Q on Two Hairy Guys: Samuel and Samson

Factual Questions
1

I am confused about Samuel and Samson. I thought Hannah promised God she would not cut Samuel’s hair, and he would be sworn unto serving Him. I thought he got his strength from his hair, but I seem to have my stories mixed up. So, please set me straight: a) Why was Samson given such strength? b) What is the rest of the Samuel’s story?

I thought some Sdopers could explain the two stories in simplest terms, in modern English. Thanx, - Jinx

2

Samson is the one with the hair and the strength

The Nazerites were Jews who had made a special vow to God which involved not cutting the hair or drinking wine, amongst other things - see Number Ch6 for more details.

Samuel was dedicated to God by his mother at the age of three years old - see 1 Samuel Ch1 for the story - and went on to become one of the greatest leaders of the Hebrew nation.

Grim

3

Interestingly, Samson was not the only famous Nazarite.

John the Baptist is often thought to have been a Nazarite. Which, when you think about it, doesn’t make his head fit for a particularly appetizing meal, which would make you wonder why anyone would want it, even if it was on a silver plate. :slight_smile:

4

Thanks for the insight, but I will find for you the verse when Hannah promises God that a razor will never touch his head. Childless Hannah makes this promise to God when she gives birth to Samuel, so-named from the Hebrew for “I asked for him”, or words to a similar meaning.

This is how I have somehow gotten the two stories intermixed, perhaps as a child when first learning these stories. - Jinx

5

Jinx: the verse you’re thinking of is I Samuel 1:11.

The Talmud (Nazir 9:5), and the commentaries on this verse, discuss the question of whether Samuel was a Nazirite. The crux of the dispute is the meaning of the Hebrew word morah: it can mean “a razor,” in which case Hannah is promising that her son will be a Nazirite and will never shave his hair; or it can mean “fear,” in which case the sense of the verse is that she will train him to fear only G-d and no other power.

In any case, even according to the opinion that Samuel was a Nazirite, I’m not aware of anywhere in the story of his life where this plays a significant role (unlike with Samson).