Topical Bible: Beard: Cut

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In biblical times, the beard was a significant aspect of a man's appearance and was often associated with dignity, maturity, and wisdom. The cutting or shaving of the beard held various cultural and religious implications, as reflected in several passages of Scripture.

Cultural Significance:

The beard was a symbol of manhood and honor in ancient Israelite society. To have a full beard was to be seen as a mature and respectable man. The cutting or shaving of the beard could be an act of mourning, humiliation, or purification, depending on the context.

Mourning and Humiliation:

In times of mourning, it was customary for men to alter their appearance as a sign of grief. This often included cutting or shaving the beard. For instance, in Isaiah 15:2 , it is noted, "Dibon goes up to its temple, to its high places to weep; Moab wails over Nebo and Medeba. Every head is shaved, every beard is cut off." This act of shaving the beard was a visible expression of sorrow and lamentation.

The cutting of the beard could also be a form of humiliation. In 2 Samuel 10:4-5 , we read about the Ammonite king humiliating David's envoys: "So Hanun seized David’s servants, shaved off half of each man’s beard, cut off their garments at the hips, and sent them away. When this was reported to David, he sent messengers to meet the men, for they were greatly humiliated. The king told them, 'Stay in Jericho until your beards have grown back, and then return.'"

Purification and Vows:

The cutting of the beard was also associated with purification rituals and the completion of vows. In Numbers 6:18 , concerning the Nazirite vow, it is stated, "Then at the entrance to the Tent of Meeting, the Nazirite is to shave the head of his consecration, take the hair, and put it on the fire under the peace offering." Although this passage specifically mentions the head, it reflects the broader practice of shaving as a symbolic act of purification and dedication.

Prohibitions and Regulations:

The Law of Moses included specific regulations regarding the cutting of the beard. Leviticus 19:27 commands, "You must not cut off the hair at the sides of your head or clip off the edges of your beard." This prohibition was likely intended to distinguish the Israelites from surrounding pagan cultures, which may have practiced certain hair-cutting rituals as part of their religious observances.

Symbol of Restoration:

The restoration of a beard could symbolize the end of a period of disgrace or mourning. As seen in the account of David's envoys, the regrowth of their beards marked the end of their humiliation and their return to honor.

In summary, the cutting of the beard in biblical times was a multifaceted act with implications for mourning, humiliation, purification, and religious observance. The beard was not merely a physical attribute but a significant cultural and religious symbol within the biblical narrative.

Nave's Topical Index

Isaiah 7:20
In the same day shall the Lord shave with a razor that is hired, namely, by them beyond the river, by the king of Assyria, the head, and the hair of the feet: and it shall also consume the beard.
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Isaiah 15:2
He is gone up to Bajith, and to Dibon, the high places, to weep: Moab shall howl over Nebo, and over Medeba: on all their heads shall be baldness, and every beard cut off.
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Jeremiah 11:5
That I may perform the oath which I have sworn to your fathers, to give them a land flowing with milk and honey, as it is this day. Then answered I, and said, So be it, O LORD.
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Jeremiah 48:37
For every head shall be bald, and every beard clipped: on all the hands shall be cuttings, and on the loins sackcloth.
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Library

The Red Shoes
... But it was the old soldier with the red beard: he sat and nodded, and said: ... I cut
off the bad people's heads with my axe, and mark how my axe rings!". ...
/.../wells/bible stories and religious classics/the red shoes.htm

Men not Excluded from These Remarks on Personal Adornment.
... the will to please; and if this sex of ours acknowledges to itself deceptive trickeries
of form peculiarly its own,"(such as) to cut the beard too sharply ...
/.../tertullian/on the apparel of women/chapter viii men not excluded from.htm

Imperial Tombs.
... wreaths of myrtle; she, with braids of hair encircling her head many times, in the
fashion of the age of the empress Helena; he, with the beard cut square, in ...
/.../lanciani/pagan and christian rome/chapter iv imperial tombs.htm

A Compendious view of the Christian Life.
... Having celebrated the beauty of the beard by a repetition, he made the face to ... of
the moustache similarly, which is dirtied in eating, is to be cut round, not ...
/.../clement/the instructor paedagogus/chapter xi a compendious view of.htm

The Emperor Preparing an Expedition against the Persians, Arrives ...
... instantly broke forth into invectives against Julian; caricaturing his beard also,
which was a very long one, and saying that it ought to be cut off and ...
/.../chapter xvii the emperor preparing an.htm

Against Men who Embellish Themselves.
... By and by he is anointed, delighting in the beard "on which descended" the ... are from
their external appearance, their clothes, shoes, form, walk, cut of their ...
/.../clement/the instructor paedagogus/chapter iii against men who embellish.htm

Psalm XXXIV.
... appeared as it were in spittle; but within His Divine Strength was covered as a
beard. ... thou broughtest me to the vineyard to lop and prune it, I cut away all ...
/.../augustine/exposition on the book of psalms/psalm xxxiv.htm

Rash Decisions.
... full of love for David, "had neither dressed his feet, nor trimmed his beard, nor
washed his ... Then she asked him to cut off the head of S. John the Baptist, and ...
/.../the village pulpit volume ii trinity to advent/xli rash decisions.htm

Of the Persecutions in Persia and of them that were Martyred There ...
... were flayed, in others the back; of others they stripped the heads of skin from
brow to beard; others were enveloped in split reeds with the cut part turned ...
/.../chapter xxxviii of the persecutions in.htm

Sermon for the Fourth Sunday after Trinity
... that went down to the skirts of his garments." Now the beard has many hairs, and
the precious ointment flows into them all; but if one hair be cut off, it ...
/.../xx sermon for the fourth.htm