Reference: Beard
American
The Hebrews regarded a thin, scanty beard as a great deformity; while a long, full, flowing beard was esteemed the noblest ornament of personal beauty and dignity. A man's honor was lodged, as it were, his beard. To insult it by word or act was the grossest indignity; to take it respectfully in the right hand and kiss it, was a mode of expressing high esteem and love permitted only to the nearest friends. It was cherished with great care, Ps 133:2; Da 10:3. To neglect, tear, or cut it, indicated the deepest grief, Ezr 9:3; Isa 15:2; Jer 41:5; 48:37; while to be deprived of it was a mark of servility and infamy. Many would prefer death to such a mutilation. These facts explain many passages of Scripture: as the gross insult offered to David's ambassadors, 2Sa 10:4-14; the zealous indignation of Nehemiah, Ne 13:25; the mode in which the feigned insanity of David was expressed, 1Sa 21:12, and the grief of Mephibosheth, 1Sa 19:24; the treachery of Judas; also several passages in the prophets, Isa 7:20; 50:6; Eze 5:1-5.
See Verses Found in Dictionary
And he will also strip off his garments and prophesy, he also, before Samuel; and he will fall naked all that day and all the night. For this they will say, Is Saul also among the prophets.
And David will set these words in his heart, and he will be afraid greatly of the face of Achish, king of Gath.
And Hanun will take David's servants, and shave half their beard, and cut off their garments in the half, even to their buttocks, and he will send them away. And they will announce to David, and he will send to meet them, for the men were greatly shamed. And the king will say, Sit down in Jericho till your beards spring up, and turn back read more. And the sons of Ammon will see that they became loathsome before David, and the sons of Ammon will send and hire Aram of the house of Rehob, and Aram of Zobah, twenty thousand footmen, and king Maacah a thousand men, and Ish-Tob two thousand men. And David will bear, and he will send Joab and all the army of the strong. And the sons of Ammon will go forth and they will arrange the battle at the opening of the gate: and Aram of Zobah and Rehob and Ish-Tob, and Maacah by themselves in the field. And Joab will see that the face of the battle was against him from before and from behind, and he will choose from all the chosen in Israel and will arrange for the meeting of Aram: And the remainder of the people he gave into the hand of Abishai his brother, and he will arrange to meet the sons of Ammon. And he will say, If Aram shall be strong above me, and be thou to me for deliverance: and if the sons of Ammon shall be strong above thee, and I came for deliverance to thee. Be strong, and we will be strong for our people, and for the cities of our God: and Jehovah shall do the good in his eyes. And Joab will draw near, and the people which were with him, to battle against Aram: and they will flee from his face. And the sons of Ammon saw that Aram fled and they will flee from the face of Abishai, and come into the city. And Joab will turn back from the sons of Ammon and come to Jerusalem.
And in my hearing this word I rent my garment and my robe, and I shall pluck off from the hair of my head and my beard, and I shall sit down, being astonished.
And I shall contend with them, and I shall curse them and I shall strike of them men, and I shall make them bald, and cause them to swear by God, If ye shall give your daughters to their sons, and if ye shall lift up from their daughters to your sons and to yourselves.
As good oil upon the head, going down upon the beard, the beard of Aaron: coming down upon the mouth of his garments:
In that day shall Jehovah shave with a hired razor by those beyond the river, by the king of Assur, the head and the hair of the feet: and it also shall scrape off the beard.
He went up to the house and to Dibon, the heights, to weep: over Nebo and Medeba shall Moab wail: upon all their heads baldness; every beard cut off.
My back I gave to those smiting, and my cheeks to those tearing out the hair: and my face I hid not from shame and spittle.
And men will come from Shechem, from Shiloh, and from Shomeron, eighty men, shaving the beard, and their garments rent, and cutting themselves, and a gift and frankincense in their hand, to bring to the house of Jehovah.
For every head bald, and every beard shaved: upon all hands cuttings, and upon the loins sackcloth.
And thou son of man, take to thee a sharp sword, the barber's razor, thou shalt take them to thee and cause to pass over thy head and over thy beard: and take to the balances of weighing and divide them. Thou shalt burn the third in fire in the midst of the city, according to the filling up of the days of the siege: and taking the third thou shalt strike it with the sword round about it; and the third thou shalt scatter to the wind; and I will draw out the sword after them. read more. And take from thence a few in number and bind them in thy wings. And thou shalt yet take from them and cast them into the midst of the fire, and burn them in fire: from it shall come forth fire to all the house of Israel. Thus said the Lord Jehovah: this is Jerusalem; I set her in the midst of the nations and lands round about her.
Bread of desires I ate not, and flesh and wine came not into my mouth, and anointing, I did not anoint myself even to the filling up of three weeks of days.
Easton
The mode of wearing it was definitely prescribed to the Jews (Le 19:27; 21:5). Hence the import of Ezekiel's (Eze 5:1-4) description of the "razor" i.e., the agents of an angry providence being used against the guilty nation of the Jews. It was a part of a Jew's daily toilet to anoint his beard with oil and perfume (Ps 133:2). Beards were trimmed with the most fastidious care (2Sa 19:24), and their neglet was an indication of deep sorrow (Isa 15:2; Jer 41:5). The custom was to shave or pluck off the hair as a sign of mourning (Isa 50:6; Jer 48:37; Ezr 9:3). The beards of David's ambassadors were cut off by hanun (2Sa 10:4) as a mark of indignity.
On the other hand, the Egyptians carefully shaved the hair off their faces, and they compelled their slaves to do so also (Ge 41:14).
Illustration: Modes of Wearing Beard
See Verses Found in Dictionary
And Pharaoh will send and call Joseph, and they will cause him to run from the pit; and he will be shaved and will change his garments; and he will come to Pharaoh.
Ye shall not cut the extremities of your head, and thou shalt not destroy the extremities of thy beard.
With baldness, they shall not make baldness upon their head, and they shall not shave the extremity of their beard: and in their flesh they shall not cut incisions.
And Hanun will take David's servants, and shave half their beard, and cut off their garments in the half, even to their buttocks, and he will send them away.
And Mephibosheth son of Saul, came down to the meeting of the king, and he did not his feet, and he did not his beard, and his garments he washed not from the day the king went till the day in which he came in peace.
And in my hearing this word I rent my garment and my robe, and I shall pluck off from the hair of my head and my beard, and I shall sit down, being astonished.
As good oil upon the head, going down upon the beard, the beard of Aaron: coming down upon the mouth of his garments:
He went up to the house and to Dibon, the heights, to weep: over Nebo and Medeba shall Moab wail: upon all their heads baldness; every beard cut off.
My back I gave to those smiting, and my cheeks to those tearing out the hair: and my face I hid not from shame and spittle.
And men will come from Shechem, from Shiloh, and from Shomeron, eighty men, shaving the beard, and their garments rent, and cutting themselves, and a gift and frankincense in their hand, to bring to the house of Jehovah.
For every head bald, and every beard shaved: upon all hands cuttings, and upon the loins sackcloth.
And thou son of man, take to thee a sharp sword, the barber's razor, thou shalt take them to thee and cause to pass over thy head and over thy beard: and take to the balances of weighing and divide them. Thou shalt burn the third in fire in the midst of the city, according to the filling up of the days of the siege: and taking the third thou shalt strike it with the sword round about it; and the third thou shalt scatter to the wind; and I will draw out the sword after them. read more. And take from thence a few in number and bind them in thy wings. And thou shalt yet take from them and cast them into the midst of the fire, and burn them in fire: from it shall come forth fire to all the house of Israel.
Fausets
With Asiatics, a badge of manly dignity. The Egyptians mostly shaved the hair of the face and head, except in mourning. In consonance with this Egyptian usage, Scripture, with the undesigned propriety of truth, represents Joseph as having "shaved his beard," which he had allowed to grow in prison, before entering Pharaoh's presence (Ge 41:14). Many Egyptians wore a false beard of plaited hair, private individuals small ones, kings long ones square below, the gods one turning at the end. Their enemies are represented bearded on the monuments.
The Jews were forbidden to "round the corners of their heads or mar (i.e. shave off) the corners of their beards" (Le 19:27; 21:5). Baal worshippers rounded the beard and hair to make their faces round, like the sun. The Arabs trimmed their beard round in sign of dedication to some idol. Possibly the Israelites retained the hair between the ear and eye, which the Arabs shaved away (Jer 9:26 margin; Jer 25:23; 49:32; compare Herodotus, 3:8).
The beard is sworn by in the E. as an object of veneration. Not to trim it marked affliction, as in Mephibosheth's case during Absalom's occupation of Jerusalem (2Sa 19:24). An insult to it was resented as a gross outrage, as David did when Hanun shaved off half the beards of his ambassadors (2Sa 10:4). Compare God's threat of "shaving" away His people as "hair" with the Assyrian king as His "razor" (Isa 7:20). This was one gross indignity to which Jesus was subjected: "I gave My cheeks to them that plucked off the hair" (Isa 50:6). It was shaved in mourning (Isa 15:2; Jer 41:5; 48:37). Only the nearest friends were permitted to touch the beard, which marks the foul treachery of Joab in taking his cousin Amasa's beard to kiss him, or rather it (2Sa 20:9). The precious ointment flowed from Aaron's head at his consecration, upon his beard (Ps 133:2). The leper, at purification, had to shave his head and beard and eyebrows (Le 14:9).
See Verses Found in Dictionary
And Pharaoh will send and call Joseph, and they will cause him to run from the pit; and he will be shaved and will change his garments; and he will come to Pharaoh.
And Pharaoh will send and call Joseph, and they will cause him to run from the pit; and he will be shaved and will change his garments; and he will come to Pharaoh.
And it was in the seventh day, he shall shave all his hair off his head, and his beard, and the front of his eyes; and all his hair shall he shave off; and he washed his garments, and washed his flesh in water, and was clean.
And it was in the seventh day, he shall shave all his hair off his head, and his beard, and the front of his eyes; and all his hair shall he shave off; and he washed his garments, and washed his flesh in water, and was clean.
Ye shall not cut the extremities of your head, and thou shalt not destroy the extremities of thy beard.
Ye shall not cut the extremities of your head, and thou shalt not destroy the extremities of thy beard.
With baldness, they shall not make baldness upon their head, and they shall not shave the extremity of their beard: and in their flesh they shall not cut incisions.
With baldness, they shall not make baldness upon their head, and they shall not shave the extremity of their beard: and in their flesh they shall not cut incisions.
And Hanun will take David's servants, and shave half their beard, and cut off their garments in the half, even to their buttocks, and he will send them away.
And Hanun will take David's servants, and shave half their beard, and cut off their garments in the half, even to their buttocks, and he will send them away.
And Mephibosheth son of Saul, came down to the meeting of the king, and he did not his feet, and he did not his beard, and his garments he washed not from the day the king went till the day in which he came in peace.
And Mephibosheth son of Saul, came down to the meeting of the king, and he did not his feet, and he did not his beard, and his garments he washed not from the day the king went till the day in which he came in peace.
And Joab will say to Amasa, Thou my brother in peace? and Joab's right hand will take hold of Amasa by the beard to kiss him.
And Joab will say to Amasa, Thou my brother in peace? and Joab's right hand will take hold of Amasa by the beard to kiss him.
As good oil upon the head, going down upon the beard, the beard of Aaron: coming down upon the mouth of his garments:
As good oil upon the head, going down upon the beard, the beard of Aaron: coming down upon the mouth of his garments:
In that day shall Jehovah shave with a hired razor by those beyond the river, by the king of Assur, the head and the hair of the feet: and it also shall scrape off the beard.
In that day shall Jehovah shave with a hired razor by those beyond the river, by the king of Assur, the head and the hair of the feet: and it also shall scrape off the beard.
He went up to the house and to Dibon, the heights, to weep: over Nebo and Medeba shall Moab wail: upon all their heads baldness; every beard cut off.
He went up to the house and to Dibon, the heights, to weep: over Nebo and Medeba shall Moab wail: upon all their heads baldness; every beard cut off.
My back I gave to those smiting, and my cheeks to those tearing out the hair: and my face I hid not from shame and spittle.
My back I gave to those smiting, and my cheeks to those tearing out the hair: and my face I hid not from shame and spittle.
Over Egypt and over Judah and over Edom, and over the sons of Ammon, and over Moab, and over all cut off of the extremity dwelling in the desert: for all the nations being uncircumcised, and all the house of Israel uncircumcised of heart
Over Egypt and over Judah and over Edom, and over the sons of Ammon, and over Moab, and over all cut off of the extremity dwelling in the desert: for all the nations being uncircumcised, and all the house of Israel uncircumcised of heart
Dedan and Tema, and Buz, and all the cutting off the extremity,
Dedan and Tema, and Buz, and all the cutting off the extremity,
And men will come from Shechem, from Shiloh, and from Shomeron, eighty men, shaving the beard, and their garments rent, and cutting themselves, and a gift and frankincense in their hand, to bring to the house of Jehovah.
And men will come from Shechem, from Shiloh, and from Shomeron, eighty men, shaving the beard, and their garments rent, and cutting themselves, and a gift and frankincense in their hand, to bring to the house of Jehovah.
For every head bald, and every beard shaved: upon all hands cuttings, and upon the loins sackcloth.
For every head bald, and every beard shaved: upon all hands cuttings, and upon the loins sackcloth.
And their camels were for plunder, and the multitude of their cattle for a spoil: and I scattered them to every wind cut off to the corner; and from all its regions beyond I will bring their calamity, says Jehovah.
And their camels were for plunder, and the multitude of their cattle for a spoil: and I scattered them to every wind cut off to the corner; and from all its regions beyond I will bring their calamity, says Jehovah.
Hastings
Morish
The Israelites always cultivated the beard, and highly valued it. The law forbade them to 'mar the corners of their beards,' Le 19:27, and a priest must not shave off the corner of his beard as a sign of mourning. Le 21:5. King Hanun inflicted a sore indignity when he marred the beards of David's ambassadors. 2Sa 10:4. Ezra in great grief at the sin of the people plucked off the hair of his head and of his beard. Ezr 9:3: cf. Jer 41:5. God's judgement on Israel is compared to the beard being consumed by a razor, Isa 7:20; and they were to be scattered as hair that is cut off. Eze 5:1-2,12. Of Moab it was said, every beard should be cut off. Isa 15:2; Jer 48:37.
See Verses Found in Dictionary
Ye shall not cut the extremities of your head, and thou shalt not destroy the extremities of thy beard.
With baldness, they shall not make baldness upon their head, and they shall not shave the extremity of their beard: and in their flesh they shall not cut incisions.
And Hanun will take David's servants, and shave half their beard, and cut off their garments in the half, even to their buttocks, and he will send them away.
And in my hearing this word I rent my garment and my robe, and I shall pluck off from the hair of my head and my beard, and I shall sit down, being astonished.
In that day shall Jehovah shave with a hired razor by those beyond the river, by the king of Assur, the head and the hair of the feet: and it also shall scrape off the beard.
He went up to the house and to Dibon, the heights, to weep: over Nebo and Medeba shall Moab wail: upon all their heads baldness; every beard cut off.
And men will come from Shechem, from Shiloh, and from Shomeron, eighty men, shaving the beard, and their garments rent, and cutting themselves, and a gift and frankincense in their hand, to bring to the house of Jehovah.
For every head bald, and every beard shaved: upon all hands cuttings, and upon the loins sackcloth.
And thou son of man, take to thee a sharp sword, the barber's razor, thou shalt take them to thee and cause to pass over thy head and over thy beard: and take to the balances of weighing and divide them. Thou shalt burn the third in fire in the midst of the city, according to the filling up of the days of the siege: and taking the third thou shalt strike it with the sword round about it; and the third thou shalt scatter to the wind; and I will draw out the sword after them.
A third of thee in death shall die, and with famine shall they be consumed in the midst of thee: and a third shall fall by the sword round about thee; and the third I will scatter to every wind, and I will draw out the sword after them.
Smith
Beard.
Western Asiatics have always cherished the beard as the badge of the dignity of manhood, and attached to it the importance of a feature. The Egyptians, on the contrary for the most part shaved the hair of the face and head, though we find some instances to the contrary. The beard is the object of an oath, and that on which blessing or shame is spoken of as resting. The custom was and is to shave or pluck it and the hair out in mourning,
Ezr 9:3; Isa 15:2; 50:6; Jer 41:5; 48:37
Bar. 6:31; to neglect it in seasons of permanent affliction,
and to regard any insult to it as the last outrage which enmity can inflict.
The beard was the object of salutation.
The dressing, trimming, anointing, etc., of the beard was performed with much ceremony by persons of wealth and rank
The removal of the beard was a part of the ceremonial treatment proper to a leper.
See Verses Found in Dictionary
And it was in the seventh day, he shall shave all his hair off his head, and his beard, and the front of his eyes; and all his hair shall he shave off; and he washed his garments, and washed his flesh in water, and was clean.
And Hanun will take David's servants, and shave half their beard, and cut off their garments in the half, even to their buttocks, and he will send them away.
And Mephibosheth son of Saul, came down to the meeting of the king, and he did not his feet, and he did not his beard, and his garments he washed not from the day the king went till the day in which he came in peace.
And Joab will say to Amasa, Thou my brother in peace? and Joab's right hand will take hold of Amasa by the beard to kiss him.
And in my hearing this word I rent my garment and my robe, and I shall pluck off from the hair of my head and my beard, and I shall sit down, being astonished.
As good oil upon the head, going down upon the beard, the beard of Aaron: coming down upon the mouth of his garments:
He went up to the house and to Dibon, the heights, to weep: over Nebo and Medeba shall Moab wail: upon all their heads baldness; every beard cut off.
My back I gave to those smiting, and my cheeks to those tearing out the hair: and my face I hid not from shame and spittle.
And men will come from Shechem, from Shiloh, and from Shomeron, eighty men, shaving the beard, and their garments rent, and cutting themselves, and a gift and frankincense in their hand, to bring to the house of Jehovah.
For every head bald, and every beard shaved: upon all hands cuttings, and upon the loins sackcloth.
Watsons
BEARD. The Hebrews wore their beards, but had, doubtless, in common with other Asiatic nations, several fashions in this, as in all other parts of dress. Moses forbids them, Le 19:27, "to cut off entirely the angle, or extremity of their beard;" that is, to avoid the manner of the Egyptians, who left only a little tuft of beard at the extremity of their chins. The Jews, in some places, at this day suffer a little fillet of hair to grow from below the ears to the chin: where, as well as upon their lower lips, their beards are long. When they mourned, they entirely shaved the hair of their heads and beards, and neglected to trim their beards, to regulate them into neat order, or to remove what grew on their upper lips and cheeks, Jer 48:37. In times of grief and affliction, they plucked away the hair of their heads and beards, a mode of expression common to other nations under great calamities. The king of the Ammonites, designing to insult David in the person of his ambassadors, cut away half of their beards, and half of their clothes; that is, he cut off all their beard on one side of their faces, 2Sa 10:4-5; 1Ch 19:5. To avoid ridicule, David did not wish them to appear at his court till their beards were grown again. When a leper was cured of his leprosy, he washed himself in a bath, and shaved off all the hair of his body; after which, he returned into the camp, or city; seven days afterward, he washed himself and his clothes again, shaved off all his hair, and offered the sacrifices appointed for his purification, Le 14:9. The Levites, at their consecration, were purified by bathing, and washing their bodies and clothes; after which, they shaved off all the hair of their bodies, and then offered the sacrifices appointed for their consecration, Nu 8:7.
Nothing has been more fluctuating, in the different ages of the world and countries than the fashion of wearing the beard. Some have cultivated one part and some another; some have endeavoured to extirpate it entirely, while others have almost idolized it; the revolutions of countries have scarcely been more famous than the revolutions of beards. It is a great mark of infamy among the Arabs to cut off the beard. Many people would prefer death to this kind of treatment. As they would think it a grievous punishment to lose it, they carry things so far as to beg for the sake of it: "By your beard, by the life of your beard, God preserve your blessed beard." When they would express their value for any thing, they say, "It is worth more than a man's beard." And hence we may easily learn the magnitude of the offence of the Ammonites in their treatment of David's ambassadors, as above mentioned; and also the force of the emblem used Eze 5:1-5, where the inhabitants of Jerusalem are compared to the hair of his head and beard. Though they had been dear to God as the hair of an eastern beard to its owner, they should be taken away and consumed, one part by pestilence and famine, another by the sword, another by the calamities incident on exile.
See Verses Found in Dictionary
And it was in the seventh day, he shall shave all his hair off his head, and his beard, and the front of his eyes; and all his hair shall he shave off; and he washed his garments, and washed his flesh in water, and was clean.
Ye shall not cut the extremities of your head, and thou shalt not destroy the extremities of thy beard.
And thus thou shalt do to them, to cleanse them: sprinkle upon them the water of sin, and they caused a razor to pass over upon all their flesh, and they washed their garments, and they were cleansed.
And Hanun will take David's servants, and shave half their beard, and cut off their garments in the half, even to their buttocks, and he will send them away. And they will announce to David, and he will send to meet them, for the men were greatly shamed. And the king will say, Sit down in Jericho till your beards spring up, and turn back
For every head bald, and every beard shaved: upon all hands cuttings, and upon the loins sackcloth.
And thou son of man, take to thee a sharp sword, the barber's razor, thou shalt take them to thee and cause to pass over thy head and over thy beard: and take to the balances of weighing and divide them. Thou shalt burn the third in fire in the midst of the city, according to the filling up of the days of the siege: and taking the third thou shalt strike it with the sword round about it; and the third thou shalt scatter to the wind; and I will draw out the sword after them. read more. And take from thence a few in number and bind them in thy wings. And thou shalt yet take from them and cast them into the midst of the fire, and burn them in fire: from it shall come forth fire to all the house of Israel. Thus said the Lord Jehovah: this is Jerusalem; I set her in the midst of the nations and lands round about her.