Baldness

Condition of having little or no hair on the scalp. Natural baldness due to age is referred to only indirectly in the Bible, where it is contrasted with baldness due to leprosy (Lv 13:40-42). The Israelites were forbidden to shave their heads or shape their beard in ways that resembled pagan religious practices (Dt 14:1). Such restrictions applied particularly to Israelite priests (Lv 21:5). Shaving off the hair and offering it as a sacrifice to God was a special act prescribed for men or women taking a Nazirite vow (Nm 6:1-5, 18; Acts 18:18).

The Egyptians and other peoples shaved off their hair (and eyebrows) as a sign of respect for the dead. There are many biblical references to the non-Israelite custom of shaving the head as a sign of mourning or anguish (Jer 16:6; 48:37; Ez 27:31; Mi 1:16). Most of these passages speak of God’s judgment against pagan cities or nations. Since baldness was associated primarily with leprosy, venereal disease, idolatry, or death, the prediction or threat of baldness sometimes accompanied prophetic warnings (Is 3:16-24).