Beards in the Bible
Hebrew beards
The beard style for the children of Israel is prescribed in the book of Leviticus.
You shall not round off the side-growth of your heads nor harm the edges of your beard. —Lev. 19:27
…nor shave off the edges of their beards… —Lev. 21:5 excerpt
Beards were trimmed with the most fastidious care (2 Samuel 19:24), and their neglect was an indication of deep sorrow (Isaiah 15:2; Jeremiah 41:5).
It was a part of a Jew’s daily grooming to anoint his beard with oil and perfume (Psalm 133:2).
Mourning
The custom was to shave or pluck off the hair as a sign of mourning (Isaiah 50:6; Jeremiah 48:37; Ezra 9:3).
David’s humiliated ambassadors
The beards of David’s ambassadors were cut off by Hanun (2 Samuel 10:4) as a mark of indignity.
Egyptians
On the other hand, the Egyptians carefully shaved the hair off their faces, and they compelled their slaves to do so also (Genesis 41:14).
God’s razor of judgment on the Jews
In the book of Ezekiel, the prophet was told by God,
And you, O son of man, take a sharp sword. Use it as a barber’s razor and pass it over your head and your beard. Then take balances for weighing and divide the hair. A third part you shall burn in the fire in the midst of the city, when the days of the siege are completed. And a third part you shall take and strike with the sword all around the city. And a third part you shall scatter to the wind, and I will unsheathe the sword after them. And you shall take from these a small number and bind them in the skirts of your robe. And of these again you shall take some and cast them into the midst of the fire and burn them in the fire. From there a fire will come out into all the house of Israel. —Ezek. 5:1-4 ESV excerpt
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