Topical Encyclopedia
Biblical References and ContextThe act of cutting hair is mentioned in various contexts throughout the Bible, often carrying significant cultural, religious, and symbolic meanings. In biblical times, hair was not merely a matter of personal grooming but was often associated with one's identity, religious vows, and social status.
Nazirite VowOne of the most notable references to cutting hair in the Bible is found in the context of the Nazirite vow. According to
Numbers 6:1-5, a Nazirite was someone who took a special vow of dedication to God, which included abstaining from wine, avoiding contact with dead bodies, and not cutting their hair for the duration of the vow. The uncut hair symbolized the individual's consecration and separation unto the Lord. The Bible states: "All the days of his vow of separation, no razor shall pass over his head. He must be holy until the time of his separation to the LORD is complete; he must let the hair of his head grow long" (
Numbers 6:5).
The most famous Nazirite in the Bible is Samson, whose strength was directly linked to his uncut hair.
Judges 16:17 recounts how Samson revealed to Delilah that his strength would leave him if his hair were cut: "No razor has ever come to my head, because I have been a Nazirite to God from my mother’s womb. If I am shaved, my strength will leave me, and I will become as weak as any other man" .
Cultural and Social SignificanceIn ancient Israelite culture, hair was often a symbol of beauty and honor. For women, long hair was considered a sign of femininity and grace. In
1 Corinthians 11:14-15, the Apostle Paul discusses the cultural norms regarding hair length, stating: "Does not nature itself teach you that if a man has long hair, it is a disgrace to him, but that if a woman has long hair, it is her glory? For long hair is given to her as a covering" . This passage reflects the cultural expectations of the time, where long hair on women was seen as honorable, while long hair on men was not.
Mourning and HumiliationCutting hair was also associated with mourning and humiliation. In times of grief or repentance, individuals would sometimes cut their hair as a sign of sorrow or contrition. For example, in the book of Job, after hearing of the calamities that befell him, Job "arose, tore his robe, and shaved his head. He fell to the ground and worshiped" (
Job 1:20). This act of shaving the head was a traditional expression of deep mourning and distress.
Prophetic SymbolismThe prophets also used the imagery of cutting hair to convey messages from God. In
Ezekiel 5:1-4, the prophet Ezekiel is instructed to shave his head and beard as a symbolic act representing the judgment and dispersion of the people of Jerusalem. The cutting and dividing of the hair symbolized the fate of the inhabitants: "Take a sharp sword and use it as a barber’s razor to shave your head and your beard. Then take a set of scales and divide the hair" (
Ezekiel 5:1).
ConclusionThroughout the Bible, the act of cutting hair is imbued with deep spiritual and cultural significance. Whether as a sign of a vow, an expression of mourning, or a prophetic symbol, the cutting of hair serves as a powerful metaphor for dedication, loss, and divine judgment.
Topical Bible Verses
Jeremiah 7:29Cut off your hair, O Jerusalem, and cast it away, and take up a lamentation on high places; for the LORD has rejected and forsaken the generation of his wrath.
Topicalbible.org1 Corinthians 11:6
For if the woman be not covered, let her also be shorn: but if it be a shame for a woman to be shorn or shaven, let her be covered.
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1 Corinthians 11:14
Does not even nature itself teach you, that, if a man have long hair, it is a shame to him?
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Ezekiel 44:20
Neither shall they shave their heads, nor suffer their locks to grow long; they shall only poll their heads.
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Isaiah 15:2
He is gone up to Bajith, and to Dibon, the high places, to weep: Moab shall howl over Nebo, and over Medeba: on all their heads shall be baldness, and every beard cut off.
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2 Samuel 10:4
Why Hanun took David's servants, and shaved off the one half of their beards, and cut off their garments in the middle, even to their buttocks, and sent them away.
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Library
Whether Whatever was Materially in a Man's Members Will all Rise...
... Augustine, however, is speaking of thecutting ofhair that was a part causing growth
of the body; wherefore it must needs rise again, not however as regards...
Against Men who Embellish Themselves.
... [1595] For not being free of the love of finery, they are not in health; but inclining
to voluptuousness, they become effeminate,cutting theirhair in an...
A Compendious view of the Christian Life.
... For meretricious plaiting of thehair, and putting it up in tresses, contribute
to make them look ugly,cutting thehair and plucking off it those treacherous...
Here, it May be Said, My Book Ends Just Where it Ought to Begin. ....
... they would use, for thuscutting and clipping poor children and not rich? Their
argument would be that the disease is more likely to be in thehair of poor...
Appendix xvii. The Ordinances and Law of the Sabbath as Laid Down...
... two stitches, tearing in order to sew two stitches; catching deer, killing; skinning,
salting it, preparing its skin, scraping off itshair,cutting it up...
The Criminal and his Relation to Society.
... Did this man sin or his parents?" Among the Arabs of the desert the tribal mark,
either tattooing or a distinctive way ofcutting thehair, insures the...
The Embalming of the Body of Jesus.
... With the utmost care she drew off the crown of thorns, opening it behind, and then
cutting off one by one the... The beard andhair were matted together with blood...
Tenth Day. Holiness and Separation.
... separation consisted specially in three things"temperance, in abstinence from the
fruit of the vine; humiliation, in notcutting or shaving hishair ('it is...
Praying Saints of the Old Testaments
... the fact that the source of his strength was in hishair which had never been cut;
and she deprived him of his great physical power bycutting off hishair....
That all Bodily Blemishes which Mar Human Beauty in this Life...
... However, what our Lord said, "Not ahair of your head shall perish," might... for example,
remove some unbecoming or disproportionate part, not bycutting off and...
Resources
What does the Bible say about self-harm / self-mutilation / cutting? | GotQuestions.orgWhat does the Bible say about body piercings? | GotQuestions.orgWhy do some cultures practice female genital mutilation (FGM)? | GotQuestions.orgCutting: Dictionary and Thesaurus | Clyx.comBible Concordance •
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