In biblical times, the practice of making cuttings on the body was associated with pagan rituals and mourning customs. The Bible explicitly addresses this practice, particularly in the context of prohibiting behaviors that were common among the surrounding nations, which were often linked to idolatry and superstition.

Old Testament References

The primary biblical injunction against cuttings is found in the Mosaic Law. In Leviticus 19:28, the Israelites are commanded: "You must not make any cuts in your bodies for the dead or put tattoo marks on yourselves. I am the LORD." This verse is part of a broader set of holiness laws given to the Israelites, emphasizing their distinctiveness from other nations and their dedication to the LORD.

Similarly, in Deuteronomy 14:1, the Israelites are reminded: "You are the children of the LORD your God; do not cut yourselves or shave your foreheads on behalf of the dead." This command underscores the identity of the Israelites as God's chosen people, set apart for His purposes, and not to engage in the mourning practices of the pagans, which often involved self-mutilation as a sign of grief or as a means to appease deities.

Cultural and Religious Context

The practice of making cuttings on the body was prevalent among various ancient Near Eastern cultures. It was often associated with rituals for the dead, where mourners would inflict wounds upon themselves as an expression of sorrow or as a way to honor the deceased. Additionally, such practices were sometimes linked to fertility rites or attempts to gain favor from the gods.

The biblical prohibition against cuttings can be understood as part of a broader rejection of idolatrous practices. By forbidding these actions, the LORD was instructing His people to avoid the syncretism that could lead them away from exclusive worship of Him. The physical body, created in the image of God, was to be respected and not defiled by practices that were rooted in paganism.

Prophetic Warnings

The prophets also spoke against the practices of the surrounding nations, including cuttings. In 1 Kings 18:28, during the contest on Mount Carmel, the prophets of Baal are described as cutting themselves with swords and lances until their blood gushed out, in a desperate attempt to invoke their god. This vivid depiction serves as a stark contrast to the worship of the LORD, who requires no such self-destructive acts.

New Testament Considerations

While the New Testament does not directly address the issue of cuttings, the principles of honoring God with one's body and avoiding pagan practices continue to be emphasized. In 1 Corinthians 6:19-20, believers are reminded: "Do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you, whom you have received from God? You are not your own; you were bought at a price. Therefore glorify God with your body."

Theological Implications

From a theological perspective, the prohibition against cuttings reflects the broader biblical theme of holiness and separation from the world. The people of God are called to live in a manner that reflects their unique relationship with Him, avoiding practices that are contrary to His revealed will. The body, as a creation of God, is to be treated with dignity and respect, serving as a vessel for His glory.

In summary, the biblical stance against cuttings is rooted in the call for God's people to be distinct from the surrounding nations, to avoid idolatrous practices, and to honor God with their bodies. This reflects a consistent biblical theme of holiness and dedication to the LORD.CUTTINGS IN THE FLESH

(sereT, sareTeth): For relatives or friends to cut or beat themselves even to free blood-flowing, especially in the violence of grief in mourning for their dead (see BURIAL; MOURNING), was a widely prevalent custom among ancient peoples, and is well-nigh universal among uncivilized races today (see Spencer, Prin. of Soc., 3rd edition, I, 163). The fact is abundantly attested for most of the nations of antiquity, but there are two notable exceptions, the Egyptians (Herod. ii.61, 85; Wilkinson, Anc. Egyptian II, 374), and the Hebrews (Deuteronomy 14:1 Leviticus 21:5). According to Plutarch (Sol. 21) Solon forbade the women of Athens to beat themselves to the effusion of blood, and the laws of the Twelve Tables, quoted by Cic. (De leg. ii.23) contained a like injunction. Among the ancient Arabs the forbidden practice was associated, as among the Hebrews, with the cutting off of the hair (Wellhausen, Skizzen, III, 160).

That the prohibition among the Hebrews was urgently called for is made clear by the way it is dealt with by the Law and the prophets. The Law of Holiness reads: "Ye are the children of Yahweh your God: ye shall not cut yourselves" (Deuteronomy 14:1), or "make any incision" (sereT; Leviticus 19:28, sareTeth; Septuagint entomis) in the flesh "for the dead." Probably the earliest reference to the custom as actually prevalent among the Hebrews is in Hosea 7:14 (ERVm). It was widely prevalent in the time of Jeremiah among his countrymen, even as among the Philistines (Jeremiah 47:5) and the Moabites (Jeremiah 48:37; compare Amos 8:10 Isaiah 3:24; Isaiah 15:2; Isaiah 22:12 Micah 1:16 Ezekiel 7:18).

In seeking for the reason or purpose underlying all such prohibitions, we may note, first, that the "cuttings" and "baldness" forbidden are alike said to be "for the dead." Not less explicitly are they said to be incompatible with Israel's unique relation to Yahweh-a relation at once of sonship (Deuteronomy 14:1) and of consecration (Deuteronomy 14:2). Moreover such mutilations of the body are always dealt with as forming part of the religious rites of the heathen (as of the Canaanitish Baal (1 Kings 18:28) note "after their manner," see article in HDB, under the word). Both such shedding of blood and the dedication of the hair are found in almost all countries of that day in intimate connection with the rituals of burial and the prevailing belief in the necessity of propitiating the spirit of the deceased. The conclusion, then, seems clearly warranted that such tokens of grief were prohibited because they carried with them inevitably ideas and associations distinctly heathen in character and so incompatible with the pure religion of Yahweh, and unworthy of those who had attained to the dignity of the sons ("children") of Yahweh.

See also STIGMATA, MARK;

LITERATURE.

Benzinger, Heb Arch., section 23; Nowack, Heb Arch., I, 33; Tylor, Prim. Cult.; W. R. Smith, Rel Semitic, Lect IX; and Comm., Knobel-Dillmann, Exodus-Leviticus on Leviticus 19:28; Driver, De on 14:1; and Lightfoot, Galatians on 6:17.

George B. Eager

8295. sarat -- to incise, scratch
... cut in pieces, make cuttings pieces. A primitive root; to gash -- cut in pieces,
make (cuttings) pieces. 8294, 8295. sarat. 8296 . Strong's Numbers.
/hebrew/8295.htm - 6k

February 7. "Faithful in that which is Least" (Luke xvi. 10).
... can do that I will not try to do anything." One of the finest windows in Europe
was made from the remnants an apprentice boy collected from the cuttings of his ...
/.../simpson/days of heaven upon earth /february 7 faithful in that.htm

Heathen Orgies.
... rivers and woods and groves, where there are entertainments and convivialities and
shady places, or where there is the madness of demons, and cuttings of hands ...
/.../unknown/the clementine homilies/chapter xiv heathen orgies.htm

A Provision Ground
... It has been cultivated so long that though it flowers and fruits, it seldom
or never seeds, and is propagated entirely by cuttings. ...
//christianbookshelf.org/kingsley/at last/chapter xvi a provision ground.htm

How Christ is Made Use of for Justification as a Way.
... we would spare no pains, no cost, no labour, no expenses; nay, we would put ourselves
to much pain and torment by whippings, cuttings, fastings, watchings, and ...
/.../brown/christ the way the truth and the life/chapter iv how christ is.htm

The Close of the Theban Empire --(Continued)
... placed between the legs, the arms and the hips, and in the eviscerated abdomen,
contained the heart, spleen, the dried brain, the hair, and the cuttings of the ...
/.../chapter ithe close of the.htm

As the Terrors of Imagined Suffering are Always Worse than Actual ...
... dome of air wherein the moon soared serenely, bathing all visible things in a
crystalline brilliancy so pure and penetrative, that the finest cuttings on the ...
//christianbookshelf.org/corelli/the master-christian/iv as the terrors of.htm

Loving Advice for Anxious Seekers
... his salvation. Those cuttings of the lancet are sharp, and you think that
the surgeon means to kill, but he intends to cure. When ...
/.../spurgeon/spurgeons sermons volume 13 1867/loving advice for anxious seekers.htm

The Church as She Should Be
... builded together. A church is not a bundle of cuttings in the gardener's
hand: it is a vine, of which we are the branches. The true ...
/.../spurgeon/spurgeons sermons volume 17 1871/the church as she should.htm

Acts xx. 1
... They are cuttings and cauteries, the punishments sent by God: but it is for this
we ought to weep, that they were sick, that they needed such a mode of cure. ...
/.../chrysostom/homilies on acts and romans/homily xliii acts xx 1.htm

The Seventh Commandment
... Proverbs 7:10. A wanton dress is a provocation to lust. Cuttings and braidings of
the hair, a painted face, naked breasts, are allurements to vanity. ...
/.../watson/the ten commandments/2 7 the seventh commandment.htm

Cuttings (5 Occurrences)
... Int. Standard Bible Encyclopedia CUTTINGS IN THE FLESH. (sereT ... George B. Eager.
Multi-Version Concordance Cuttings (5 Occurrences). Leviticus ...
/c/cuttings.htm - 11k

Vine-cuttings (1 Occurrence)
Vine-cuttings. Vine-branches, Vine-cuttings. Vinedresser .
Multi-Version Concordance Vine-cuttings (1 Occurrence). Isaiah ...
/v/vine-cuttings.htm - 6k

Cutting (178 Occurrences)
... Israelites, (Deuteronomy 14:1 1 Kings 18:28 Jeremiah 16:6; Jeremiah 41:5; Jeremiah
47:5); sereT, sareTeth, "incision," are also used of those "cuttings of the ...
/c/cutting.htm - 46k

Flesh (468 Occurrences)
... accustom. 13. (vt) To remove flesh, membrane, etc., from, as from hides. Int.
Standard Bible Encyclopedia. CUTTINGS IN THE FLESH. (sereT ...
/f/flesh.htm - 69k

Cut (616 Occurrences)
... Israelites, (Deuteronomy 14:1 1 Kings 18:28 Jeremiah 16:6; Jeremiah 41:5; Jeremiah
47:5); sereT, sareTeth, "incision," are also used of those "cuttings of the ...
/c/cut.htm - 45k

Beard (23 Occurrences)
... Leviticus 21:5 "'They shall not shave their heads, neither shall they shave off
the corners of their beards, nor make any cuttings in their flesh. ...
/b/beard.htm - 21k

Vinedresser (2 Occurrences)

/v/vinedresser.htm - 7k

Vine-branches (1 Occurrence)
Vine-branches. Vine-branch, Vine-branches. Vine-cuttings . Multi-Version
Concordance ... (See JPS ASV DBY). Vine-branch, Vine-branches. Vine-cuttings . ...
/v/vine-branches.htm - 6k

Gashes (1 Occurrence)
... Gashes (1 Occurrence). Jeremiah 48:37 For every head is bald, and every beard clipped:
on all the hands are cuttings, and on the waist sackcloth. (See NAS RSV). ...
/g/gashes.htm - 6k

Welfare (32 Occurrences)
... 1 Samuel 17:18 and these ten cuttings of the cheese thou dost take in to the head
of the thousand, and thy brethren thou dost inspect for welfare, and their ...
/w/welfare.htm - 16k

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