王的心因這下垂的髮綹繫住了(歌7章）

你的頭在你身上好像迦密山．你頭上的髮是紫黑色．王的心因這下垂的髮綹繫住了。（歌 7：5）

聖經中關於髮綹的記載，可以從「拿細耳人」的規定中看見：

在他一切許願離俗的日子、不可用剃頭刀剃頭、要由髮綹長長了、他要聖潔、直到離俗歸耶和華的日子滿了。（民 6：5）

髮綹只是成為拿細耳人時其中的一項規範，象徵拿細耳人的離俗與分別為聖。雅歌這裡的「你頭上的髮是紫黑色」象徵新婦的美麗與活力。「王的心因這下垂的髮綹繫住了」呼應新婦「關鎖的園、禁閉的井、封閉的泉源」分別為聖、與眾不同之意。王的心因著新婦的聖潔、單純、與眾不同，心就被繫住了，也就是深得王的心，為王所鍾愛。

聖經也記載另一個拿細耳人參孫，當他髮綹長長時就有力量；當他象徵拿細耳人離俗的髮綹被剪去時，神就離開他，他就失去力量。

大利拉天天用話催逼他、甚至他心裏煩悶要死。參孫就把心中所藏的都告訴了他、對他說：「向來人沒有用剃頭刀剃我的頭、因為我自出母胎就歸神作拿細耳人．若剃了我的頭髮、我的力氣就離開我、我便軟弱像別人一樣。」...大利拉使參孫枕着他的膝睡覺、叫了一個人來剃除他頭上的七條髮綹。於是大利拉剋制他、他的力氣就離開他了。大利拉說：「參孫哪、非利士人拿你來了。」參孫從睡中醒來、心裏說：「我要像前幾次出去活動身體。」他卻不知道耶和華已經離開他了。（士 16：16-20）

這裏的大利拉就像魔鬼一樣，用誘人美麗的外貌吸引神的選民，用甜言蜜語要我們與神的同在斷絕關係。參孫最後沒有禁得起誘惑，供出了他有力量的原因「七條髮綹」，那曾經與神立約的記號。「剃除他頭上的七條髮綹」時，他已與神「解約」，因為神所喜愛的記號沒有了，神就離開了他，他就失去力量，與一般的凡人沒什麼兩樣。但是當他的雙眼被非利士人挖出來，遭受羞辱後：

然而他的頭髮被剃之後、又漸漸長起來了。（士 16：22）

這是象徵參孫深深的懊悔，髮綹般的頭髮漸漸長起來，就像神對他的憐憫，使他有力量對非利士人做最後一擊，卻也犧牲了自己的生命。

拿細耳人的髮綹，象徵分別為聖的心志。書拉密因為她的髮綹，使王的心被繫住了。參孫因放縱情慾，放縱到七條髮綹全被剃光，被剃時竟毫無知覺，使神離開了他。髮綹被剃光，神就不與他同在。神的工人若沒有神的同在，將成毫無力量的凡人。髮綹的存在，不是美不美的問題，而是「王喜悅」的問題，也是聖徒「聖潔」的問題。人不聖潔，因神不喜悅，就不能見主的面，將被神離棄，也將失去神的同在、失去一切能力。

要知道，新婦能深得王心，成為王女，因為她是「關鎖的園、禁閉的井、封閉的泉源」，全然聖潔、毫無瑕疵。

你們要追求與眾人和睦、並要追求聖潔．非聖潔沒有人能見主．（來 12：14)

By Isaiah Kao

The king is captivated by your tresses (Song of Solomon 7)

““Your head crowns you like Carmel, And the flowing hair of your head is like purple threads; The king is captivated by your tresses.” (Song of Solomon 7:5 NASB2020)

The biblical record of the tresses can be seen in the regulations for the Nazirites:

“‘All the days of his vow of consecration no razor shall pass over his head. He shall be holy until the days are fulfilled which he lives as a Nazirite for the Lord; he shall let the locks of hair on his head grow long.” (Numbers 6:5 NASB2020)

The tresses was merely a requirement for becoming a Nazirite, symbolizing the Nazirites' separation from the world and set apart as holy. The phrase "the flowing hair of your head is like purple threads” in the Song of Solomon symbolizes the bride's beauty and vitality. "The king is captivated by your tresses” echoes the bride's "locked garden, locked spring, and sealed fountain," signifying separation from the world and being different from others. The king's heart was captivated by the bride's holiness, simplicity, and uniqueness; she became one after his heart and his beloved.

The Bible also recounts the story of Samson, another Nazirite. When his hair was in tresses, he possessed strength; but when the hair, symbolizing the Nazirites' separation from the world, was cut off, God forsook him, and he lost his strength.

“And it came about, when she pressed him daily with her words and urged him, that his soul was annoyed to death. So he told her all that was in his heart and said to her, “A razor has never come on my head, for I have been a Nazirite to God from my mother’s womb. If I am shaved, then my strength will leave me and I will become weak and be like any other man.”…. And she made him sleep on her knees, and called for a man and had him shave off the seven locks of his head. Then she began to humble him, and his strength left him. She said, “The Philistines are upon you, Samson!” And he awoke from his sleep and said, “I will go out as at other times and shake myself free.” But he did not know that the Lord had departed from him.” (Judges 16:16-17,19-20 NASB2020)

Delilah here is like the devil, using her attractive beauty to lure God's chosen people, and using sweet words to sever our connection with God's presence. Samson ultimately gave way to temptation and revealed the reason for his strength: the “seven locks of hair,” the sign of his covenant with God. When the man had Samson” shave off the seven locks of his head,” he had broken his covenant with God. Because the sign God’s beloved was gone, God left him, and he lost his strength, becoming no different from an ordinary man. However, after his eyes were gouged out by the Philistines and he suffered humiliation:

“However, the hair of his head began to grow again after it was shaved off.” (Judges 16:22 NASB2020)

This symbolizes Samson's deep remorse. His locks of hair gradually grew back, like God's mercy, giving him the strength to deliver the final blow to the Philistines, but also sacrificing his life.

The Nazirite's locks of hair symbolize a determination to set apart for holiness. Shulamite's locks of hair captivated the king's heart. Samson, indulging in lust, being shaved off all seven locks of his hair, having no feelings as it was done, causing God to leave him. With his locks shaved, God was no longer with him. God's workers, without God's presence, become powerless commoners. The existence of locks of hair is not a matter of beauty, but a matter of "the king's favor," and also a matter of the saint's "holiness." Unholiness displeases God, prevents one from seeing the Lord's face, leads to God's abandonment, and the loss of God's presence and all power.

The bride captivated the king's heart and became a princess, for she was "a locked garden, a locked spring, and a sealed fountain," perfectly holy and without blemish.

“Pursue peace with all people, and the holiness without which no one will see the Lord.” (Hebrews 12:14 NASB2020)

By Isaiah Kao