Hair and beards in the Bible

• Even the hairs of your head are all numberedMatt 10:30, Luke 12:7
  The verses

  Matt 10:30And even the very hairs of your head are all numbered.

  Luke 12:7And even the very hairs of your head are all numbered. So do not be afraid; you are worth more than many sparrows.
• You cannot make a single hair white or blackMatt 5:36
  The verses

  Matt 5:36Nor should you swear by your head, for you cannot make a single hair white or black.
• Paul: long hair is a disgrace to a man, a glory to a woman1 Cor 11:14–15
  The verses

  1 Cor 11:14–15Doesn’t nature itself teach you that if a man has long hair, it is a disgrace to him, but that if a woman has long hair, it is her glory? For long hair is given to her as a covering.
• Braided hair is not where beauty should come from1 Tim 2:9, 1 Pet 3:3
  The verses

  1 Tim 2:9Likewise, I want the women to adorn themselves with respectable apparel, with modesty, and with self-control, not with braided hair or gold or pearls or expensive clothes,

  1 Pet 3:3Your beauty should not come from outward adornment, such as braided hair or gold jewelry or fine clothes,

In the Law

• Do not cut the hair at the sides or clip the beard's edgesLev 19:27
  The verses

  Lev 19:27You must not cut off the hair at the sides of your head or clip off the edges of your beard.
• Priests must not shave bald spots or the edges of their beardsLev 21:5
  The verses

  Lev 21:5Priests must not make bald spots on their heads, shave off the edges of their beards, or make cuts in their bodies.
• No shaving the forehead on behalf of the deadDeut 14:1
  The verses

  Deut 14:1You are sons of the LORD your God; do not cut yourselves or shave your foreheads on behalf of the dead,
• A man who loses his hair is still cleanLev 13:40–41
  The verses

  Lev 13:40–41Now if a man loses his hair and is bald, he is still clean. Or if his hairline recedes and he is bald on his forehead, he is still clean.
• A Nazirite let his hair grow and burned it when the vow endedNum 6:5, Num 6:18
  The verses

  Num 6:5For the entire period of his vow of separation, no razor shall pass over his head. He must be holy until the time of his separation to the LORD is complete; he must let the hair of his head grow long.

  Num 6:18Then at the entrance to the Tent of Meeting, the Nazirite is to shave his consecrated head, take the hair, and put it on the fire under the peace offering.

Examples

• Joseph shaved before going in to PharaohGen 41:14
  The verses

  Gen 41:14So Pharaoh sent for Joseph, who was quickly brought out of the dungeon. After he had shaved and changed his clothes, he went in before Pharaoh.
• No razor was to touch Samson's headJudg 13:5, Judg 16:17
  The verses

  Judg 13:5For behold, you will conceive and give birth to a son. And no razor shall come over his head, because the boy will be a Nazirite to God from the womb, and he will begin the deliverance of Israel from the hand of the Philistines.”

  Judg 16:17Samson told her all that was in his heart: “My hair has never been cut, because I have been a Nazirite to God from my mother’s womb. If I am shaved, my strength will leave me, and I will become as weak as any other man.”
• Delilah had his head shaved; then his hair began to grow backJudg 16:19, Judg 16:22
  The verses

  Judg 16:19And having lulled him to sleep on her lap, she called a man to shave off the seven braids of his head. In this way she began to subdue him, and his strength left him.

  Judg 16:22However, the hair of his head began to grow back after it had been shaved.
• David let saliva run down his beard, feigning madness1 Sam 21:13
  The verses

  1 Sam 21:13So he changed his behavior before them and feigned madness in their hands; he scratched on the doors of the gate and let his saliva run down his beard.
• Hanun shaved half the beards of David's envoys2 Sam 10:4
  The verses

  2 Sam 10:4So Hanun took David’s servants, shaved off half of each man’s beard, cut off their garments at the hips, and sent them away.
• David: stay in Jericho until your beards grow back2 Sam 10:5
  The verses

  2 Sam 10:5When this was reported to David, he sent messengers to meet the men, since they had been thoroughly humiliated. The king told them, “Stay in Jericho until your beards have grown back, and then return.”
• Absalom's yearly haircut weighed two hundred shekels2 Sam 14:26
  The verses

  2 Sam 14:26And when he cut the hair of his head—he shaved it every year because his hair got so heavy—he would weigh it out to be two hundred shekels, according to the royal standard.
• Mephibosheth did not trim his mustache while David was away2 Sam 19:24
  The verses

  2 Sam 19:24Then Mephibosheth, Saul’s grandson, went down to meet the king. He had not cared for his feet or trimmed his mustache or washed his clothes from the day the king had left until the day he returned safely.
• Joab grabbed Amasa's beard as if to kiss him2 Sam 20:9
  The verses

  2 Sam 20:9“Are you well, my brother?” Joab asked Amasa. And with his right hand Joab grabbed Amasa by the beard to kiss him.
• Elijah was a hairy man with a leather belt2 Kgs 1:8
  The verses

  2 Kgs 1:8“He was a hairy man,” they answered, “with a leather belt around his waist.” “It was Elijah the Tishbite,” said the king.
• Boys jeered at Elisha: 'Go up, you baldhead!'2 Kgs 2:23
  The verses

  2 Kgs 2:23From there, Elisha went up to Bethel, and as he was walking up the road, a group of boys came out of the city and jeered at him, chanting, “Go up, you baldhead! Go up, you baldhead!”
• Aaron's beard and the fine oil running down itPs 133:2
  The verses

  Ps 133:2It is like fine oil on the head, running down on the beard, running down Aaron’s beard over the collar of his robes.
• Job shaved his head in griefJob 1:20
  The verses

  Job 1:20Then Job stood up, tore his robe, and shaved his head. He fell to the ground and worshiped,
• Ezra pulled hair from his head and beard in horrorEzra 9:3
  The verses

  Ezra 9:3When I heard this report, I tore my tunic and cloak, pulled out some hair from my head and beard, and sat down in horror.
• Eighty mourners came with shaved beards to the house of the LORDJer 41:5
  The verses

  Jer 41:5eighty men who had shaved off their beards, torn their garments, and cut themselves came from Shechem, Shiloh, and Samaria, carrying grain offerings and frankincense for the house of the LORD.
• Nebuchadnezzar's hair grew like eagle feathersDan 4:33
  The verses

  Dan 4:33At that moment the sentence against Nebuchadnezzar was fulfilled. He was driven away from mankind. He ate grass like an ox, and his body was drenched with the dew of heaven, until his hair grew like the feathers of an eagle and his nails like the claws of a bird.
• A woman wiped Jesus' feet with her hairLuke 7:38, John 12:3
  The verses

  Luke 7:38As she stood behind Him at His feet weeping, she began to wet His feet with her tears and wipe them with her hair. Then she kissed His feet and anointed them with the perfume.

  John 12:3Then Mary took about a pint of expensive perfume, made of pure nard, and she anointed Jesus’ feet and wiped them with her hair. And the house was filled with the fragrance of the perfume.
• Paul had his head shaved at Cenchrea for a vowActs 18:18
  The verses

  Acts 18:18Paul remained in Corinth for quite some time before saying goodbye to the brothers. He had his head shaved in Cenchrea to keep a vow he had made, and then he sailed for Syria, accompanied by Priscilla and Aquila.

In mourning

• Shaved heads and clipped beards as signs of mourningIsa 15:2, Jer 48:37, Mic 1:16
  The verses

  Isa 15:2Dibon goes up to its temple to weep at its high places. Moab wails over Nebo, as well as over Medeba. Every head is shaved, every beard is cut off.

  Jer 48:37For every head is shaved and every beard is clipped; on every hand is a gash, and around every waist is sackcloth.

  Mic 1:16Shave yourselves bald and cut off your hair in mourning for your precious children; make yourselves as bald as an eagle, for they will go from you into exile.