Beards might just be a fashion statement today, but they were quite significant in biblical times. They symbolized maturity, wisdom, and even honor. Curious about what the Bible says about beards? Let’s explore how facial hair played a role in cultural and religious life in Scripture.
Also Read: Bible Verses About Bones
Bible Verses About Beards
Leviticus 19:27 – God commands us not to trim the edges of our beards
“You shall not round off the hair on your temples or mar the edges of your beard.” – Leviticus 19:27
1 Corinthians 11:14-15 – A man’s long hair is a glory, but a woman’s long hair is her covering
“Does not nature itself teach you that if a man wears long hair it is a disgrace for him, but if a woman has long hair, it is her glory? For her hair is given to her for a covering.” – 1 Corinthians 11:14-15
Psalms 133:2 – Unity is like the precious oil poured on Aaron’s beard
“It is like the precious oil on the head, running down on the beard, on the beard of Aaron, running down on the collar of his robes!” – Psalms 133:2
2 Samuel 10:4-5 – The humiliation of cutting off beards as an act of war
“So Hanun took David’s servants and shaved off half the beard of each and cut off their garments in the middle, at their hips, and sent them away. When it was told David, he sent to meet them, for the men were greatly ashamed. And the king said, ‘Remain at Jericho until your beards have grown and then return.’” – 2 Samuel 10:4-5
Proverbs 20:29 – The glory of young men is their strength and the splendor of old men is their gray hair
“The glory of young men is their strength, gray hair the splendor of the old.” – Proverbs 20:29
Ruth 3:3 – Preparing oneself before God by washing, anointing, and wearing best clothes
“Wash, put on perfume, and get dressed in your best clothes. Then go down to the threshing floor, but don’t let him know you are there until he has finished eating and drinking.” – Ruth 3:3
1 Samuel 21:13 – David pretended to be insane by letting saliva run down his beard
“So he pretended to be insane in their presence; and while he was in their hands he acted like a madman, making marks on the doors of the gate and letting saliva run down his beard.” – 1 Samuel 21:13
Isaiah 50:6 – The servant of the Lord willingly offers his beard to those who strike him
“I offered my back to those who beat me, my cheeks to those who pulled out my beard; I did not hide my face from mocking and spitting.” – Isaiah 50:6
Isaiah 7:20 – God uses a razor hired from beyond the Euphrates to shave off the beard
“In the same day the Lord will shave with a hired razor, with those beyond the River, with the king of Assyria, the head and the hair of the feet; and it will sweep away the beard also.” – Isaiah 7:20
2 Samuel 19:24 – Mephibosheth hadn’t cared for his beard, as a sign of mourning
“And Mephibosheth the son of Saul came down to meet the king. He had neither taken care of his feet nor trimmed his beard nor washed his clothes, from the day the king departed until the day he came back in safety.” – 2 Samuel 19:24
Ezekiel 5:1 – God commands Ezekiel to take a sharp sword and shave his head and beard
“And you, son of man, take a sharp sword and use it as a barber’s razor to shave your head and your beard. Then take balances for weighing and divide the hair.” – Ezekiel 5:1
Exodus 34:5-7 – Moses’ face shone after speaking with God, radiating glory like a beard
“The LORD descended in the cloud and stood with him there, and proclaimed the name of the LORD. The LORD passed before him and proclaimed, ‘The LORD, the LORD, a God merciful and gracious, slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast love and faithfulness, keeping steadfast love for thousands, forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin.'” – Exodus 34:5-7
Jeremiah 48:37 – God’s chosen people will be like men with no beard
“Every head shall be bald, and every beard cut off; on all the hands shall be gashes, and around the waist sackcloth.” – Jeremiah 48:37
Deuteronomy 14:1 – Not cutting yourselves or shaving your foreheads for the dead
“You are the sons of the Lord your God. You shall not cut yourselves or make any baldness on your foreheads for the dead.” – Deuteronomy 14:1
Ezekiel 44:20 – Priests shall not shave their heads or let their hair grow long
“They shall not shave their heads or let their locks grow long; they shall surely trim the hair of their heads.” – Ezekiel 44:20
Jeremiah 41:5 – Cutting off the beards of men as an act of humiliation and disgrace
“Eighty men arrived from Shechem, Shiloh, and Samaria, with their beards shaved and their clothes torn, and their bodies gashed, carrying grain offerings and incense to present at the temple of the LORD.” – Jeremiah 41:5
Ezra 9:3 – Ezra tore his garments, plucked out his beard, and sat appalled
“As soon as I heard this, I tore my garment and my cloak and pulled hair from my head and beard and sat appalled.” – Ezra 9:3
Jeremiah 48:26 – Cut off Moab’s beard in judgment and make them drunk
“Make her drunk, for she has become insolent; she has become drunk and reels; she has become drunk, at the sight of the Lord.” – Jeremiah 48:26
2 Samuel 20:9 – Joab holds Amasa’s beard to kiss him before slaying him
“And Joab said to Amasa, ‘Is it well with you, my brother?’ And Joab took Amasa by the beard with his right hand to kiss him. But Amasa did not observe the sword that Joab had in his hand.” – 2 Samuel 20:9
Lamentations 4:16 – God scattered the people’s beards on the streets
“The LORD himself has scattered them; he will regard them no more; no honor was shown to the priests, no favor to the elders.” – Lamentations 4:16
Daniel 10:3 – Daniel mourned, fasting, with no anointing on his body for three weeks
“I ate no delicacies, no meat or wine entered my mouth, nor did I anoint myself at all, for the full three weeks.” – Daniel 10:3
2 Samuel 14:25-26 – Absalom was known for his luscious hair and would cut it once a year
“Now in all Israel there was no one so much to be praised for his handsome appearance as Absalom. From the sole of his foot to the crown of his head there was no blemish in him. And when he cut the hair of his head (for at the end of every year he used to cut it; when it was heavy on him, he cut it), he weighed the hair of his head, two hundred shekels by the king‘s weight.” – 2 Samuel 14:25-26
Isaiah 15:2 – Moab’s people shall go up to the temple to weep uncontrollably
“He has gone up to the temple, and to Dibon, to the high places to weep; over Nebo and over Medeba Moab wails. On every head is baldness; every beard is shorn.” – Isaiah 15:2
2 Samuel 19:24 – Mephibosheth hadn’t cared for his beard, as a sign of mourning
“And Mephibosheth the son of Saul came down to meet the king. He had neither taken care of his feet nor trimmed his beard nor washed his clothes, from the day the king departed until the day he came back in safety.” – 2 Samuel 19:24
Ezekiel 5:1 – God commands Ezekiel to take a sharp sword and shave his head and beard
“And you, son of man, take a sharp sword and use it as a barber’s razor to shave your head and your beard. Then take balances for weighing and divide the hair.” – Ezekiel 5:1
Exodus 34:5-7 – Moses’ face shone after speaking with God, radiating glory like a beard
“The LORD descended in the cloud and stood with him there, and proclaimed the name of the LORD. The LORD passed before him and proclaimed, ‘The LORD, the LORD, a God merciful and gracious, slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast love and faithfulness, keeping steadfast love for thousands, forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin.'” – Exodus 34:5-7
Jeremiah 48:37 – God’s chosen people will be like men with no beard
“Every head shall be bald, and every beard cut off; on all the hands shall be gashes, and around the waist sackcloth.” – Jeremiah 48:37
Deuteronomy 14:1 – Not cutting yourselves or shaving your foreheads for the dead
“You are the sons of the Lord your God. You shall not cut yourselves or make any baldness on your foreheads for the dead.” – Deuteronomy 14:1
Ezekiel 44:20 – Priests shall not shave their heads or let their hair grow long
“They shall not shave their heads or let their locks grow long; they shall surely trim the hair of their heads.” – Ezekiel 44:20
Jeremiah 41:5 – Cutting off the beards of men as an act of humiliation and disgrace
“Eighty men arrived from Shechem, Shiloh, and Samaria, with their beards shaved and their clothes torn, and their bodies gashed, carrying grain offerings and incense to present at the temple of the LORD.” – Jeremiah 41:5
Ezra 9:3 – Ezra tore his garments, plucked out his beard, and sat appalled
“As soon as I heard this, I tore my garment and my cloak and pulled hair from my head and beard and sat appalled.” – Ezra 9:3
Jeremiah 48:26 – Cut off Moab’s beard in judgment and make them drunk
“Make her drunk, for she has become insolent; she has become drunk and reels; she has become drunk, at the sight of the Lord.” – Jeremiah 48:26
2 Samuel 20:9 – Joab holds Amasa’s beard to kiss him before slaying him
“And Joab said to Amasa, ‘Is it well with you, my brother?’ And Joab took Amasa by the beard with his right hand to kiss him. But Amasa did not observe the sword that Joab had in his hand.” – 2 Samuel 20:9
Lamentations 4:16 – God scattered the people’s beards on the streets
“The LORD himself has scattered them; he will regard them no more; no honor was shown to the priests, no favor to the elders.” – Lamentations 4:16
Daniel 10:3 – Daniel mourned, fasting, with no anointing on his body for three weeks
“I ate no delicacies, no meat or wine entered my mouth, nor did I anoint myself at all, for the full three weeks.” – Daniel 10:3
2 Samuel 14:25-26 – Absalom was known for his luscious hair and would cut it once a year
“Now in all Israel there was no one so much to be praised for his handsome appearance as Absalom. From the sole of his foot to the crown of his head there was no blemish in him. And when he cut the hair of his head (for at the end of every year he used to cut it; when it was heavy on him, he cut it), he weighed the hair of his head, two hundred shekels by the king‘s weight.” – 2 Samuel 14:25-26
Isaiah 15:2 – Moab’s people shall go up to the temple to weep uncontrollably
“He has gone up to the temple, and to Dibon, to the high places to weep; over Nebo and over Medeba Moab wails. On every head is baldness; every beard is shorn.” – Isaiah 15:2