Judges, Ruth: Revised Edition (The NIV Application Commentary)

by K. Lawson Younger

The Nazirite vow is described in Numbers 6:1–21. It could be voluntarily taken by a male or female, for a period of time or for a lifetime. It included three basic prohibitions: • to refrain from consuming wine (yayin) or other intoxicating drink (shekar), in fact, anything from the vine (i.e., grapes, raisins, wine, and any other fermented drink like wine-vinegar, cf. Ruth 2:14; also Num 6:1–4) • to refrain from cutting one’s hair for the duration of the vow (Num 6:5) • to avoid coming into contact with a dead body (Num 6:6–12) These three marks of Samson’s separation “are curiously split between the mother and the son she is to bear, with only the prohibition against the cutting of hair being specifically applied to Samson himself.”19 Moreover, Samson’s vow is not voluntary (usually the Nazirite vow was voluntary) and is to be applied to his entire life (usually it was only for a specific period of time).20 In addition to these three marks, the angel of Yahweh appends the prohibition for Samson’s mother to consume any unclean food during her pregnancy. Since all Israelites were subject to this law, not just Nazirites, this testifies to the condition of the nation as a whole. This law, like many others, seems to have been generally disregarded by the Israelites (or at least the Danites). Thus, the fact that the woman needs to be reminded of this law suggests that it was not being observed in the manner that Yahweh intended. Interestingly, in contrast to the order in Numbe...