Nazirites in Late Second Temple Judaism: A Survey of Ancient Jewish Writings, the New Testament, Archaeological Evidence, and Other Writings from Late Antiquity. By STUART CHEPEY.

Abstract

This volume, a revision of a doctoral dissertation written in Oxford under the supervision of Martin Goodman, is a summary and analysis of the evidence for Nazirites from c.200 bc to ad 70. The overall aim is limited to surveying the material, assessing its historicity, and identifying what presuppositions about the Nazirate underlie it. On the other hand, ‘what this study is not attempting to do it to write a complete history of the Nazirate or the institution of the Nazirite vow in this era’ (p. 15). Perhaps surprisingly, there has been no major study of the Nazirate since a dissertation by H. Salmanowitsch in 1931, so the present volume attracts some welcome attention to this fascinating subject. An introduction has a brief sketch of Numbers 6 and the biblical passages about Samson, Samuel, and the Nazirites in Amos. It also surveys some recent studies of the Nazirite vow, including especially those which have an eye on New Testament discussions of the Synoptic Gospels and Acts. There is a brief statement on method: the study proceeds in chronological order, including all potential evidence, whether it turns out to be useful or not.