by John V. Cordaro

It is a belief among many brethren in the faith that men should wear beards
as did most Israelites throughout history. However, it is not considered
mandatory to do so. The purpose of this study is to inform you of what the
scriptures say concerning beards and to show that it is a law of Yahweh
which should be obeyed.

Let's begin by looking at the actual commandment in Lev. 19:26-28; "Ye
shall not eat any thing with the blood: neither shall ye use enchantment, nor
observe times. Ye shall not round the corners of your heads, neither shalt
thou mar the corners of thy beard. Ye shall not make any cuttings in your
flesh for the dead, nor print any marks upon you: I am Yahweh."

Notice that we continue to obey verses 26 and 28 even today. The question
is, do we have to obey verse 27? As we read in Lev. 19:1,2, these
commandments are for the children of Israel, of whom we are through
Messiah. In verse 27 the KJV uses two words which do not help in clearly
understanding this verse, "mar" and "corners". Unless you have a square
head and a square beard you cannot have "corners". The Hebrew for
"corners" is "peah" which means the "region or extremity" according to
Strong's Concordance. A word study of such verses as Ex.36:25; Job
18:14,15; Nu.24:17; Ezek.41:12; and Lev.19:9 will reveal the correct
meaning to be "border" or "the outline that forms the image". Referring to the
above references; the peah or border of a building is its' walls; of the sea,
its' coastline; of a country such as Moab, its' borders; of a field, its' borders;
of the beard, the outline which forms the image. In other words, the hairline
along the cheeks, lower neck, below the lower lip, etc. Goatees, mutton
chops, Hitler moustaches and totally shaven faces are all forbidden by
Yahweh. Incidentally, the Jewish practice of not cutting the sideburns is
based on an erroneous understanding of this scripture.

The word "mar" in Hebrew is "shachath" which means to decay or ruin. It
was also translated "destroy, perish, cast off, corrupt and utterly waste". So
what this commandment is really saying is, "Do not utterly destroy the
borders of your beard." The only way to utterly destroy the beard is to
remove the hair from your face. The most common way is by shaving which
totally ruins and mars the beard. It creates baldness upon your skin and, as
we will see later, baldness is associated with shame and defilement
throughout scripture. Trimming the length of the beard is permitted because
it does not create baldness. Instead, it adds to a man's handsomeness.

To "round the corners of your head" would mean to create baldness around
one's head, as certain people do, leaving only a cicular patch of hair on top.

Lev.19:27 is among a long list of commandments extending to Lev.20:21.
Verses 22-26 teach us to be sanctified from the unbelieving people around
us. They tattoo their bodies, stretch their necks with metal rings, shave their
heads bald or carve words and designs in their hair. This shows a total lack
of reverence for their bodies. How much more should we reverence our
bodies which are the temple of the Holy Spirit.

A similar commandment is found in Lev.21:1-6. These verses pertain to the
priests, Aaron and his sons. Believers today are said to be priests as well,
so this commandment could spiritually apply to us. But even if it doesn't we
can see Yahweh's feelings concerning creating baldness on ones head. Not
only would the priest defile or profane himself but he would also profane the
name of Yahweh (vs 6). It was holiness to a priest to remain unshaven.

Only something holy can be profaned or defiled. Ezekiel talks about
profaning the sanctuary and the Sabbath day. Both are holy and both can be
defiled. Believers are also holy; in fact, we are a holy priesthood and our
bodies are holy temples. If we eat pork we defile the temple of the Holy
Spirit (Lev 11:44). If we create baldness on our head or face we defile the
temple of Yahweh.

Lev.21:16-23 tells us about the seed of Aaron that are blemished. Whenever
something happens to a priest that alters the image that he was created
with, he becomes blemished. That is why Yahweh told them not to create
baldness on their head or face. They could not serve as priests until they
were healed again.

Most commentators apply the last chapters of Ezekiel to the millennial
kingdom. Notice in Ezek.44:20 the priests are not permitted to shave but
they are permitted to cut their hair so it doesn't grow too long. Yahweh does
not want men's head hair to be too long and He doesn't want it or the beard
to appear sloppy or unkempt. The Apostle Paul, in I Cor.11, says it is a
shame for a man to have long hair. It was also a shame for a man to be bald
or beardless. II Sam.10:4,5 recounts the time when King David's men had
half their beards shaved off by their enemies causing great shame. But
notice what David said to do. He didn't tell them to shave off the other half
and return to Jerusalem. He told them to wait in Jericho until their beards
grew back and then return.

Some people try to use Gen.41:14 to prove that men could shave if they
wanted to. The most logical way to understand this verse is that the
Egyptians made Joseph shave when he met Pharaoh just as they made him
change his clothing. If a man is kept in a dungeon for two years and then is
brought quickly out to meet Pharaoh, he is not going to put on his best
clothing because he undoubtedly doesn't have a change of good clothing.
The Egyptians would have given him new clothes and they would have
required him to clean up and shave. Almost all Egyptians had shaven heads
and no beards.

Acts 18:18 and 21;23-26 show that Paul shaved his head because he had
taken a Nazarite vow which is spoken of in Nu. 6:1,13,18. Once the vow was
fulfilled Paul's head was shaved and his hair burnt for a peace offering.
Samson was under a Nazarite vow as well, through which his long hair gave
him great strength until it was shaved off by Delilah. There were only three
reasons Yahweh allowed for shaving ones head: 1) A Nazarite vow 2)
Leprosy or infection on the head 3) death of a relative. Shaving for any other
reason, including to make oneself more attractive, would defile the person
and profane Yahweh's name.

Yahweh spoke two interesting prophesies concerning baldness. In
Is.3:16,17,24 baldness is spoken of as something negative and undesirable
that Yahweh will bring upon the daughters of Zion because of their haughty
attitude. Amos 8:9,10 shows that in the Day of Yahweh, He will cause
baldness upon every head; in other words, shame and mourning.

Many people have been misled by todays society into believing that a well
shaved, smooth face is desirable and permissible when, in reality, it is
against the law of Yahweh and defiles our temple. Yahweh created men to
have beards and then commanded men to not destroy their beards. He
desires men to maintain the same image that He created them with. He does
not want us to look like Egyptians, Romans, Hindus, or the other nations
around us.

Even Yahshua the Messiah, who is our ultimate example, had a beard
(Is.50:6). In their attempt to disrespect and shame Yahshua, his persecutors
tore out the hair from his beard.

There are certain commandments in the Old Testament which we no longer
observe because they have been fulfilled in some way. However, concerning
beards and baldness, there are no fulfillments. If we don't have to obey
these commandments anymore, then when and why did they cease?

Some brethren believe the law against shaving the beard was a cultural
requirement for Israel alone. If that be the case, we could say the same for
all the feast days and many other laws. The fact that Yahweh created men
with beards, as a natural part of their body, shows that they are desired by
Yahweh for all men, not just for Israelites. Since Galations 6:16 calls
believers "the Israel of Yahweh", then we should be subject to the laws of
Yahweh given to Israel.

Others will say that not all men can grow beards, therefore they don't have
to either. Not all believers can mark the beginning of Sabbath by the visual
sunset, yet they must keep the Sabbath holy. Yahweh will not hold such a
person accountable if he cannot grow a beard. Nor will He look away from a
man who loses his hair naturally. However, the man who willfully shaves his
beard or his head, aside from the scripturally permitted reasons, will be held
accountable.

The evidence is conclusively in favor of the continued observance of these
commandments and I, for one, will never put a razor to my face again. What
about you?
The Laws of Beards and Baldness