![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.bartehrman.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/Joshua-Schachterle-Bart-Ehrman-Author-1-1.png\" "\\"Joshua")
<\/span><\/p>\nWritten by <\/a>Joshua Schachterle, Ph.D<\/a><\/p>\n Author | Professor | Scholar<\/p>\n Author | Professor | BE Contributor<\/p>\n Verified! See our editorial guidelines<\/a><\/p>\n Verified! See our guidelines<\/a><\/p>\n\nDate written: August 16th, 2023\n \nDate written: August 16th, 2023<\/p>\n Disclaimer: The views and opinions expressed in this article belong to the author and do not necessarily match my own. – Dr. Bart D. Ehrman<\/p>\n Many wonder if John the Baptist was a Nazarite (also spelled “Nazirite”). I am writing a series of articles about John the Baptist,<\/a> and this is one of the many questions people are asking.<\/p>\n In this post, I’ll address who the Nazarites are and tackle whether John the Baptist was a Nazarite.\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n I genuinely enjoy exploring different angles of this truly exceptional historical figure.\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n If you are interested in reading more about early Christianity, check out Bart’s free 50-minute webinar exploring the gospels<\/a>.<\/em>\u00a0Just click this link.\u00a0<\/p>\n Image Courtesy of Distant Shores Media\/Sweet Publishing, CC BY-SA 3.0 <\/a><\/p>\n There were many sects of Judaism in John the Baptist\u2019s time. You may be familiar with the Pharisees<\/a> and Sadducees. You may also have heard of the Essenes. However, Nazarites weren\u2019t a sect at all. They could come from any sect of Judaism.<\/span><\/p>\n Being a Nazarite was a religious practice.<\/span> Megan Nutzman<\/span><\/a> writes that this practice \u201cwas available to all Jews\u2014men and women, rich and poor. It allowed one to express particular devotion to God, whether in response to an answered prayer or out of a sense of spirituality.\u201d<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n As<\/span> Stuart Chepey<\/span><\/a> notes, the word \u201cNazarite\u201d is derived from the Hebrew word \u201cnazir,\u201d meaning set apart or consecrated. Nazarites took a special vow to dedicate their lives to God.<\/span><\/p>\n The requirements of this vow are first outlined in the Hebrew Bible in<\/span> Numbers 6:1-13<\/span><\/a>.<\/span><\/p>\n First, \u201cthey shall separate themselves from wine and strong drink.\u201d In fact, a Nazarite is prohibited from consuming grapes, whether as fruit or wine.<\/strong> The text also prohibits drinking vinegar.<\/span><\/p>\n Second, \u201call the days of their Nazarite vow no razor shall come upon the head.\u201d In other words, Nazarites could not cut their hair until their vow was fulfilled.<\/em><\/span><\/p>\n Third, \u201call the days that they separate themselves to the Lord, they shall not go near a corpse.\u201d This was an issue of ritual purity, a significant concern in Judaism. If Nazarites did come into contact with a corpse, they underwent a complicated ritual to renew their state of purity.<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n Finally, at the end of the vow period, the Nazarites offer an animal sacrifice and cut off their hair, burning it as a sacrifice.<\/em><\/span><\/p>\n We know that some people chose voluntarily to fulfill the Nazarite vow. Others, however, were committed to it by their parents before birth. To understand this practice better, let\u2019s look at a list of Nazarites in the Bible.<\/span><\/p>\n In Judges 13, we read the story of Samson. Samson\u2019s mother can\u2019t have children. However, an angel appears and tells her she will have a son. The angel says that during her pregnancy, she is never to drink \u201cwine or strong drink.\u201d He tells her that once her son is born, \u201cno razor is to come on his head, for the boy shall be a Nazarite to God from birth.\u201d<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n In Samson\u2019s story, the vow ultimately gives him his impressive strength.<\/strong> It\u2019s both a marker of his identity and his power.<\/span><\/p>\n When Delilah has Samson\u2019s head shaved, it invalidates his vow, allowing his enemies to overpower him. His strength doesn\u2019t just come from his hair but from a sacred vow dedicating his life to God.<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n In the book of 1 Samuel, the prophet Samuel is also dedicated to God through a vow made by his mother. His mother is like Samson\u2019s mother, unable to have children. <\/span><\/p>\n She, therefore, makes a deal with God. If he grants her a son, she will \u201cset him before you as a Nazarite until the day of his death.<\/strong> He shall drink neither wine nor intoxicants, and no razor shall touch his head.\u201d God grants her request, and Samuel indeed lives a life dedicated to God.<\/span><\/p>\n NOW AVAILABLE FREE!<\/p>\n Did Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John Actually Write Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John?<\/strong><\/p>\n The New Testament Gospels are anonymous. So why did early Christians say they were written by Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John? And what’s the evidence that they actually did?<\/p>\n __CONFIG_colors_palette__{“active_palette”:0,”config”:{“colors”:{“62516”:{“name”:”Main Accent”,”parent”:-1}},”gradients”:[]},”palettes”:[{“name”:”Default Palette”,”value”:{“colors”:{“62516”:{“val”:”rgb(255, 133, 34)”,”hsl”:{“h”:26,”s”:0.99,”l”:0.5667}}},”gradients”:[]}}]}__CONFIG_colors_palette__ <\/span> GET THE FREE WEBINAR<\/strong><\/span><\/span> <\/a> It is also possible that the prophet Elijah was a Nazarite. In 2 Kings 1:8, a messenger describes Elijah as \u201ca hairy man with a leather belt around his waist.\u201d While the Hebrew word for \u201chairy\u201d could mean body hair, it could also refer to long hair and beard. <\/span><\/p>\n This might indicate that Elijah took a Nazarite vow<\/strong>. In addition, as a highly significant prophet, it is entirely likely that he was a Nazarite.<\/span><\/p>\n Later, I\u2019ll discuss the connections between Elijah and John the Baptist.<\/span><\/em><\/p>\n In the book of Acts, there are references to Paul participating in a vow that is probably Nazarite.<\/strong><\/p>\n In Acts 18:18, Paul goes to a city called Cenchreae, where he \u201chad his hair cut, for he was under a vow.\u201d This could very well have been the end of a Nazarite vow that Paul undertook. Given Paul\u2019s fierce dedication to God, it is certainly conceivable.<\/span><\/p>\n Later, in Acts 21:26, Paul is sent by the leaders of the Jerusalem church to the temple. Then, \u201chaving been purified\u2026 [Paul] entered the temple to announce the expiration of the days of purification.\u201d This is likely a reference to Paul\u2019s Nazarite vow.<\/span><\/p>\n Finally, we come to our original question: was John the Baptist a Nazarite?<\/span><\/p>\n Luke is the only Gospel that talks about John the Baptist\u2019s birth. In Luke 1, we see many similarities between the pre-birth stories of John the Baptist<\/a> and those of Samson and Samuel.<\/span><\/p>\n John\u2019s mother, Elizabeth, hasn\u2019t been able to have children and, at the time of the story, is quite old as well.<\/span><\/p>\n When John\u2019s father, Zechariah, is doing his priestly duties in the temple, an angel appears to him, telling him that his wife will bear a son. However, the angel gives one important instruction on how to care for his son: \u201cHe must never drink wine or strong drink.\u201d This is, of course, one of the principal directives of the Nazarite vow.<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n But there is more evidence.<\/span><\/em><\/p>\n Incidentally, many Bible readers confuse the word \u201cNazarite\u201d with the word \u201cNazarene.\u201d The words indeed look similar but have nothing to do with each other.\u201cNazarene\u201d simply means \u201ca person from the town of Nazareth.\u201d Jesus is rightly referred to in the New Testament as a Nazarene since he was raised in Nazareth.<\/strong> Even after his death, his followers are sometimes referred to as \u201cthe Nazarene sect.\u201d\u00a0Was John the Baptist a Nazarene<\/a>? The answer is no since scholars don\u2019t believe he was born and raised in Nazareth.<\/em>\u00a0 1st-century Jews believed that Elijah would come before God renewed the world, according to the Gospel of Matthew.<\/p>\n In Matthew 17, Jesus’s disciples ask about this prophecy. Jesus answers that Elijah already came.<\/strong> In case there is any doubt, verse 13 says, “the disciples understood that he was speaking to them about John the Baptist.” In other words, some early Christians identified John the Baptist with Elijah, viewing both as important prophets.<\/span><\/p>\n While describing John the Baptist, the Gospel of Mark refers to the description of Elijah from 2 Kings. Elijah is called a “hairy man with a leather belt around his waist.” Mark says, “John wore clothing of camel’s hair with a leather belt around his waist.” Here it’s the clothing rather than the body or head of John that is “hairy.” However,<\/span> Joel Marcus<\/span><\/a> says the wording of the two passages is so similar that Mark must be comparing them deliberately.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n If Elijah was a Nazarite, these comparisons between John and Elijah make it likely that John was also a Nazarite.<\/strong><\/p>\n Nazarites were ancient Jews who took a special vow to dedicate their lives to God. This vow included avoiding wine and \u201cstrong drink,\u201d not cutting the hair, not coming into contact with a corpse, and sacrificing both an animal and one\u2019s hair to finalize the vow.<\/span><\/p>\n Many important biblical figures, including Samson, Samuel, and Elijah, were Nazarites<\/strong>. So too, was Paul the Apostle and probably John the Baptist.<\/em> While we know many interesting facts about John the Baptist, his status as a Nazarite is not always acknowledged.<\/span><\/p>\n John, according to the Gospel of Luke<\/a>, was dedicated to God by his parents on instructions from a messenger of God. He lived the life of a prophet, took no wine or strong drink, set himself apart from society, and dedicated his life to God. John the Baptist was probably a Nazarite.<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n Looking for more insight into the gospels? Take a closer look from a scholarly perspective with Bart Ehrman today.\u00a0Click on the link below!\u00a0<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n [tqb_quiz id=’11973′]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" John the Baptist Was a Nazarite? Let’s Look at the HIstory Written by Joshua Schachterle, Ph.D Author | Professor | Scholar Author | Professor | BE Contributor Verified! See our editorial guidelines Verified! See our guidelines Disclaimer: The views and opinions expressed in this article belong to the author and do not necessarily match my […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":10,"featured_media":8833,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","tve_updated_post":"![\"John](\"https:\/\/www.bartehrman.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/John-the-Baptist-was-a-Nazarite-.png\" "\\"John")
<\/span><\/p>\nWere Nazarites a Sect of Judaism?<\/h2>\n
Requirements of the Narazrite Vow<\/h3>\n
Nazarites in the Hebrew Bible<\/h2>\n
Samson<\/h3>\n
Samuel<\/h3>\n
![\"Did](\"https:\/\/www.bartehrman.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/Did-Matthew-Mark-Luke-and-John-Write-the-Gospels.png\" "\\"Did")
<\/a><\/span> <\/p>\nElijah<\/h3>\n
Nazarites in the New Testament<\/h4>\n
Was John the Baptist a Nazarite?<\/h2>\n
Note:<\/span> <\/span>Was John the Baptist a Nazarene? <\/span><\/h3>\n
![\"interesting](\"https:\/\/www.bartehrman.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/interesting-facts-about-John-the-Baptist.png\" "\\"interesting")
<\/span><\/p>\nJohn the Baptist and Elijah<\/h3>\n
Summing Up: Was John the Baptist a Nazarite?<\/h2>\n