Baldness

Boyd’s Bible Dictionary:

(ball-like). Priests forbidden to make themselves bald (Lev. 21:55They shall not make baldness upon their head, neither shall they shave off the corner of their beard, nor make any cuttings in their flesh. (Leviticus 21:5); Deut. 14:11Ye are the children of the Lord your God: ye shall not cut yourselves, nor make any baldness between your eyes for the dead. (Deuteronomy 14:1); Ezek. 44:2020Neither shall they shave their heads, nor suffer their locks to grow long; they shall only poll their heads. (Ezekiel 44:20)). “Bald-head” a cry of contempt (2 Kings 2:2323And he went up from thence unto Beth-el: and as he was going up by the way, there came forth little children out of the city, and mocked him, and said unto him, Go up, thou bald head; go up, thou bald head. (2 Kings 2:23)); as indicating leprosy (Lev. 13:40-4340And the man whose hair is fallen off his head, he is bald; yet is he clean. 41And he that hath his hair fallen off from the part of his head toward his face, he is forehead bald: yet is he clean. 42And if there be in the bald head, or bald forehead, a white reddish sore; it is a leprosy sprung up in his bald head, or his bald forehead. 43Then the priest shall look upon it: and, behold, if the rising of the sore be white reddish in his bald head, or in his bald forehead, as the leprosy appeareth in the skin of the flesh; (Leviticus 13:40‑43)). Voluntary baldness a sign of misery (Isa. 3:2424And it shall come to pass, that instead of sweet smell there shall be stink; and instead of a girdle a rent; and instead of well set hair baldness; and instead of a stomacher a girding of sackcloth; and burning instead of beauty. (Isaiah 3:24); Ezek. 7:1818They shall also gird themselves with sackcloth, and horror shall cover them; and shame shall be upon all faces, and baldness upon all their heads. (Ezekiel 7:18)); or else the conclusion of the Nazarite vow (Num. 6:99And if any man die very suddenly by him, and he hath defiled the head of his consecration; then he shall shave his head in the day of his cleansing, on the seventh day shall he shave it. (Numbers 6:9)).

Concise Bible Dictionary:

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 (Lev. 21:55They shall not make baldness upon their head, neither shall they shave off the corner of their beard, nor make any cuttings in their flesh. (Leviticus 21:5); Deut. 14:11Ye are the children of the Lord your God: ye shall not cut yourselves, nor make any baldness between your eyes for the dead. (Deuteronomy 14:1); Jer. 16:66Both the great and the small shall die in this land: they shall not be buried, neither shall men lament for them, nor cut themselves, nor make themselves bald for them: (Jeremiah 16:6)). Baldness is one of the judgments of the Lord: perhaps they would make themselves bald in their distress (Isa. 3:2424And it shall come to pass, that instead of sweet smell there shall be stink; and instead of a girdle a rent; and instead of well set hair baldness; and instead of a stomacher a girding of sackcloth; and burning instead of beauty. (Isaiah 3:24); Isa. 15:22He is gone up to Bajith, and to Dibon, the high places, to weep: Moab shall howl over Nebo, and over Medeba: on all their heads shall be baldness, and every beard cut off. (Isaiah 15:2); Isa. 22:1212And in that day did the Lord God of hosts call to weeping, and to mourning, and to baldness, and to girding with sackcloth: (Isaiah 22:12); Ezek. 7:1818They shall also gird themselves with sackcloth, and horror shall cover them; and shame shall be upon all faces, and baldness upon all their heads. (Ezekiel 7:18); Amos 8:1010And I will turn your feasts into mourning, and all your songs into lamentation; and I will bring up sackcloth upon all loins, and baldness upon every head; and I will make it as the mourning of an only son, and the end thereof as a bitter day. (Amos 8:10); Mic. 1:1616Make thee bald, and poll thee for thy delicate children; enlarge thy baldness as the eagle; for they are gone into captivity from thee. (Micah 1:16)). See NAZARITE.

“328. Baldness” From Manners and Customs of the Bible:

In India the expression “bald-head” has no special reference to a lack of hair, but is often applied to men who have an abundance. It is rather a term of contempt, intended to signify a mean and worthless fellow.

“494. Baldness a Sign of Mourning” From Manners and Customs of the Bible:

To make the head bald, or to shave or pluck the beard, was a sign of mourning among the Hebrews and many other nations. See also Ezra 9:33And when I heard this thing, I rent my garment and my mantle, and plucked off the hair of my head and of my beard, and sat down astonied. (Ezra 9:3); Job 1:2020Then Job arose, and rent his mantle, and shaved his head, and fell down upon the ground, and worshipped, (Job 1:20); Isaiah 22:1212And in that day did the Lord God of hosts call to weeping, and to mourning, and to baldness, and to girding with sackcloth: (Isaiah 22:12); Jeremiah 7:29; 16:6; 41:5; 47:5; 48:3729Cut off thine hair, O Jerusalem, and cast it away, and take up a lamentation on high places; for the Lord hath rejected and forsaken the generation of his wrath. (Jeremiah 7:29)
6Both the great and the small shall die in this land: they shall not be buried, neither shall men lament for them, nor cut themselves, nor make themselves bald for them: (Jeremiah 16:6)
5That there came certain from Shechem, from Shiloh, and from Samaria, even fourscore men, having their beards shaven, and their clothes rent, and having cut themselves, with offerings and incense in their hand, to bring them to the house of the Lord. (Jeremiah 41:5)
5Baldness is come upon Gaza; Ashkelon is cut off with the remnant of their valley: how long wilt thou cut thyself? (Jeremiah 47:5)
37For every head shall be bald, and every beard clipped: upon all the hands shall be cuttings, and upon the loins sackcloth. (Jeremiah 48:37); Micah 1:1616Make thee bald, and poll thee for thy delicate children; enlarge thy baldness as the eagle; for they are gone into captivity from thee. (Micah 1:16).

Related Books and Articles:

328. Baldness
Narrator: Chris Genthree
494. Baldness a Sign of Mourning
Narrator: Chris Genthree