Numbers 6:5

Hebrew Bible

3 he must separate himself from wine and strong drink; he must drink neither vinegar made from wine nor vinegar made from strong drink, nor may he drink any juice of grapes, nor eat fresh grapes or raisins. 4 All the days of his separation he must not eat anything that is produced by the grapevine, from seed to skin. 5 “‘All the days of the vow of his separation no razor may be used on his head until the time is fulfilled for which he separated himself to the Lord. He will be holy, and he must let the locks of hair on his head grow long. 6 “‘All the days that he separates himself to the Lord he must not contact a dead body. 7 He must not defile himself even for his father or his mother or his brother or his sister if they die, because the separation for his God is on his head.

Judges 16:17

Hebrew Bible

15 She said to him, “How can you say, ‘I love you,’ when you will not share your secret with me? Three times you have deceived me and have not told me what makes you so strong.” 16 She nagged him every day and pressured him until he was sick to death of it. 17 Finally he told her his secret. He said to her, “My hair has never been cut, for I have been dedicated to God from the time I was conceived. If my head were shaved, my strength would leave me; I would become weak and be just like all other men. 18 When Delilah saw that he had told her his secret, she sent for the rulers of the Philistines, saying, “Come up here again, for he has told me his secret.” So the rulers of the Philistines went up to visit her, bringing the silver in their hands. 19 She made him go to sleep on her lap and then called a man in to shave off the seven braids of his hair. She made him vulnerable and his strength left him.

 Notes and References

"... God’s faithfulness in saving his ‘people’ is clear but Samson’s unfaithfulness is alarming. Samson succeeds in breaking just about every parts of his Nazirite vow to God: he drinks alcohol (Judges 14:5, 10; compare Numbers 6:3); he touches the carcass of a dead animal (14:8; compare Numbers 6:6–8); and lastly he allows his hair to be cut (Judges 16:15–22; compare Numbers 6:5–6). Furthermore, he is regularly in contact with the inhabitants of the country, which was forbidden from the beginning (2:1–5; 3:6). The only time that God’s spirit apparently left him was when his hair was cut off ..."

le Roux, Magdel 'To See or not to See, That is the Question': Judges 13-16 (pp. 1-9) Pharos Journal of Theology, Vol. 101, 2020

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