Samson: Long Hair and Dead Carcasses

I must begin by praising God and sharing the good news that even for "old fogeys" like myself, God reveals himself and aspects of his character every day. As Lamentations 2:22-23 puts it:

The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases; his mercies never come to an end; they are new every morning; great is your faithfulness.

Today during a bible study I attend, we wrapped up our study on the "major" judges recorded in the book of Judges. The last major judge given considerable time and space in the text is Samson. I've studied Samson in the past for Seminary classes. I've studied Samson in the past for personal growth during daily devotions. I've created studies on Samson for the benefit of Youth Groups. I've written studies on Samson for the benefit of retirement communities. Yet today, something about Samson's life as a Nazirite was taught to me that I simply cannot pass up sharing.

Samson was to be a Nazirite from the time of his conception, birth and life. An Angel was sent from God to proclaim to Samson's mother (first) and Father Manoah (second) the good news that a son would be born to this woman who was previously sterile (Recorded in Judges 13). The particulars of Samson's status as a Nazirite are laid out first from the Angel in 13:3-5:

 3 And the angel of the Lord appeared to the woman and said to her, “Behold, you are barren and have not borne children, but you shall conceive and bear a son. 4 Therefore be careful and drink no wine or strong drink, and eat nothing unclean, 5 for behold, you shall conceive and bear a son. No razor shall come upon his head, for the child shall be a Nazirite to God from the womb, and he shall begin to save Israel from the hand of the Philistines.”

 Much of the time my own study and teaching in this passage has reflected how Samson's hair (which is continually a point of emphasis in Judges 15 and 16) is a part of his Nazirite calling to the Lord. There is more to be said on what the word נֵזֶר specifically means in Hebrew - briefly I'll cite Strong's definition:

נֶזֶר nezer, neh'-zer; or נֵזֶר nêzer; from H5144; properly, something set apart, i.e. (abstractly) dedication (of a prie[s]t or Nazirite); hence (concretely) unshorn locks; also (by implication) a chaplet (especially of royalty):—consecration, crown, hair, separation.

While there is more I wish I could say on this (including a full word study with multiple textual examples), I'll suffice here today to emphasize that a Nazirite was someone, definitively set apart for God by definition.

While the hair on Samson is often the focus of study on Samson, never previously had I focused or considered the implications from the laws surrounding Nazirite's and death/dead bodies or carcasses. You might say "weird" or "morbid", but this is no extra-biblical imposition on the text. Rather a proper exegesis of the text (developing understanding based on the text, rather than bringing understanding to the text) sees the Nazirite laws given in Numbers 6:1-21 as a foundation for understanding Samson's lifestyle, choices, and indeed, the God given purpose of the text in Judges!

Consider the following parts of Numbers 6 regarding the dead, and how Nazirite's are to do everything in their power to abstain from being near death (emphasis added):

6 The Lord said to Moses, 2 “Speak to the Israelites and say to them: ‘If a man or woman wants to make a special vow, a vow of dedication to the Lord as a Nazirite, 3 they must abstain from wine and other fermented drink and must not drink vinegar made from wine or other fermented drink. They must not drink grape juice or eat grapes or raisins. 4 As long as they remain under their Nazirite vow, they must not eat anything that comes from the grapevine, not even the seeds or skins.
5 “‘During the entire period of their Nazirite vow, no razor may be used on their head. They must be holy until the period of their dedication to the Lord is over; they must let their hair grow long.
6 “‘Throughout the period of their dedication to the Lord, the Nazirite must not go near a dead body. 7 Even if their own father or mother or brother or sister dies, they must not make themselves ceremonially unclean on account of them, because the symbol of their dedication to God is on their head. 8 Throughout the period of their dedication, they are consecrated to the Lord.
9 “‘If someone dies suddenly in the Nazirite’s presence, thus defiling the hair that symbolizes their dedication, they must shave their head on the seventh day—the day of their cleansing. 10 Then on the eighth day they must bring two doves or two young pigeons to the priest at the entrance to the tent of meeting. 11 The priest is to offer one as a sin offering and the other as a burnt offering to make atonement for the Nazirite because they sinned by being in the presence of the dead body. That same day they are to consecrate their head again. 12 They must rededicate themselves to the Lord for the same period of dedication and must bring a year-old male lamb as a guilt offering. The previous days do not count, because they became defiled during their period of dedication.

A couple of things to note here:

1. The Nazirite was to do everything possible to not be present or near dead things. Even if it was a close relative like father, mother, brother, or sister (6:7) the Nazirite was to be separate and apart from proximity to death.

2.  The separation from death extends beyond humans, as is laid out in the example of what a Nazirite ought to do, should they be accidentally or unavoidably exposed to a dead body in 6:9-12. I highlighted the word "entrance" to the tent of meeting where the sacrifice of two doves or two young pigeons would take place. The Nazirite wasn't to kill these creatures themselves, but rather bring them to the entrance to the tent of meeting (which would have been a place of sacrifice and much death, both ceremonial and actual). The Nazirite then is never commanded to go into the tent of meeting.

3. Samson's whole story arc can now be seen with this additional layer of meaning regarding his status as a Nazirite. Sure, Samson made stupid relationship decisions. Sure, Samson was proud. Sure, Samson had revenge in his heart. Sure, Samson was adulterous. Sure, Samson was ruthless. Sure, Samson was deceitful. Often times though, teaching takes place (and I confess I've done this myself!) that puts most of (if not all) the emphasis on Samson's breaking of his Nazirite vow in relationship to divulging his hair as the source of his strength to Delilah (Judges 16:15-17). This is true that Samson was foolish and breaking his Nazirite vow in allowing his hair to be cut in this manner. However, that's not the start of his unfaithfulness to his "separate" status as a Nazirite. That's the near conclusion!

4. Samson's repeated interaction with the dead, and dead bodies is now unmistakably written all over the story of Samson! In Judges 14 he kills a Lion. We may say "Ok, this was an instance he couldn't avoid, the Lion attacked him!". That may be valid, but Samson doesn't follow any of the procedures for a Nazirite should the Nazirite come into contact with the dead! We may say "He just didn't have time, he was too busy!", yet he continues his life, and even travels back again by the way of the dead Lion's carcass to scoop out honey. Interacting again with a dead body, and yet again living life with zero observance of God's commands regarding how to proceed after coming into contact with a dead body. At this point I do risk some conjecture, but I'd add that his adventure of capturing 300 foxes (Judges 15:4) would have most likely required some sort of entrapment, bait, or use of dead animal meat to ensnare the foxes. The foxes then (although we're not explicitly told) run through the fields of the Philistines causing fires, which most likely didn't end well for the foxes. Again, interacting with the dead.

5. The dead Samson interacts with aren't just that of Animals, but also of people! Perhaps most of all of Samson's adventures he's well known for his feats of death in killing Philistines. He kills 30 men in Ashkelon (14:19),  he kills 1,000 men at Ramath-Lehi with the jawbone of a Donkey - more dead people and more dead animals!! (15:14-17), and lastly, he kills around 3,000 men and women in Gaza at the temple of Dagon (16:27-30).

6. The Nazirite's were to be people set aside as special reminders and workers of the Lord's ministry of Life. They were to be apart of death in every way possible (even to the extent of being excluded from entering the tent of meeting with God!). Samson ought to have been, as a Nazirite, a minister of God's life giving grace. Samson's life was marked time and time again with a personal motive for vengeance and his favorite tool was death.

7. In spite of Samson's unfaithfulness, God was still faithful. We're told that God answered and provided for Samson after killing 1,000 men at Ramath-Lehi by giving him water and rest (15:18). We're told that God answered Samson's sacrificial prayer to "die with the Philistines" (16:30). We're told that God was at work in the midst of all of Samson's selfish motivations, lustful passions, and wrathful vengeance quests (14:4). If God can give his grace to someone as horribly unfaithful to their calling and special God-given identity in Samson as a Nazirite, God's grace is sufficient and efficient for someone as horribly unfaithful to their calling and special God-given identity in me as a Christian.

Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ who can take our motives, and our actions, and put them to good use despite and in spite of our sin.