Bible Strands
Leviticus 21:5
Priests must not make bald spots on their heads, shave off the edges of their beards, or make cuts in their bodies.
Berean Standard Bible
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Study note
Setting — The text records a divine command directed to the Aaronic priesthood, establishing physical boundaries for priests within the broader regulations of ritual consecration and mourning restrictions.
The words — The Hebrew terms יִקְרְח֤וּ (yik.re.chah) and יְגַלֵּ֑חוּ (ye.ga.Le.chu) literally translate to "they will make bald" and "they will shave," denoting deliberate acts of hair removal.
The thread — This prohibition appears in Leviticus 19:27 regarding cutting hair at the head's sides, Deuteronomy 14:1 forbidding forehead shaving for the dead, and Ezekiel 44:20 regulating priestly hair maintenance.
Why it lands — The command requires priests to abstain from mourning-related bodily modifications, preserving their physical state as a marker of ongoing consecration to God.
Drafted by a language model from the text, its original words and its cross-references, then checked against them. It can still be wrong: open the verse in the app to report it.
The Hebrew words
King James Version
They shall not make baldness upon their head, neither shall they shave off the corner of their beard, nor make any cuttings in their flesh.
Cross-references
- Deuteronomy 14:1 You are sons of the LORD your God; do not cut yourselves or shave your foreheads on behalf of the dead,
- Ezekiel 44:20 They must not shave their heads or let their hair grow long, but must carefully trim their hair.
- Leviticus 19:27 You must not cut off the hair at the sides of your head or clip off the edges of your beard.
- Leviticus 10:6 Then Moses said to Aaron and his sons Eleazar and Ithamar, “Do not let your hair become disheveled and do not tear your garments, or else you will die, and the LORD will be angry with the whole congregation. But your brothers, the whole house of Israel, may mourn on account of the fire that the LORD has ignited.
- Isaiah 15:2 Dibon goes up to its temple to weep at its high places. Moab wails over Nebo, as well as over Medeba. Every head is shaved, every beard is cut off.
- Isaiah 22:12 On that day the Lord GOD of Hosts called for weeping and wailing, for shaven heads and the wearing of sackcloth.
- Jeremiah 16:6 “Both great and small will die in this land. They will not be buried or mourned, nor will anyone cut himself or shave his head for them.
- Jeremiah 48:37 For every head is shaved and every beard is clipped; on every hand is a gash, and around every waist is sackcloth.
- Amos 8:10 I will turn your feasts into mourning and all your songs into lamentation. I will cause everyone to wear sackcloth and every head to be shaved. I will make it like a time of mourning for an only son, and its outcome like a bitter day.
- Micah 1:16 Shave yourselves bald and cut off your hair in mourning for your precious children; make yourselves as bald as an eagle, for they will go from you into exile.