

jub@Acts:21:24 @ them take, and purify thyself with them, and pay their expenses, that they may shave [their] heads, and all may know that those things, of which they were informed concerning thee, are nothing, but [that] thou thyself dost also walk orderly and keep the law.

Of interest:

nkjv@Acts:21:20 ..."You see, brother, how many myriads of Jews there are who have believed,
and they are all zealous for the law;
nkjv@Acts:21:21 but they have been informed about you that you teach all the Jews who are among the Gentiles to forsake Moses, saying that they ought not to circumcise their children nor to walk according to the customs.
nkjv@Acts:21:22 What then? The assembly must certainly meet, for they will hear that you have come.
nkjv@Acts:21:23 Therefore do what we tell you

Here is where the long time controversy doctrinally begins: jub@Acts:21:25

jub@Acts:21:25 @ As touching the Gentiles who believe, we have written [and] concluded that they observe no such thing, except only that they keep themselves from [things] offered to idols and from blood and from [that which has been] strangled and from fornication.

From this response it could be (and has been) argued either:

Justification differs between Jews and Gentiles or
That Paul simply overstated his claims of justification by faith only or
Paul mistakenly thought that the previous Jerusalem counsel had committed to something doctrinally that it really hadn't or was backing off of or
That Paul's beliefs on justification were not yet solidified or
That Gentile believers must have misinterpreted/mis-translated Paul else
Paul is about to make a mistake or worse sin.

What then does Paul decide to do? Why would he do this? jub@Acts:21:26

jub@Acts:21:26 @ Then Paul took the men and the next day, purifying himself with them, entered into the temple to signify the accomplishment of the days of purification until an offering should be offered for each one of them.

What were the results of Paul's action? jub@Acts:21:27-39

jub@Acts:21:27 @ And when the seven days were almost ended, the Jews, who were of Asia, when they saw him in the temple, stirred up all the people and laid hands on him,

jub@Acts:21:28 @ crying out, Men of Israel, help; this is the man that teaches everyone everywhere against the people and the law and this place and further brought Greeks also into the temple and has polluted this holy place.

jub@Acts:21:29 @ (For before [this] they had seen Trophimus, an Ephesian, with him in the city, whom they supposed that Paul had brought into the temple.)

jub@Acts:21:30 @ So that all the city was moved, and the people ran together; and they took Paul and drew him out of the temple, and immediately the doors were shut.

jub@Acts:21:31 @ And as they went about to kill him, tidings came unto the tribunal of the company that all Jerusalem was in an uproar

jub@Acts:21:32 @ who immediately took soldiers and centurions and ran down unto them; and when they saw the tribunal and the soldiers, they left off beating Paul.

jub@Acts:21:33 @ Then the tribunal came near and took him and commanded [him] to be bound with two chains and demanded [to know] who he was and what he had done.

jub@Acts:21:34 @ And some cried one thing, some another, among the multitude; and when he could not know the certainty for the tumult, he commanded him to be carried into the fortress.

jub@Acts:21:35 @ And when he came upon the stairs, so it was that he was borne of the soldiers because of the violence of the people.

jub@Acts:21:36 @ For the multitude of the people followed after, crying, Away with him.

jub@Acts:21:37 @ And as Paul was to be led into the fortress, he said unto the tribunal, May I speak unto thee? Who said, Canst thou speak Greek?

jub@Acts:21:38 @ Art not thou that Egyptian, who before these days made an uproar and led four thousand men out into the wilderness that were murderers?

jub@Acts:21:39 @ But Paul said, I am certainly a Jew, a citizen of Tarsus, a city known in Cilicia; and, I beseech thee, suffer me to speak unto the people.

(note: The results of him doing as the apostles had ordered turned out no better for Paul than if he had resisted their order)

So we have to ask:

Why did Paul do this?
What does it mean for us and Paul's doctrine of justification?

Let's discuss some possible answers:

jub@Acts:22:17-24
jub@1Corinthians:9:19-23
jub@Acts:24:10-21
(any scriptures group can bring up?)
jub@Galatians:3:21-29

Final considerations:

Would it be permissible for a Messianic Jewish community to still submit themselves to the Law under any circumstance?
Would it be permissible for Gentiles to submit themselves under the Law in similar situations?
What would those permissible situations be?
What situations might that submission not be the permissible approach?
Anything else we haven't considered yet?

Comment Board:PaulNazariteVow

Further Resources:
http://hermeneutics.stackexchange.com/questions/15350/did-paul-take-the-nazarite-vow-in-cenchreae-if-so-why-this-vow

http://www.christiancourier.com/articles/699-did-paul-sin-in-submitting-to-the-temple-ritual

http://www.bibleresearch.org/lawbook4/b4w5.html

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