Holy Unto the Lord: The Nazarite Vow and the Atonement (2nd Ed.)

By Val Brinkerhoff

8.5 x 11 Large Format Color Photography 111 pgs

Latter-day Saints are familiar with ?covenants?, important promises between man and God, like those made at baptism and those entered into later at the temple. The covenants of the temple are especially important in bringing man in closer fellowship with God. But what of oaths or vows in scripture, and specifically the Nazarite vow? What is the Biblical Nazarite? Who were they? What were their vows and why did they make them? Here and there the scriptures speak of Nazarites; a special group of committed souls who willingly chose to set themselves apart from the larger group of believers, doing so for a specific length of time, some for life.

Nazarites often chose to separate themselves from others, both physically and spiritually. They were consecrated to God, or as Numbers 6:8 states, 'holy unto the Lord.' Nazir (or Nezer) is a Hebrew word meaning 'separated' or 'consecrated,' even 'crowned' with a diadem. Their desire appears to have been greater fellowship with God. The journey to understand the Nazarite is a journey to understand the Savior and His Atonement.