Leviticus 21:5 (KJV)
They shall not make baldnessupon their headneither shall they shave offthe cornerof their beardnor makeany cuttingsin their flesh
Cross-references
not make baldness.This custom is also called rounding the corners of the head, (ch. 19:27,) and seems to have been performed in honour of some idol. Le 10:6 Le 19:27 Le 19:28 De 14:1 Isa 15:2 Isa 22:12 Jer 16:6 Jer 48:37 Eze 44:20 Am 8:10 Mic 1:16
the corner.The Hebrew {peath zakon}, may denote the whiskers; as the Syriac {phatho} signifies. These are by the Arabs, according to Niebuhr, still cut entirely off, or worn quite short; and hence they are called by Jeremiah, [qtswtsy p'h,] those with cropped whiskers. Perhaps some superstition, of which we are ignorant, was connected with this; but whether or not, it was the object of Moses to keep the Israelites distinct from other nations.
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