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‘Nazarene’: Was Yeshua a Nazir?
There is a lot of debate over what was meant by this:
[Yosef with Miriam] came and lived in a city called Nazareth. This was to fulfill what was spoken through the prophets: “He shall be called a Nazarene.”
Matthew 2:23 NASB 1995
Unlike other citations from the TaNaKh1 in the Gospels, here there is no writer or prophet named nor use of λέγων legon (“saying”) to denote a quotation, so this reference is thought to be a paraphrase drawn from multiple prophets.2
And contrary to what was required for the vow of a Nazir, Yeshua never claimed to abstain from grapes or alcohol, but rather acted contrary (Matt. 11:16-19; John 2:9; 4:46; Luke 22:20; Mark 14:25).
The tension between Yeshua’s actions and statement that He was not out to abolish the Torah (Matt. 5:17-19), leads scholars to suggest that Nazoraios/Nazarenos refers to either Natzeret (“Nazareth”) or the netzer (“branch,” later tzemach, or “sprout”) of messianic prophecy (Isaiah 11:1; Jeremiah 23:5, 33:15; Zechariah 3:8, 6:12). Or Nazoraios could be a combination of both possibilities.3
“Then the LORD spoke to Moses, saying, “Command the sons of Israel that they send away from the camp every leper and everyone having a discharge and everyone who is unclean because of a dead person. “You shall send away both male and female; you shall send them outside the camp so that they will not defile their camp where I dwell in their midst.” The sons of Israel did so and sent them outside the camp; just as the LORD had spoken to Moses, thus the sons of Israel did.” (Numbers 5:1–4 NAS95)
This Torah portion was revealed a year after the revelation of the law on Mt. Sinai. This is the first example in the Torah of Israelites being physically removed and rejected from the community because of leprosy, uncontrolled discharges or uncleanliness due to exposure to a dead body. They are now starting to put into practice the laws they learned. This isolation of the diseased or potentially diseased is a serious issue.
As I was reading this, I had sympathy for those who found them removed from the community at this time. I thought about the spiritual lessons that one could learn from this story. These people who were exposed to disease were not able to live among the pure, who were not diseased. Something else that came to mind is that good does not corrupt evil but evil corrupts good. This is why holiness and unholiness can’t abide well together.
Isolating these people on the physical realm has a spiritual component and a spiritual lesson. We should avoid close companionship with those who are in sin, because, as Aesop said, we are known by the company we keep.
Navigating Rejection: Lessons from the Sotah Ritual
We can either respond to this with anger and bitterness because of rejection or we can respond with introspection and humility. We are supposed to understand that rejection is such a profound soul injury that we will do whatever we can do to avoid it.
The test of the sotah, at its core, is a spiritual test, not a physical test. God’s name is written on a piece of parchment and then scrapped and put into water and she has to face drinking God’s name. If she has any respect for God, it gives her an opportunity to confess her sin rather than incur a curse for it. If she confesses, she is given a divorce. If she doesn’t confess, drinks in the curse and is actually guilty, then she bears the consequences of her sin. If she drinks the curse in innocence, she is exonerated and her purity is supernaturally confirmed by God Himself. However, I would think that first night at home would be a very unpleasant experience for the husband having publicly accused his wife of a horrible crime.
Understanding the Nazarite Vow Through the Lives of Biblical Figures
There are three main prohibitions a nazarite must follow and we have a few examples of how the nazarite vow in practice in the Scriptures in the lives of Samson, Samuel, John the Baptist.
There are a few points I want to address regarding how Samson specifically observed his Nazarite vow. The Torah indicates that Nazarites can participate in certain minor temple ceremonies, but the primary purpose for Israelites to undertake the Nazarite vow was to dedicate themselves to God, not for personal gain.
What does abstaining from grapes and wine actually do for one’s vow? What does having long hair mean either physically or spiritually? What does it mean to avoid being around any dead corpse mean?
Both Samson and Samuel killed people with their own hands, so how does killing someone affect the validity of their nazarite vow?
Samson’s Nazarite Vow: Divine Control and Personal Struggle
I am focusing my attention in today’s talk on the issue of the Nazarite requirement to abstain from grapes, raisins, vinegar, and wine. Messiah Yeshua, who was nicknamed the Nazarite, because he grew up in the village of Nazareth, was the opposite of a Nazarite, not only did He drink wine on occasion, He actually made wine. He touched dead people before, actually raising people from the dead.
Yeshua literally dedicated His life to do whatever God told Him to do in complete obedience, so obviously God did not hate grapes or alcohol. After all, he made the fermentation process that makes alcohol possible. In Roman times, wine and other alcohol beverages were commonly used for medicinal purposes.
Since grapes and alcoholic products are not evil in and of themselves, why is abstinence a requirement for a nazarite? One clue about the prohibition is found in Leviticus 10:8-11, God also requires that priests not work in the Temple while under the influence of alcohol because He wants them to exercise proper discernment and to be able to make distinctions between holy and unholy and clean and unclean.
During Samson’s entire life, his body wasn’t really his own. It didn’t really belong to him. God’s spirit would come upon Samson when God wanted to do so, not necessarily when Samson wanted Him to show up. Samson was literally a slave to God, but his personal life was an utter disaster.
Grapes of Wrath: Connecting Revelation 14 to Nazarite Prohibitions
I wonder if there’s a connection between the prohibition of grape products and the “grapes of wrath” we read about in Revelation 14
“And another angel came out of the temple which is in heaven, and he also had a sharp sickle. Then another angel, the one who has power over fire, came out from the altar; and he called with a loud voice to him who had the sharp sickle, saying, “Put in your sharp sickle and gather the clusters from the vine of the earth, because her grapes are ripe.” So the angel swung his sickle to the earth and gathered the clusters from the vine of the earth, and threw them into the great wine press of the wrath of God. And the wine press was trodden outside the city, and blood came out from the wine press, up to the horses’ bridles, for a distance of two hundred miles.” (Revelation 14:17–20 NAS95)
In this reading, grapes and the wine press represent a lot of death. We see this theme return in Rev. 19:11-18.
“And I saw heaven opened, and behold, a white horse, and He who sat on it is called Faithful and True, and in righteousness He judges and wages war. His eyes are a flame of fire, and on His head are many diadems; and He has a name written on Him which no one knows except Himself. He is clothed with a robe dipped in blood, and His name is called The Word of God. And the armies which are in heaven, clothed in fine linen, white and clean, were following Him on white horses. From His mouth comes a sharp sword, so that with it He may strike down the nations, and He will rule them with a rod of iron; and He treads the wine press of the fierce wrath of God, the Almighty. And on His robe and on His thigh He has a name written, “KING OF KINGS, AND LORD OF LORDS.” Then I saw an angel standing in the sun, and he cried out with a loud voice, saying to all the birds which fly in midheaven, “Come, assemble for the great supper of God, so that you may eat the flesh of kings and the flesh of commanders and the flesh of mighty men and the flesh of horses and of those who sit on them and the flesh of all men, both free men and slaves, and small and great.”” (Revelation 19:11–18 NAS95)
We read here that the birds are the ones who are drinking the wine and eating the grapes, not Yeshua or those with Him. Yeshua is the one enacting the judgement and those with Him are just watching it. They are not participating in the deaths of the wicked.
Grapes being associated with blood goes all the way back to Gen. 49:11
““He ties his foal to the vine, And his donkey’s colt to the choice vine; He washes his garments in wine, And his robes in the blood of grapes. “His eyes are dull from wine, And his teeth white from milk.” (Genesis 49:11–12 NAS95)
Symbolic Break: Hair Cutting and the End of the Nazirite Vow
The symbolic connection between one’s hair and death lies in the act of cutting and discarding it. When hair is cut, it is removed from the body, representing a part of oneself being severed and thrown away. By not cutting their hair, Nazirites keep themselves whole and intact, not allowing any part of themselves to be discarded. At the end of the Nazirite vow, unless it is a lifetime vow, the hair is cut off to signify a new beginning. This act marks a break from the life and duties of a Nazirite. Therefore, by refusing to cut their hair, Nazirites maintain their connection to the vow and, symbolically, to life itself. Cutting the hair represents ending that connection and returning to regular life. The point of a nazarite vow is to dedicate your body to God for Him to use as He wishes. Since God can not live in the presence of death, the nazarite’s abstinence from grapes, wine, alcohol, as well as avoiding contact with corpses, and keeping one’s hair intact during the course of the vow are all profound symbols of the nazarite’s abstinence from contact with or participation in death.
Summary: Tammy
- Hebrew acronym for Torah, Neviim (Prophets) and Ketuvim (Writings) ↩︎
- Stern, David H. Jewish New Testament Commentary: a Companion Volume to the Jewish New Testament. Accordance electronic edition, version 1.4. Clarksville, Md: Jewish New Testament Publications, 1992, paragraphs 297–302. ↩︎
- Stern (paragraphs 299–302) ↩︎