Razor

The razor appears at four places in scripture: the Nazarite law that forbids it, and three figurative uses where the blade names the harm done by a deceitful tongue, the devastation of an Assyrian invasion, and a prophetic sign-act over hair and beard.

Forbidden in the Nazarite Vow

The law of the Nazarite separates the vower's hair from any blade for the entire term of the vow. The instruction is absolute and the locks are to grow long until the days of separation are complete:

"All the days of his vow of separation no razor will come upon his head: until the days be fulfilled, in which he separates himself to Yahweh, he will be holy; he will let the locks of the hair of his head grow long." (Nu 6:5).

A Sharp Razor: The Deceitful Tongue

In Psalm 52, the wicked person's tongue is compared to a sharp razor — the comparison is to the cutting power of the blade in the hand of someone working deceit:

"Your tongue devises much wickedness, Like a sharp razor, working deceitfully." (Ps 52:2).

A Hired Razor: Assyrian Invasion

Isaiah names Yahweh as the one who will shave the land. The blade is "hired in the parts beyond the River" — that is, the king of Assyria, who shaves the head, the hair of the feet, and the beard:

"In that day the Lord will shave with a razor that is hired in the parts beyond the River, [even] with the king of Assyria, the head and the hair of the feet; and it will also consume the beard." (Isa 7:20).

The image is the disgrace of total exposure — head, body, and beard all taken in a single cut.

The Prophet's Sword as a Barber's Razor

Ezekiel's sign-act doubles the image. The prophet is told to take a sharp sword and use it as a barber's razor over his own head and beard, then divide the cut hair on the scales as a sign-portion:

"And you, Son of Man, take yourself a sharp sword; [as] a barber's razor you will take it to yourself, and will cause it to pass on your head and on your beard: then take yourself balances to weigh, and divide the hair." (Eze 5:1).

The same sword that elsewhere kills here shaves — the prophet enacts on himself the shearing that Isaiah projects on the land.