Lamentations 4:7

ז (Zayin) Her consecrated ones ¹  were brighter than snow, whiter than milk; their bodies more ruddy than corals, their hair ²  like lapis lazuli. ³ 

Nu 6:2-21; Jud 13:5,7; Jud 16:17; 1Sa 16:12; Ps 51:7; Ps 144:12; So 5:10; Da 1:15; Am 2:11,12; Lu 1:15

¹ tn Heb “Nazirites” (so KJV). The Nazirites were consecrated under a vow to refrain from wine, contact with the dead, and from cutting their hair. In Gen 49:26 and Deut 33:16 Joseph, who was not a Nazirite, is called the “Nazir” of his brothers. From context, many translate this as “prince” (e.g., NAB, NIV, NRSV, NLT), though the nuance is uncertain. If it is valid, then princes might be understood in this context as well.

² tn The noun גִּזְרָה (gizrah) is used primarily in Ezekiel 41-42 (seven of its nine uses), where it refers to a separated area of the temple complex described in Ezekiel’s vision. It is not used of people other than here. Probably based on the reference to a precious stone BDB 160 s.v. 1 postulated that it refers to the cutting or polishing of precious stones, but this is conjecture. The English versions handle this variously. D. R. Hillers suggests beards, hair, or eyebrows based on other ancient Near Eastern comparisons between lapis lazuli and the body (Lamentations [AB], 81).

³ tn Heb “lapis lazuli.” Lapis lazuli is a dark blue semi-precious stone.