“No razor shall pass over his head”
Numbers 6:5
Cultural referenceSettledGod
For the entire period of his vow of separation, no razor shall pass over his head. He must be holy until the time of his separation to the LORD is complete; he must let the hair of his head grow long. (Numbers 6:5 BSB)
* The Nazirite vow (nazir, 'separated/consecrated'); one set apart to God abstained from wine, corpses, and haircuts. Samson, Samuel, and likely John the Baptist were lifelong Nazirites.
What it sounds like today
An odd rule about not cutting your hair for religious reasons.
The cultural key
The Nazirite (from nazir, 'separated' or 'consecrated') took a vow of special devotion marked by three abstentions: no wine or grape products, no contact with a dead body, and no cutting of the hair, which grew long as the vow's visible badge. It could be taken for a set period or, in rare cases, for life. Samson and Samuel were lifelong Nazirites, and John the Baptist fits the pattern. Even Paul takes a temporary Nazirite vow in Acts, shaving his head when it ends.
Recovered meaning
The uncut hair was a walking sign that a person had set themselves apart wholly for God. A vow anyone could take, it made ordinary devotion visible, and produced some of Scripture's most dramatic figures.
Parallels: Judges 13:5; Acts 18:18