Hair Question: Chapter 5

The Nazirite Vow

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Some among us consider the Nazirite vow (Numbers 6:5) as convincing evidence that komaō means “uncut hair” rather than simply “long hair,” as all the scholars translated it. (Similar arguments are made using Ezekiel 44:20, but the same reasoning below applies to both passages).

Because this is believed to be a strong argument in support of the Uncut position, the Nazirite vow warrants special attention.

The Nazirite vow is described in Numbers 6. It was entirely voluntary, and could be undertaken by either a man or woman. One requirement of the vow-maker was that he / she was not permitted to drink any fermented drink. But another requirement is then described in Numbers 6:5. Here is that verse after having been translated into English from the Septuagint (C. L. Brenton), which was a Greek translation translated from the original Hebrew: All the days of his separation a razor shall not come upon his head, until the days be fulfilled which he vowed to the Lord: he shall be holy, cherishing the long hair [the Septuagint scholars used komen here, which is conjugated from komaō] of the head. You might ask: “How does the Uncut position use this information to substantiate the Uncut position?”

The reasoning appears to be as follows: Since “no razor” was allowed to be used on the Nazirite vow-maker’s head, and since the Septuagint scholars connected this concept to komaō (the central word of disagreement in 1 Corinthians 11), then this supposedly means that komaō always entails the concept of “not cutting the hair.”

Superficially, this reasoning may sound logical. But there are serious logical problems that emerge upon a closer examination.

First, please realize that the Nazirite vow-maker, per this passage, was required to accomplish not one, but two things: (1) Not put a razor to his / her head (i.e., not cut the hair); and, (2) Have long hair (or, per our modern day Hebrew-to-English translations: “Let his / her hair grow long”).

Again, if we don’t add to or take away from what the Bible says here, we must admit that simply “not cutting the hair” was apparently not enough; it needed also to be long. Ironically, this is exactly what the Long Hair position advocates.

Samson is the most detailed Biblical example of the Nazirite vow in action. As you likely know, Samson’s great strength existed only when his hair was long; his strength did not exist just after cutting it, when the hair was short (Judges 16:17, 22)–even though his vow had begun. In fact, later, after his hair had been cut, recall that it had to once again grow long for his great strength to return. When it was short, it was apparently not recognized by God as sufficient for his Nazirite vow to be fully accepted, just as the exact wording of Numbers 6:5 would suggest. (Note: Samuel is another example of a Nazirite vow-maker [1 Samuel 1:11], though evidently little is said about it in the Bible.)

In other words, Numbers 6:5 does not confirm the Uncut position. On the other hand, upon closer examination, it ironically lends credence to the Long Hair position instead. Why? Because if “let the hair grow long” meant only “uncut hair,” then there would have been no need to also add the requirement that “no razor is to be used on his head.” Such would have been redundant from an Uncut standpoint. From a Long Hair standpoint, such would have been entirely expected; that is, if the Holy Spirit intended that the vow-maker not only have uncut hair, but also long hair. That’s because not all uncut hair is long; in other words, uncut hair alone is unacceptable, both per Numbers 6 and per Samson’s example.

Furthermore, such reasoning does no favors for the Uncut position when we move to 1 Corinthians 11 and apply what we learned from Numbers 6:5.

Think of how simple it would have been for the Holy Spirit to say that a woman “must not put a razor to her head,” or, “do not cut the hair.” Yet, the Holy Spirit said that only for the Nazirite (first requirement), but not for the Christian woman. For the Christian woman, the requirement was only that she “have long hair,” not that she refrain from “putting a razor to her head.”

Therefore, it’s no surprise that early Christians, many of whom presumably had intimate familiarity with Greek, drew no such Uncut hair conclusions about 1 Corinthians 11 (per early Christian writings). It is also no wonder that every translation committee chose “have / has long hair” (or the like) instead of “uncut hair” (or any similar notion).

Finally, as mentioned previously, heat and/or the use of chemicals can plainly have the same effect on the hair as scissors would; indeed we see many Uncut women with hair that has been so damaged over the years by perms and curling irons that their hair is often shorter than women who trimmed their hair but were committed to keeping it long. Paradoxically, on the topic of the Nazirite vow, the traditions of the Jews also required that no chemicals be used on the hair during the time they were attempting to “let their hair grow long.” (Wikipedia: Nazirite)


Does Paul’s “Nazirite” Vow in Acts 18.18 Justify Long Hair on Men?


Please visit Does Paul’s ‘Nazirite Vow’ in Acts 18.18 Justify Long Hair on Men? for a brief examination of this question.



CHAPTER 6