Dictionary of Bible Themes Loss of hair on the head as the result of natural causes or deliberate action. Baldness may be used to signify judgment, mourning or shame. See also Instructions regarding baldness within Jewish law Leviticus 21:5Associated with idolatrous practice Deuteronomy 14:1Jeremiah 16:6 Leviticus 13:40-42 In pagan Canaan mourners shaved their foreheads. Regarding sores on bald heads Leviticus 14:8-9Numbers 6:9,18 Cleansing may involve shaving the head Deuteronomy 21:12Judges 13:5; 16:17-19 Acts 18:18 Vows that involve shaving the head based on the Nazarite rule recorded in Nu 6:1-21 Ezekiel 5:1Baldness may signify God's judgment Isaiah 3:17,24; 7:20Ezekiel instructed to shave his head to symbolise this Judgment on Jerusalem and Judah Job 1:20Baldness as a symbol of mourning See also Isaiah 15:2; 22:12Job here mourns the loss of his children, household and livestock. Jeremiah 48:37Ezekiel 27:31 Amos 8:10 Micah 1:16 Jeremiah 47:5 Used figuratively to indicate the mourning of a nation 2 Kings 2:23Baldness as a symbol of shame Ezekiel 7:181 Corinthians 11:5-6 Ezekiel 29:18 Examples of baldness Judges 16:19baldness caused by the rubbing of leather helmets in warfare 2 Kings 2:23Samson See also Elisha 5155 hair5155 hair 5158 head-covering 5158 head-covering 5180 shaving 5419 mourning 5947 shame 9210 judgment, God's |
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