1S1-13: Was Hannah’s Dedication of Samuel Really A Nazarite Vow?

Hannah strikes a bargain with the Lord.

She promises if she gives birth to a son, she will “give him to the Lord for all the days of his life, and no razor will ever be used on his head.”

Now it should be pretty clear this is a Nazarite vow…

However, a Nazarite vow was normally for a set period of time…

But in this case, like Samson who came before him, Samuel would be a lifelong Nazarite.

However, some scholars say Samuel was NOT a Nazarite.

Why?

There are 2 main reasons.

FIRST, Hannah did not outright say Samuel would be a Nazarite…

She only said no razor would ever touch his head.

SECOND, Samuel was a Levite.

My point is Levites were already born with the right (and the requirement) to serve God at His Sanctuary.

So it doesn’t make any sense that Hannah would make a Nazarite vow to dedicate Samuel to the Lord’s service when he was already born with that right…

Or so the argument goes…

Because the whole purpose of a Nazarite vow was to give non-Levites from the other 12 “secular” tribes of Israel the opportunity to serve God in a similar way if they wanted to.

Therefore, what Hannah was doing wasn’t necessary is what these scholars will say.

Honestly, that’s actually a pretty good argument.

But I don’t buy it.

And here’s the reason why.

This was an era of confusion when the Hebrews were mixing tradition with the pure commands of God’s Torah.

It’s also interesting to note that we don’t see any mention of Elkanah being a Levite…

Nor is there any evidence of him serving at the Sanctuary in Shiloh…

Which if he was a Levite, he would be required to do.

To me the answer is simple…

Out of desperation to have a child, Hannah dedicated her son Samuel to the Lord via a Nazarite vow EVEN THOUGH IT WASN’T NECESSARY.

Because Samuel’s Levitical heritage already gave him that right…

Ya feel me homies?

I mean this wouldn’t be any different than Christian parents dedicating their kids at baby dedication ceremonies. 

There isn’t any Scriptural requirement for them to stand on some stage and participate in a ceremony overseen by some pastor in order to dedicate their kid to the Lord.

That’s just tradition…

They can dedicate their child by just saying a sincere prayer to the Lord…

Also, what Hannah did with her vow kinda reminds me of what Yeshua said about vow-making.

Though there’s nothing wrong with it, it’s not recommended because it can have unintended consequences.

All you have to do is look at Jephthah and his daughter to see that.

Because a vow made to God is binding no matter what.

One final observation…

Levites weren’t required to begin their full time service to the Lord at the Tabernacle until they were 25 years old.

And their service would end at around the age of 50.

However, we see that Samuel was the Lord’s property from his birth (again because of Hannah’s vow).

He began his service as a tiny child and it lasted his entire life until death.

So that is more than enough evidence that Hannah’s dedication was indeed a Nazarite vow…

In spite of what scholars say to the contrary…

Over and out.