Biblical Hebrew Forum

["Joel C. Salomon" <joelcsalomon AT gmail.com>]

dwashbur AT nyx.net wrote:
> On 26 Sep 2009 at 11:57, Dianne Burke wrote:
>> Samson was a Nazarite and part of the vow is to avoid touching dead
>> bodies.
<snip>>
>> My oponent is arguing that the word "nakah" in this instance doesn't
>> mean> that these men were completely dead.
> 
> To be honest, I find such an approach just silly.  Samson was flawed; 
> that's one of the 
> things that makes him such a fascinating character.  But even more 
> important, his life's work 
> was killing Philistines.

Yes, and that was an essential part of his Nazerite status.  Notice that
the angel who tells Mr & Mrs Manoach how to raise their son warns them
of giving him grape products and cutting his hair, not keeping him away
from corpses.  Samson’s is a somewhat exceptional status in this regard.

> As Randall pointed out, he had just been scooping honey out of a 
> lion's carcass, so he touched a dead body there.

That’s less relevant; Numbers 6:6 says
        כל־ימי הזירו לידוד על־נפש מת לא יבא׃
—is there any indication that “נפש מת” ever applies to non-human corpses?

—Joel Salomon