H5144 — נָזַר (nâzar)¶

Core Data¶

Strong's: H5144
Original: נָזַר
Transliteration: nâzar
Pronunciation: naw-zar'
Part of Speech: Verb (primitive root)
Root: Cognate with נֵזֶר (nezer, H5145, "crown/consecration") and נָזִיר (nazir, H5139, "Nazirite/one separated")
Occurrences: 10 in OT (token count: 10, across 5 books)
First Occurrence: Lev 15:31 — "Thus shall ye separate (nâzar) the children of Israel from their uncleanness..."
Hapax Legomenon: No

Lexicon Definition¶

A primitive root; to hold aloof, i.e. (intransitively) abstain (from food and drink, from impurity, and even from divine worship — i.e. apostatize); specifically, to set apart (to sacred purposes), i.e. devote: — consecrate, separate(-ing, self).

The verb's semantic axis is separation from something in order to belong to something else. The same form can describe positive devotion (separation unto YHWH) or negative defection (separation from YHWH toward idols), depending on the object.

Verb Stem Distribution¶

From ETCBC/BHSA parse of all נזר verbal occurrences:

Stem	Count	Typical Meaning
Hiphil	6	to dedicate / set apart (causative: "make oneself separate," take a Nazirite vow)
Niphal	4	to separate oneself / be set apart (reflexive-passive; often of apostatizing away or consecrating toward)

No Qal occurs — the action is inherently causative or reflexive. Hiphil concentrates in the Nazirite legislation of Num 6; Niphal carries both the cultic (Lev 22:2) and pejorative-apostasy (Hos 9:10; Ezek 14:7) senses.

Translation Distribution (KJV)¶

Translation	Count	%
separate / separate themselves / separate himself	7	70%
separating (myself) / separateth	2	20%
consecrate	1	10%

Of ten occurrences, nine render with "separate" and one with "consecrate" (Num 6:12). The KJV keeps a single English root across positive and negative uses, preserving the Hebrew ambiguity.

Distribution by Book¶

Book	Count	Per 100 Verses
Numbers	5	0.39
Leviticus	2	0.23
Hosea	1	0.51
Zechariah	1	0.47
Ezekiel	1	0.08

The verb is almost entirely a Pentateuchal cultic term (7 of 10), heavily concentrated in the Nazirite law (Num 6). Its prophetic reuses (Hos, Ezek, Zech) invert the cultic sense: separation from YHWH, or separation as religious performance.

Semantic Categories¶

1. Priestly Separation from Uncleanness (cultic boundary)¶

The earliest uses cast nâzar as the discipline of keeping holy things holy by standing apart from defilement. - Lev 15:31 — "Thus shall ye separate the children of Israel from their uncleanness; that they die not..." - Lev 22:2 — "Speak unto Aaron and to his sons, that they separate themselves from the holy things of the children of Israel..."

2. Nazirite Vow — Separation Unto YHWH (devotional)¶

The core legislative use. The person vows a temporary status in which abstentions (wine, corpses, razor) symbolize total belonging to YHWH. - Num 6:2 — "When either man or woman shall separate themselves to vow a vow of a Nazarite, to separate themselves unto the LORD" - Num 6:5 — "...until the days be fulfilled, in the which he separateth himself unto the LORD, he shall be holy" - Num 6:6 — "All the days that he separateth himself unto the LORD he shall come at no dead body." - Num 6:12 — "And he shall consecrate unto the LORD the days of his separation..."

3. Abstention from Specific Substances¶

Within the vow, nâzar governs concrete disciplines — especially products of the vine. - Num 6:3 — "He shall separate himself from wine and strong drink..."

4. Apostasy — Separation Away from YHWH (pejorative)¶

The same verb describes Israel's defection, using the cultic vocabulary ironically: they "consecrated" themselves to another object. - Hos 9:10 — "they went to Baalpeor, and separated themselves unto that shame" - Ezek 14:7 — "every one of the house of Israel... which separateth himself from me, and setteth up his idols in his heart"

5. Self-imposed Ritual Observance (post-exilic)¶

A late, non-Nazirite use: to set oneself apart for religious practice (here, mourning-fasting). - Zech 7:3 — "Should I weep in the fifth month, separating myself, as I have done these so many years?"

Common Collocations¶

Word	Strong's	Co-occurrences	Typical Pattern
יִשְׂרָאֵל (Yisrâʼêl)	H3478	5× (50%)	collective object — Israel is the one to separate or from whom one separates
לֹא (lôʼ)	H3808	5× (50%)	prohibitive clauses governing Nazirite abstentions ("shall not…")
אֲשֶׁר (ʼăsher)	H834	5× (50%)	relative — "the days in which he separateth himself"
בּוֹא (bôwʼ)	H935	4× (40%)	"come [not] to a dead body / come near" — contact language
בֵּן (bên)	H1121	4× (40%)	"children of Israel" formula in priestly address
יוֹם (yôwm)	H3117	3× (30%)	"days of his separation" — temporal frame of the vow
נֶזֶר (nezer)	H5145	2× (20%)	cognate "consecration/crown" — figura etymologica (yazîr nizrô)
נֶדֶר (neder)	H5088	2× (20%)	"vow" — nâzar as the act of vowing
טָמֵא (ṭâmêʼ)	H2930	2× (20%)	defilement — the contrary pole of separation
מוּת (mûwth)	H4191	2× (20%)	death/corpse — primary defiler to be avoided
עֵנָב (ʻênâb)	H6025	2× (20%)	grapes/vine — the Nazirite's forbidden food
שָׁנֶה (shâneh)	H8141	2× (20%)	"year" — duration of the vow
נָבִיא (nâbîyʼ)	H5030	2× (20%)	prophet — cultic authority consulted (Ezek 14:7; Zech 7:3)

The collocational profile is classically Nazirite: a vow (neder) for a span of days/years in which Israel (or a son of Israel) separates from death (muth), defilement (tame'), and grapes (enab), toward his consecration (nezer).

Word Family / Cognates¶

H5139 נָזִיר (nazir) — noun: "one separated," Nazirite (also "untrimmed vine")
H5145 נֶזֶר (nezer) — noun: "consecration, crown, diadem"; the physical token of the vow (unshorn hair) and the priestly/royal diadem
H4502 מִנְּזָר (minzar) — noun: "crowned one/princely guard" (Nah 3:17)

Synonyms¶

No synonyms were returned by search_relationships.py for H5144.

Antonyms¶

No antonyms were returned by search_relationships.py for H5144.

Easily Confused Words¶

Word	Strong's	Shared Translation	Key Difference
בָּדַל (bâdal)	H914	"separate"	bâdal = divide/distinguish (e.g. light from darkness, clean from unclean); nâzar = consecrate-by-vow, set apart devotionally
קָדַשׁ (qâdash)	H6942	"consecrate / sanctify"	qâdash = make holy (general); nâzar = specifically separate by abstention and vow
פָּרַשׁ (pârash)	H6567	"separate / declare"	pârash = distinguish/make distinct; nâzar = set apart for devoted status
חָרַם (châram)	H2763	devote/separate	châram = devote to destruction (ban); nâzar = devote to living service

Semantic Domains¶

UBS / Relationship Domains¶

[002003002009] Dissociate — search_relationships.py places nazar in a core separation field, with neighbors such as אחז (H270), אַלְמֹון (H489), אַלְמָן (H488), אַלְמָנוּת (H491), and בַּד (H905/H906).
[002003003012] Non-Engage — the tool also groups nazar with abstention/cessation vocabulary such as בטל (A989/H988), דֳּמִי (H1824), דמם (H1826), הֲנָחָה (H2010), and הֲפוּגָה (H2014).
[002001002027] Unfaithful — this domain captures the prophetic apostasy side of the verb, with neighbors such as בגד (H898), בֶּגֶד (H899), בֹּגְדֹות (H900), בָּגֹוד (H901), and זנה (H2181/H2185).
[002004001009013] Vow — the Nazirite-vow field, with neighbors such as אָלָה (H423), אסר (H631), אִסָּר (H632), בוא (H935), and בְּרִית (H1285/H1286).

LXX Mapping¶

Greek Equivalent	Strong's	Co-occ / PMI	Notes
εὐχή (euchḗ) — vow, prayer	G2171	4× / PMI 7.00	Primary conceptual bridge: LXX regularly renders nâzar-contexts with εὔχομαι / εὐχή (Nazirite = one under a vow). Highest PMI.
εἰσέρχομαι (eisérchomai) — enter	G1525	3× / PMI 3.61	Tied to Num 6 "shall come (not) near" formulas
Ἰσραήλ (Israḗl)	G2474	5× / PMI 2.38	Collocation of recipient, not semantic equivalent
ἡμέρα (hēméra) — day	G2250	3× / PMI 1.99	From "days of his separation"
κύριος (kýrios) — Lord	G2962	7× / PMI 1.39	Directional object ("unto the LORD")
υἱός (huiŏs) — son	G5207	3× / PMI 1.03	"sons of Israel" collocation

There is no single verb-level Greek gloss; the LXX translates semantically, using εὔχομαι/εὐχή to render the vow aspect, ἁγνίζω/ἁγιάζω for the consecrative aspect, and ἀφορίζω for the separative aspect. The lack of a one-word bridge is itself characteristic of nâzar's specialized Hebrew cultic niche.