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The Difference between a Levite and a Nazarite:

• The Levite is a priest, part of a bloodline such as Eli and his sons.
  • The Jews are part of God’s bloodline of salvation and therefore can be compared to Levites.
• The Nazarite voluntarily gives vows to the Lord he performs before the priest who is the Levite.
  • The Gentiles are voluntary believers of God’s salvation and therefore can be compared to the Nazarite.
• A Levite cannot also be a Nazarite. John the Baptist was a Levite, born of the priestly line. He did not serve as priest but rather as Prophet. Therefore; there are questions as to whether he could be a Nazarite.

Possible Confusions:

• Nazareth is the home town of Jesus and not to be confused with a Nazarite.
• The Jews are part of God’s bloodline of salvation and therefore can be compared to Levites.

What is a Nazarite?

According to the law of the Nazarite no razor is allowed to be used on the head, no grapes or raisins imbibed in or eaten, nor are they allowed to touch a corpse else the vow of consecration and separation becomes broken.

• John the Baptist could NOT have been a Nazarite because by bloodline he was a Levite. According to Torah, a Levite was not allowed to become a Nazarite.
  
  • (Note: The Torah is the first five books of the Bible; namely Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers and Deuteronomy.)

People who were Nazarites:

• Samson was a Nazarite and a Judge. (Judges 13:5)
• Samuel was a Nazarite and a prophet (1 Samuel 1:11)

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The Difference between a Levite and a Priest:

• “The Levites were the tribe of Israelites descended from Levi, one of the twelve sons of Jacob. The priests of Israel were a group of qualified men from within the tribe of the Levites who had responsibility over aspects of tabernacle or temple worship. All priests were to be Levites, according to the Law, but not all Levites were priests.”
  Got Questions.Org

The Difference between a Priest and a High Priest:

• “Among these Levitical priests was the high priest. The first high priest was Aaron, the brother of Moses. His sons and their descendants were to serve as the future high priests of the nation of Israel (Exodus 29). Only the high priest was permitted to enter the Most Holy Place in the tabernacle and temple, and that only once per year on the Day of Atonement.”
  Got Questions.Org
  
• By the time of Herod, the High Priest position was up for grabs by bribery or by Herod to seduce a wife from the father.