Jesus, Joseph, and Nazirite Vows

In his contribution to Searching the Scriptures, Roger Aus examines Mark 14:25 (Jesus says, “I will never again drink the fruit of the vine until that day when I drink it new in the kingdom of God”). He takes its as a Nazirite vow to refrain from wine until His work is completed, but Aus takes an intriguingly circuitous route to get to that conclusion.

He argues convincingly that there are strong parallels between the life of Joseph and the life of Jesus, and then emphasizes that Joseph is reunited with his brothers in a feast of wine. His translation of Genesis 43:34 ends with “they drank, and they became intoxicated with him” (94). 

There is, further, a Jewish tradition that Joseph had refrained from wine until His brothers were reunited: “Joseph’s being a Nazirite in Judaic tradition is based primarily on the very similar passages concerning him in Jacob’s blessing his twelve sons just before he died (Gen 49:26), and Moses’ blessing of Israelites just before he died (Deut 33:16).” The word translated as “set apart” or “prince” is nazir, a noun that “can mean either a prince or ruler as consecrated, or a Nazirite, one who is abstinent (of wine)” (109). Once reunited with his brothers, “Joseph drank wine profusely with them at the reunion meal” (110).

Given these parallels, Aus draws the conclusion: “Just as Joseph . . . drank no wine ‘until that day’ when he was reunited with his eleven brothers and again (ate and) drank wine with them, so Jesus declares that he will not drink wine (with the twelve . . . ) ‘until that day’ when he drinks it anew in the kingdom of God” (115).

One of the side implications is a parallel between the Johannine beloved disciple and the special brother singled out at Joseph’s feast, his brother Benjamin (106).