Judges 13:5

13:5 Look, you will conceive and have a son. ¹  You must never cut his hair, ²  for the child will be dedicated to God ³  from birth. He will begin to deliver Israel from the power ⁴  of the Philistines.”

Numbers 6:5

6:5 “‘All the days of the vow ⁵  of his separation no razor may be used on his head ⁶  until the time ⁷  is fulfilled for which he separated himself to the Lord. He will be holy, ⁸  and he must let ⁹  the locks of hair on his head grow long.

Acts 18:18

Paul Returns to Antioch in Syria

18:18 Paul, after staying ¹⁰  many more days in Corinth, ¹¹  said farewell to ¹²  the brothers and sailed away to Syria accompanied by ¹³  Priscilla and Aquila. ¹⁴  He ¹⁵  had his hair cut off ¹⁶  at Cenchrea ¹⁷  because he had made a vow. ¹⁸ 

[13:5]  ¹ tn Another option is to translate, “you are already pregnant and will have a son.” The earlier reference to her being infertile (v. 3) suggests that her conception is still future, but it is possible that the earlier statement only reflects her perspective (as far as she is concerned, she is infertile). According to this interpretation, in v. 5 the angel reveals the truth to her – actually she has recently conceived and is now pregnant (see the translation in R. G. Boling, Judges [AB], 217). Usage favors this interpretation. The predicate adjective הָרָה (harah, “[be/become] pregnant”) elsewhere has a past (1 Sam 4:19) or present (Gen 16:11; 38:25; 2 Sam 11:5) translation value. (The usage in Isa 7:14 is debated, but a present translation is definitely possible there.) A final, but less likely possibility, is that she miraculously conceived during the angel’s speech, sometime between his statements recorded in vv. 3 and 5.

[13:5]  ² tn Heb “a razor should not go up on his head.”

[13:5]  ³ tn Or “set apart to God.” Traditionally the Hebrew term נָזִיר (nazir) has been translated “Nazirite.” The word is derived from the verb נָזַר (nazar, “to dedicate; to consecrate; to set apart”).

[13:5]  ⁴ tn Heb “hand.”

[6:5]  ⁵ tc The parallel expression in v. 8 (“all the days of his separation”) lacks the word “vow.” This word is also absent in v. 5 in a few medieval Hebrew manuscripts. The presence of the word in v. 5 may be due to dittography.

[6:5]  ⁶ sn There is an interesting parallel between this prohibition and the planting of trees. They could not be pruned or trimmed for three years, but allowed to grow free (Lev 20:23). Only then could the tree be cut and the fruit eaten. The natural condition was to be a sign that it was the Lord’s. It was to be undisturbed by humans. Since the Nazirite was to be consecrated to the Lord, that meant his whole person, hair included. In the pagan world the trimming of the beard and the cutting of the hair was often a sign of devotion to some deity.

[6:5]  ⁷ tn Heb “days.”

[6:5]  ⁸ tn The word “holy” here has the sense of distinct, different, set apart.

[6:5]  ⁹ tn The Piel infinitive absolute functions as a verb in this passage; the Piel carries the sense of “grow lengthy” or “let grow long.”

[18:18]  ⁹ tn The participle προσμείνας (prosmeina") is taken temporally.

[18:18]  ¹⁰ map For location see JP1 C2; JP2 C2; JP3 C2; JP4 C2.

[18:18]  ¹¹ tn Or “Corinth, took leave of.” Grk “saying farewell to”; the participle ἀποταξάμενος (apotaxameno") has been translated as a finite verb due to requirements of contemporary English style.

[18:18]  ¹² tn Grk “Syria, and with him.”

[18:18]  ¹³ sn See the note on Aquila in 18:2.

[18:18]  ¹⁴ tn Or “Aquila, who.” The relationship of the participle κειράμενος (keirameno") is difficult to determine. Traditionally it is taken to refer to Paul, meaning that Paul had his hair cut off because of the vow. However, due to the proximity of the noun ᾿Ακύλας (Akula") and the reversal of the normal order (Aquila and Priscilla, Acts 17:34), the participle is taken as adjectival referring to Aquila by H. Greeven, TDNT 2:777, n. 11. The later references to Paul in Jerusalem (Acts 21:23) do not resolve the problem, because the cutting of Paul’s own hair, while it may be implied, is not specifically mentioned in connection with the completion of the vows made by the other four.

[18:18]  ¹⁵ tn The word “off” is supplied in the translation to indicate that this was not a normal haircut, but the shaving of the head connected with taking the vow (see Acts 21:24).

[18:18]  ¹⁶ tn That is, “before he sailed from Cenchrea.”

[18:18]  ¹⁷ sn He had made a vow. It is debated whether this vow is a private vow of thanksgiving or the Nazirite vow, because it is not clear whether the Nazirite vow could be taken outside Jerusalem. Some have cited the Mishnah (m. Nazir 3:6, 5:4) to argue that the shaving of the hair can occur outside Jerusalem, and Josephus, J. W. 2.15.1 (2.313) is sometimes suggested as a parallel, but these references are not clear. H. Greeven, TDNT 2:777, is certain that this refers to the Nazirite vow. Regardless, it is clear that Paul reflected his pious dependence on God.