Lexical Summary
zaqan: Beard
Original Word:זָקָן
Part of Speech:Noun Masculine
Transliteration:zaqan
Pronunciation:zah-KAHN
Phonetic Spelling:(zaw-kawn')
KJV: beard
NASB:beard, beards
Word Origin:[fromH2204 (זָקֵן - old)]
1. the beard (as indicating age)
Strong's Exhaustive Concordance
beard
Fromzaqen; the beard (as indicating age) -- beard.
see HEBREWzaqen
NAS Exhaustive Concordance
Word Originfrom an unused word
Definitionbeard, chin
NASB Translationbeard (14), beards (5).
Brown-Driver-Briggs
2Samuel 10:5 + and
Isaiah 15:2 + (Assyrian
zi‡nu, Asrb
Annals iv. 29; Arabic
, Aramaic ,
) — absolute
Leviticus 13:20 +; construct
2 Samuel 20:9 +; suffix
Ezra 9:3;
Leviticus 19:27;
Ezekiel 5:1;
1 Samuel 21:14 2t.;
2 Samuel 10:5;
1 Chronicles 19:5;
2 Samuel 10:4;
Leviticus 21:5; never plural —
chin (opposed to , top of head)Leviticus 13:29,30;Leviticus 14:9 (all P),2 Samuel 20:9;Ezekiel 5:1; compare also1 Samuel 21:14;Psalm 133:4 (where however chin asbearded may be meant); chin, or lower jaw, of lion and bear1 Samuel 17:35.
beard, as growing ()2 Samuel 10:5 =1 Chronicles 19:5; as cut offIsaiah 7:20 (),Isaiah 15:2 =Jeremiah 48:37 (); compareJeremiah 41:5;2 Samuel 10:4 ();Ezra 9:3; here belongsLeviticus 19:27;Leviticus 21:5 (both H; opposed to ).
Topical Lexicon
Definition and Scope of Usageזָקָן designates the beard, the naturally grown facial hair of a man. Nineteen occurrences form a coherent biblical witness that the beard is more than a physical feature; it functions as a marker of holiness, dignity, masculinity, honor, and covenant community identity.
Ceremonial and Legal Regulations
Levitical legislation treats the beard with the same gravity assigned to every visible sign of covenant holiness.
•Leviticus 13:29–30 and 14:9 place the beard under priestly inspection for skin disease and prescribe ritual shaving in the cleansing rite, underscoring that holiness reaches to the outermost aspects of the person.
•Leviticus 19:27 commands, “You are not to cut off the hair at the sides of your head or clip off the edges of your beard”. The prohibition guards Israel from Canaanite mourning customs and magical practices that mutilated the beard, protecting Israel’s distinct witness.
•Leviticus 21:5 applies an even stricter standard to priests: “The priests must not shave their heads or shave off the edges of their beards or make cuts in their bodies”. The priest’s unblemished beard mirrored his whole-bodied consecration before the LORD.
Beards in Israelite Culture
Honor and masculinity were publicly assessed by the condition of a man’s beard.
•2 Samuel 10:4–5;1 Chronicles 19:5 record Hanun’s public humiliation of David’s envoys: “shaved off half of each man’s beard”. David’s instruction—“Stay in Jericho until your beards have grown back” (2 Samuel 10:5)—shows the beard’s role in restoring honor.
•1 Samuel 17:35 presents David seizing a lion “by its beard,” describing a courageous grip on the creature’s most identified feature.
•1 Samuel 21:13 portrays David feigning madness as “his saliva ran down his beard”, because a soiled beard announced irrationality and disgrace.
•2 Samuel 20:9 depicts Joab’s deceitful grasp of Amasa’s beard as a cultural gesture of greeting turned into a weapon of betrayal, proving how the customary touch of beards could convey trust or treachery.
Prophetic Symbolism
Prophets utilized the beard as a sign-act to convey national judgment.
•Isaiah 7:20 warns that the Assyrians would act “with a razor… to shave the head and the hair of the legs, and it will also remove the beard,” depicting total subjugation.
•Isaiah 15:2;Jeremiah 48:37 speak of Moab “cutting off the beard” in despair, showing that forced or voluntary shaving equaled grief and shame.
•Ezekiel 5:1 commands the prophet to shave his head and beard with a sword to dramatize Jerusalem’s coming division, exile, and destruction.
Lamentation and Personal Mourning
Ezra 9:3 records the reformer tearing hair from head and beard when confronted with covenant unfaithfulness: visible self-humbling expressing corporate guilt before God. Beards become an outward canvas upon which inward sorrow is displayed.
Liturgical Anointing
Psalm 133:2 celebrates unity among God’s people by picturing the consecrating oil “running down upon the beard, the beard of Aaron”. The beard becomes the conduit of priestly anointing, symbolizing the overflow of divine blessing from the head of the high priest onto the community he represents.
Historical and Ministerial Significance
1. Holiness and Separation: Regulations concerning the beard distinguish Israel from surrounding nations and affirm that God’s covenant shapes even grooming habits.
2. Priestly Representation: The anointed beard of Aaron links ministerial office with visible signs of the Spirit’s consecration.
3. Honor Culture: Narrative episodes illustrate that to disgrace a man’s beard was to insult his identity; to restore his beard was to restore dignity.
4. Prophetic Teaching Aids: Shaving the beard served as a dramatic enactment of impending devastation, demonstrating that prophetic ministry harnesses everyday symbols to convey God’s word.
Christological and Pastoral Reflections
The Servant Song hints at Messiah’s suffering when His beard is plucked (Isaiah 50:6, using a different term), foretelling a humiliation greater than any described in the Old Testament narratives. Pastors may thus emphasize that the shame borne in the face of Christ redeems believers from ultimate disgrace and restores the honor symbolized by the full beard in Scripture.
Contemporary Application
While the ceremonial aspects of the law have found fulfillment in Christ, the enduring principles remain:
• Bodies are temples of the Holy Spirit, so grooming practices should reflect holiness, not vanity or pagan symbolism.
• Honor and respect between men—and between leaders and those they serve—ought to reflect the same care Scripture associates with the beard.
• Public symbols still communicate spiritual realities; believers should steward their appearance to glorify God and edify others.
Related Concepts
Shaving, anointing oil, priesthood, uncleanness, mourning rites, prophetic sign-acts, shame and honor.
Forms and Transliterations
בְזָקָֽן׃ בִּזְקַ֥ן בִּזְקָנ֔וֹ בזקן בזקן׃ בזקנו הַזָּקָ֖ן הַזָּקָ֥ן הזקן וּזְקָנִ֔י וזקני זְקַֽן־ זְקַנְכֶ֖ם זְקָנֶ֑ךָ זְקָנֶֽךָ׃ זְקָנָ֔ם זְקָנָ֖ם זְקָנֽוֹ׃ זְקָנוֹ֙ זָקָ֖ן זָקָ֛ן זקן זקן־ זקנו זקנו׃ זקנך זקנך׃ זקנכם זקנם ḇə·zā·qān ḇəzāqān biz·qā·nōw biz·qan bizKan bizkaNo bizqan bizqānōw haz·zā·qān hazzaKan hazzāqān ū·zə·qā·nî uzekaNi ūzəqānî vezaKan zā·qān zaKan zāqān zə·qā·nām zə·qā·ne·ḵā zə·qā·nōw zə·qan- zə·qan·ḵem zekan zekaNam zekanChem zekaNecha zekaNo zəqan- zəqānām zəqāneḵā zəqanḵem zəqānōw
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