Nothing "from the vine‖, meaning alcoholic drinks (Negative Law 202, Num 6:3 - A Nazir may not drink
wine or any beverage from grapes) in addition to any grape (Negative Law 203, Num 6:3 - A Nazir may
not eat fresh grapes), raisin (Negative Law 204, Num 6:3 - A Nazir may not eat dried grapes), grape
seed (Negative Law 205, Num 6:4 - A Nazir may not eat grape seeds/kernels) or grape rind (Negative
Law 206, Num 6:4 - A Nazir may not eat grape peels/husks), may be ingested.
The nazir's hair may not be cut (Negative Law 209, Num 6:5 - A Nazir must not shave his hair) and must
be allowed to grow unhindered (Positive Law 92, Num 6:5 - The Nazir letting his hair grow during his
separation).
To stay within that bubble of spirituality, the nazir cannot enter a building or facility – a "tent" as the Torah
puts it – in which a dead body is located (Negative Law 208, Lev 21:11 - Nazir must not become tameh
entering house with corpse), and neither can he come into physical contact with the dead (Negative Law
207, Num 6:7 - Nazir may not rend himself tameh (unclean) for the dead). (Y‘shua never entered
Lazarus‘ tomb, in fact he instructed Lazarus to come out. Other miracles with the dead; i.e., the 12 year old
girl – Y‘shua said that she was only sleeping; the miracle happened already before he entered, etc.)
And upon completion of the accepted term of nezirut, the nazir must bring certain sacrifices to the Temple
and shave his head (Positive Law 93, Num 6:18 - Nazir completing vow shaves his head & brings
sacrifice).
Also from Negative Law 43, Lev 19:27 - Not shaving the temples/sides of your head and Negative Law
44, Lev 19:27 - Not shaving your beard we know that He could never have trimmed his beard or shaved.
Now we sit with a picture of Y‘shua with a long hair and a beard that has never been shaved according to the
Nazarite Vow (Num 6:1ff) and the Torah, certainly not a good-looking site.
The myth that Y‘shua was a person with good looks and stood out amongst the crowds is absolutely false, in
fact the opposite is true – Isaiah 53:2-3 taken from various translations:
―For he shall grow up before him as a tender plant, and as a root out of a dry ground: he hath no form nor
comeliness; and when we shall see him, there is no beauty that we should desire him. He is despised
and rejected of men; a man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief: and we hid as it were our faces from him;
he was despised, and we esteemed him not‖. (KJV)
―My servant grew up in the LORD'S presence like a tender green shoot, sprouting from a root in dry and
sterile ground. There was nothing beautiful or majestic about his appearance, nothing to attract us to
him. He was despised and rejected-a man of sorrows, acquainted with bitterest grief. We turned our backs
on him and looked the other way when he went by. He was despised, and we did not care‖. (NLT)
―For He grew up before Him like a tender shoot, And like a root out of parched ground; He has no stately
form or majesty That we should look upon Him, Nor appearance that we should be attracted to Him.
He was despised and forsaken of men, A man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief; And like one from
whom men hide their face, He was despised, and we did not esteem Him‖. (NASB)
A Nazarene was someone who was despised and rejected. This attitude is reflected in John 1:45-46.
Nathaniel‘s question, ―Can anything good come out of Nazareth?‖ is reflecting the negative viewpoint people
had of the Nazarenes. People who were Nazarenes were people who were despised and rejected. It is as if
they told Nazarene jokes back in those days. And what did the prophets say about the Messiah? The
prophets did predict that the Messiah would be a despised and rejected individual. The best way of labeling
that is to call a person a Nazarene.
There is also not one Scripture referring to where Y‘shua drank wine or ate grapes, not even at the Last
Supper. (It must be noticed that the Nazarite vow according to the Encyclopedia.com clearly says ―His vow
was for a fixed term (though it could also be for life), at the end of which he was released‖.) And with this
I do not say that Y‘shua ever used wine, perhaps grape juice but not wine. It will be explained later in this
exegesis.
It is also interesting to note that Y‘shua even refused the ―wine‖ (vinegar, sour wine) when He was thirsty on
the crucifixion stake (Matt 27:34)
Summary of the Customs and Traditions of a Nazarite:
The Hebrew term ―Nazir‖ signifies one who is dedicated to YHWH by a vow involving abstinence from
intoxicants and cutting one‘s hair. The person who took the Nazarite Vow for a certain specified period of
time (30 days was the minimum) did not become a loner. He continued to live in human society without being
necessarily an ascetic (a person who practises rigorous self-denial as a religious discipline).