Judges 5:2

2. For the loosing of locks A poetical expression denoting an act of self-consecration to God’s service, and to be explained, metaphorically, as an allusion to the unrestrained growth of the locks of one who took upon himself the Nazarite vow. The Hebrew is בפרע פרעות , which the English version, following substantially the Syriac and Arabic, renders, For the avenging; Septuagint, For the leading of the leaders; Luther, That Israel has again become free. These versions represent the principal explanations of the commentators, ancient and modern, but they have received various modifications, and, of course, each different rendering has the support of certain special reasons. But they all fail in this most important particular, that they are destitute of any sure support or ground in Hebrew usage. The verb פרע is used sixteen times in the Old Testament, and everywhere has the meaning of loosing, or letting loose, from some sort of restraint, but never, as Luther and others would have it, of the emancipation of a people from bondage. In Leviticus 10:6; Leviticus 13:45; Leviticus 21:10; Numbers 5:18, it is used of loosing the head of its covering or head-dress. In Exodus 32:25, it is twice used of letting the people loose from all restraint, and giving them over to wild play and licentious revelling. Similar is the meaning in 2 Chronicles 28:19. In Proverbs 1:25; Proverbs 4:15; Proverbs 8:33; Proverbs 13:18; Proverbs 15:32; Proverbs 29:18, it is used of breaking loose from, or abandoning, that which is good or evil: in Exodus 5:4, of letting a laborer loose from his allotted task; and in Ezekiel 24:14, of Jehovah loosing the guilty from penalty. In all these cases it is clear that the main idea of the word is that of loosing from restraint, and when used of the hair, as in our text, it naturally means letting it go loose and free from all artificial cuttings, shavings, or restraints. This was what the Nazarite did. The noun פרע occurs in the singular but twice, (Numbers 6:5; Ezekiel 44:20,) and in both places means a lock of hair. This no one questions. Why, then, should the plural of the same word (occurring only here and in Deuteronomy 32:42) be rendered either revenges, or leaders, or freemen? The English version of Deuteronomy 32:42 the beginning of revenges makes no sense at all; but head of flowing locks, is a most simple and natural translation of the original. We therefore translate בפרע פרעות for the loosing of locks, and explain with Cassel, (in Lange’s Bibelwerk,) that the expression is a poetical allusion to the unrestrained growth of the locks of a Nazarite. Of Samson it was ordered that no razor should come upon his head, (Judges 13:5,) and when Hannah vowed to consecrate her son to God’s service she said, “No razor shall come on his head;” that is, his locks shall be left loose and free to grow. The loosing of locks in Israel, as expressive of a solemn act of consecration to God’s service, is further explained and confirmed by the next line of the parallelism for the free self-offering of the people. All the people who had taken part in this great war against the hosts of Jabin are conceived of as having taken on them a vow of consecration to Jehovah as solemn and divine as that of a Nazarite. “They were the long-haired heroes of a divine freedom.”

Bless Jehovah For all this blessed and glorious consecration the prophetess first bursts out in an ascription of joyful praise to Jehovah.