posted on Jun, 5 2020 @ 05:02 PM
“For the boy shall be a Nazirite to God from birth; and he shall begin to deliver Israel from the hand of the Philistines” (Judges ch13 vv4-5).
Before Samson was born, the angel of the Lord announced that he would be a Nazirite. For a full description of what it means to be a Nazirite, we need
to go to Numbers ch6.
We learn that a Nazirite would make a special vow to separate himself or herself to the Lord for a specified period of time. The separation would
involve keeping himself pure in several ways. At the end of this period he would make a number of offerings, including a lamb and a ram. Perhaps the
most important offering, in the original concept, was the act of shaving off his hair and adding it to the sacrificial fire. It would have been
logical, though the chapter does not mention the point, to shave his hair at the beginning of the separation period as well. Then he would be offering
the hair-growth associated with his time of purity, not tainted by anything that happened before the vow began. In other words, the offering of hair
was the symbol of a life dedicated to God, if only for a limited period.
One restriction was that the man should avoid wine or strong drink, or even grapes in any form. The parents of Samson were told, at least for the time
of his gestation, to avoid wine or strong drink, and not to eat any unclean foods. Numbers omits that last point, presumably because it was already
part of what was expected from every Israelite.
The Nazirite was also forbidden to go near a dead body during his time of separation, even to mourn a relative. “And if any man dies very suddenly
beside him” (as might happen even in the best-regulated circles) the whole time of separation up to that point becomes null and void, because it has
been defiled. The Nazirite is then obliged to shave the defiled hair, make some exculpatory offerings, and start again.
In short, the Nazirite oath is about growing hair in conditions of purity, so that it can be given as a holy offering.
The puzzle is that the rule about avoiding dead bodies could not have been applicable to Samson. It was his duty, imposed by his mission, to
kill Philistines. Every time he killed a Philistine, he was near a dead body. Why would God appoint a Nazirite for such a purpose?
I can only explain it in terms of historical development. I suggest that the Nazirite oath evolved out of what was originally a warrior’s oath.
Long hair is recognised in anthropology as a symbol of strength. When war was a matter of individual combat, warriors would have been reluctant to
cut their hair, because it would make them feel weaker. I surmise that the first version of the Nazirite oath was something like “If you give me
strength for the coming battle, I will sacrifice my hair to you afterwards, and in the meantime keep it holy by avoiding unclean things”. The format
found in Numbers would be a later, civilian version, from a time when warfare was less Homeric, but “dedicating a segment of life to God” was
recognised as a concept worth preserving.
Samson’s Nazirite status would be the warrior version. His great strength was not an arbitrary gift, but directly connected as God’s part in the
standard Nazirite arrangement. Samson was different only in that his “time of separation” was expected to last his entire life. He arranged his
hair in seven locks, because “seven” is the number that belongs to God. Another symbol of dedication. When Delilah cut his hair, that
automatically ended the “time of separation”, and that’s the reason why his strength went at the same time (as he knew in advance).
“Ask for this great deliverer now, and find him
Eyeless at Gaza at the mill with slaves,
Himself in bonds under Philistian yoke.” (“Samson Agonistes”, vv40-42, John Milton)
But the Philistines neglected to keep his head shaved. They allowed him to grow his hair again. And, as we know from the regulations in Numbers, that
amounts to making a fresh start. Samson had entered a second “time of separation”, and so of course his strength started coming back. He had not
been able to make an offering of the first batch of hair, so that had gone to waste. He was now in a position to make one great final offering, by
killing many Philistines in one blow, giving up his own life at the same time. Everybody knows the story of how he did this, by pulling down the two
central pillars of the house, his right hand on one and his left hand on the other. Standing up, with his arms outstretched, like a man being
crucified.