Nazarite

Boyd’s Bible Dictionary:

(separated). One bound by a temporary or life vow (Num. 6:1-21¹And the Lord spake unto Moses, saying, ²Speak unto the children of Israel, and say unto them, When either man or woman shall separate themselves to vow a vow of a Nazarite, to separate themselves unto the Lord: ³He shall separate himself from wine and strong drink, and shall drink no vinegar of wine, or vinegar of strong drink, neither shall he drink any liquor of grapes, nor eat moist grapes, or dried. ⁴All the days of his separation shall he eat nothing that is made of the vine tree, from the kernels even to the husk. ⁵All the days of the vow of his separation there shall no razor come upon his head: until the days be fulfilled, in the which he separateth himself unto the Lord, he shall be holy, and shall let the locks of the hair of his head grow. ⁶All the days that he separateth himself unto the Lord he shall come at no dead body. ⁷He shall not make himself unclean for his father, or for his mother, for his brother, or for his sister, when they die: because the consecration of his God is upon his head. ⁸All the days of his separation he is holy unto the Lord. ⁹And if any man die very suddenly by him, and he hath defiled the head of his consecration; then he shall shave his head in the day of his cleansing, on the seventh day shall he shave it. ¹⁰And on the eighth day he shall bring two turtles, or two young pigeons, to the priest, to the door of the tabernacle of the congregation: ¹¹And the priest shall offer the one for a sin offering, and the other for a burnt offering, and make an atonement for him, for that he sinned by the dead, and shall hallow his head that same day. ¹²And he shall consecrate unto the Lord the days of his separation, and shall bring a lamb of the first year for a trespass offering: but the days that were before shall be lost, because his separation was defiled. ¹³And this is the law of the Nazarite, when the days of his separation are fulfilled: he shall be brought unto the door of the tabernacle of the congregation: ¹⁴And he shall offer his offering unto the Lord, one he lamb of the first year without blemish for a burnt offering, and one ewe lamb of the first year without blemish for a sin offering, and one ram without blemish for peace offerings, ¹⁵And a basket of unleavened bread, cakes of fine flour mingled with oil, and wafers of unleavened bread anointed with oil, and their meat offering, and their drink offerings. ¹⁶And the priest shall bring them before the Lord, and shall offer his sin offering, and his burnt offering: ¹⁷And he shall offer the ram for a sacrifice of peace offerings unto the Lord, with the basket of unleavened bread: the priest shall offer also his meat offering, and his drink offering. ¹⁸And the Nazarite shall shave the head of his separation at the door of the tabernacle of the congregation, and shall take the hair of the head of his separation, and put it in the fire which is under the sacrifice of the peace offerings. ¹⁹And the priest shall take the sodden shoulder of the ram, and one unleavened cake out of the basket, and one unleavened wafer, and shall put them upon the hands of the Nazarite, after the hair of his separation is shaven: ²⁰And the priest shall wave them for a wave offering before the Lord: this is holy for the priest, with the wave breast and heave shoulder: and after that the Nazarite may drink wine. ²¹This is the law of the Nazarite who hath vowed, and of his offering unto the Lord for his separation, beside that that his hand shall get: according to the vow which he vowed, so he must do after the law of his separation. (Numbers 6:1‑21); Am. 2:11-12; Acts 21:20-26²⁰And when they heard it, they glorified the Lord, and said unto him, Thou seest, brother, how many thousands of Jews there are which believe; and they are all zealous of the law: ²¹And they are informed of thee, that thou teachest all the Jews which are among the Gentiles to forsake Moses, saying that they ought not to circumcise their children, neither to walk after the customs. ²²What is it therefore? the multitude must needs come together: for they will hear that thou art come. ²³Do therefore this that we say to thee: We have four men which have a vow on them; ²⁴Them take, and purify thyself with them, and be at charges with them, that they may shave their heads: and all may know that those things, whereof they were informed concerning thee, are nothing; but that thou thyself also walkest orderly, and keepest the law. ²⁵As touching the Gentiles which believe, we have written and concluded that they observe no such thing, save only that they keep themselves from things offered to idols, and from blood, and from strangled, and from fornication. ²⁶Then Paul took the men, and the next day purifying himself with them entered into the temple, to signify the accomplishment of the days of purification, until that an offering should be offered for every one of them. (Acts 21:20‑26)).

Concise Bible Dictionary:

This term implies “separation;” it was applied to either man or woman that vowed to separate themselves unto the Lord. Three things especially were enjoined upon the Nazarite.

1. He must not touch strong drink or anything that came of the vine: typical of turning away from sources of earthly energy and joy.

2. No razor must come upon his head: suggestive of the renunciation of self, and the giving up of natural rights and proprieties as man: (1 Cor. 11:7,14⁷For a man indeed ought not to cover his head, forasmuch as he is the image and glory of God: but the woman is the glory of the man. (1 Corinthians 11:7)
¹⁴Doth not even nature itself teach you, that, if a man have long hair, it is a shame unto him? (1 Corinthians 11:14)).

3. He must not touch any dead body: typical of avoiding contact with moral defilement, the sphere of death and alienation from God brought about through sin. The point of the Nazarite was to live to God.

If anyone died suddenly near to a Nazarite, he was defiled: he had to shave his head, offer sacrifices, and commence all again. When the period of his separation was fulfilled, he was to offer a burnt offering, a sin offering, a peace offering, a meat offering, and a drink offering, with the addition of the offerings made at the consecration of the priests. He was to shave his head and burn the hair in the fire which was under the peace offering: type of the full communion, which is the result of the sacrifice of Christ (Num. 6:1-21¹And the Lord spake unto Moses, saying, ²Speak unto the children of Israel, and say unto them, When either man or woman shall separate themselves to vow a vow of a Nazarite, to separate themselves unto the Lord: ³He shall separate himself from wine and strong drink, and shall drink no vinegar of wine, or vinegar of strong drink, neither shall he drink any liquor of grapes, nor eat moist grapes, or dried. ⁴All the days of his separation shall he eat nothing that is made of the vine tree, from the kernels even to the husk. ⁵All the days of the vow of his separation there shall no razor come upon his head: until the days be fulfilled, in the which he separateth himself unto the Lord, he shall be holy, and shall let the locks of the hair of his head grow. ⁶All the days that he separateth himself unto the Lord he shall come at no dead body. ⁷He shall not make himself unclean for his father, or for his mother, for his brother, or for his sister, when they die: because the consecration of his God is upon his head. ⁸All the days of his separation he is holy unto the Lord. ⁹And if any man die very suddenly by him, and he hath defiled the head of his consecration; then he shall shave his head in the day of his cleansing, on the seventh day shall he shave it. ¹⁰And on the eighth day he shall bring two turtles, or two young pigeons, to the priest, to the door of the tabernacle of the congregation: ¹¹And the priest shall offer the one for a sin offering, and the other for a burnt offering, and make an atonement for him, for that he sinned by the dead, and shall hallow his head that same day. ¹²And he shall consecrate unto the Lord the days of his separation, and shall bring a lamb of the first year for a trespass offering: but the days that were before shall be lost, because his separation was defiled. ¹³And this is the law of the Nazarite, when the days of his separation are fulfilled: he shall be brought unto the door of the tabernacle of the congregation: ¹⁴And he shall offer his offering unto the Lord, one he lamb of the first year without blemish for a burnt offering, and one ewe lamb of the first year without blemish for a sin offering, and one ram without blemish for peace offerings, ¹⁵And a basket of unleavened bread, cakes of fine flour mingled with oil, and wafers of unleavened bread anointed with oil, and their meat offering, and their drink offerings. ¹⁶And the priest shall bring them before the Lord, and shall offer his sin offering, and his burnt offering: ¹⁷And he shall offer the ram for a sacrifice of peace offerings unto the Lord, with the basket of unleavened bread: the priest shall offer also his meat offering, and his drink offering. ¹⁸And the Nazarite shall shave the head of his separation at the door of the tabernacle of the congregation, and shall take the hair of the head of his separation, and put it in the fire which is under the sacrifice of the peace offerings. ¹⁹And the priest shall take the sodden shoulder of the ram, and one unleavened cake out of the basket, and one unleavened wafer, and shall put them upon the hands of the Nazarite, after the hair of his separation is shaven: ²⁰And the priest shall wave them for a wave offering before the Lord: this is holy for the priest, with the wave breast and heave shoulder: and after that the Nazarite may drink wine. ²¹This is the law of the Nazarite who hath vowed, and of his offering unto the Lord for his separation, beside that that his hand shall get: according to the vow which he vowed, so he must do after the law of his separation. (Numbers 6:1‑21)).

The Nazarite was specially raised up of God as the vessel of His power on behalf of the people when the pressure under which they were suffering was from enemies within their own border (as the Philistines), and when owing to the moral condition of the people it was not possible for God to interfere in ordinary ways of deliverance. The Nazarite was marked on the one hand by a special energy of the Spirit of God, but on the other by rigid separation from the natural sources of excitement, the proprieties and the moral corruption which were connected with the life of the people. We see this in John the Baptist.

Samson was a Nazarite from his birth. Before he was born it was declared that no razor must come on his head. His mission was to deliver Israel from the hand of the Philistines. Samson betrayed his secret, but sealed his mission by his own death (Judg. 13:1-5¹And the children of Israel did evil again in the sight of the Lord; and the Lord delivered them into the hand of the Philistines forty years. ²And there was a certain man of Zorah, of the family of the Danites, whose name was Manoah; and his wife was barren, and bare not. ³And the angel of the Lord appeared unto the woman, and said unto her, Behold now, thou art barren, and bearest not: but thou shalt conceive, and bear a son. ⁴Now therefore beware, I pray thee, and drink not wine nor strong drink, and eat not any unclean thing: ⁵For, 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. (Judges 13:1‑5)).

Christ was morally the true Nazarite; He was the holy one, and instead of having earthly joy He was emphatically “the man of sorrows” when here, but also He has died to sin and lives to God. He answered to all the sacrifices, but the day is approaching when He will drink wine anew in the kingdom, as He said in Matthew 26:29²⁹But I say unto you, I will not drink henceforth of this fruit of the vine, until that day when I drink it new with you in my Father's kingdom. (Matthew 26:29); and be able to say to others, “Eat, O friends; drink, yea, drink abundantly, O beloved.” Christians also are Nazarites to God, not because of any vow, but as sanctified in Christ Jesus. He said, “For their sakes I sanctify Myself, that they also might be sanctified through the truth” (John 17:19¹⁹And for their sakes I sanctify myself, that they also might be sanctified through the truth. (John 17:19); 1 Cor. 1:2²Unto the church of God which is at Corinth, to them that are sanctified in Christ Jesus, called to be saints, with all that in every place call upon the name of Jesus Christ our Lord, both theirs and ours: (1 Corinthians 1:2)).

Strong’s Dictionary of Hebrew Words:

Number:

5139 (find all occurrences in KJV Bible)

Transliteration:

naziyr

Phonic:

naw-zeer’

Meaning:

or nazir {naw-zeer'}; from 5144; separate, i.e. consecrated (as prince, a Nazirite); hence (figuratively from the latter) an unpruned vine (like an unshorn Nazirite)

KJV Usage:

Nazarite (by a false alliteration with Nazareth), separate(-d), vine undressed

Jackson’s Dictionary of Scripture Proper Names:

separated

Potts’ Bible Proper Names:

Separated:―one consecrated to God by a vow, Num. 6:2. {Separatus}

From Manners and Customs of the Bible:

Acts 21:23-24²³Do therefore this that we say to thee: We have four men which have a vow on them; ²⁴Them take, and purify thyself with them, and be at charges with them, that they may shave their heads: and all may know that those things, whereof they were informed concerning thee, are nothing; but that thou thyself also walkest orderly, and keepest the law. (Acts 21:23‑24). We have four men which have a vow on them; them take, and purify thyself with them, and be at charges with them, that they may shave their heads.

1. The custom of making vows to God is very ancient. We read of it as far back as the days of Job. Eliphaz refers to it in Job 22:27²⁷Thou shalt make thy prayer unto him, and he shall hear thee, and thou shalt pay thy vows. (Job 22:27). Jacob practiced it. Genesis 28:20-22; 31:13²⁰And Jacob vowed a vow, saying, If God will be with me, and will keep me in this way that I go, and will give me bread to eat, and raiment to put on, ²¹So that I come again to my father's house in peace; then shall the Lord be my God: ²²And this stone, which I have set for a pillar, shall be God's house: and of all that thou shalt give me I will surely give the tenth unto thee. (Genesis 28:20‑22)
¹³I am the God of Beth-el, where thou anointedst the pillar, and where thou vowedst a vow unto me: now arise, get thee out from this land, and return unto the land of thy kindred. (Genesis 31:13). We read in later times of the vows of Jephthah, (Judges 11:30-31³⁰And Jephthah vowed a vow unto the Lord, and said, If thou shalt without fail deliver the children of Ammon into mine hands, ³¹Then it shall be, that whatsoever cometh forth of the doors of my house to meet me, when I return in peace from the children of Ammon, shall surely be the Lord's, and I will offer it up for a burnt offering. (Judges 11:30‑31);) Hannah (1 Sam. 1:11¹¹And she vowed a vow, and said, O Lord of hosts, if thou wilt indeed look on the affliction of thine handmaid, and remember me, and not forget thine handmaid, but wilt give unto thine handmaid a man child, then I will give him unto the Lord all the days of his life, and there shall no razor come upon his head. (1 Samuel 1:11)) and Absalom (2 Sam. 15:8-9⁸For thy servant vowed a vow while I abode at Geshur in Syria, saying, If the Lord shall bring me again indeed to Jerusalem, then I will serve the Lord. ⁹And the king said unto him, Go in peace. So he arose, and went to Hebron. (2 Samuel 15:8‑9)) though the last-mentioned probably pretended to vow for the purpose of’ furthering his rebellion. Heathens vowed as well as Jews.

See Jeremiah 44:25²⁵Thus saith the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel, saying; Ye and your wives have both spoken with your mouths, and fulfilled with your hand, saying, We will surely perform our vows that we have vowed, to burn incense to the queen of heaven, and to pour out drink offerings unto her: ye will surely accomplish your vows, and surely perform your vows. (Jeremiah 44:25); Jonah 1:16¹⁶Then the men feared the Lord exceedingly, and offered a sacrifice unto the Lord, and made vows. (Jonah 1:16).

Vows usually involved free-will offerings to be given to God as a recognition of his goodness, either subsequent to the reception of blessings desired, or in anticipation of them. There was no law compelling any one to make vows, but, when once made, they came within the limit of the law, and their fulfillment became obligatory. See Numbers 30:2²If a man vow a vow unto the Lord, or swear an oath to bind his soul with a bond; he shall not break his word, he shall do according to all that proceedeth out of his mouth. (Numbers 30:2); Deuteronomy 23:21-22²¹When thou shalt vow a vow unto the Lord thy God, thou shalt not slack to pay it: for the Lord thy God will surely require it of thee; and it would be sin in thee. ²²But if thou shalt forbear to vow, it shall be no sin in thee. (Deuteronomy 23:21‑22); Judges 11:35,39³⁵And it came to pass, when he saw her, that he rent his clothes, and said, Alas, my daughter! thou hast brought me very low, and thou art one of them that trouble me: for I have opened my mouth unto the Lord, and I cannot go back. (Judges 11:35)
³⁹And it came to pass at the end of two months, that she returned unto her father, who did with her according to his vow which he had vowed: and she knew no man. And it was a custom in Israel, (Judges 11:39); Proverbs 20:25²⁵It is a snare to the man who devoureth that which is holy, and after vows to make inquiry. (Proverbs 20:25); Ecclesiastes 5:4-5⁴When thou vowest a vow unto God, defer not to pay it; for he hath no pleasure in fools: pay that which thou hast vowed. ⁵Better is it that thou shouldest not vow, than that thou shouldest vow and not pay. (Ecclesiastes 5:4‑5).

The offerings to be devoted to the service of God in the fulfillment of vows were houses or land; animals for sacrifice; or the person of the one making the vow, his child, or his slave. These personal offerings could be redeemed (see Lev. 25:1-7¹And the Lord spake unto Moses in mount Sinai, saying, ²Speak unto the children of Israel, and say unto them, When ye come into the land which I give you, then shall the land keep a sabbath unto the Lord. ³Six years thou shalt sow thy field, and six years thou shalt prune thy vineyard, and gather in the fruit thereof; ⁴But in the seventh year shall be a sabbath of rest unto the land, a sabbath for the Lord: thou shalt neither sow thy field, nor prune thy vineyard. ⁵That which groweth of its own accord of thy harvest thou shalt not reap, neither gather the grapes of thy vine undressed: for it is a year of rest unto the land. ⁶And the sabbath of the land shall be meat for you; for thee, and for thy servant, and for thy maid, and for thy hired servant, and for thy stranger that sojourneth with thee, ⁷And for thy cattle, and for the beast that are in thy land, shall all the increase thereof be meat. (Leviticus 25:1‑7)) so also could houses and land (Lev. 27:14-25¹⁴And when a man shall sanctify his house to be holy unto the Lord, then the priest shall estimate it, whether it be good or bad: as the priest shall estimate it, so shall it stand. ¹⁵And if he that sanctified it will redeem his house, then he shall add the fifth part of the money of thy estimation unto it, and it shall be his. ¹⁶And if a man shall sanctify unto the Lord some part of a field of his possession, then thy estimation shall be according to the seed thereof: an homer of barley seed shall be valued at fifty shekels of silver. ¹⁷If he sanctify his field from the year of jubilee, according to thy estimation it shall stand. ¹⁸But if he sanctify his field after the jubilee, then the priest shall reckon unto him the money according to the years that remain, even unto the year of the jubilee, and it shall be abated from thy estimation. ¹⁹And if he that sanctified the field will in any wise redeem it, then he shall add the fifth part of the money of thy estimation unto it, and it shall be assured to him. ²⁰And if he will not redeem the field, or if he have sold the field to another man, it shall not be redeemed any more. ²¹But the field, when it goeth out in the jubilee, shall be holy unto the Lord, as a field devoted; the possession thereof shall be the priest's. ²²And if a man sanctify unto the Lord a field which he hath bought, which is not of the fields of his possession; ²³Then the priest shall reckon unto him the worth of thy estimation, even unto the year of the jubilee: and he shall give thine estimation in that day, as a holy thing unto the Lord. ²⁴In the year of the jubilee the field shall return unto him of whom it was bought, even to him to whom the possession of the land did belong. ²⁵And all thy estimations shall be according to the shekel of the sanctuary: twenty gerahs shall be the shekel. (Leviticus 27:14‑25)). Animals for sacrifice were not redeemable (Lev. 27:9-10,33⁹And if it be a beast, whereof men bring an offering unto the Lord, all that any man giveth of such unto the Lord shall be holy. ¹⁰He shall not alter it, nor change it, a good for a bad, or a bad for a good: and if he shall at all change beast for beast, then it and the exchange thereof shall be holy. (Leviticus 27:9‑10)
³³He shall not search whether it be good or bad, neither shall he change it: and if he change it at all, then both it and the change thereof shall be holy; it shall not be redeemed. (Leviticus 27:33)).

Besides the texts above mentioned, vows are referred to in Psalm 22:25; 50:14; 56:12; 66:13; 116:14,18²⁵My praise shall be of thee in the great congregation: I will pay my vows before them that fear him. (Psalm 22:25)
¹⁴Offer unto God thanksgiving; and pay thy vows unto the most High: (Psalm 50:14)
¹²Thy vows are upon me, O God: I will render praises unto thee. (Psalm 56:12)
¹³I will go into thy house with burnt offerings: I will pay thee my vows, (Psalm 66:13)
¹⁴I will pay my vows unto the Lord now in the presence of all his people. (Psalm 116:14)
¹⁸I will pay my vows unto the Lord now in the presence of all his people, (Psalm 116:18); Isaiah 19:21²¹And the Lord shall be known to Egypt, and the Egyptians shall know the Lord in that day, and shall do sacrifice and oblation; yea, they shall vow a vow unto the Lord, and perform it. (Isaiah 19:21); Nahum 1:15¹⁵Behold upon the mountains the feet of him that bringeth good tidings, that publisheth peace! O Judah, keep thy solemn feasts, perform thy vows: for the wicked shall no more pass through thee; he is utterly cut off. (Nahum 1:15).

2. The vow specially alluded to in the text is supposed by most commentators to be the vow of the Nazarite. The origin of this peculiar vow is unknown, and even the etymology of the word is disputed, though most authorities derive it from nazar, to “consecrate,” to “separate.” The law regulating it is found in the sixth chapter of the book of Numbers, where the subject is treated, not as a novelty, but as a well-established custom.

The Nazarite vow was a consecration to the Lord. There were a few instances in which this consecration was for life. Persons thus set apart were called “Nazarites of perpetuity.” Samson was one of these. See Judges 13:4-5⁴Now therefore beware, I pray thee, and drink not wine nor strong drink, and eat not any unclean thing: ⁵For, 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. (Judges 13:4‑5). So was Samuel. See 1 Samuel 1:11¹¹And she vowed a vow, and said, O Lord of hosts, if thou wilt indeed look on the affliction of thine handmaid, and remember me, and not forget thine handmaid, but wilt give unto thine handmaid a man child, then I will give him unto the Lord all the days of his life, and there shall no razor come upon his head. (1 Samuel 1:11). John Baptist is also thought to have been a Nazarite for life. See Luke 1:15¹⁵For he shall be great in the sight of the Lord, and shall drink neither wine nor strong drink; and he shall be filled with the Holy Ghost, even from his mother's womb. (Luke 1:15).

The Nazarites generally were, however, limited in the duration of the obligation imposed by their vow. These were called “Nazarites of days.” The ordinary time was thirty days, but sometimes it extended to sixty, or even to a hundred, days. During the time the obligation lasted the Nazarite was to be separate in three particulars: 1. He was not to partake of wine or strong drink in any form. 2. He was not to allow his hair to be cut. 3. He was not to come in contact with a dead body.

At the close of his term of separation the Nazarite was to perform certain ceremonies, which are detailed in Numbers 6:13-21¹³And this is the law of the Nazarite, when the days of his separation are fulfilled: he shall be brought unto the door of the tabernacle of the congregation: ¹⁴And he shall offer his offering unto the Lord, one he lamb of the first year without blemish for a burnt offering, and one ewe lamb of the first year without blemish for a sin offering, and one ram without blemish for peace offerings, ¹⁵And a basket of unleavened bread, cakes of fine flour mingled with oil, and wafers of unleavened bread anointed with oil, and their meat offering, and their drink offerings. ¹⁶And the priest shall bring them before the Lord, and shall offer his sin offering, and his burnt offering: ¹⁷And he shall offer the ram for a sacrifice of peace offerings unto the Lord, with the basket of unleavened bread: the priest shall offer also his meat offering, and his drink offering. ¹⁸And the Nazarite shall shave the head of his separation at the door of the tabernacle of the congregation, and shall take the hair of the head of his separation, and put it in the fire which is under the sacrifice of the peace offerings. ¹⁹And the priest shall take the sodden shoulder of the ram, and one unleavened cake out of the basket, and one unleavened wafer, and shall put them upon the hands of the Nazarite, after the hair of his separation is shaven: ²⁰And the priest shall wave them for a wave offering before the Lord: this is holy for the priest, with the wave breast and heave shoulder: and after that the Nazarite may drink wine. ²¹This is the law of the Nazarite who hath vowed, and of his offering unto the Lord for his separation, beside that that his hand shall get: according to the vow which he vowed, so he must do after the law of his separation. (Numbers 6:13‑21). Among other things, he was to cut off his hair and put it into the fire of the peace offering. After the wave offering was presented he might drink wine. In addition to the usual offerings required by the law, it was customary for those who were able to give something to help the poorer Nazarites procure their regular offerings. Paul is supposed to have complied with this custom, thus “being at charges with them,” and enabling them to finish the term of their vows by shaving their heads. This will explain, not only the text, but also verse 26. In this way the apostle was able to show to his sensitive Jewish brethren that he did not mean to “forsake Moses.” Paul’s vow, which is spoken of in Acts 18:18¹⁸And Paul after this tarried there yet a good while, and then took his leave of the brethren, and sailed thence into Syria, and with him Priscilla and Aquila; having shorn his head in Cenchrea: for he had a vow. (Acts 18:18), is also thought by many commentators to have been a Nazarite vow, though some dispute this view.

Various theories have been devised in explanation of this singular custom of the Nazarite. Perhaps none is more satisfactory than that which represents it to be the “typical representation of a holy life.” Fairbairn says: “It sets forth in a striking and beautiful manner the leading features of a life devoted to God. It originates in a solemn resolve of the free-will, and is in this respect an interesting emblem of a godly life, which is the spontaneous outgoing of a heart renewed by the Spirit of God” (Imperial Bible Dictionary, s. v. Nazarite. See also Fairbarin's Typology, vol. 2, p. 346).

A resemblance to at least one of the practices of the Nazarites may be found in the customs of other ancient nations besides the Jews. (The authorities are given in Winer, Biblisches Realwörterbuch, s. v. Nasiraer.) Among the Egyptians, Syrians, Greeks, Romans and Arabs, it was customary in times of impending peril to consecrate the hair and beard to the gods. Morier gives a singular illustration of a similar practice among the modern Persians. Speaking of customs concerning young children, he says: “It frequently happens after the birth of a son that if the parent be in distress, or the child be sick, or that there be any other cause of grief; the mother makes a vow that no razor shall come upon the child’s head for a certain period of time, and sometimes for all his life. If the child recovers and the cause of grief be removed, and if the vow be but for a time, so that the mother’s vow be fulfilled, then she shaves his head at the end of the time prescribed, makes a small entertainment, collects money and other things from her relations and friends, which are sent as Nezers (offerings) to the mosque at Kerbelah, and are there consecrated” (Second Journey, p. 108).