“A Nazirite from the womb”
For behold, you will conceive and give birth to a son. And no razor shall come over his head, because the boy will be a Nazirite to God from the womb, and he will begin the deliverance of Israel from the hand of the Philistines. (Judges 13:5 BSB)
What it sounds like today
A special baby dedicated to God, with a rule about haircuts.
The cultural key
The Nazirite vow (Numbers 6) was normally temporary and self-chosen, marked by three abstentions: no wine, no contact with the dead, and no cutting the hair. Samson's case is different and heavier: he is consecrated a lifelong Nazirite by God before birth, the uncut hair being the visible badge of a consecration he never chose. The tragedy of his story is that he treats the vow carelessly, feasting, touching carcasses, chasing Philistine women, until only the uncut hair remains, and when even that is lost, the last sign of his set-apart life is gone. Note too that he will only 'begin' the deliverance; the rescue stays unfinished.
Recovered meaning
Samson is set apart to God from the womb, his uncut hair the standing sign of a holy calling he did not ask for and would not honor. The unraveling of that one remaining vow becomes the engine of his downfall.