The Recovery of the Nazirite in Carolingian Discourse

Abstract

Abstract Carolingian exegetes Hrabanus Maurus and Paschasius Radbertus encountered a paradox in the sources available to them regarding the prophecy of Dan and its representative Samson, the archetypal Nazirite, “Let Dan be a snake in the way, a serpent in the path, that biteth the horse’s heels that his rider may fall backward. I will look for thy salvation, O Lord” (Gen 49:17–8). While in some sources, the blessing given to Dan in Genesis 49:17 is interpreted as foreshadowing Christ, in others it is seen as reflecting the Antichrist. In this article, I explore how these Carolingian exegetes rose to the challenge of this conflict, by the examining the sources for both approaches available to them. I argue that both exegetes engaged with the sources in a manner that bypassed the paradox, each choosing a different way to do so.