Baldness

How Nave’s arranged it

• General scriptures concerningLeviticus 13:40Leviticus 13:41
• A judgmentIsaiah 3:24Jeremiah 47:5Jeremiah 48:37Ezekiel 7:18
• Artificial, a sign of mourningIsaiah 22:12Jeremiah 16:6Ezekiel 27:31Ezekiel 29:18Amos 8:10Micah 1:16
• Artificial, as an idolatrous practice, forbiddenLeviticus 21:5Deuteronomy 14:1
• INSTANCES OF
• Elisha2 Kings 2:23

The passages, in Bible order (15)

The same references, sorted Genesis to Revelation. The first 15 are quoted in full; the rest are one click beneath them, book by book.

1. Leviticus 13:40

   Now if a man loses his hair and is bald, he is still clean.

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2. Leviticus 13:41

   Or if his hairline recedes and he is bald on his forehead, he is still clean.

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3. Leviticus 21:5

   Priests must not make bald spots on their heads, shave off the edges of their beards, or make cuts in their bodies.

   ›Commentary on Leviticus 21:51 voice

   “These prohibitions given to the people at large (compare the margin reference.) had a special fitness for the Hebrew priests. They were the instruments of the divine will for averting death, all their sacrifices were a type of the death of Christ, which swallowed up death in victory 1Co 15:54-57, and it would therefore have been unsuitable that they should have the same freedom as other people to become mourners.

   Everything gathered on Leviticus 21:5→

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4. Deuteronomy 14:1

   You are sons of the LORD your God; do not cut yourselves or shave your foreheads on behalf of the dead,

   ›Commentary on Deuteronomy 14:11 voice

   “Make any baldness between your eyes - i. e. by shaving the forepart of the head and the eyebrows. The practices named in this verse were common among the pagan, and seem to be forbidden, not only because such wild excesses of grief (compare 1Ki 18:28) would be inconsistent in those who as children of a heavenly Father had prospects beyond this world, but also because these usages themselves arose out of idolatrous notions.

   Everything gathered on Deuteronomy 14:1→

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5. 2 Kings 2:23

   From there, Elisha went up to Bethel, and as he was walking up the road, a group of boys came out of the city and jeered at him, chanting, “Go up, you baldhead! Go up, you baldhead!”

   ›Commentary on 2 Kings 2:232 voices

   “Now according to the letter, dearly beloved, we are to believe, as we mentioned above, that blessed Elisha was aroused with God's zeal to correct the people, rather than moved by unwholesome anger, when he permitted the Jewish children to be torn to pieces. His …

   “As Beth-el was the older seat of the calf-worship 1Ki 12:32-33; 13:1-32, a prophet of Yahweh was not unlikely to meet with insult there. By the way - i. e. “by the usual road,” probably that which winds up the Wady Suweinit, under hills even now retaining some trees, and in Elisha’s time covered with a dense forest, the haunt of savage animals. Compare 1Ki 13:24; and for the general prevalence of beasts of prey in the country, both earlier and later than this, see Jdg 14:5; 1Sa 17:31; 2Ki 17:25; Amo 5:19, etc.

   Everything gathered on 2 Kings 2:23→

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6. Isaiah 3:24

   Instead of fragrance there will be a stench; instead of a belt, a rope; instead of styled hair, baldness; instead of fine clothing, sackcloth; instead of beauty, shame.

   ›Commentary on Isaiah 3:242 voices

   “(Verse 24.) And it will be for a sweet smell, a stench; and for a belt, a cord. The one repenting of sins speaks of the stench: My scars have putrefied and become corrupted from the face of my foolishness (Psalm 38:6). The Apostle commanded to gird the loins with a belt, saying: Stand with your loins girded in truth (Ephesians 6:14). And we read about the sinner: Each one is bound by the cords of their own sins (Proverbs 5:22).

   “Instead of sweet smell “perfume” - A principal part of the delicacy of the Asiatic ladies consists in the use of baths, and of the richest oils and perfumes; an attention to which is in some degree necessary in those hot countries. Frequent mention is made of the rich ointments of the spouse in the Song of Solomon, Son 4:10, Son 4:11: - “How beautiful are thy breasts, my sister, my spouse! How much more excellent than wine; And the odour of thine ointments than all perfumes! Thy lips drop as the honey-comb, my spouse!

   Everything gathered on Isaiah 3:24→

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7. Isaiah 22:12

   On that day the Lord GOD of Hosts called for weeping and wailing, for shaven heads and the wearing of sackcloth.

   ›Commentary on Isaiah 22:121 voice

   “And in that day - In the invasion of Sennacherib. It might be rendered, ‘And the Lord, Yahweh of hosts, on such a day calls to weeping;’ intimating that in such a time it was a general truth that God required those who were thus afflicted to weep, and fast, and pray. Call to weeping - That is, by his providence; or, it was “proper” that at such a time they should weep. Affliction, oppression, and calamity are indications from God “always” that we ought to be humbled, and to prostrate ourselves before Him.

   Everything gathered on Isaiah 22:12→

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8. Jeremiah 16:6

   “Both great and small will die in this land. They will not be buried or mourned, nor will anyone cut himself or shave his head for them.

   ›Commentary on Jeremiah 16:61 voice

   “Nor cut themselves - A custom of the heathen forbidden to the Jews, Lev 19:28; Deu 14:1, and which appears now to have prevailed among them; because, having become idolaters, they conformed to all the customs of the heathen. They tore their hair, rent their garments, cut their hands, arms, and faces. These were not only signs of sorrow but were even supposed to give ease to the dead, and appease the angry deities.

   Everything gathered on Jeremiah 16:6→

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9. Jeremiah 47:5

   The people of Gaza will shave their heads in mourning; Ashkelon will be silenced. O remnant of their valley, how long will you gash yourself?

   ›Commentary on Jeremiah 47:52 voices

   “Baldness is come upon Gaza,.... The Targum is, "vengeance is come to the inhabitants of Gaza.'' It is become like a man whose hair is fallen from his head, or is clean shaved off; its houses were demolished; its inhabitants slain, and their wealth plundered; a pillaged and depopulated place.

   “Baldness - Extreme mourning (see Jer 16:6). Is cut off - Others render, is speechless through grief. With the remnant of their valley - Others, O remnant of their valley, how long wilt thou cut thyself? Their valley is that of Gaza and Ashkelon, the low-lying plain, usually called the Shefelah, which formed the territory of the Philistines. The reading of the Septuagint is remarkable: “the remnant of the Anakim,” which probably would mean Gath, the home of giants 1Sa 17:4. Jer 47:6. Or, Alas, Sword of Yahweh, how long wilt thou not rest? For the answer, see Jer 47:7.

   Everything gathered on Jeremiah 47:5→

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10. Jeremiah 48:37

    For every head is shaved and every beard is clipped; on every hand is a gash, and around every waist is sackcloth.

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11. Ezekiel 7:18

    They will put on sackcloth, and terror will overwhelm them. Shame will cover all their faces, and all their heads will be shaved.

    ›Commentary on Ezekiel 7:182 voices

    “(Verse 18.) In every face there is confusion, and in every head there is baldness. The reddening of the face is a sign of shame, and the conscience of sins shines forth on the face. The hope of salvation is when shame follows sin. Therefore it was said to her who gloried in her sins with a hard heart: Your face has become like that of a prostitute, you do not know how to blush (Jer. 3:3).

    “Various signs of mourning common in eastern countries. Baldness was forbidden to the Israelites Deu 14:1. They seem, however, in later times to have adopted the custom of foreign nations in this matter, not without permission. Compare Isa 22:12.

    Everything gathered on Ezekiel 7:18→

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12. Ezekiel 27:31

    They will shave their heads for you and wrap themselves in sackcloth. They will weep over you with anguish of soul and bitter mourning.

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13. Ezekiel 29:18

    “Son of man, Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon caused his army to labor strenuously against Tyre. Every head was made bald and every shoulder made raw. But he and his army received no wages from Tyre for the labor they expended on it.

    ›Commentary on Ezekiel 29:181 voice

    “Caused his army to serve a great service against Tyrus - He was thirteen years employed in the siege. See Joseph. Antiq. lib. 10 c. 11. In this siege his soldiers endured great hardships.

    Everything gathered on Ezekiel 29:18→

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14. Amos 8:10

    I will turn your feasts into mourning and all your songs into lamentation. I will cause everyone to wear sackcloth and every head to be shaved. I will make it like a time of mourning for an only son, and its outcome like a bitter day.

    ›Commentary on Amos 8:102 voices

    “Suspended, then, and fastened to his cross Christ cried out to God the Father in a loud voice and willingly laid down his life. In that same hour there was an earthquake, and the veil of the temple that separated the two tabernacles was cut in two, and the sun was suddenly withdrawn, and from the sixth hour until the ninth hour there was darkness. The prophet Amos bears witness to this. "And it shall come to pass in that day, says the Lord, that the sun shall go down at midday, and the day shall be darkened of light.

    “I will turn your feasts into mourning - He recurs to the sentence which he had pronounced Amo 8:3, before he described the avarice and oppression which brought it down. Hosea too had foretold, “I will cause all her mirth to cease, her feast-days, etc” Hos 2:11. So Jeremiah describes, “the joy of our heart is ceased; our dance is turned into mourning” Lam 5:15. The Book of Tobit bears witness how these sayings of Amos lived in the hearts of the captive Israelites.

    Everything gathered on Amos 8:10→

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15. Micah 1:16

    Shave yourselves bald and cut off your hair in mourning for your precious children; make yourselves as bald as an eagle, for they will go from you into exile.

    ›Commentary on Micah 1:162 voices

    “(Verse 16.) Shave and shear the sons of your delights, spread your baldness like an eagle, for captives have been led away from you. LXX: Glory of the daughter of Israel, shave and shear the sons of your delicacy; spread your baldness like an eagle, for captives have been led away from you. This that was spoken by the Seventy, glory of the daughter of Israel, with the daughters adding it, the Hebrews read at the end of the previous chapter.

    “Make thee bald - Cutting off the hair was a sign of great distress, and was practised on the death of near relatives; see Amo 8:10. The desolation should be so great that Israel should feel it to her utmost extent; and the mourning should be like that of a mother for the death of her most delicate children. Enlarge thy baldness as the eagle - Referring to the mounting of this bird, when in casting its feathers and breeding new ones, it is very sickly, and its strength wholly exhausted.

    Everything gathered on Micah 1:16→

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