| This is for the men shalom that love Yahuwah and obey HIM What Scripture teaches about Beards and Baldness |
It is a belief among many brethren in the faith that men should wear beards as did most Yisraelites (Israelites) throughout history. However, it is not considered mandatory to do so. The purpose of this study is to inform you of what the scriptures say concerning beards and to show that it is a law of Yahuwah which should be obeyed.
Let's begin by looking at the actual commandment in Lev. 19:26-28; "Ye shall not eat any thing with the blood: neither shall ye use enchantment, nor observe times. Ye shall not round the corners of your heads, neither shalt thou mar the corners of thy beard. Ye shall not make any cuttings in your flesh for the dead, nor print any marks upon you: I am Yahuah."
Notice that we continue to obey verses 26 and 28 even today. The question is, do we have to obey verse 27? As we read in Lev. 19:1,2, these commandments are for the children of Yisra'el, also by association the strangers who join themselves into the household of Yisra'el, Isa. 56. In verse 27 the KJV uses two words which do not help in clearly understanding this verse, "mar" and "corners." Unless you have a square head and a square beard you cannot have "corners." The Hebrew for "corners" is "peah" which means the "region or extremity" according to Strong's Concordance. A word study of such verses as Ex.36:25; Job 18:14,15; Nu.24:17; Ezek.41:12; and Lev.19:9 will reveal the correct meaning to be "border" or "the outline that forms the image." Referring to the above references; the peah or border of a building is its' walls; of the sea, its' coastline; of a country such as Moab , its' borders; of a field, its' borders; of the beard, the outline which forms the image. In other words, the hair line along the cheeks, lower neck, below the lower lip, etc. Goatees, mutton chops, Hitler mustaches and totally shaven faces are all forbidden by Yahuah. Incidentally, the Jewish practice of not cutting the sideburns is based on an erroneous understanding of this scripture.
The word "mar" in Hebrew is "shachath" which means to decay or ruin. It was also translated "destroy, perish, cast off, corrupt and utterly waste." So what this commandment is really saying is, "Do not utterly destroy the borders of your beard." The only way to utterly destroy the beard is to remove the hair from your face. The most common way is by shaving which totally ruins and mars the beard. It creates baldness upon your skin and, as we will see later, baldness is associated with shame and defilement throughout scripture. Trimming the length of the beard is permitted because it does not create baldness. Instead, it adds to a man's handsomeness.
To "round the corners of your head" would mean to create baldness around one's head, as certain people do, leaving only a circular patch of hair on top.
Lev.19:27 is among a long list of commandments extending to Lev.20:21. Verses 22-26 teach us to be sanctified from the unbelieving people around us. They tattoo their bodies, stretch their necks with metal rings, shave their heads bald or carve words and designs in their hair. This shows a total lack of reverence for their bodies. How much more should we reverence our bodies which are the temple of the Holy Spirit of Yahuah?
A similar commandment is found in Lev.21:1-6. These verses pertain to the priests, Aaron and his sons. Believers today are said to be priests as well, so this commandment could spiritually apply to us. But even if it doesn't we can see Yahuah's feelings concerning creating baldness on ones head. Not only would the priest defile or profane himself but he would also profane the name of Yahuah (vs 6). It was holiness to a priest to remain unshaven.
Only something holy can be profaned or defiled. Ezekiel talks about profaning the sanctuary and the Sabbath day. Both are holy and both can be defiled. Believers are also holy; in fact, we are a holy priesthood and our bodies are holy temples. If we eat pork we defile the temple of the Holy Spirit (Lev 11:44 ). If we create baldness on our head or face we defile the tabernacle of Yahuah.
Lev.21:16-23 tells us about the seed of Aaron that are blemished. Whenever something happens to a priest that alters the image that he was created with, he becomes blemished. That is why Yahuah told them not to create baldness on their head or face. They could not serve as priests until they were healed again.
Most commentators apply the last chapters of Ezekiel to the millennial kingdom. Notice in Ezek.44:20 the priests are not permitted to shave but they are permitted to cut their hair so it doesn't grow too long. Yahuah does not want men's head hair to be too long and He doesn't want it or the beard to appear sloppy or unkempt. II Sam.10:4,5 recounts the time when King David's men had half their beards shaved off by their enemies causing great shame. But notice what David said to do. He didn't tell them to shave off the other half and return to Jerusalem . He told them to wait in Jericho until their beards grew back and then return.
Some people try to use Gen.41:14 to prove that men could shave if they wanted to. The most logical way to understand this verse is that the Egyptians made Joseph shave when he met Pharaoh just as they made him change his clothing. If a man is kept in a dungeon for two years and then is brought quickly out to meet Pharaoh, he is not going to put on his best clothing because he undoubtedly doesn't have a change of good clothing. The Egyptians would have given him new clothes and they would have required him to clean up and shave. Almost all Egyptians had shaven heads and no beards.
Samson was under a Nazarite vow, through which his long hair gave him great strength until it was shaved off by Delilah. There were only three reasons Yahuah allowed for shaving ones head: 1) A Nazarite vow 2) Leprosy or infection on the head 3) death of a relative. Shaving for any other reason, would defile the person and profane Yahuah's name.
Yahuwah spoke two interesting prophesies concerning baldness. In Is.3:16,17,24 baldness is spoken of as something negative and undesirable that Yahuwah will bring upon the daughters of Zion because of their haughty attitude. Amos 8:9,10 shows that in the Day of Yahuwah, He will cause baldness upon every head; in other words, shame and mourning.
Many people have been misled by today's society into believing that a well shaved, smooth face is desirable and permissible when, in reality, it is against the law of Yahuwah and defiles our body. Yahuwah created men to have beards and then commanded men to not destroy their beards. He desires men to maintain the same image that He created them with. He does not want us to look like Egyptians, Romans, Hindus, or the other nations around us.
Even Yahushua the Messiah, who is our ultimate example, had a beard (Is.50:6). In their attempt to disrespect and shame Yahushua, his persecutors tore out the hair from his beard.
Some brethren believe the law against shaving the beard was a cultural requirement for Yisra'el alone. If that be the case, we could say the same for all the feast days and many other laws. The fact that Yahuwah created men with beards, as a natural part of their body, shows that they are desired by Yahuah for all men, not just for Yisra'elites.
Others will say that not all men can grow beards, therefore they don't have to either. Not all believers can mark the beginning of Sabbath by the visual sunset, yet they must keep the Sabbath holy. Yahuwah will not hold such a person accountable if he cannot grow a beard. Nor will He look away from a man who loses his hair naturally. However, the man who willfully shaves his beard or his head, aside from the Scripturally permitted reasons, will be held accountable.
