What Does Judges 13:5 Mean in the King James?
For, lo, thou shalt conceive, and bear a son; and no razor shall come on his head: for the child shall be a Nazarite unto God from the womb: and he shall begin to deliver Israel out of the hand of the Philistines.
The analysis reads the King James wording.
King James Version The King James Version, first published in 1611. Selah Verse shows the standard text.
THE KEY
“Nazarite” names a life set apart to God, so the deliverance begins in consecration before any victory appears.
THE MEANING
Here, deliverance begins before the whole people are free: the child is set apart from the womb, and his work starts by bringing Israel out from the Philistines’ hand. The grip remains real while the first movement of release is already underway.
WHAT THIS UNDOES
This undoes the belief that deliverance only counts once the whole grip is gone: the verse calls its beginning deliverance while the Philistines still hold Israel.
THE ROOT
נָזִיר
nazir
GROWS FROM
נזר
n-z-r
To set apart, dedicate, or separate.
“Nazarite” names one set apart to God; the same root also gives words for consecration and separation, so the hair marks a deeper status rather than being the whole point. Because this setting apart begins “from the womb,” the verse places the beginning of Israel’s deliverance before the child’s strength or public action.
ALSO GROWS
nezer: Consecration or separation; also a crown or diadem.
נֵזֶר
The crown sense gives separation the quality of a marked status, fitting the visible sign of uncut hair.
hinnazer: To separate oneself or refrain.
הִנָּזֵר
This branch shows separation as a boundary; here that boundary is present from the womb, before it can be chosen.
לְהוֹשִׁיעַ
lehoshiaʿ
GROWS FROM
ישע
y-sh-ʿ
To deliver, rescue, or bring into safety.
The verse says the child will “begin” to deliver: the root describes real rescue, while the wording leaves room for the work to unfold. Israel is brought out from the Philistines’ hand, a movement from constriction toward freedom.
ALSO GROWS
yeshuah: Deliverance or rescue.
יְשׁוּעָה
This noun names the movement the child begins for Israel.
moshiaʿ: A deliverer or rescuer.
מוֹשִׁיעַ
This branch makes deliverance personal: the verse describes a life through whom a people begin to be brought out.
THE PATTERN
The text places a life’s setting apart before birth, before its work becomes visible.
Before I formed thee in the belly I knew thee; and before thou camest forth out of the womb I sanctified thee, and I ordained thee a prophet unto the nations.Listen, O isles, unto me; and hearken, ye people, from far; The LORD hath called me from the womb; from the bowels of my mother hath he made mention of my name.But when it pleased God, who separated me from my mother’s womb, and called me by his grace,THE THREAD
All the days of the vow of his separation there shall no razor come upon his head: until the days be fulfilled, in the which he separateth himself unto the LORD, he shall be holy, and shall let the locks of the hair of his head grow.Judges calls the child נָזִיר (nazir, one set apart); Numbers names the separation נֵזֶר (nezer, consecration or separation), from the same root נזר (n-z-r, set apart). Numbers makes the uncut hair a visible sign of that status; here, the sign begins from the womb and is tied to Israel’s deliverance.
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