Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of Judges 13:5
For, lo, thou shalt conceive, and bear a son; and no razor shall come on his head: for the child shall be a Nazarite unto God from the womb: and he shall begin to deliver Israel out of the hand of the Philistines.
5. thou shalt conceive ] The present in Gen 16:11 RV. and Isa 7:14 RVm.; the future is more suitable here.
a Nazirite unto God ] lit. one separated unto God; this, the full term, came to be abbreviated nzr, i.e. separated, devoted, a Nazirite. It is to be noticed that (1) the consecration took effect from birth; it was not voluntary, but due to the call of God, in this respect resembling the case of the prophets, Jer 1:5, Isa 44:2; (2) it was life-long and not temporary; (3) the special sign of consecration was the unshorn hair, no razor shall come upon his head, cf. Jdg 16:17, 1Sa 1:11; this seems to have been the one essential characteristic; and (4) the object or task of the person thus devoted was to wage war and effect a deliverance. The connexion between (3) and (4) is illustrated by the custom of Arab warriors to wear the hair long when they vowed inveterate war, probably too by the long hair of the chiefs in Deborah’s Song (see on Jdg 5:2). In old Israel the Nazirite was no doubt a familiar figure; but besides Samson, the only other and not quite certain example is Samuel (1Sa 1:11), though he is not called a Nazirite till Sir 46:13 (in the Hebr., not in the Gk. text), and in Talmudic tradition ( Nazir 66 a ‘Samuel was a Nazirite according to the teaching of R. Nahara’). There was nothing ascetic about a Nazirite in the early days, as the story of Samson proves (Jdg 14:10); abstinence from wine did not become a mark of this type of devotee till a later time (Amo 2:12), and then probably as a protest against Canaanite habits (cf. the Rechabites, Jer 35:9 ff.). What was probably a later development still appears in the detailed law of the Nazirite in Numbers 6; there abstinence from wine has become the principal feature; the hair is treated as a hair-offering; instead of preserving it unshorn, the Nazirite is to shave when the period of the vow is over; the vow itself is not life-long but temporary and voluntary; and contact with a dead body is strictly forbidden, a prohibition which cannot have existed in the early days (Jdg 14:19; Jdg 15:8; Jdg 15:15; 1Sa 15:33). The obvious differences between Nazirites of Samson’s type and those of the type laid down in the law formed a topic of discussion among the Rabbis (Talmud B. Nazir 4 a, b). After the Exile temporary Nazirites were numerous down to the fall of Jerusalem ( 1Ma 3:49 ; Jos., Ant. xix. 6, 1, Wars ii. 15, 1; Act 21:23 ff.).
The treatment of the hair, whether preserved unshorn or offered as a sacrifice, is based upon a widely spread and primitive belief that the hair is a part of a man’s self; if it is never shorn, his strength is undiminished, he is intact; if it is shorn and offered at the sanctuary, it is in a measure an offering of oneself 1 [51] .
[51] See Gray, Journ. of Theol. Studies i. 201 211 (1900) and Numbers 57 ff. (1903) Frazer, Golden Bough i. 193 207; Rob. Smith, Rel. of Sem., 314 f., 462 ff.
begin to save Israel the Philistines ] In chs. 14 16, however, we find not a work of national deliverance, but intermittent feats of private revenge or daring. The view of Samson’s history indicated by this remark shews that ch. 13 must be somewhat later than 14 16. It is doubtful whether begin implies that Samson was regarded as the forerunner of Samuel and Saul in the struggle against the Philistines (Wellhausen, Composition d. Hex., p. 231; S. A. Cook, Notes on O.T. Hist., p. 34); the word probably means no more than ‘shall be the first to,’ as in Jdg 10:18.
Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges
A Nazarite – See the marginal reference. and note. The common Nazarite vow was for a limited time, like Pauls Act 18:18; Act 21:23-26. Others, like Samuel 1Sa 1:11, were Nazarites for life.
Fuente: Albert Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
Verse 5. He shall begin to deliver Israel] Samson only began this deliverance, for it was not till the days of David that the Israelites were completely redeemed from the power of the Philistines.
Fuente: Adam Clarke’s Commentary and Critical Notes on the Bible
A Nazarite; a person separated from others, and consecrated to Gods service.
He shall begin to deliver Israel; and the deliverance shall be carried on and perfected by others, as it was in part by Eli, and Samuel, and Saul; but especially by David.
Fuente: English Annotations on the Holy Bible by Matthew Poole
5. thou shalt conceive, and bear asonThis predicted child was to be a Nazarite. The mother was,therefore, for the sake of her promised offspring, required topractice the rigid abstinence of the Nazarite law (see on Nu6:2).
he shall begin to deliverIsrael out of the hand of the Philistinesa prophecyencouraging to a patriotic man; the terms of it, however, indicatedthat the period of deliverance was still to be distant.
Fuente: Jamieson, Fausset and Brown’s Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible
For, lo, thou shalt conceive and bear a son,…. Which is not only repeated for the confirmation of it, but that she might take notice that he was to be a Nazarite, and therefore must conform to everything agreeable to the law of the Nazarites, and take care that it was observed in him:
and no razor shall come on his head; to cut off the hair of it, not from the time of his birth to his death; for he was to be a perpetual Nazarite: other Nazarites during the time of their Nazariteship were not to suffer a razor to come upon them, but afterwards might; but for such an one as Samson, it was not lawful ever to suffer his hair to be cut off; see Nu 6:5
for the child shall be a Nazarite unto God from the womb; in which he was a type of Christ, who was sanctified by the Lord, separated from sinners, and called a “Nazarene”: was born of a virgin, as Samson was of a barren woman, and his birth foretold by an angel as this:
and he shall begin to deliver Israel out of the hand of the Philistines; for the salvation he wrought for Israel was not complete and perfect; it was only begun by him, and carried on in the times of Eli, Samuel, and Saul, and perfected by David. In this his antitype exceeds him, who is the author of the complete salvation of his people out of the hands of all their enemies, sin, Satan, and the world; though in this there is a great resemblance between Samson and our Lord Jesus, in that what he did he did himself alone; not at the head of an army, and with forces under him, as other judges; so Christ with his own arm, and of himself, and without others, wrought salvation for his people; see Isa 63:5.
Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible
(5) No razor shall come on his head.The law of the Nazarite is laid down in Numbers 6, and when that chapter is read as the Parashah (or first lesson) in the synagogue-worship, this account of the birth of Samson, the first recorded Nazarite, is read as the Haphtarah (or second lesson).
Shall begin to deliver.The weaknesses of Samsons own character rendered him unfit to achieve that complete deliverance which was carried out by Samuel. In the cases of Jephthah and Samson the Israelites learnt the power which rests in individual vows to display the occult and mysterious heroism of the human spirit, and to save people from sinking into the lowest depths (Ewald, 2:397). The vow became a new force of the age. In Jephthahs case it had been an isolated vow, but in Samsons it was the devotion of a life, and developed an indomitable energy and power.
Fuente: Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers (Old and New Testaments)
5. A Nazarite unto God from the womb For the law concerning Nazarites, see Num 6:1-21. The key to the divine side of Samson’s history is to be found in this Nazarite condition. Unless we keep this earnest and solemn background of his life-consecration to Jehovah in view, his buffoonery and lewdness, and even his mere feats of strength, would seem strange and inexplicable when detailed with such elaborate fulness. From the theocratic standpoint Samson was a sacred character, a great national hero; and his consecration as a Nazarite from the womb, together with his agency in delivering Israel from the Philistine yoke, is the great redeeming fact and feature of his romantic life. See note at end of chap. 16.
He shall begin to deliver Israel But he was not to complete that deliverance. His giant feats of valour were but to weaken the Philistines’ power over Israel, and prepare the way for that more pure and spotless Nazarite, Samuel, who should complete that work of national salvation. 1Sa 7:13.
Fuente: Whedon’s Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
Jdg 13:5 For, lo, thou shalt conceive, and bear a son; and no razor shall come on his head: for the child shall be a Nazarite unto God from the womb: and he shall begin to deliver Israel out of the hand of the Philistines.
Ver. 5. For the child shall be a Nazarite unto God. ] And so a type of Christ, the great votary.
And he shall begin to deliver Israel.
Fuente: John Trapp’s Complete Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
lo. Figure of speech Asterismos. App-6.
the child. Hebrew. na’ar.
a Nazarite unto God = one separate unto Elohim.
Fuente: Companion Bible Notes, Appendices and Graphics
no razor: Num 6:2, Num 6:3, Num 6:5, 1Sa 1:11
begin: 1Sa 7:13, 2Sa 8:1, 1Ch 18:1
Reciprocal: Jdg 15:20 – General Jdg 16:17 – There hath Lam 4:7 – Nazarites Mat 2:23 – He shall Act 21:24 – that they
Fuente: The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
Jdg 13:5. The child shall be a Nazarite Consecrated to Gods service in a peculiar manner. He shall begin to deliver Israel He did not complete the deliverance of the Israelites from the servile yoke of the Philistines; but the work was carried on and perfected by others, namely, by Eli, Samuel, and Saul, and especially by David. Samson galled them severely, but they still continued to oppress Israel, as they did when he was born, and the oppression continued, more or less, till the memorable victory of Ebenezer, recorded 1Sa 7:13, when they were subdued, and their tyranny of forty years ended. Thus God chooses to carry on his work gradually, and by several hands. One lays the foundation of a good work, another builds, and perhaps a third brings forth the top-stone.
Fuente: Joseph Bensons Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
13:5 For, lo, thou shalt conceive, and bear a son; and no razor shall come on his head: for the child shall be a {b} Nazarite unto God from the womb: and he shall begin to deliver Israel out of the hand of the Philistines.
(b) Meaning he should be separate from the world, and dedicated to God.