Reference: Hair
American
The Jewish men, except Nazarites, Nu 6:5,9, and cases like that of Absalom, 2Sa 14:26, cut their hair moderately short, 1Co 11:14, and applied fragrant ointments to it, Ex 30:30-33; Ps 23:5; Ec 9:8. In mourning they wholly neglected it, or shaved it close, or plucked it out by handfuls, Jer 7:29. Women prized a fine head of hair, and plaited, perfumed, and decked it in many ways, Isa 3:18,24; 1Co 11:15, so much as to call for apostolic interdictions, 1Ti 2:9; 1Pe 3:9. "Hair like women's" characterized the locusts of antichrist, Re 9:8. Lepers when cleansed, and Levites, on their consecration, shaved the whole body, Le 13; 14:8-9.
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And Aaron and his sons thou shalt anoint, and shalt hallow them, that they may serve me as priests. And thou shalt speak to the children of Israel, saying, A holy anointing oil shall this be unto me throughout your generations. read more. Upon man's flesh shall it not be poured, neither shall ye make any like it, after the preparation of it: it is holy holy shall it be unto you. Whoever compoundeth any like it, or whoever putteth any of it upon any strange thing, shall be cut off from his peoples.
All the days of the vow of his separation there shall no razor come upon his head; until the days be fulfilled, that he hath consecrated himself to Jehovah, he shall be holy; he shall let the locks of the hair of his head grow.
And if any one die unexpectedly by him suddenly, and he hath defiled the head of his consecration, then he shall shave his head on the day of his cleansing; on the seventh day shall he shave it.
And when he shaved his head (for it was at every year's end that he shaved it, because it was heavy on him, therefore he shaved it), he weighed the hair of his head at two hundred shekels after the king's weight.
Thou preparest a table before me in the presence of mine enemies; thou hast anointed my head with oil; my cup runneth over.
Let thy garments be always white, and let not thy head lack oil.
In that day the Lord will take away the ornament of anklets, and the little suns and crescents,
And it shall come to pass, instead of perfume there shall be rottenness; and instead of a girdle, a rope; and instead of well-set hair, baldness; and instead of a robe of display, a girding of sackcloth; brand instead of beauty.
Cut off thy hair, and cast it away, and take up a lamentation on the heights; for Jehovah hath rejected and forsaken the generation of his wrath.
Does not even nature itself teach you, that man, if he have long hair, it is a dishonour to him?
In like manner also that the women in decent deportment and dress adorn themselves with modesty and discretion, not with plaited hair and gold, or pearls, or costly clothing,
and they had hair as women's hair, and their teeth were as of lions,
Easton
(1.) The Egyptians let the hair of their head and beard grow only when they were in mourning, shaving it off at other times. "So particular were they on this point that to have neglected it was a subject of reproach and ridicule; and whenever they intended to convey the idea of a man of low condition, or a slovenly person, the artists represented him with a beard." Joseph shaved himself before going in to Pharoah (Ge 41:14). The women of Egypt wore their hair long and plaited. Wigs were worn by priests and laymen to cover the shaven skull, and false beards were common. The great masses of hair seen in the portraits and statues of kings and priests are thus altogether artificial.
(2.) A precisely opposite practice, as regards men, prevailed among the Assyrians. In Assyrian sculptures the hair always appears long, and combed closely down upon the head. The beard also was allowed to grow to its full length.
(3.) Among the Greeks the custom in this respect varied at different times, as it did also among the Romans. In the time of the apostle, among the Greeks the men wore short hair, while that of the women was long (1Co 11:14-15). Paul reproves the Corinthians for falling in with a style of manners which so far confounded the distinction of the sexes and was hurtful to good morals. (See, however, 1Ti 2:9; 1Pe 3:3, as regards women.)
(4.) Among the Hebrews the natural distinction between the sexes was preserved by the women wearing long hair (Lu 7:38; Joh 11:2; 1Co 11:6), while the men preserved theirs as a rule at a moderate length by frequent clipping.
Baldness disqualified any one for the priest's office (Le 21).
Elijah is called a "hairy man" (2Ki 1:8) from his flowing locks, or more probably from the shaggy cloak of hair which he wore. His raiment was of camel's hair.
Long hair is especially noticed in the description of Absalom's person (2Sa 14:26); but the wearing of long hair was unusual, and was only practised as an act of religious observance by Nazarites (Nu 6:5; Jg 13:5) and others in token of special mercies (Ac 18:18).
In times of affliction the hair was cut off (Isa 3:17,24; 15:2; 22:12; Jer 7:29; Am 8:10). Tearing the hair and letting it go dishevelled were also tokens of grief (Ezr 9:3). "Cutting off the hair" is a figure of the entire destruction of a people (Isa 7:20). The Hebrews anointed the hair profusely with fragrant ointments (Ru 3:3; 2Sa 14:2; Ps 23:5; 45:7, etc.), especially in seasons of rejoicing (Mt 6:17; Lu 7:46).
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Then Pharaoh sent and called Joseph; and they brought him hastily out of the dungeon. And he shaved himself, and changed his clothes, and came in to Pharaoh.
All the days of the vow of his separation there shall no razor come upon his head; until the days be fulfilled, that he hath consecrated himself to Jehovah, he shall be holy; he shall let the locks of the hair of his head grow.
for lo, you shall conceive and bear a son. No razor shall come upon his head, for the boy shall be a Nazirite to God from birth; and he shall begin to deliver Israel from the hand of the Philistines."
Wash thyself therefore, and anoint thyself, and put thy raiment upon thee, and go down to the floor; make not thyself known to the man, until he shall have done eating and drinking.
And when he shaved his head (for it was at every year's end that he shaved it, because it was heavy on him, therefore he shaved it), he weighed the hair of his head at two hundred shekels after the king's weight.
And they said to him, He was a man in a hairy garment, and girt with a girdle of leather about his loins. And he said, It is Elijah the Tishbite.
And when I heard this thing, I rent my mantle and my garment, and plucked off the hair of my head and of my beard, and sat down overwhelmed.
Thou preparest a table before me in the presence of mine enemies; thou hast anointed my head with oil; my cup runneth over.
Thou hast loved righteousness, and hated wickedness; therefore God, thy God, hath anointed thee with the oil of gladness above thy companions.
therefore the Lord will make bald the crown of the head of the daughters of Zion, and Jehovah will lay bare their secret parts.
And it shall come to pass, instead of perfume there shall be rottenness; and instead of a girdle, a rope; and instead of well-set hair, baldness; and instead of a robe of display, a girding of sackcloth; brand instead of beauty.
In that day will the Lord, with a razor which is hired beyond the river, with the king of Assyria, shave the head and the hair of the feet, yea, the beard also will it take away.
He is gone up to Bajith, and to Dibon, to the high places, to weep; Moab howleth over Nebo, and over Medeba; on all their heads is baldness, every beard is cut off.
And in that day did the Lord Jehovah of hosts call to weeping, and to mourning, and to baldness, and to girding with sackcloth;
Cut off thy hair, and cast it away, and take up a lamentation on the heights; for Jehovah hath rejected and forsaken the generation of his wrath.
And I will turn your feasts into mourning, and all your songs into lamentation; and I will bring up sackcloth upon all loins, and baldness upon every head; and I will make it as the mourning for an only son, and the end thereof as a bitter day.
But thou, when fasting, anoint thy head and wash thy face,
and standing at his feet behind him weeping, began to wash his feet with tears; and she wiped them with the hairs of her head, and kissed his feet, and anointed them with the myrrh.
My head with oil thou didst not anoint, but she has anointed my feet with myrrh.
It was the Mary who anointed the Lord with ointment and wiped his feet with her hair, whose brother Lazarus was sick.
And Paul, having yet stayed there many days, took leave of the brethren and sailed thence to Syria, and with him Priscilla and Aquila, having shorn his head in Cenchrea, for he had a vow;
Does not even nature itself teach you, that man, if he have long hair, it is a dishonour to him? But woman, if she have long hair, it is glory to her; for the long hair is given to her in lieu of a veil.
In like manner also that the women in decent deportment and dress adorn themselves with modesty and discretion, not with plaited hair and gold, or pearls, or costly clothing,
Fausets
Shaved closely by men, worn long by women, in Egypt. The Hebrew wore long beards; the Egyptians only in mourning did so. At the same time the Hebrew kept the distinction of sexes by clipping the hair of men (though hardly so much as we do; Le 10:6; Hebrew: "let not loose (the hair of) your heads," not "uncover," etc.), but not of women (1Co 11:6, etc.; Lu 7:38). The law forbad them to "round the corners of their heads, or mar the cornners of the beard"; for the Arabs in honour of the idol Orotal cut the hair from the temples in a circular form, and in mourning marred their beards (Le 19:27; Jer 9:26 margin, Jer 48:37). Baldness, being often the result of leprosy, disqualified for the priesthood (Le 21:20, Septuagint). (See BALDNESS.)
Absalom's luxuriant hair is mentioned as a sign of beauty, but was a mark of effeminacy; its weight perhaps was 20, not 200 shekels, the numeral resh (r) having by a copyist's error been substituted for kaph (k) (2Sa 14:26). Nazarites wore it uncut, a sign of humiliation and self-denial, at the same time of dedication of all the strength, of which hair was a token, to God (Nu 6:5; Jg 13:5; 16:17). Shaving the head was often practiced in fulfillment of a vow, as Paul did, the shaving being usually followed by a sacrifice in 30 days (Ac 18:18); probably his vow was made in some sickness (Ga 4:13).
Black was the favorite color. Song 5:11, the bridegroom's locks are "bushy" (curled), betokening headship; Song 4:1, the hair of goats in the East being fine like silk and flowing, the token of the bride's subjection; Song 1:5; 7:5, "purple," i.e. glossy black. Ec 12:5, "the almond tree shall flourish." does not refer to white hair on the old, for the almond blossom is pink, but to the almond (lit. the wakeful) tree blossoming in winter, i.e. the wakefulness of old age shall set in. But Gesenius, "(the old man) loathes the (sweet) almond."
In Song 7:5, for "galleries" translated "the king is held (fascinated) with the flowing ringlets." The hair was often platted in braids, kept in their place by a fillet. So Samson's "seven locks" (Jg 16:13,19; compare 1Ti 2:9; 1Pe 3:3). Egyptian women swear by their sidelocks, and men by their beards; the Jews' imitation of this our Lord condemns (Mt 5:36). Hair represents what is least valuable (Mt 10:30); innumerable to man, but "all numbered" by God's providence for His children. "Hair as the hair of women" (Re 9:8), long and flowing, a mark of semi-barbarous hosts (1Co 11:14-15).
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And Moses said to Aaron, and to Eleazar and to Ithamar his sons, Your heads shall ye not uncover, neither rend your clothes; lest ye die, and lest wrath come on all the assembly; but your brethren, the whole house of Israel, shall bewail the burning which Jehovah hath kindled.
ye shall not shave the corners of your head round, neither shalt thou mutilate the corners of thy beard.
or hump-backed, or withered, or that hath a spot in his eye, or hath the itch, or scabs, or his testicles broken.
All the days of the vow of his separation there shall no razor come upon his head; until the days be fulfilled, that he hath consecrated himself to Jehovah, he shall be holy; he shall let the locks of the hair of his head grow.
for lo, you shall conceive and bear a son. No razor shall come upon his head, for the boy shall be a Nazirite to God from birth; and he shall begin to deliver Israel from the hand of the Philistines."
And Deli'lah said to Samson, "Until now you have mocked me, and told me lies; tell me how you might be bound." And he said to her, "If you weave the seven locks of my head with the web and make it tight with the pin, then I shall become weak, and be like any other man."
And he told her all his mind, and said to her, "A razor has never come upon my head; for I have been a Nazirite to God from my mother's womb. If I be shaved, then my strength will leave me, and I shall become weak, and be like any other man."
She made him sleep upon her knees; and she called a man, and had him shave off the seven locks of his head. Then she began to torment him, and his strength left him.
And when he shaved his head (for it was at every year's end that he shaved it, because it was heavy on him, therefore he shaved it), he weighed the hair of his head at two hundred shekels after the king's weight.
they are also afraid of what is high, and terrors are in the way, and the almond is despised, and the grasshopper is a burden, and the caper-berry is without effect; (for man goeth to his age-long home, and the mourners go about the streets;)
I am black, but comely, daughters of Jerusalem, As the tents of Kedar, As the curtains of Solomon.
Behold, thou art fair, my love; behold, thou art fair; Thine eyes are doves behind thy veil; Thy hair is as a flock of goats, On the slopes of mount Gilead.
His head is as the finest gold; His locks are flowing, black as the raven;
Thy head upon thee is like Carmel, And the locks of thy head like purple; The king is fettered by thy ringlets!
Thy head upon thee is like Carmel, And the locks of thy head like purple; The king is fettered by thy ringlets!
Egypt, and Judah, and Edom, and the children of Ammon, and Moab, and all that have the corners of their beard cut off, that dwell in the wilderness: for all the nations are uncircumcised, and all the house of Israel are uncircumcised in heart.
For every head is bald, and every beard clipped; upon all the hands are cuttings, and upon the loins sackcloth.
Neither shalt thou swear by thy head, because thou canst not make one hair white or black.
but of you even the hairs of the head are all numbered.
and standing at his feet behind him weeping, began to wash his feet with tears; and she wiped them with the hairs of her head, and kissed his feet, and anointed them with the myrrh.
And Paul, having yet stayed there many days, took leave of the brethren and sailed thence to Syria, and with him Priscilla and Aquila, having shorn his head in Cenchrea, for he had a vow;
For if a woman be not covered, let her hair also be cut off. But if it be shameful to a woman to have her hair cut off or to be shaved, let her be covered.
Does not even nature itself teach you, that man, if he have long hair, it is a dishonour to him? But woman, if she have long hair, it is glory to her; for the long hair is given to her in lieu of a veil.
But ye know that in weakness of the flesh I announced the glad tidings to you at the first;
In like manner also that the women in decent deportment and dress adorn themselves with modesty and discretion, not with plaited hair and gold, or pearls, or costly clothing,
and they had hair as women's hair, and their teeth were as of lions,
Hastings
The usual word in OT is s
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Then Pharaoh sent and called Joseph; and they brought him hastily out of the dungeon. And he shaved himself, and changed his clothes, and came in to Pharaoh.
and the priest look on the sore, and behold, it looketh deeper than the skin, and there is in it yellow thin hair, then the priest shall pronounce him unclean; it is a scall, the leprosy of the head or the beard.
ye shall not shave the corners of your head round, neither shalt thou mutilate the corners of thy beard.
They shall not make any baldness upon their head, neither shall they shave off the corners of their beard, nor make any cuttings in their flesh.
And the priest shall set the woman before Jehovah, and uncover the woman's head, and put the memorial oblation in her hands, which is the jealousy offering; and in the hand of the priest shall be the bitter water that bringeth the curse.
All the days of the vow of his separation there shall no razor come upon his head; until the days be fulfilled, that he hath consecrated himself to Jehovah, he shall be holy; he shall let the locks of the hair of his head grow.
then thou shalt bring her home to thy house; and she shall shave her head, and pare her nails;
for lo, you shall conceive and bear a son. No razor shall come upon his head, for the boy shall be a Nazirite to God from birth; and he shall begin to deliver Israel from the hand of the Philistines."
And Deli'lah said to Samson, "Until now you have mocked me, and told me lies; tell me how you might be bound." And he said to her, "If you weave the seven locks of my head with the web and make it tight with the pin, then I shall become weak, and be like any other man."
And Hanun took David's servants, and had the one half of their beards shaved off, and their raiment cut off in the midst, as far as their buttocks, and sent them away.
And when he shaved his head (for it was at every year's end that he shaved it, because it was heavy on him, therefore he shaved it), he weighed the hair of his head at two hundred shekels after the king's weight.
And Mephibosheth the son of Saul came down to meet the king. Now he had neither washed his feet, nor trimmed his beard, nor washed his clothes, from the day the king departed until the day he came again in peace.
And Jehu came to Jizreel; and Jezebel heard of it, and she put paint to her eyes, and decked her head, and looked out at the window.
And when I heard this thing, I rent my mantle and my garment, and plucked off the hair of my head and of my beard, and sat down overwhelmed.
The hoary head is a crown of glory, if it is found in the way of righteousness.
Behold, thou art fair, my love; behold, thou art fair; Thine eyes are doves behind thy veil; Thy hair is as a flock of goats, On the slopes of mount Gilead.
I slept, but my heart was awake. The voice of my beloved! he knocketh: Open to me, my sister, my love, my dove, mine undefiled; For my head is filled with dew, My locks with the drops of the night.
His head is as the finest gold; His locks are flowing, black as the raven;
His head is as the finest gold; His locks are flowing, black as the raven;
Thy head upon thee is like Carmel, And the locks of thy head like purple; The king is fettered by thy ringlets!
In that day the Lord will take away the ornament of anklets, and the little suns and crescents,
And it shall come to pass, instead of perfume there shall be rottenness; and instead of a girdle, a rope; and instead of well-set hair, baldness; and instead of a robe of display, a girding of sackcloth; brand instead of beauty.
And it shall come to pass, instead of perfume there shall be rottenness; and instead of a girdle, a rope; and instead of well-set hair, baldness; and instead of a robe of display, a girding of sackcloth; brand instead of beauty.
In that day will the Lord, with a razor which is hired beyond the river, with the king of Assyria, shave the head and the hair of the feet, yea, the beard also will it take away.
He is gone up to Bajith, and to Dibon, to the high places, to weep; Moab howleth over Nebo, and over Medeba; on all their heads is baldness, every beard is cut off.
I gave my back to smiters, and my cheeks to them that plucked off the hair; I hid not my face from shame and spitting.
Cut off thy hair, and cast it away, and take up a lamentation on the heights; for Jehovah hath rejected and forsaken the generation of his wrath.
Egypt, and Judah, and Edom, and the children of Ammon, and Moab, and all that have the corners of their beard cut off, that dwell in the wilderness: for all the nations are uncircumcised, and all the house of Israel are uncircumcised in heart.
Both great and small shall die in this land: they shall not be buried; and none shall lament for them, or cut themselves, nor make themselves bald for them.
that there came men from Shechem, from Shiloh, and from Samaria, eighty men, having their beards shaven and their clothes rent, and having cut themselves; with oblations and incense in their hand, to bring them to the house of Jehovah.
For every head is bald, and every beard clipped; upon all the hands are cuttings, and upon the loins sackcloth.
And thou, son of man, take thee a sharp knife; a barber's razor shalt thou take; and cause it to pass upon thy head and upon thy beard: and thou shalt take balances to weigh, and divide the hair.
I caused thee to multiply, as the bud of the field; and thou didst increase and grow great, and thou camest to fulness of beauty; thy breasts were fashioned, and thy hair grew: but thou wast naked and bare.
Neither shall they shave their heads, nor suffer their locks to grow long: they shall duly poll their heads.
I beheld till thrones were set, and the Ancient of days did sit: his raiment was white as snow, and the hair of his head like pure wool; his throne was flames of fire, and its wheels burning fire.
And I will turn your feasts into mourning, and all your songs into lamentation; and I will bring up sackcloth upon all loins, and baldness upon every head; and I will make it as the mourning for an only son, and the end thereof as a bitter day.
Neither shalt thou swear by thy head, because thou canst not make one hair white or black.
and standing at his feet behind him weeping, began to wash his feet with tears; and she wiped them with the hairs of her head, and kissed his feet, and anointed them with the myrrh.
For if a woman be not covered, let her hair also be cut off. But if it be shameful to a woman to have her hair cut off or to be shaved, let her be covered.
In like manner also that the women in decent deportment and dress adorn themselves with modesty and discretion, not with plaited hair and gold, or pearls, or costly clothing,
whose adorning let it not be that outward one of tressing of hair, and wearing gold, or putting on apparel;
his head and hair white like white wool, as snow; and his eyes as a flame of fire;
and they had hair as women's hair, and their teeth were as of lions,
Morish
Given by God as an ornament and a protection for the head. The Israelites were not to "round the corners of their heads," doubtless in allusion to some heathen practice, one of which has been described as "cutting the hair in a ring away from the temples." Le 19:27. Neither were they to make any baldness between their eyes for the dead. De 14:1. Baldness should come as a judgement. Isa 15:2; Jer 9:26, margin; Jer 48:37.
Long hair is referred to in the N.T. as the natural covering of a woman, as owning her subjection to the man, and is a glory to her; but nature teaches that if a man have long hair, it is a shame to him. His head must not thus be covered, for "he is the image and glory of God." 1Co 11:6-15. "Hair as the hair of women" is a symbol of subjection to a head, and effeminacy. Re 9:8.
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ye shall not shave the corners of your head round, neither shalt thou mutilate the corners of thy beard.
Ye are sons of Jehovah your God: ye shall not cut yourselves, nor make any baldness between your eyes for a dead person.
He is gone up to Bajith, and to Dibon, to the high places, to weep; Moab howleth over Nebo, and over Medeba; on all their heads is baldness, every beard is cut off.
Egypt, and Judah, and Edom, and the children of Ammon, and Moab, and all that have the corners of their beard cut off, that dwell in the wilderness: for all the nations are uncircumcised, and all the house of Israel are uncircumcised in heart.
For every head is bald, and every beard clipped; upon all the hands are cuttings, and upon the loins sackcloth.
For if a woman be not covered, let her hair also be cut off. But if it be shameful to a woman to have her hair cut off or to be shaved, let her be covered. For man indeed ought not to have his head covered, being God's image and glory; but woman is man's glory. read more. For man is not of woman, but woman of man. For also man was not created for the sake of the woman, but woman for the sake of the man. Therefore ought the woman to have authority on her head, on account of the angels. However, neither is woman without man, nor man without woman, in the Lord. For as the woman is of the man, so also is the man by the woman, but all things of God. Judge in yourselves: is it comely that a woman should pray to God uncovered? Does not even nature itself teach you, that man, if he have long hair, it is a dishonour to him? But woman, if she have long hair, it is glory to her; for the long hair is given to her in lieu of a veil.
and they had hair as women's hair, and their teeth were as of lions,
Smith
Hair.
The Hebrews were fully alive to the importance of the hair as an element of personal beauty. Long hair was admired in the case of young men.
In times of affliction the hair was altogether cut off.
Tearing the hair
and letting it go dishevelled were similar tokens of grief. The usual and favorite color of the hair was black,
as is indicated in the comparisons in
a similar hue is probably intended by the purple of
Pure white hair was deemed characteristic of the divine Majesty.
The chief beauty of the hair consisted in curls, whether of a natural or an artificial character. With regard to the mode of dressing the hair, we have no very precise information; the terms used are of a general character, as of Jezebel,
and of Judith, ch. 10:3, and in the New Testament,
The arrangement of Samson's hair into seven locks, or more properly braids,
involves the practice of plaiting, which was also familiar to the Egyptians and Greeks. The locks were probably kept in their place by a fillet, as in Egypt. The Hebrews like other nations of antiquity, anointed the hair profusely with ointments, which were generally compounded of various aromatic ingredients,
Ru 3:3; 2Sa 14:2; Ps 23:6; 92:10; Ec 9:8
more especially on occasions of festivity or hospitality.
Lu 7:46
It appears to have been the custom of the Jews in our Saviour's time to swear by the hair,
much as the Egyptian women still swear by the side-locks, and the men by their beards.
See Verses Found in Dictionary
And Deli'lah said to Samson, "Until now you have mocked me, and told me lies; tell me how you might be bound." And he said to her, "If you weave the seven locks of my head with the web and make it tight with the pin, then I shall become weak, and be like any other man."
She made him sleep upon her knees; and she called a man, and had him shave off the seven locks of his head. Then she began to torment him, and his strength left him.
Wash thyself therefore, and anoint thyself, and put thy raiment upon thee, and go down to the floor; make not thyself known to the man, until he shall have done eating and drinking.
And when he shaved his head (for it was at every year's end that he shaved it, because it was heavy on him, therefore he shaved it), he weighed the hair of his head at two hundred shekels after the king's weight.
And Jehu came to Jizreel; and Jezebel heard of it, and she put paint to her eyes, and decked her head, and looked out at the window.
And when I heard this thing, I rent my mantle and my garment, and plucked off the hair of my head and of my beard, and sat down overwhelmed.
Surely, goodness and loving-kindness shall follow me all the days of my life; and I will dwell in the house of Jehovah for the length of the days.
But my horn shalt thou exalt like a buffalo's: I shall be anointed with fresh oil.
Let thy garments be always white, and let not thy head lack oil.
I am black, but comely, daughters of Jerusalem, As the tents of Kedar, As the curtains of Solomon.
Behold, thou art fair, my love; behold, thou art fair; Thine eyes are doves behind thy veil; Thy hair is as a flock of goats, On the slopes of mount Gilead.
His head is as the finest gold; His locks are flowing, black as the raven;
therefore the Lord will make bald the crown of the head of the daughters of Zion, and Jehovah will lay bare their secret parts.
And it shall come to pass, instead of perfume there shall be rottenness; and instead of a girdle, a rope; and instead of well-set hair, baldness; and instead of a robe of display, a girding of sackcloth; brand instead of beauty.
He is gone up to Bajith, and to Dibon, to the high places, to weep; Moab howleth over Nebo, and over Medeba; on all their heads is baldness, every beard is cut off.
Cut off thy hair, and cast it away, and take up a lamentation on the heights; for Jehovah hath rejected and forsaken the generation of his wrath.
I beheld till thrones were set, and the Ancient of days did sit: his raiment was white as snow, and the hair of his head like pure wool; his throne was flames of fire, and its wheels burning fire.
Neither shalt thou swear by thy head, because thou canst not make one hair white or black.
My head with oil thou didst not anoint, but she has anointed my feet with myrrh.
In like manner also that the women in decent deportment and dress adorn themselves with modesty and discretion, not with plaited hair and gold, or pearls, or costly clothing,
his head and hair white like white wool, as snow; and his eyes as a flame of fire;
Watsons
HAIR. The eastern females wear their hair, which the prophet emphatically calls the "instrument of their pride," very long, and divided into a great number of tresses. In Barbary, the ladies all affect to have their hair hang down to the ground, which, after they have collected into one lock, they bind and plait with ribands. Where nature has been less liberal in its ornaments, the defect is supplied by art, and foreign is procured to be interwoven with the natural hair. The Apostle's remark on this subject corresponds entirely with the custom of the east; as well as with the original design of the Creator: "Does not even nature itself teach you, that, if a man have long hair, it is a shame unto him? But if a woman have long hair, it is a glory to her; for her hair is given her for a covering," 1Co 11:14. The men in the east, Chardin observes, are shaved; the women nourish their hair with great fondness, which they lengthen by tresses, and tufts of silk down to the heels. But among the Hebrews the men did not shave their heads; they wore their natural hair, though not long; and it is certain that they were at a very remote period, initiated in the art of cherishing and beautifying the hair with fragrant ointments. The head of Aaron was anointed with a precious oil, compounded after the art of the apothecary; and in proof that they had already adopted the practice, the congregation were prohibited, under pain of being cut off, to make any other like it, after the composition of it, Ex 30:32-33. The royal Psalmist alludes to the same custom in the twenty-third Psalm: "Thou anointest my head with oil." We may infer from the direction of Solomon, that the custom had at least become general in his time: "Let thy garments be always white, and let thy head lack no ointment," Ec 9:8. After the hair is plaited and perfumed, the eastern ladies proceed to dress their heads, by tying above the lock into which they collect it, a triangular piece of linen, adorned with various figures in needlework. This, among persons of better fashion, is covered with a sarmah, as they call it, which is made in the same triangular shape, of thin flexible plates of gold or silver, carefully cut through, and engraven in imitation of lace, and might therefore answer to ???????, the moonlike ornament mentioned by the prophet in his description of the toilette of a Jewish lady, Isa 3:18. Cutting off the hair was a sign of mourning, Jer 7:29; but sometimes in mourning they suffered it to grow long. In ordinary sorrows they neglected their hair; and in violent paroxysms they plucked it off with their hands.
John Baptist was clothed in a garment made of camel's hair, not with a camel's skin, as painters and sculptors represent him, but with coarse camlet made of camel's hair. The coat of the camel in some places yields very fine silk, of which are made stuffs of very great price; but in general this animal's hair is hard, and scarcely fit for any but coarse habits, and a kind of hair cloth. Some are of opinion that camlet derives its name from the camel, being originally composed of the wool and hair of camels; but at present there is no camel's hair in the composition of it, as it is commonly woven and sold among us.
See Verses Found in Dictionary
Upon man's flesh shall it not be poured, neither shall ye make any like it, after the preparation of it: it is holy holy shall it be unto you. Whoever compoundeth any like it, or whoever putteth any of it upon any strange thing, shall be cut off from his peoples.
Let thy garments be always white, and let not thy head lack oil.
In that day the Lord will take away the ornament of anklets, and the little suns and crescents,
Cut off thy hair, and cast it away, and take up a lamentation on the heights; for Jehovah hath rejected and forsaken the generation of his wrath.
Does not even nature itself teach you, that man, if he have long hair, it is a dishonour to him?