Beard

References to the beard

Ezekiel 5:1 See also Judges 16:17; 1 Samuel 21:13; 2 Samuel 20:9; Psalm 133:2

“As for you, son of man, take a sharp sword, use it as a barber’s razor, and shave your head and beard. Then take a set of scales and divide the hair.

Cutting or pulling the beard

In grief

Jeremiah 48:37 Moab is in mourning. See also Isaiah 15:2; Jeremiah 41:5

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

In dismay

Ezra 9:3

When I heard this report, I tore my tunic and cloak, pulled out some hair from my head and beard, and sat down in horror.

In the ceremony of cleansing

See also Leviticus 14:9

As an extreme insult

2 Samuel 10:4–5 parallel 1 Chronicles 19:4–5; Isaiah 7:20, Isaiah 50:6

Cutting the edges of the beard was forbidden

Leviticus 19:27 This is a prohibition still adhered to by some Jews today; Leviticus 21:5