Hair
“Hair, from the root meaning to be rough or hairy”
Summary
Hair held significant cultural, religious, and symbolic importance in biblical times, with its treatment regulated by Mosaic law and carrying meanings related to beauty, mourning, vows, and the distinction between the sexes.
☩Hair Among Ancient Peoples
The Egyptians shaved both head and beard except in times of mourning, even shaving children's heads while leaving only a few locks as emblems of youth. This practice likely arose from the climate's tendency to generate vermin in hair, though priests shaved their entire bodies every third day for ceremonial cleanliness. Joseph shaved before appearing before Pharaoh, following Egyptian custom. In contrast, the ancient Assyrians and Babylonians wore their hair long, combed closely down and curling on the shoulders, with carefully trimmed and curled beards and mustaches. Among Greeks and Romans, practices varied over time, with later periods favoring shorter hair for men.
☩Hebrew Customs and Regulations
A full growth of black, curly hair was characteristic of Semitic peoples and considered an adornment. Reddish hair was rare among Israelites; Esau and David are noted as exceptions. The law forbade Israelites to "round the corners of their heads" or make baldness between their eyes for the dead, practices associated with heathen customs and idolatrous worship. Priests were not permitted to shave a bald spot on their heads. Absalom's luxuriant hair was mentioned as a sign of beauty, though it was considered somewhat effeminate. The hair was frequently anointed with fragrant ointments, especially on occasions of festivity or hospitality.
☩The Nazirite Vow
Nazarites wore their hair uncut during the period of their vow, as a sign of humiliation and self-denial, and of dedication of all their strength to God—hair being a token of vitality. Samson, dedicated to God from birth, wore seven carefully arranged locks. When completing a vow, it was customary to cut the hair, usually followed by a sacrifice within thirty days. Paul made such a vow, cutting his hair at Cenchreae, likely made during some illness. In Jerusalem, Paul paid the expenses for four men completing similar vows as evidence of his Jewish piety.
☩Hair in Mourning and Affliction
In times of affliction the hair was cut off entirely. Tearing the hair and letting it go disheveled were tokens of grief. The cutting off of hair and beard in mourning was an ancient custom still practiced in the East, having its origin in religious ideas including the offering of hair as a sacrifice. However, these customs were forbidden by Mosaic law due to their association with pagan practices. Shaving the beard of another was considered a grave insult, as when David's messengers were shamed by Hanun.
☩Distinction Between the Sexes
Paul appealed to the practice of his day that long hair was a glory to women but a shame to men, as nature itself seemed to teach. Women never cut their hair, and to cut off a woman's hair and expose her neck was the greatest contumely. The apostolic writings warn against elaborate hair arrangements as a form of vanity. When Mary wiped Jesus' feet with her hair, she testified that no service was too mean for her person. White hair was deemed characteristic of divine majesty, as in Daniel's vision of the Ancient of Days and John's vision of Christ.
Related Verses77 mentions
References
- 1.John McClintock and James Strong, "Hair," in Cyclopedia of Biblical, Theological and Ecclesiastical Literature, vol. IV (Harper & Brothers, 1867–1887).
- 2.James Hastings (ed.), "Hair," in Dictionary of Christ and the Gospels, vol. I (T. & T. Clark, 1906–1908).
- 3.Philip Schaff and Johann Herzog (ed.), "HAIR AND BEARD OF THE HEBREWS," in The New Schaff-Herzog Encyclopedia of Religious Knowledge, vol. V (Funk and Wagnalls, 1908–1914).
- 4.George Morrish, "Hair," in Morrish's Concise Bible Dictionary (George Morrish, 1898).
- 5.Andrew Robert Fausset, "Hair," in The Englishman's Critical and Expository Bible Cyclopædia (Hodder & Stoughton, 1878).
- 6.F. N. Peloubet & M. A. Peloubet (ed.), "Hair," in Smith's Bible Dictionary (Porter & Coates, 1884).