Accordingly, the Nazirate of Samson is based exclusively upon his unshorn hair, and, as a matter of fact, the greatest stress is laid upon the latter in 1617, His enormous strength is bound up with his hair remaining inviolate, and that simply be- cause the presence of Jahweh is, in some mysteri- ous way, connected with the hair. After the seven locks have been cut off his head, he becomes weaker and weaker (v.2¥) ; he strives in vain to free
* In v.14 the prohibition is extended to ‘all that comes from the vine’ (as in Nu 64); but this is probably a later addition, as is indicated even by its position, before the main prohibition.
+ That it is so in v.4is clear from the fact that in v.o the closing words of y.® are repeated.
658 RELIGION OF ISRAEL
RELIGION OF ISRAEL
oe ee le ee
himself, ‘for he knew not that Jahweh was de- parted from him’ (v.”). On the other hand, when his hair had grown again, he recovered the strength for his last achievement in the destruction of the Philistines.
All this shows that the Nazirate of Samson is a condition in which he is under the influence of the spirit of Jahweh, and that this condition is con- nected with the hair of his head being unshorn. The spirit appears, indeed, to be often latent, breaking into action only on special occasions (cf. Jg 13%). Violently seized by the spirit of Jah- weh, he tears asunder the lion (14°), slaughters 30 Philistines at Ashkelon (v.!), bursts his bonds and kills 1000 Philistines with the jawbone of an ass (154), It is therefore, above all, displays of strength against the foes of his people for which the spirit of Jahweh endows him, and his Nazirate recalls certain phenomena that present themselves elsewhere, in which we have to do with vows and forms of abstinence for warlike ends.* An analogy is presented, in particular, by the Arab warriors, who vow to leave the hair of their head unshorn during the whole period of a war of revenge, and to make a fire-offering of it after revenge has been achieved. The only difference would be that in the case of Samson it was no vow for a fixed period, but a ‘perpetual warlike consecration’ (Schwally). For his proposal to enter into friendly relations with the Philistines by marriage (14'*) is expressly traced (v.4) to a providential dispensation of Jahweh, ‘because he sought an occasion [for hostilities] against the Philistines.’ This, his life- work, is pointed to from the first (v.°»). As a matter of fact, all that is related of him in ch. 15 resolves itself into a series of single combats with the Philistines. We have already noted that in this warlike Nazirate no regard is paid to abstin- ence from wine. And it is sufficiently evident from 14% that there can be as little question of avoiding unclean food.
4, We receive quite a different impression of the Nazirites from Am 2™* ‘And I raised up of your sons for prophets, and of your young men for Nazirites. . . . But ye gave the Nazirites wine to drink, and commanded the prophets, saying, Prophesy not.’ Here it is evident that the Nazir- ate is based essentially upon the prohibition of wine, and it is not easy to hold that the prohibi- tion of cutting the hair is passed over simply because it is taken for granted. We must conclude rather that in Amos we have to do with a different form of Nazirate, which reminds us strongly of the vow of the Rechabites (see below). Regarding the nature and aim of this Nazirate, we must indeed have recourse to pure conjecture. Only this much is clear from the words of Amos—since he places the Nazirites in parallelism with the prophets— that the Nazirate is a condition approved by Jah- weh and consecrated to His service. To induce the Nazirite to break his vow to abstain from wine is as great a religious enormity as to prevent the prophe? from delivering the message with which
ahweh has charged him. Further, the Nazirate here spoken of is probably thought of as life-long, as is the case with the prophetic office which appears in parallelism with it. As to the purpose, however, for which Nazirites were raised up we are quite in the dark. May it be that here again we are to think of unwearied service of Jahweh in war against the foes of His people (as, for instance, the Arameans)? Or, was the abstaining from wine meant (as in the case of the Rechabites) to be a silent protest against the seductive products of the culture of Baal’s land, and thus, at the same time, a standing allusion to Jahweh as the God of Israel?
* Cf., on this subject, above all, W. R. Smith, RS2333f., and Schwally, Semit. Kriegsaltertdimer, i. 101 ff,
In any case, we must assume that the Nazirite, prior to and during the time of Amos, had certain positive services to render in order to justify his title of ‘one consecrated to God.’
5. In connexion with these scanty testimonies to a historical Nazirate we must look also at the legal Nazirate of Nu 6. The oldest part * of this code (vv.2"8) requires, in the case of every man or woman who desires to pay the vow of a ndztr, that there shall be, for the whole period of duration of the vow, a strict abstinence from wine and every- thing that comes from the vine, as well as a careful cuarding against defilement by a corpse—even that of one’s nearest relation. But, in addition to this, the Nazirite must, during the period of his vow, leave the hair of his head unshorn, for in this, above all, according to v.’, is represented the con- secration to his God. The difference between this Nazirate and that which meets us in history is at once apparent. The characteristics encountered separately in Jg 13 and Am 2" are here combined, and a new requirement is added, namely, that of avoiding defilement by a corpse. Another new and very surprising feature is the extending of the Nazirate to women, whereas elsewhere the only place allowed to women in the cultus appears to be participation in the sacrificial meals. But in every instance we have to do only with a tempor- ary vow, not (as in the case of Samson and prob- ably also Am 2") with a life-long obligation.