A Nazarite should not shave the hair of his head, for this, as it is said, was the Nazariteship of God upon his head, and when the days were accomplished, he was to shave it off and consecrate it (Num. 6:1-21);

also that:

The strength of Samson was in his locks, and when they were shaven off he became weak, and when they grew again he came into his strength (Judg. 16:13 to the end);

also that:

Forty-two children were torn in pieces by bears because they mocked Elisha, calling him bald-head (2 Kings 2:23-24);

as also that:

Elijah was clothed with a garment of hair (2 Kings 1:8);

And John the Baptist with camel's hair (Mark 1:6);

furthermore, what "head," "hairs," "beard," and "baldness" signify wherever they are mentioned in the Word. [3] That a Nazarite should not shave his hair, because this, as is said, was the Nazariteship of God upon his head; and that when the days were accomplished he should shave it off and consecrate it, was for the reason that the Nazarite represented the Lord in firsts and in ultimates, and His Divine in ultimates was His Human, which He made Divine even to the flesh and bones, which are ultimates. That He made it Divine even to the flesh and bones is evident from the fact that He left nothing in the sepulcher, and that:

He said to the disciples that He had flesh and bones, which a spirit hath not (Luke 24:39-40). And when the Divine Itself is Divine even in ultimates, then it governs all things from firsts by means of ultimates (as can be seen from what was shown above, n. 41; especially from what was cited from the Arcana Coelestia, namely, that interior things flow in successively into exterior things, even into what is extreme or outmost, and there have existence and subsistence, n. 634, 6239, 6465, 9215, 9216; that they not only flow in successively, but also form what is simultaneous in the ultimate, in what order see n. 5897, 6451, 8603, 10099; that therefore all interior things are held together in connection from the first by means of the ultimate, n. 9828, and in the work on Heaven and Hell, n. 297; that from this the ultimate is more holy than the interiors, n. 9824; and therefore in ultimates there is strength and power, n. 9836). These then are the reasons why the Nazariteship was instituted. The Nazarite was finally to consecrate his hair by putting it into the fire of the altar, because it represented the Divine holiness, and the "fire of the altar" signified that holiness (n. 934, 6314, 6832). [4] From this it can be seen, moreover, why the strength of Samson was in his hair (Judges 16:13 to the end), for it is said that:

He was a Nazarite from his mother's womb (Judg. 13:7; 16:17). Moreover, for the same reason:

It was not lawful for the high priest and his sons, nor for the Levites, to shave the head and make themselves bald (Lev. 10:6; 21:5, 10; Ezek. 44:20). Likewise:

With the Israelitish people to cut off the beard (which had a like signification) was disgraceful (2 Sam. 10:4, 5). The forty-two children were torn in pieces by the bears because they mocked Elisha, calling him bald-head, for the reason that Elijah and Elisha represented the Lord in respect to the Word, which is Divine truth, the sanctity and strength of which are in ultimates from firsts, as was said just above. Because "baldness" thus signified the deprivation of these, this took place. "Bears," moreover, signify truth in ultimates. (That Elijah and Elisha represented the Lord in respect to the Word, see Arcana Coelestia, n. 2762, 5247.) From this it is clear also why Elijah had a hairy garment and John one of camel's hair; for John the Baptist, like Elijah, represented the Lord in respect to the Word; for this reason also he was called Elijah (see Arcana Coelestia, n. 7643, 9372). [5] When these things are understood, it can be known what is signified in the Word by "head," "hairs," "beard," and "baldness," as in Isaiah:

In that time shall the Lord shave by the king of Assyria, the head, and the hairs of the feet, He shall also consume the beard (Isa. 7:20). In the same prophet:

On all heads baldness, every beard cut off (Isa. 15:2). In Jeremiah:

Truth is perished, and is cut off from their mouth. Cut off thine hair and cast it away (Jer. 7:28-29). In Ezekiel:

Take a razor and pass it over the head and beard (Ezek. 5:1). Shame shall be upon every face, and baldness upon all heads (Ezek. 7:18). Every head was made bald (Ezek. 29:18). In Amos:

I will bring up baldness upon every head (Amos 8:10). In David:

God shall bruise the head of His enemies, the hairy scalp of him that goeth on in his guilt (Ps. 68:21). In these passages and in others, by "cutting off the hair of the head," "shaving the beard," and inducing baldness, is signified to deprive of all truth and good; since he that is deprived of ultimates is also deprived of things prior, for prior things have existence and subsistence in ultimates, as was said above. Moreover, in the world of spirits there are seen some that are bald, and I have been told that they are such as have abused the Word, and have applied the sense of the letter, which is Divine truth in ultimates, to wicked purposes, and therefore have been deprived of all truth. These are most malignant. Many of them are of the Babylonish body. Angels, on the contrary, appear with becoming hair.