I have been studying beards.
Here is some of what I have found in my studies on the subject.
Don't round your hair at the temples or mar the edges of your beard. - Leviticus 19:27
Nowhere does Adonai say that cutting the beard is acceptable. One of the humiliations of a conqueror was to shave or take off the beards of the men.
The reason for both prohibitions in Lev. 19:27 have to do with pagan practices. Adonai told His People Israel not to shave their hair around the temples by the ears and around the head. This was not only a perversion of the hair of the head but also a practice of idolatry.
Adonai commanded His People not to cut or to trim their beards because of grief toward the dead. This was another pagan practice. They were not to 'mar' or destroy their beards.
From this, we can see that any trimming of the beard would be prohibited by Adonai, whether done for pagan or other reasons. It would seem too that the prohibition not to trim the beard extends to both the length of the beard as well as it's origin upon the cheeks and the face.
Yeshua therefore, like Fathers Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, and King David and Isaiah, etc., would have had a full, untrimmed beard.
The way that Adonai has made Man is with a beard. When men shave it to “beautify” themselves, as the ancient Greeks and Romans did, they alter Adonai's design for men. It is a profaning or defiling of what Adonai has made.
Beards are one of Adonai's ways to distinguish between a man and a woman. In this day when men have long hair and woman have shaved heads, it is hard to distinguish some men from some women. Adonai never intended this. Adonai wants men to have beards. It was considered a disgrace for an adult man not to have a beard (2 Samuel 10:4-5).
"How womanly it is for one who is a man to comb himself and shave himself with a razor, for the sake of fine effect, and to arrange his hair at the mirror, shave his cheeks, pluck hairs out of them, and smooth them! ... For God wished women to be smooth and to rejoice in their locks alone growing spontaneously, as a horse in his mane. But He has adorned man, like the lions, with a beard, and endowed him as an attribute of manhood, with a hairy chest, a sign of strength and rule." - Clement of Alexandria (vol. 2, p. 275)
"This, then, is the mark of the man, the beard. By this, he is seen to be a man. It is older than Eve. It is the token of the superior nature... It is therefore unholy to desecrate the symbol of manhood, hairiness." - Clement of Alexandria (vol. 2, p. 276)
"The nature of the beard contributes in an incredible degree to distinguish the maturity of bodies, or to distinguish the sex, or to contribute to the beauty of manliness and strength." - Lactantius (vol. 7, p. 288)
Because it was part of Israelite life for a man to have a beard, the Bible has only a few direct references to beards. However, those mentioned are significant and set precedence for a man having a beard. The Bible refers to the following people as having beards:
Aaron the High Priest - Psalm 133
King David - Samuel 21:13
Ezra the scribe - Ezra 9:3
Yeshua the Messiah - Isaiah 50:6
These are all significant people. The most notable of them is our Savior, Yeshua the Messiah. We can learn something important about beards by reviewing Isaiah 50:6 -
I gave my back to the smiters, and my cheeks to them that plucked off the hair: I hid not my face from shame and spitting. In this prophetic passage we learn that Yeshua not only had a beard, but that it was long enough to be ripped out by those who tortured him to death. Yeshua is our example (1 Peter 2:21). As such, we must follow his example.
Do you or does a man in your life have a beard? Why or why not?
True 
Comments (170)
Lol. And then people are all like, "teh Bible iz literalz! gay iz wrong!"
How dumb is it not to be allowed to shave? Seriously. I love my smooth legs and my man's smooth face.
I have a goatee and mustache. But when I want to shave it I will. I am not under law but grace. Christ has fulfilled all of the requirements God laid down upon Israel in the Mosaic Covenant. I do not have to keep the religious, cleanliness, food, sacrificial practices, and etc. of the Mosaic Covenant. That part of the covenant is covered because I am in Christ Jesus. He fulfilled it so I don't have to do so myself.
A covenant is just a very intricate form of contract. Like all contracts fulfilling the contract sets the contract aside; voids the contract by completion. If you and a carpenter had a contract for him to build a deck onto your house, you would have your part of the contract to complete, and he would have his. Once the carpenter finished his building, and you had made the final payment, the contract would be complete; fulfilled; voided by compliance.
As to the eternal law of God, like the 10 Commandments, sexual prohibitions, and etc, that never passes away. I keep these through the grace of God in Christ Jesus. You have to remember if you live by the law you will die by the law. Jesus having fulfilled the law, gives us the blessings of the covenant, but without the cost.
If you want to follow the law because you find some spiritual meaning in it, then by all means do. Not all of us do, and we are not held to it.
Blessings,
BP
O.o
yeah right! i think the quotes pretaining to beards are old testment scriptures are mose's law, i don't think it's absolute that every single guy needs to have a beard because it's our free choice. i am sure not every single person had a beard back in the day, just like today, not every single person has one so i don't think anyone needs to be required to follow anything pretaining to his own hygiene.
@SerenaDante@xanga - how the eff does your "gay" comment have anything to do with beards? not a damn thing.
//Yeshua is our example (1 Peter 2:21). As such, we must follow his example.//
By your argument, we should also wear what He wore, go exactly where He went, and eat exactly what He ate on each specific day...
As @The_Strugglers_Place@xanga kinda pointed out, Christ's sacrifice fulfilled the law. His death marked the fulfillment of the OT laws and therefore following Christ would equal fulfilling the OT law as well... hence why we're called "Spiritual Jews".
@MR_GHeTTo_PaNTS@xanga - I'm simply commenting on the stupidity of the Bible. It says that people shouldn't shave. That's pretty dumb if you ask me, and yet people still insist on taking everything in it literally... Including the supposed gay issue that the Bible "presents." Which is also something dumb. But maybe that's just my opinion.
I always kind of wondered about the long hair verses for women in the New Testament, too. I know people say it is different because of a different culture, but I still always kinda wonder...
@QuantumStorm@xanga - I like your answer.
Hahaha, wow this is a hoot.
Please tell me you make your husband take a bath after he ejaculates and you both acknowledge him as unclean until the evening.
Please tell me that your husband refuses to sleep in the same bed with you while you're on your period to avoid becoming unclean and if he does, or if he sits in a chair you sat in, or if he just touches you he must then take a bath (and he will be unclean until evening).
Please tell me you refuse to wear polyester.
Please tell me you think mules are an abomination.
Please tell me you strongly protest intercropping.
Replying yes to anyone one of these would brighten my day. Please let me know.
that wud be a literal reeding of the txt yes but the law wuz nevr ment to be takin literaly hence the talmud & while the talmud suggests that keeping the beard iz preferable to shaving it allowz for cutting of the beard with sizzors or clipperz wyle cutting with a razor or knife haz never ben permittid neither plucking the beard bekuz thoz wer the pagan wayz
@SerenaDante@xanga - that doesn't apply anymore, and hasn't for 2000 or so years now.
To the author: You're ignoring Peter's vision in acts, and the following decision of the council, and taking verses out of holistic context.
i'll rec and comment on this again b/c i love you so much Gee Kee! <3
oddly enough, i never liked beards until the guy i was in a relationship with had one.
for me, it's not imperative for a man to have a beard, especially if it's his choice not to, but i love them now.
now single guys with beards (preferably well-groomed) are more attractive to me. just something super virile and manly about it now.
@JadedJanissary@xanga - Lol. We've discussed this before. As you know, I definitely think there are other issues in the Bible that shouldn't apply anymore as well.
@SerenaDante@xanga - yes, but this is one that the Apostle Peter himself had a vision from God about not applying anymore. A Christian should not be even considering that law applicable in any meaningful sense.
@JadedJanissary@xanga - Lol. Wow.
@SerenaDante@xanga - que?
@whataboutbahb@xanga - THANK YOU for including these....also, the fact that I'm wearing clothing made of mixed fibers is un-Lawful, as would be plowing with a horse and an ox (which I doubt I'll ever try... none of my animals like to plow.) These regulations had meaning in the Old Testament, but thanks to God we are now under grace.
I'm not trying to make light of the Bible...if this person's conscience tells him to obey this rule, we can't say anything. This prohibition isn't repeated in the New Testament, though. I don't think many of our churches teach young Christians how to weigh Biblical commands.
@JadedJanissary@xanga - I just find it funny that the beard issue should be so important to god. And I also had a thought that went something like, "Maybe I should become a super devout Christian so I can tell people I'm getting visions from god that say gayness is okay..." =D
@SerenaDante@xanga - Umm, I guess you'd have to be Peter, the guy that Jesus said would be the rock upon which he would build the church to have that kind of authority. Also, you'd need to be martyred. So, good luck with that one.
And, the beard issue, at one time, helped the israelites to forge an identity at a time when they needed to come together as a group to survive in a middle east so hostile that it would make the middle east of today look like a walk in the park. Having the people look and act a certain way protected their health, and their identity.
@whataboutbahb@xanga - O.O
-_- funny
@SerenaDante@xanga - that's a rather intolerant and very judgmental opinion... what ever happened to diversity and tolerance?
obviously this MUST be taken in context... because OT standards are different... we have to realize that the Old Testament is a shadow of the substance which is Christ... all those laws established in the Mosaic Covenant are to have the Children of Israel be separate from the pagan nations that surround them... pagan nations are a typology of sin... while the Israelites are a picture of Christians based on the OT ideals...
but once Jesus came and redeemed for Himself a people like the Israelites... we live in Grace where the Law is fulfilled in 2 points... Love God with all that you are and love your neighbor as yourself...
if my stance with God is based on the amount of facial hair, well then I'm in deep poo-doo... cuz I really can't grow a beard... like I'm literally incapable to grow one...
and God's grace is sufficient... even for those who have a facial follicle deficiency... like me... lol
@JadedJanissary@xanga - Oh. Gotta go change my name to Peter then.
And, "I say that Jesus will be the rock upon which I build the church."
Now two seconds while I find someone to make me a martyr.
(Do I have to be crucified, necessarily, or can we just stick to, say, a more modern-day shooting?)
@SerenaDante@xanga - "stupidity" of the bible? you do realize that the bible is an account from God to men? because if you 100% realize this, then you should also realize that when you say "stupidity of the bible" you are implying that God is stupid.
@MR_GHeTTo_PaNTS@xanga - I'm atheist. Does that help?
@SerenaDante@xanga - okay, then why are you commenting on a christian based blog? i am pretty sure revelife isn't for atheists. so it just goes to show that you have nothing better to do with your time then to try and belittle christians because you don't believe what we believe and beacuse our beliefs are too "complicated" or "ridiculous" for you to believe because you have a clear lack of understanding.
@MR_GHeTTo_PaNTS@xanga - Lol, I'm perfectly free to comment on things I find silly.
@SerenaDante@xanga except for the fact that you aren't commenting them just because you find them "silly".