I have to interpret the above passage as unscriptural to the extent of being ridiculous. Read the entire passage of
Acts 18-21. The Jews were after Paul's life because they thought he taught against the Law of Moses. As a
trick, or a
decoy, to get along with the Jews, Paul took a
meaningless OT vow of a Nazarite. Those who took the Nazarite vow (both men and women) were required to
shave their heads at its completion (
Num. 6:2-18). In
Acts 21:23 there were 4 other disciples who also took the vow, and their heads were
shaved in the Temple, whereas Paul ended his vow with his head
shorn in Cenchrea.
Shorn (
keiro) and
shave (
xurao) are closely related, etymologically, and used synonymously at times.
Paul took his vow in Corinth where he stayed a year and 6 months (
Acts 18:11). In vv12-17 the Jews came against Paul. Then in v18, "And Paul after this tarried there yet a GOOD WHILE, and then took his leave of the brethren, and sailed thence into Syria...having shorn his head in Cenchrea: for he had a vow."
It was during Paul's extended stay at Corinth that he did not cut his hair. It was not cut until he got to Cenchrea, the eastern seaport of Corinth, where he boarded a ship to continue his missionary journey. His hair grew to a length somewhere between "shorn" and the length at which it would have been a "shame" or "long" in ancient Greco-Roman culture.
It was not a "shame" for men in OT times to have "long" hair. Samuel was a Nazarite from birth as was Samson and perhaps John the Baptist. Hebrew Nazarite men wore "long" hair, and there was no sign of
effeminancy attached. Women, who ended a Nazarite vow, had shaved heads with no sign of lesbianism, or "shame," attached. The ancient Hebrews, as well as Greeks and Romans, routinely shaved the heads of female captives. In ancient times Greek and Roman men all wore "long" hair, and ALL Greek men were "gay." The Romans thought being "gay" was "cool," but through the work of the moral philosophers and the Emperor's program (esp. Augustus) to raise the morals of the Empire,
by the 1st century the ENTIRE EMPIRE viewed long hair on men and short haircuts on women as sexual inversions. Men wore the
Ceasarcuts after the Emperor and ALL women wore long hair.
The word, "shame," used by the Apostle in v6, is not the word, "sin," and does NOT mean a condition
before God, but it bear a CULTURAL meaning -- that of wearing a badge of infamy before the public. The Greek word is
atimia. It was the most common word used by philosophers to describe effeminate hair. Paul used both
atimia and
phusis ("nature") in condemning homosexuality in
Romans 1:26-27. Such terminology also occurs in Philo of Alexandria, who also condemned same-sex love as contrary to nature. There is a lengthy list of ancient writers who regarded lebsian practices as "unnatural": Plato, Seneca the Elder, Martial, Ovid, Ptolemy, Dorotheos of Siden, Manetho, Pseudo-Phocyclides..." The moral philosophers who eschewed homoerotic relationships utilized appeals to "nature" as "proof" for their arguments.
Paul was opposed to long hair on men and short haircuts on women because of the association with and involvement hair length had with homosexuality and lesbianism in his CULTURE. This connection did NOT exist in ancient times, or before the 1st century. After the "fall of Rome," longer hair on men came into vogue, having lost its link with homosexuality. Throughout history, longer hair on men has come in and out of style. George Washington wore a pony tail, called a
queue, but no one accuses the Founding Fathers of our country of being "gay." The Titus cut in France in 1796 ushered in the fashion of short hair for women (1790-1800), and short hair styles for women became totally detached from lesbianism.
So, yes, Paul let his hair grow for the duration of his Nazarite vow, but it didn't grow to his shoulders, which was considered "long." The Greek verb,
komao, translated "have long hair," had
more than one meaning, depending upon the context of the reading passage.
In some contexts, like that of a
VOW, be it the Hebrew Nazarite vow or a Pagan vow,
komao would mean "uncut" hair, or
let the hair grow; but,
komao was the general term for hair that had reached a length of measuremnent of "long" or a length that distinguished between the sexes and was NOT the Greek word for "uncut" hair.
Go here for more info:
http://www.studyholiness.com/hair_length_2.html
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