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JUDGES 16:17 — KING JAMES VERSION 0 1
Judg 16:16Judg 16:18
That he told her all his heart, and said unto her, There hath not come a razor upon mine head; for I have been a Nazarite unto God from my mother’s womb: if I be shaven, then my strength will go from me, and I shall become weak, and be like any other man.
He then tells her all his heart, and says to her: ``No razor has ever come upon my head, for I have been a Nazirite to God from the womb of my mother. If I am shaved, my strength will leave me, and I shall become weak and be like any other man'' (וַיַּגֶּד־לָהּ אֶת־כׇּל־לִבּוֹ וַיֹּאמֶר לָהּ עַל־רֹאשִׁי לֹא עָלָה מוֹרָה כִּי נְזִיר־אֱלֹהִים אֲנִי מִבֶּטֶן אִמִּי אִם־גֻּלַּחְתִּי וְסָרָה כֹּחִי מִמֶּנִּי וְדָלֹתִי וְהָיִיתִי כְכׇל־הָאָדָם). The secret is finally revealed: his Nazirite status and uncut hair constitute the visible sign and perhaps the condition of his divine strength. The phrase ``no razor has ever come upon my head'' (לֹא עָלָה מוֹרָה) emphasizes the absolute inviolability of his hair as the covenant sign. His identification as a ``Nazirite to God from the womb of my mother'' (נְזִיר־אֱלֹהִים אֲנִי מִבֶּטֶן אִמִּי) recalls the angel's promise to his mother (13:5); yet where that promise was framed as a divine commission to deliver Israel from Philistines, Samson frames it as a personal consecration whose violation brings personal weakness. The connection between external sign and internal power is not explained; the narrative presents it as absolute fact.
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Judges 16:17 — Community Reflections | HolyStudy