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Tyndale Open Bible Dictionary

HAIRSTYLES AND BEARDS

In Palestine and throughout the Near East, women’s hairstyles were long. In NT times a woman who cut her hair might be mistaken for a pagan priestess and thus be disgraced (see 1 Cor 11:15). The apostle Peter warned Christian women against preoccupation with elaborate styles of hair (1 Pt 3:3). When a woman married, it was customary to change her hairstyle slightly, in favor of a more mature appearance. Curling tongs and hair oils were used by some married women.

Dark hair is mentioned frequently in the Bible, although gray hair represented maturity and was respected. Some persons preferred to make use of popular black and red hair dyes. According to tradition, Herod the Great dyed his graying hair with henna.

Beard and hair trimming was performed in a specialized manner in Jewish culture. An Israelite man was instructed not to cut the hair on his temples or trim the corners of his beard (Lv 19:27). This was done to maintain a contrast in every way between the Israelites and the members of idolatrous cults in Canaan and elsewhere (Dt 12:29-30). Beards distinguished Hebrews from Egyptians, who were clean-shaven, although they sometimes wore false beards on ceremonial occasions. Shaving or cutting off the beard of enemy captives was considered the gravest humiliation that the victor could impose. A shaved head, however, was also a recognized symbol of purification at the termination of a vow (Lv 14:8-9; Acts 18:18). Shaving a beard was the usual sign of mourning (Is 15:2). It could also symbolize the approach of doom (Is 7:20; Jer 41:5; 48:37).