NAZIREATO. — The practice of being a “nazirite” (Hebr. nāzīr, from nāzar, in the passive “to set oneself apart” and “to abstain”), translated ναζιραῖος and nazaraeus (through the influence of “Nazareth,” from Mt. 2:23).
It consisted in the observance of a vow (Hebr. nedher, from the Proto-Semitic root ndr, from which nāzīr is also derived) of abstinence, for religious reasons (cf. the complete expression “nazirite of [vowed to] God”: Iudc. 13:5, 7; 16:17; Eccl. 6:13 [Hebr.]), from alcoholic beverages (including grapes themselves: Num. 6:3); from cutting the hair, regarded as an adornment; moreover, the nazirite had to make a particular effort to avoid ritual impurities, especially contact with a corpse.
The vow could be perpetual, as seems to have been the case with Samson (Iudc. 13:5, 7), Samuel (I Sam. 1:11; cf. Eccl. 46:13), and in the New Testament period John the Baptist (Lc. 1:15) and James, the first bishop of Jerusalem (Eusebius, Hist. eccl., II, 23, 4 ff.), or temporary (in the later period the minimum was 30 days: Flavius Josephus, Bell. Iudc., II, 15, 1). The latter case is regulated by the law of Num. 6, in which the abstinences mentioned above are prescribed (cf. also Am. 2:11-12) and the rites are indicated (always regarded as a solemn cultic manifestation: cf. I Mach. 3:49) to be performed upon completion of the period of the vow (Am. 2:13 ff.).
Women could also be nazirites (Num. 6:2),
with limitations (Num. 30:4-6), as was the case with Berenice, sister of King Agrippa (Fl. Josephus, Bell. Iud., II, 15, 1).
Nazaraeus in the Vulgate (Hebr. názir) is also found in Gen. 49:26 and Deut. 33:16 (of Joseph), where it means “prince” or “chosen one,” and in Mt. 8:23 (Greek Ναζωραῖος), said of Jesus; in the latter case it has been variously explained (Zolli: “the preacher”), but perhaps it is equivalent only to “Nazarene,” with an allusion to the messianic epithet (Is. 11:1) néser, “shoot,” in reference to the humble origin and life of the Messiah.
