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Most frequently in Old Testament usage,
is an appellation for one who vowed
to refrain from certain things for a period of time: “And 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” (Num. 6:13).
According to Num. 6, a lay person of either sex could take a special vow of
consecration to God’s service for a certain period of time. A “Nazarite” usually made a
vow voluntarily; however, in the case of Samson (Judg. 13:5, 7) his parents dedicated
him for life. Whether or not this idea of separation to God was distinctive alone to Israel
has been debated. Num. 6:1- 23 laid down regulatory laws pertaining to Nazaritism.
There were two kinds of “Nazarites”: the temporary and the perpetual. The first class was
much more common than the latter kind. From the Bible we have knowledge only of
Samson, Samuel, and John the Baptist as persons who were lifelong “Nazarites.”
According to the Mishna, the normal time for keeping a Nazarite vow was thirty
days; but sometimes a double vow was taken, lasting sixty days. In fact, a vow was
sometimes undertaken for a hundred days.
During the time of his vow, a “Nazarite” was required to abstain from wine and every
kind of intoxicating drink. He was also forbidden to cut the hair of his head or to
approach a dead body, even that of his nearest relative. If a “Nazarite” accidently defiled
himself, he had to undergo certain rites of purification and then had to begin the full
period of consecration over again. The “Nazarite” was “holy unto the Lord,” and he wore
upon his head a diadem of his consecration.
There is but one reference in the prophetic literature to “Nazarites”: The prophet
Amos complained that the Lord had given the Israelites, Nazarites and prophets as
spiritual leaders, but that the people “gave the Nazarites wine to drink; and commanded
the prophets, saying, Prophesy not” (Amos 2:11-12).
The New Testament occasionally refers to what appear to have been Nazarite vows.
For example, Acts 18:18 says that Paul sailed with Priscilla and Aquila, “having shorn his
head … for he had a vow” (cf. Acts 21:23-24).
TO SERVE
A. Verbs.
(
"
, 8334), “to serve, minister.” This word occurs less than 100 times in the
Old Testament. In the vast majority of instances,
appears in the form of an
infinitive or participle. When the participle is translated as a verbal noun, such as
“servant” or “minister,” it loses the connotation of duration or repetition. Another
grammatical feature of
is its usage exclusively in the intensive form.
The reader of a modern English version can no longer be aware of the distinctive
meaning of
because it and its synonym,
(or
), are both rendered
“serve” or “servant.”
-
often denotes “service” rendered in connection with Israel’s worship; about 60
of its 97 occurrences have this meaning. When Samuel was still a boy, he “… did
minister unto the Lord before Eli the priest” (1 Sam. 2:11), and the Lord called to him
while he “… ministered unto the Lord before Eli” (1 Sam. 3:1). This kind of “service”
was to honor only the Lord, for Israel was not to be “as the heathen, as the families of the
countries; to serve wood and stone” (Ezek. 20:32). In the temple of Ezekiel’s vision,