Numbers chapter six sets out the nazirite vow as a voluntary path of special consecration open, unusually for the ancient Israelite cultic system, to ordinary men and women rather than reserved to the hereditary priesthood, a self chosen holiness available to anyone who takes it on. The text specifies three restrictions binding for the vow's duration: abstaining entirely from wine, strong drink, grapes and anything derived from the grapevine, from cutting the hair, and from any contact with a corpse, even that of a close relative, a restriction so severe it overrides the ordinary obligation of mourning.
The nazirite vow could be taken for a fixed term the Bible does not specify a minimum for, though later rabbinic tradition generally assumed thirty days as a default absent other specification, or, more rarely, for life, the pattern followed in biblical narrative by figures such as Samson and, by later tradition, Samuel, whose mothers dedicated them as nazirites from before birth. At the vow's close a specific set of offerings was brought to the sanctuary and the nazirite's hair was shaved and burned on the altar fire beneath the peace offering, formally ending the period of consecration and returning the person to ordinary life.