Shaving could express mourning, fulfill a Nazirite obligation after a vow, or signify humiliation and devastation. Israelite law restricted shaving the edges of the beard, while cutting the beard could be a serious insult.
Definition
Shaving is the cutting or removal of hair. In the biblical material it may express mourning, fulfill the completion or interruption of a Nazirite vow, signify humiliation, or portray devastation. Israelite regulations restricted shaving the edges of the beard, and cutting a man’s beard was a serious insult.
Biblical Usage
Shaving the head could mark mourning. Nazirites abstained from the razor during their vow but shaved when the vow ended or when defiled. Israelites were forbidden to shave the corner of the beard. Isaiah uses a razor hired by the Assyrian power as an image of Judah’s complete devastation.
Historical Background
Egyptians customarily shaved the whole body, while Israelites generally allowed the hair to grow and cut it periodically. The cutting of the beards of David’s representatives by Hanun was treated as an intolerable insult.
Historical Bible Dictionaries
International Standard Bible Encyclopedia (ISBE)
<p>shav'-ing (in Job 1:20, gazaz, usually galach; in Ac 21:24, xurao): Customs as to shaving differ in different countries, and in ancient and modern times. Among the Egyptians it was customary to shave the whole body (compare Ge 41:14). With the Israelites, shaving the head was a sign of mourning (De 21:12; Job 1:20); ordinarily the hair was allowed to grow long, and was only cut at intervals (compare Absalom, 2Sa 14:26). Nazirites were forbidden to use a razor, but when their vow was expired, or if they were defiled, they were to shave the whole head (Nu 6:5,9,18 ; compare Ac 21:24). The shaving of the beard was not permitted to the Israelites; they were prohibited from shaving off even "the corner of their beard" (Le 21:5). It was an unpardonable insult when Hanun, king of the Ammonites, cut off the half of the beards of the Israelites whom David had sent to him (2Sa 10:4; 1Ch 19:4).</p><p>Shaving "with a razor that is hired" is Isaiah's graphic figure to denote the complete devastation of Judah by the Assyrian army (Isa 7:20).</p><p>James Orr</p>
