לא תקפו פאת ראשׁכם ולא תשׁחית את פאת זקנך׃


The Hebrew says, לא (not, no, negation) תקפו (you pl. encircle, surround with intent to destroy, enclose) פאת (literally, the feminine of mouth, but in this context means, area, direction, region or corner, end, quarter, side) ראשׁכם (your pl. heads) ולא (and not, no, negation) תשׁחית (from the root ‘decay’, to ruin, destroy, cast off, corrupt, lose, spoil, waste) את פאת (‘Eth’ is a Hebrew grammatical construction used when the object of the verb is transitive, in this case it is ‘Pah’ again, literally the feminine of mouth, but in this context, area, direction, region or corner, end, quarter, side) זקנך (Beard – interestingly the same word is used as the adjective ‘old’)

So, the real translation should be,

Do not encircle/enclose with intent to destroy the region of your heads, and do not spoil/waste/cast off/corrupt the region of your beard.

This sounds to be to stop us from cutting and colouring our hair and beards (if we have them) in a pagan style, rather to leave what YHWH gave us in its natural form. The words used here have overtones of damage/corruption. I suspect that like most things, we are meant to look after and ‘husband’ our hair/beards not to corrupt/destroy them. Henna in the beard, strange patterns in our hair, weird colours including bleach will destroy and corrupt what YHWH has given us. Yet again it comes down to; this is how you stay healthy and how you stand out as children of Israel.

Hi Gamma,

Although I don't have a beard (thankfully) I do have hair (imagine that!) and from the Hebrew it seems that like everything else, we are to husband/keep what YHWH has given us, rather than corrupt it.

This to me means to keep it tidy and healthy, so 'trimming' like pruning is part of good husbandry.

Putting bleach/colours in your hair/beard, cutting it all off or into wacky pagan styles, shaving signs into you head etc, would count as corrupting/destoying/and literally dacaying your hair (facial or otherwise). Have you ever looked at the hair of people who spend their entire time messing about with dyes etc... it feels coarse like hay and looks tacky.

The trouble with all these things is not to get bogged down with the minutae of the torah, but rather to see the practical and spiritual significance of the instruction. In this case it is practically to be healthy and tidy, and spiritually not to corrupt/cast off/destroy what YHWH has given us - rather a strong message methinks :-)

:O
must have a thing for smooth cheeks!

im not saying anything - she will read this some time :P :D

Hello All,

Nice entertaining thread this... about hair. Not to tug some more at the roots but does it really matter if you look like ZZ Top or as smooth as a balloon? Does the issue about hair styles really matter today? I think it only matters if you keep your hair to identify with a particular religion or cult or group, if it is a sign of an identity that does NOT belong to Yahweh. Perhaps that is why Paul did not instruct the gentiles to keep their hair in a particular way even when they are adopted into Yisra'el. In the past shaving one's head did signify a particular association with a particular deity, or as a symbol of mourning, or something that, in general, did not have anything to do with Yahweh. We are to look neat and presentable in whatever circumstance or society. No need for dreadlocks or turbans or looking like Chewbacca. But if the wife prefers a scrub everytime you lean in on her, then go ahead and look like Osama. And if it pleases the wife that you should be babyfaced, then you have to invest in razors... just keep it away from her legs. ;-)

Hair... also reminds me of a time when the wife and I sat at a table during a wedding and it was filled with senior college kids. I thought of having a chat to find out about their thoughts in facing the world after graduating until I heard them talk among themselves about... how nice and smooth their hair is, and what shampoo they used... and how they conditioned their hair... and these were the guys! Sigh! Needless to say we kept silent and listened to their talk about ear-rings and chains and racing on the streets.

And on another note... almost all commercial dyes are harmful not only to hair itself but they destroy the hair root follicles, as well as get into the bloodstream via the scalp and may cause serious health issues including cancer! Do not colour your hair unless you use really natural pigments! Natural colours like henna wash out sooner but it is safer. Also, please be careful as some "natural" dyes still use petroleum-based byproducts as its base ingredient! This world has sold its soul for vanity and mammon. I'd rather you have white or grey hair and a longer life than live a shorter, painful life as a baldy.