For the duration of his vow he will eat nothing that comes from the vine, not even juice of unripe grapes or skins of grapes. But the two characters in the Hebrew Bible that seem to be Nazarites—Samson and Samuel—don't exactly give off that picture. John 1:13-16 New International Version "13But the angel said to him: “Do not be afraid, Zechariah; your prayer has been heard. 3.

Samson, more than once, knew that Delilah was taking his secrets and giving them to his enemy to kill him.

A Nazirite was not allowed to touch or eat grapes, and Timnah was a city full of vineyards. They could not cut their hair (Num 6:5). You shall not drink any kind of drink made from grapes or eat any grapes or raisins. This included the dead body of a father, mother, brother, or sister (Num 6:6-7). Don't drink grape juice or eat grapes or raisins--Good News Translation shall abstain from wine and beer. Even if a member of his immediate family died, … In the Hebrew Bible, a nazirite or nazarite is one who voluntarily took a vow described in Numbers 6:1–21. He must not drink any grape juice or eat fresh grapes or raisins. This vow required the person during this time to: Abstain from all wine and anything else made from grapes. 2. "Nazarite" comes from the Hebrew word נזיר nazir meaning "consecrated" or "separated". This meant they could not drink wine, vinegar, grape juice, or similar drink, nor could they eat grapes or raisins (Num 6:3-4). A Nazarite couldn’t drink wine or fermented drinks or eat grapes. 122 et seq.). From the description here in numbers, it reminds me of the desert monks, and I think of a holy hermit or some such.

They could not touch, or even go near, a dead body. Parallels to the long hair of the Nazarites are found in many parts of the world (comp. As a Nazarite, dedicated to serving God, Samson had to follow these rules for life. Because it was foretold that he would have a special assignment. Holman Christian Standard Bible he is to abstain from wine and beer. But they couldn't over power Samson. The general regulations concerning Nazarites in post-exilic times resemble, though with many differences, those of the Arabic "iḥram," the condition of one who has undertaken the pilgrimage to Mecca (comp.

They couldn’t cut their hair, hence why we associate long hair with Samson. And finally, Nazarites couldn’t go near dead bodies. Our sermon text for this morning is our first glimpse into Samson’s adult life. Wellhausen, "Reste des Arabischen Heidentums," 2d ed., pp. Last, he was not to go near a dead body, because that would make him ceremonially unclean.