Topical Encyclopedia
In the Bible, the concept of baldness is mentioned in various contexts, often carrying cultural and religious significance. The term "bald" or "baldness" appears in several passages, reflecting both literal and symbolic meanings.
Levitical Law and Ritual PurityIn the Old Testament, baldness is addressed in the context of Levitical laws concerning ritual purity.
Leviticus 13:40-41 states, "Now if a man loses his hair and is bald, he is still clean. Or if his hairline recedes and he is partially bald, he is still clean." This passage clarifies that natural baldness does not render a person ceremonially unclean, distinguishing it from skin diseases like leprosy, which required isolation and purification rituals.
Symbol of Mourning and JudgmentBaldness is also associated with mourning and lamentation. In the ancient Near Eastern culture, shaving one's head was a common expression of grief.
Isaiah 15:2 describes such a practice: "Dibon goes up to its temple, to its high places to weep; Moab wails over Nebo and Medeba. Every head is shaved, every beard is cut off." Here, baldness signifies deep sorrow and loss.
Furthermore, baldness can symbolize divine judgment. In
Isaiah 3:24 , the prophet warns of impending judgment on the daughters of Zion: "Instead of fragrance there will be a stench; instead of a belt, a rope; instead of styled hair, baldness; instead of fine clothing, sackcloth; instead of beauty, shame." The removal of hair, a symbol of beauty and dignity, represents the shame and humiliation that accompany God's judgment.
Prophetic SymbolismThe prophet Ezekiel also uses baldness as a prophetic symbol. In
Ezekiel 7:18 , the people of Israel are described in a state of despair: "They will put on sackcloth, and horror will cover them. Shame will be on all faces, and all their heads will be shaved." This imagery underscores the severity of the coming calamity and the people's utter desolation.
Mockery and DisrespectAn incident involving the prophet Elisha highlights the cultural perception of baldness as a potential source of mockery. In
2 Kings 2:23-24 , as Elisha travels to Bethel, a group of youths jeer at him, saying, "Go up, you baldhead! Go up, you baldhead!" Elisha's response, invoking a curse that results in the youths being mauled by bears, underscores the seriousness of showing disrespect to God's prophet.
ConclusionIn biblical times, baldness carried various connotations, from natural aging and mourning practices to symbols of judgment and disrespect. The Bible's references to baldness reflect the cultural and religious milieu of the ancient world, where physical appearance often intersected with spiritual and communal life.
Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary
1. (
a.) Destitute of the natural or common covering on the head or top, as of hair, feathers, foliage, trees, etc.; as, a bald head; a bald oak.
2. (a.) Destitute of ornament; unadorned; bare; literal.
3. (a.) Undisguised.
4. (a.) Destitute of dignity or value; paltry; mean.
5. (a.) Destitute of a beard or awn; as, bald wheat.
6. (a.) Destitute of the natural covering.
7. (a.) Marked with a white spot on the head; bald-faced.
International Standard Bible Encyclopedia
BALD LOCUSTbold lo'kust.
See LOCUST.
Strong's Hebrew
7139. qarach -- to make bald... 7138, 7139. qarach. 7140 . to make
bald. Transliteration: qarach Phonetic Spelling:
(kaw-rakh') Short Definition: make. Word Origin a prim.
... /hebrew/7139.htm - 6k 7142. qereach -- bald
... 7141, 7142. qereach. 7143 . bald. Transliteration: qereach Phonetic Spelling:
(kay-ray'-akh) Short Definition: baldhead. ... bald head. ...
/hebrew/7142.htm - 6k
1371. gibbeach -- having a bald forehead
... 1370, 1371. gibbeach. 1372 . having a bald forehead. Transliteration: gibbeach
Phonetic Spelling: (ghib-bay'-akh) Short Definition: forehead. ... forehead bald. ...
/hebrew/1371.htm - 6k
1372. gabbachath -- a bald forehead
... 1371, 1372. gabbachath. 1373 . a bald forehead. Transliteration: gabbachath
Phonetic Spelling: (gab-bakh'-ath) Short Definition: forehead. ...
/hebrew/1372.htm - 6k
7144. qorchah -- baldness, bald spot
... 7143, 7144. qorchah or qorcha. 7145 . baldness, bald spot. Transliteration:
qorchah or qorcha Phonetic Spelling: (kor-khaw') Short Definition: baldness. ...
/hebrew/7144.htm - 6k
4803. marat -- to make smooth, bare or bald, to scour, polish
... 4802, 4803. marat. 4804 . to make smooth, bare or bald, to scour, polish.
Transliteration: marat Phonetic Spelling: (maw-rat') Short Definition: polished. ...
/hebrew/4803.htm - 6k
1548. galach -- to be bald, shave, shave off
... 1547, 1548. galach. 1549 . to be bald, shave, shave off. Transliteration: galach
Phonetic Spelling: (gaw-lakh') Short Definition: shave. Word Origin a prim ...
/hebrew/1548.htm - 6k
7143. Qareach -- "bald one," a man of Judah
... 7142, 7143. Qareach. 7144 . "bald one," a man of Judah. Transliteration: Qareach
Phonetic Spelling: (kaw-ray'-akh) Short Definition: Kareah. ...
/hebrew/7143.htm - 6k
7146. qarachath -- baldness of head
... Word Origin from qarach Definition baldness of head NASB Word Usage bald head
(2), bareness* (1), head (1), top (1). bald head, bare within. ...
/hebrew/7146.htm - 6k
7140. qerach -- frost, ice
... crystal, frost, ice. Or qorach {ko'-rakh}; from qarach; ice (as if bald, ie Smooth);
hence, hail; by resemblance, rock crystal -- crystal, frost, ice. ...
/hebrew/7140.htm - 6k
Library
Psalm XLVII.
... When God's Prophet Elisha was going up, children called after him mocking, "Go up
thou bald head, Go up thou bald head:" but he, not so much in cruelty as in ...
/.../augustine/exposition on the book of psalms/psalm xlvii.htm
Election
... Remember what became of the children who found fault with God's prophet, and exclaimed,
"Go up, thou bald-head; go up, thou bald-head." Say nothing against ...
//christianbookshelf.org/spurgeon/spurgeons sermons volume 1 1855/election.htm
A Prophet of Peace
... These youth had heard of Elijah's ascension, and they made this solemn event the
subject of their jeers, saying to Elisha, "Go up, thou bald head; go up, thou ...
/.../white/the story of prophets and kings/chapter 19 a prophet of.htm
Acts of the Holy Apostles Peter and Paul.
... But Dioscorus the shipmaster, being himself also bald, wearing his shipmaster's
dress, and speaking boldly, on the first day went out into the city of Pontiole ...
/.../unknown/acts of the holy apostles peter and paul/acts of the holy apostles.htm
Of the Gods Peculiar to the Romans, and their Sacred Rites.
... by the Gauls, and the Romans, who were besieged in the Capitol, had made military
engines from the hair of the women, they dedicated a temple to the Bald Venus ...
/.../lactantius/the divine institutes/chap xx of the gods peculiar.htm
Christ Our Passover
... I venture to believe that the Lord's Supper is nothing more. I know how people
talk about the bare, bald, Zwinglian ideas of the Communion. ...
/.../expositions of holy scripture st john chaps xv to xxi/christ our passover.htm
Paul Before his Conversion.
... more probably of the fourth century), Malala of Antioch (sixth century), and Nicephorus
(fifteenth century), represent Paul as little in stature, bald, with a ...
/.../schaff/history of the christian church volume i/section 30 paul before his.htm
Papal Tombs.
... The type never varies: S. Peter's face is full and strong, with short curly hair
and beard, while S. Paul appears more wiry and thin, slightly bald, with a ...
/.../lanciani/pagan and christian rome/chapter v papal tombs.htm
Acts of Paul and Thecla.
... And he saw Paul coming, a man small in size, bald-headed, bandy-legged, well-built,
[2108] with eyebrows meeting, rather long-nosed, full of grace. ...
/.../unknown/acts of paul and thecla/acts of paul and thecla.htm
The Church and the Empire
... "Usually such an 'outline' is a bald and bloodless summary, but Mr. Bruce has
written a narrative which is both readable and well-informed. ...
//christianbookshelf.org/medley/the church and the empire/title page.htm
Thesaurus
Bald (12 Occurrences)... 1. (a.) Destitute of the natural or common covering on the head or top, as of hair,
feathers, foliage, trees, etc.; as, a
bald head; a
bald oak.
.../b/bald.htm - 11kBald-head (1 Occurrence)
Bald-head. Baldhead, Bald-head. Baldness . Multi-Version Concordance
Bald-head (1 Occurrence). 2 Kings 2:23 And he went ...
/b/bald-head.htm - 6k
Forehead-bald (1 Occurrence)
Forehead-bald. Forehead, Forehead-bald. Foreheads . Multi-Version
Concordance Forehead-bald (1 Occurrence). Leviticus ...
/f/forehead-bald.htm - 6k
Baldness (11 Occurrences)
... to (Micah 1:16; Amos 8:10; Jeremiah 47:5). The Jews were forbidden to follow the
customs of surrounding nations in making themselves bald (Deuteronomy 14:1). ...
/b/baldness.htm - 13k
White-reddish (4 Occurrences)
... Leviticus 13:42 And if there be in the bald head, or bald forehead, a white-reddish
sore, it is a leprosy which hath broken out in his bald head, or his bald...
/w/white-reddish.htm - 7k
Infectious (19 Occurrences)
... Leviticus 13:42 But if there is in the bald head, or the bald forehead, a
reddish-white plague; it is leprosy breaking out in his bald head, or his bald...
/i/infectious.htm - 12k
Reddish-white (4 Occurrences)
... Leviticus 13:42 But if there is in the bald head, or the bald forehead, a
reddish-white plague; it is leprosy breaking out in his bald head, or his bald...
/r/reddish-white.htm - 7k
Reddish (6 Occurrences)
... Leviticus 13:42 But if there is in the bald head, or the bald forehead, a
reddish-white plague; it is leprosy breaking out in his bald head, or his bald...
/r/reddish.htm - 8k
Diseased (39 Occurrences)
... Leviticus 13:42 But if there be in the bald head, or the bald forehead, a
reddish-white plague, it is leprosy breaking out in his bald head, or his bald...
/d/diseased.htm - 18k
Infection (24 Occurrences)
... Leviticus 13:42 But if there is in the bald head, or the bald forehead, a
reddish-white plague; it is leprosy breaking out in his bald head, or his bald...
/i/infection.htm - 14k
Resources
Why did the Prophet Elisha curse the “youths” for making fun of his baldness (2 Kings 2:23-24)? | GotQuestions.orgWhat does the Bible say about the eagle? | GotQuestions.orgWhat does the Bible say about hair length? | GotQuestions.orgBald: Dictionary and Thesaurus | Clyx.comBible Concordance •
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