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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Aaron also, and his sons, shalt thou anoint, - so shalt thou hallow them to minister as priests unto me. And unto the sons of Israel, shalt thou speak, saying, An oil for holy anointing, shall this be to me, to your generations. read more. Upon the flesh of a common man, shall it not be poured, and according to the proportions thereof, shall ye not make any like it, - holy, it is, holy, shall it be to you. Whosoever compoundeth any like it, and whosoever bestoweth thereof upon a stranger, shall he out off from among his people.
All the days of his vow of separation, no razor, shall pass over his head, - until the days are fulfilled for which he shall separate himself to Yahweh hallowed, shall he be, letting the locks of the hair of his head grow long.
But if one that is dying should die by him in a moment suddenly, then shall he count unclean his head of separation, - and shall shave his head, on the day he cleanseth himself, on the seventh day, shall he shave it.
And when he polled his head - and it was at every year's end that he used to poll it, because it was heavy upon him, therefore he used to poll it - he would weigh the hair of his head, two hundred shekels, by the royal standard.
Thou spreadest before me a table, in face of mine adversaries, Thou hast anointed, with oil, my head, My cup, hath run over.
Continually, let thy garments be white, - and, ointment upon thy bead, let it not be lacking.
In that day, will My Lord remove the finery - of the anklets, and the little suns and the little moons;
And it shall come to pass - That instead of fragrance, a putrid odour, shall be, And instead of a girdle, an encircling rope, And instead of braided hair, baldness, And instead of a festal robe, a girding of sackcloth, Branding instead of beauty:
Cut thou off thy crown of hair O Jerusalem , and cast it away, And lift thou up on the bare heights, a dirge, - For Yahweh hath rejected and cast out the generation with which he was wroth.
Doth not, even nature herself, teach you - that, if, a man, have long hair, it is a dishonour to him;
In the same way, that, the women, in seemly attire, with modesty and sober-mindedness, be adorning themselves, - not with plaitings and ornamentation of gold, or with pearls, or with costly apparel, -
and, they had hair, as the hair of women, 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 sent Pharaoh and summoned Joseph, and they hastened him out of the dungeon, - so he shaved himself and changed his garments, and came in unto Pharaoh.
All the days of his vow of separation, no razor, shall pass over his head, - until the days are fulfilled for which he shall separate himself to Yahweh hallowed, shall he be, letting the locks of the hair of his head grow long.
for lo! thou, art about to conceive and bear a son, and no, razor, shall come on his head, for, one separate unto God, shall the boy be from his birth, - and, he, shall begin to save Israel out of the hand of the Philistines.
Thou wilt, therefore, bathe thee, and anoint thee, and put thine apparel upon thee, and go down to the threshing-floor, - do not make thyself known to the man, until he have done eating and drinking.
And when he polled his head - and it was at every year's end that he used to poll it, because it was heavy upon him, therefore he used to poll it - he would weigh the hair of his head, two hundred shekels, by the royal standard.
And they said unto him - A hairy man, with a leathern girdle girt about his loins. And he said - Elijah the Tishbite, it was.
When I heard this thing, I rent my garment, and my robe, - and tore out of the hair of my head and my beard, and sat stunned.
Thou spreadest before me a table, in face of mine adversaries, Thou hast anointed, with oil, my head, My cup, hath run over.
Thou hast loved righteousness, and hated lawlessness, - For this cause, hath God, thine own God, anointed thee, With the oil of gladness, beyond thy partners.
Therefore will My Lord, smite with leprosy the crown of hair of the daughters of Zion, - And, as for Yahweh, their shame, will he lay bare!
And it shall come to pass - That instead of fragrance, a putrid odour, shall be, And instead of a girdle, an encircling rope, And instead of braided hair, baldness, And instead of a festal robe, a girding of sackcloth, Branding instead of beauty:
In that day, will My Lord shave, with hired razor, even with them of the lands over the River Euphrates, with the king of Assyria, the head and the hair of the feet, - yea, even the beard, will it sweep off.
He hath gone up to Bayith and Dibon, to the high places, to weep, - On Nebo and on Medeba, Moab is howling, On all their heads, a baldness, Every beard, clipped.
And, when My Lord Yahweh of hosts called in that day, - for weeping, and for lamentation, and for shaving bare and for girding with sackcloth,
Cut thou off thy crown of hair O Jerusalem , and cast it away, And lift thou up on the bare heights, a dirge, - For Yahweh hath rejected and cast out the generation with which he was wroth.
So will I turn your festivals into mourning, and all your songs into a dirge, and I will bring up - on all loins - sackcloth, and upon every head - baldness, - and I will make it like the mourning for an only one, even the afterpart thereof, as a day of bitterness.
But, when, thou, art fasting, anoint thy head, and, thy face, wash, -
and standing behind, near his feet, weeping, with the tears, began she to be wetting his feet, and, with the hair of her head, was wiping off the tears , and was tenderly kissing his feet, and anointing them with the perfume.
With oil, my head, thou didst not anoint, - but, she, with perfume, hath anointed, my feet.
And Mary was she who anointed the Lord with perfume, and wiped his feet with her hair - whose brother Lazarus was sick.
Paul, however, still further abiding a good many days with the brethren, bidding them adieu, set sail for Syria; and, with him, Priscilla and Aquila; having shorn his head in Cenchreae, for he had a vow.
Doth not, even nature herself, teach you - that, if, a man, have long hair, it is a dishonour to him; But, if, a woman, have long hair, it is a glory to her, for, her long hair, instead of a veil, hath been given to her.
In the same way, that, the women, in seemly attire, with modesty and sober-mindedness, be adorning themselves, - not with plaitings and ornamentation of gold, or with pearls, or with costly apparel, -
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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Then said Moses unto Aaron and to Eleazar and to Ithamar, his sons - Your heads, ye may not bare and your garments, ye shall not rend so shall ye not die, neither against all the assembly, will he be wroth, - but let, your brethren the whole house of Israel, bewail the consuming fire wherewith Yahweh hath consumed.
Ye shall not shave in a circle around your head, - nor shalt thou disfigure the fringe of thy beard.
or is hump-backed or a dwarf, or hath defective vision, - or hath scurvy or scab, or is crushed in the stones:
All the days of his vow of separation, no razor, shall pass over his head, - until the days are fulfilled for which he shall separate himself to Yahweh hallowed, shall he be, letting the locks of the hair of his head grow long.
for lo! thou, art about to conceive and bear a son, and no, razor, shall come on his head, for, one separate unto God, shall the boy be from his birth, - and, he, shall begin to save Israel out of the hand of the Philistines.
And Delilah said unto Samson - Hitherto, hast thou been laughing at me, and speaking unto me falsehoods, do tell me, wherewith thou mightest be bound. And he said unto her, If thou weave the seven braids of my head with the warp.
so he told her all his heart, and said to her - No, razor, hath come on my head, for, one separate unto God, have I been, from my birth, - if I were shaven, then would depart from me my strength, and I should become weak, and be as any other man.
And she made him sleep upon her knees, and called for a man, and caused him to shave off the seven braids of his head, - and she began to humble him, and his strength departed from him.
And when he polled his head - and it was at every year's end that he used to poll it, because it was heavy upon him, therefore he used to poll it - he would weigh the hair of his head, two hundred shekels, by the royal standard.
Yea, at what is high, they be in fear, and there be, terrors, in the way, and the almond be rejected, and the grasshopper drag itself along, and desire perish, - for man is going to his age-abiding home, when the wailers shall go round in the streets;
SHESwarthy, I am but comely, ye daughters of Jerusalem. THEYLike the tents of Kedar, like the curtains of Solomon.
HELo! thou art beautiful, my fair one, Lo! thou art beautiful, Thine eyes, are doves, from behind thy veil, - Thy hair, is like a flock of goats, which are reclining on the sides of Mount Gilead:
His head, is pure gold, - his locks, are bushy, black as a raven;
Thy head upon thee, is like Carmel, And, the hair of thy head, is like purple, - The king, is held captive by the ringlets!
Thy head upon thee, is like Carmel, And, the hair of thy head, is like purple, - The king, is held captive by the ringlets!
Upon Egypt and upon Judah, And upon Edom, and upon the sons of Ammon, And upon Moab, And upon all the clipped beards, The dwellers in the desert, - For, all the nations, are uncircumcised, And, all the house of Israel, are uncircumcised in heart.
For, every head, is baldness, And every beard, clipped: Upon all hands, are gashes, And upon the loins, sackcloth
Nor, by thine own head, mayest thou swear, because thou art not able to make, one hair, white or black.
But, even the hairs of, your, head, have all been numbered.
and standing behind, near his feet, weeping, with the tears, began she to be wetting his feet, and, with the hair of her head, was wiping off the tears , and was tenderly kissing his feet, and anointing them with the perfume.
Paul, however, still further abiding a good many days with the brethren, bidding them adieu, set sail for Syria; and, with him, Priscilla and Aquila; having shorn his head in Cenchreae, for he had a vow.
For, if a woman doth not veil herself, let her also be shorn; but, if it were a shame in a woman to be shorn or shaven, let her be veiled.
Doth not, even nature herself, teach you - that, if, a man, have long hair, it is a dishonour to him; But, if, a woman, have long hair, it is a glory to her, for, her long hair, instead of a veil, hath been given to her.
Howbeit ye know that, by reason of a weakness of the flesh, I myself announced the glad-message unto you, formerly;
In the same way, that, the women, in seemly attire, with modesty and sober-mindedness, be adorning themselves, - not with plaitings and ornamentation of gold, or with pearls, or with costly apparel, -
and, they had hair, as the hair of women, and, their teeth, were, as of lions,
Hastings
The usual word in OT is s
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Then sent Pharaoh and summoned Joseph, and they hastened him out of the dungeon, - so he shaved himself and changed his garments, and came in unto Pharaoh.
then shall the priest view the spot and lo! if, the appearance thereof, is deeper than the skin, and, therein, is yellow, thin hair, then shall the priest pronounce him unclean a scall, it is, a leprosy of the head or of the beard, it is.
Ye shall not shave in a circle around your head, - nor shalt thou disfigure the fringe of thy beard.
They shall not make a baldness behind in their head, And the border of their beard, shall they not cut off, - And, in their flesh, shall they not make incisions.
and the priest shall cause the woman to stand before Yahweh, and shall bare the head of the woman, and shall place upon her hands the reminding gift, it being a jealousy gift, - and in the hand of the priest, shall be the deadly water that bringeth a curse;
All the days of his vow of separation, no razor, shall pass over his head, - until the days are fulfilled for which he shall separate himself to Yahweh hallowed, shall he be, letting the locks of the hair of his head grow long.
then shalt thou bring her into the midst of thy house, - and she shall shave her head and pare her nails;
for lo! thou, art about to conceive and bear a son, and no, razor, shall come on his head, for, one separate unto God, shall the boy be from his birth, - and, he, shall begin to save Israel out of the hand of the Philistines.
And Delilah said unto Samson - Hitherto, hast thou been laughing at me, and speaking unto me falsehoods, do tell me, wherewith thou mightest be bound. And he said unto her, If thou weave the seven braids of my head with the warp.
Wherefore Hanun took David's servants, and shaved off half their beards, and cut off their upper garments in the middle, as far as their buttocks, - and let them go.
And when he polled his head - and it was at every year's end that he used to poll it, because it was heavy upon him, therefore he used to poll it - he would weigh the hair of his head, two hundred shekels, by the royal standard.
And, Mephibosheth, son of Saul, came down to meet the king, - he had neither dressed his feet, nor trimmed his beard, nor, his clothes, had he washed, from the day the king departed, until the day that he entered in peace.
Now, when Jehu entered Jezreel and, Jezebel, heard of it, she set her eyes in stibium, and ornamented her head, and looked forth through the lattice.
When I heard this thing, I rent my garment, and my robe, - and tore out of the hair of my head and my beard, and sat stunned.
A crown of adorning, is a hoary head, in the way of righteousness, it should be found.
HELo! thou art beautiful, my fair one, Lo! thou art beautiful, Thine eyes, are doves, from behind thy veil, - Thy hair, is like a flock of goats, which are reclining on the sides of Mount Gilead:
SHEI, was sleeping, but, my heart, was awake, - The voice of my beloved - knocking! Open to me, my sister, my fair one, my dove, my perfect one, for, my head, is filled with dew, my locks, with the moisture of the night.
His head, is pure gold, - his locks, are bushy, black as a raven;
His head, is pure gold, - his locks, are bushy, black as a raven;
Thy head upon thee, is like Carmel, And, the hair of thy head, is like purple, - The king, is held captive by the ringlets!
In that day, will My Lord remove the finery - of the anklets, and the little suns and the little moons;
And it shall come to pass - That instead of fragrance, a putrid odour, shall be, And instead of a girdle, an encircling rope, And instead of braided hair, baldness, And instead of a festal robe, a girding of sackcloth, Branding instead of beauty:
And it shall come to pass - That instead of fragrance, a putrid odour, shall be, And instead of a girdle, an encircling rope, And instead of braided hair, baldness, And instead of a festal robe, a girding of sackcloth, Branding instead of beauty:
In that day, will My Lord shave, with hired razor, even with them of the lands over the River Euphrates, with the king of Assyria, the head and the hair of the feet, - yea, even the beard, will it sweep off.
He hath gone up to Bayith and Dibon, to the high places, to weep, - On Nebo and on Medeba, Moab is howling, On all their heads, a baldness, Every beard, clipped.
My back, gave I to smiters, and My cheeks, to them who pulled out the beard, - My face, hid I not from insult and spitting.
Cut thou off thy crown of hair O Jerusalem , and cast it away, And lift thou up on the bare heights, a dirge, - For Yahweh hath rejected and cast out the generation with which he was wroth.
Upon Egypt and upon Judah, And upon Edom, and upon the sons of Ammon, And upon Moab, And upon all the clipped beards, The dwellers in the desert, - For, all the nations, are uncircumcised, And, all the house of Israel, are uncircumcised in heart.
So shall great and small die in this land, They shall not be buried, - Neither shall men lament for them Nor cut themselves, Nor make themselves bald for them;
that men came in from Shechem, from Shiloh, and from Samaria, - eighty men, with beards shaven and clothes rent who also had cut themselves, with a meal-offering and frankincense in their hand, to bring them into the house of Yahweh.
For, every head, is baldness, And every beard, clipped: Upon all hands, are gashes, And upon the loins, sackcloth
Thou therefore son of man Take thee a sharp cuting instrument, a barbers razor, shalt thou take thee, and shalt cause it to pass upon thy head and upon thy chin, - and shalt take the balances for weighing, and shalt divide the hair.
Into myriads - like the bud of the field, made I thee, And thou didst increase and become well grown, and didst attain to most excellent adornments, - Thy breasts were well-formed And thy hair was grown, But thou thyself wast utterly naked.
And their heads, shall they not shave, Nor let the hair grow long, - They shall only poll, their heads.
I continued looking, until that, thrones, were placed, and, the Ancient of days, took his seat, - whose, garment, like snow, was white, and, the hair of his head, like pure wool, his throne, was flames of fire, his wheels, a burning fire.
So will I turn your festivals into mourning, and all your songs into a dirge, and I will bring up - on all loins - sackcloth, and upon every head - baldness, - and I will make it like the mourning for an only one, even the afterpart thereof, as a day of bitterness.
Nor, by thine own head, mayest thou swear, because thou art not able to make, one hair, white or black.
and standing behind, near his feet, weeping, with the tears, began she to be wetting his feet, and, with the hair of her head, was wiping off the tears , and was tenderly kissing his feet, and anointing them with the perfume.
For, if a woman doth not veil herself, let her also be shorn; but, if it were a shame in a woman to be shorn or shaven, let her be veiled.
In the same way, that, the women, in seemly attire, with modesty and sober-mindedness, be adorning themselves, - not with plaitings and ornamentation of gold, or with pearls, or with costly apparel, -
Whose adorning, let it be - not the outward, of plaiting the hair and wearing golden ornaments, or putting on of apparel,
And his head and hair, white, like white wool - like snow, and, his eyes, like a flame of fire,
and, they had hair, as the hair of women, 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 in a circle around your head, - nor shalt thou disfigure the fringe of thy beard.
Sons, are ye unto Yahweh your God, - ye shall not cut yourselves, neither shall ye put baldness between your eyes for the dead.
He hath gone up to Bayith and Dibon, to the high places, to weep, - On Nebo and on Medeba, Moab is howling, On all their heads, a baldness, Every beard, clipped.
Upon Egypt and upon Judah, And upon Edom, and upon the sons of Ammon, And upon Moab, And upon all the clipped beards, The dwellers in the desert, - For, all the nations, are uncircumcised, And, all the house of Israel, are uncircumcised in heart.
For, every head, is baldness, And every beard, clipped: Upon all hands, are gashes, And upon the loins, sackcloth
For, if a woman doth not veil herself, let her also be shorn; but, if it were a shame in a woman to be shorn or shaven, let her be veiled. For, a man, indeed, ought not to be veiling his head, being, the image and glory of God, - but, the woman, is the glory of man; 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. For this cause, ought the woman to have, permission, upon her head, because of the messengers. Howbeit, neither is woman apart from man, nor man apart from woman - in the Lord; For, just as the woman is of the man, so, also the man, is through means of the woman; - but, all things, are of God. Among your own selves, judge ye, - Is it becoming for a woman, - unveiled, to be praying unto God? Doth not, even nature herself, teach you - that, if, a man, have long hair, it is a dishonour to him; But, if, a woman, have long hair, it is a glory to her, for, her long hair, instead of a veil, hath been given to her.
and, they had hair, as the hair of women, 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.
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And Delilah said unto Samson - Hitherto, hast thou been laughing at me, and speaking unto me falsehoods, do tell me, wherewith thou mightest be bound. And he said unto her, If thou weave the seven braids of my head with the warp.
And she made him sleep upon her knees, and called for a man, and caused him to shave off the seven braids of his head, - and she began to humble him, and his strength departed from him.
Thou wilt, therefore, bathe thee, and anoint thee, and put thine apparel upon thee, and go down to the threshing-floor, - do not make thyself known to the man, until he have done eating and drinking.
And when he polled his head - and it was at every year's end that he used to poll it, because it was heavy upon him, therefore he used to poll it - he would weigh the hair of his head, two hundred shekels, by the royal standard.
Now, when Jehu entered Jezreel and, Jezebel, heard of it, she set her eyes in stibium, and ornamented her head, and looked forth through the lattice.
When I heard this thing, I rent my garment, and my robe, - and tore out of the hair of my head and my beard, and sat stunned.
Surely, goodness and lovingkindness, will pursue me, all the days of my life, and I shall dwell in the house of Yahweh, evermore.
But thou wilt exalt, as those of the buffalo, my horn, I have been anointed, with fresh oil.
Continually, let thy garments be white, - and, ointment upon thy bead, let it not be lacking.
SHESwarthy, I am but comely, ye daughters of Jerusalem. THEYLike the tents of Kedar, like the curtains of Solomon.
HELo! thou art beautiful, my fair one, Lo! thou art beautiful, Thine eyes, are doves, from behind thy veil, - Thy hair, is like a flock of goats, which are reclining on the sides of Mount Gilead:
His head, is pure gold, - his locks, are bushy, black as a raven;
Therefore will My Lord, smite with leprosy the crown of hair of the daughters of Zion, - And, as for Yahweh, their shame, will he lay bare!
And it shall come to pass - That instead of fragrance, a putrid odour, shall be, And instead of a girdle, an encircling rope, And instead of braided hair, baldness, And instead of a festal robe, a girding of sackcloth, Branding instead of beauty:
He hath gone up to Bayith and Dibon, to the high places, to weep, - On Nebo and on Medeba, Moab is howling, On all their heads, a baldness, Every beard, clipped.
Cut thou off thy crown of hair O Jerusalem , and cast it away, And lift thou up on the bare heights, a dirge, - For Yahweh hath rejected and cast out the generation with which he was wroth.
I continued looking, until that, thrones, were placed, and, the Ancient of days, took his seat, - whose, garment, like snow, was white, and, the hair of his head, like pure wool, his throne, was flames of fire, his wheels, a burning fire.
Nor, by thine own head, mayest thou swear, because thou art not able to make, one hair, white or black.
With oil, my head, thou didst not anoint, - but, she, with perfume, hath anointed, my feet.
In the same way, that, the women, in seemly attire, with modesty and sober-mindedness, be adorning themselves, - not with plaitings and ornamentation of gold, or with pearls, or with costly apparel, -
And his head and hair, white, like white wool - like snow, and, his eyes, like 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.
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Upon the flesh of a common man, shall it not be poured, and according to the proportions thereof, shall ye not make any like it, - holy, it is, holy, shall it be to you. Whosoever compoundeth any like it, and whosoever bestoweth thereof upon a stranger, shall he out off from among his people.
Continually, let thy garments be white, - and, ointment upon thy bead, let it not be lacking.
In that day, will My Lord remove the finery - of the anklets, and the little suns and the little moons;
Cut thou off thy crown of hair O Jerusalem , and cast it away, And lift thou up on the bare heights, a dirge, - For Yahweh hath rejected and cast out the generation with which he was wroth.
Doth not, even nature herself, teach you - that, if, a man, have long hair, it is a dishonour to him;