Difference between revisions of "Baldness"

<p> [[Rare]] among Israelites; so an object of derision, as Elisha's was. to the children: &nbsp;2 Kings 2:23, "Go up thou baldhead," i.e., thou art old enough to leave this world and "go up" to heaven after thy master. A humiliation to captives (&nbsp;Deuteronomy 21:12; &nbsp;Isaiah 3:24). A mark of mourning (&nbsp;Jeremiah 16:6; &nbsp;Jeremiah 47:5; &nbsp;Ezekiel 7:18; &nbsp;Isaiah 15:2). It was sometimes a mark of leprosy: &nbsp;Leviticus 13:40-42. [[Priests]] were forbidden to make baldness on their heads, or to shave off the grainers of their beards (&nbsp;Leviticus 21:5; &nbsp;Ezekiel 44:20); as mourners and idol priests did. (&nbsp;Jeremiah 9:26 margin; &nbsp;Leviticus 19:27). </p> <p> The reason [[Israel]] was forbidden to do so was, "for thou art an holy people unto the Lord" (&nbsp;Deuteronomy 14:1-2). Nebuchadnezzar's army grew bald in besieging [[Tyre]] with the hardships of their work (&nbsp;Ezekiel 29:18). The Egyptians, contrary to oriental custom, shaved on joyous occasions and only let the hair grow in mourning; the mention of Joseph's "shaving" when summoned before [[Pharaoh]] is therefore an undesigned coincidence in &nbsp;Genesis 41:14, and mark of the truth of the [[Scripture]] record. Artificial baldness marked the ending of a Nazarite's vow (&nbsp;Numbers 6:9; &nbsp;Acts 18:18; &nbsp;Acts 21:24). </p>

<p> The [[Israelites]] were forbidden to cut themselves or to make themselves bald for the dead, as the heathen did; for they were a holy people unto the Lord. &nbsp;Leviticus 21:5; &nbsp;Deuteronomy 14:1; &nbsp;Jeremiah 16:6 . [[Baldness]] is one of the judgements of the Lord: perhaps they would make themselves bald in their distress. &nbsp;Isaiah 3:24; &nbsp;Isaiah 15:2; &nbsp;Isaiah 22:12; &nbsp;Ezekiel 7:18; &nbsp;Amos 8:10; &nbsp;Micah 1:16 . See NAZARITE. </p>

<p> BALD'NESS, n. Want of hair on the top and back of the head loss of hair meanness or inelegance of writing want of ornament. </p>

<p> <strong> BALDNESS </strong> . See [[Cuttings]] in the Flesh, Hair. </p>

<p> '''''bôld´ness''''' קרחה , <i> '''''ḳorḥāh''''' </i> ̌ : The reference in the Bible to baldness is not to the natural loss of hair, but to baldness produced by shaving the head. This was practiced as a mark of mourning for the dead (&nbsp;Leviticus 21:5; &nbsp;Isaiah 15:2; &nbsp;Isaiah 22:12 ); as the result of any disaster (&nbsp;Amos 8:10; &nbsp;Micah 1:16 ). The custom arose from the fact that the hair was regarded as a special ornament. It was the custom of the people of the land, and the Israelites were strictly forbidden to practice it (&nbsp;Leviticus 21:5; &nbsp;Deuteronomy 14:1 ). These are striking passages with reference to the knowledge the Israelites had concerning the future life. This is saying to them what Paul said to the Thessalonians (&nbsp;1 Thessalonians 4:13 ). To call one a "bald head" was an epithet of contempt, and was sometimes applied to persons who were not naturally bald. It was the epithet applied by certain infidel young men to Elisha (&nbsp;2 Kings 2:23 , &nbsp;2 Kings 2:24 ). In a figurative sense it is used to express the barrenness of the country (&nbsp;Jeremiah 47:5 ). See Hair; [[Shaving]] . </p>