Topic
Baldness
24 passages cited, from 4 classic reference works.
These works date from 1884–1915 and are in the public domain. They reflect the Protestant scholarship of their time: their history, archaeology and dates can be out of date, and where they interpret, other traditions read the text differently. The verses are shown in the King James Version, the wording these works were written against.
The verses
The passages the works cite, those cited by more of them first.
- 2 Kings 2:23Easton · Smith · ISBE · Nave INSTANCES OF — Elisha
¶ And 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.
- Jeremiah 47:5Easton · Smith · ISBE · Nave A judgment
Baldness is come upon Gaza; Ashkelon is cut off with the remnant of their valley: how long wilt thou cut thyself?
- Deuteronomy 14:1Easton · ISBE · Nave Artificial, as an idolatrous practice, forbidden
Ye are the children of the LORD your God: ye shall not cut yourselves, nor make any baldness between your eyes for the dead.
- Isaiah 3:24Easton · Smith · Nave A judgment
And 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 22:12Easton · ISBE · Nave Artificial, a sign of mourning
And in that day did the Lord GOD of hosts call to weeping, and to mourning, and to baldness, and to girding with sackcloth:
- Amos 8:10Easton · ISBE · Nave Artificial, a sign of mourning
And 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.
- Micah 1:16Easton · ISBE · Nave Artificial, a sign of mourning
Make thee bald, and poll thee for thy delicate children; enlarge thy baldness as the eagle; for they are gone into captivity from thee.
- Leviticus 21:5ISBE · Nave Artificial, as an idolatrous practice, forbidden
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.
- Numbers 6:9Easton · Smith
And 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.
- Isaiah 15:2Smith · ISBE
He 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.
- Jeremiah 16:6Easton · Nave Artificial, a sign of mourning
Both 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:
- Ezekiel 7:18Smith · Nave A judgment
They shall also gird themselves with sackcloth, and horror shall cover them; and shame shall be upon all faces, and baldness upon all their heads.
Show 12 more
- Acts 18:18 Easton · Smith
- Leviticus 13:29 Smith
- Leviticus 13:40 Nave General scriptures concerning
- Leviticus 13:41 Nave General scriptures concerning
- Leviticus 21:20 Easton
- 2 Kings 2:24 ISBE
- Jeremiah 7:29 Easton
- Jeremiah 48:37 Nave A judgment
- Ezekiel 27:31 Nave Artificial, a sign of mourning
- Ezekiel 29:18 Nave Artificial, a sign of mourning
- Acts 21:24 Easton
- 1 Thessalonians 4:13 ISBE
In the reference works
Easton's Bible Dictionary (1897) · 13 references
From natural causes was uncommon (2 Kings 2:23; Isa. 3:24). It was included apparently under “scab” and “scurf,” which disqualified for the priesthood (Lev. 21:20). The Egyptians were rarely subject to it. This probably arose from their custom of constantly shaving the head, only allowing the hair to grow as a sign of mourning. With the Jews artificial baldness was a sign of mourning (Isa. 22:12; Jer. 7:29; 16:6); it also marked the conclusion of a Nazarite’s vow (Acts 18:18; 21:24; Num. 6:9). It is often alluded to (Micah 1:16; Amos 8:10; Jer. 47:5). The Jews were forbidden to follow the customs of surrounding nations in making themselves bald (Deut. 14:1).
Smith's Bible Dictionary (1884) · 8 references
International Standard Bible Encyclopedia (1915) · 11 references
bald'-ness qorchah: The reference in the Bible to baldness is not to the natural loss of hair, but to baldness produced by shaving the head. This was practiced as a mark of mourning for the dead (Le 21:5; Isa 15:2; 22:12); as the result of any disaster (Am 8:10; Mic 1:16). The custom arose from the fact that the hair was regarded as a special ornament. It was the custom of the people of the land, and the Israelites were strictly forbidden to practice it (Le 21:5; Deut 14:1). These are striking passages with reference to the knowledge the Israelites had concerning the future life. This is saying to them what Paul said to the Thessalonians (1Th 4:13). To call one a "bald head" was an epithet of contempt, and was sometimes applied to persons who were not naturally bald. It was the epithet applied by certain infidel young men to Elisha (2Ki 2:23,24). In a figurative sense it is used to express the barrenness of the country (Jer 47:5).
Jacob W. Kapp
In the topical indexes
Nave's Topical Bible (1896) · 15 references, grouped by sub-topic
Texts: Easton's Bible Dictionary (1897); Smith's Bible Dictionary (1884); International Standard Bible Encyclopedia (1915); Nave's Topical Bible (1896), from the CrossWire SWORD modules (public domain). Verse references were parsed from the works' own markup and checked against the KJV verse list.