Do therefore … vow on them They advise St Paul to take a part in the ceremonies of a Nazarite vow. He could not go through the whole course of the observance, for these men had already for some time had the vow upon them, but it was permitted among the Jews for anyone who wished, to join in the final purification ceremonies of this vow; and this was the more readily permitted, if the person wishing to take a share, only in this concluding portion, bore the charges of the person or persons to whom he joined himself. It is significant of the intense clinging to the older ceremonial in the Jewish Church that among the Christian congregation there were men found who had taken this vow upon them. If the authorities knew of St Paul's previous observance of a like vow (Acts 18:18) they would have no scruple in urging him to take part in a similar service again. For an account of the Nazarite's vow, see Numbers 6:1-21. It is not there specified how long the observance of the vow lasted, and the time may have varied in different cases, but the final ceremonies appear to have lasted seven days.

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