Beard

The hair growing on the lower part of a man’s face.

A beard was worn as a sign of maturity among people from the ancient Near East, including the Israelites. In Israel, care of the beard was religiously significant (Leviticus 19:27). The laws in Leviticus commanded priests to not shave their heads or clip their beards (Leviticus 21:5–6). David sent messengers to an Ammonite king, who were humiliated by having one side of their beards shaved off by the Ammonites. That insult, and others, led to war (2 Samuel 10:1–8).

It was sometimes appropriate to shave one’s beard. If someone may have had leprosy on the head or face, they had to shave around the spot to verify (Leviticus 13:29–37). A shaven head, wailing, and wearing sackcloth were ways to signal future doom (Isaiah 15:1–3). Ezra acted out Israel’s spiritual disaster by pulling hair out of his head and beard (Ezra 9:3).