SEV Biblia, Chapter 19:27
No cortaréis en redondo las extremidades de vuestras cabezas, ni dañarás la punta de tu barba.
Clarke's Bible Commentary - Leviticus 19:27
Verse 27. Ye shall not round the corners your heads] This and the following verse evidently refer to customs which must have existed among the Egyptians when the Israelites sojourned in Egypt; and what they were it is now difficult, even with any probability, to conjecture. Herodotus observes that the Arabs shave or cut their hair round, in honour of Bacchus, who, they say, had his hair cut in this way, lib. iii., cap. 8. He says also that the Macians, a people of Libya, cut their hair round, so as to leave a tuft on the top of the head, lib. iv., cap. 175. In this manner the Chinese cut their hair to the present day. This might have been in honour of some idol, and therefore forbidden to the Israelites. The hair was much used in divination among the ancients, and for purposes of religious superstition among the Greeks; and particularly about the time of the giving of this law, as this is supposed to have been the era of the Trojan war. We learn from Homer that it was customary for parents to dedicate the hair of their children to some god; which, when they came to manhood, they cut off and consecrated to the deity. Achilles, at the funeral of Patroclus, cut off his golden locks which his father had dedicated to the river god Sperchius, and threw them into the flood:- stav apaneuqe purhv xonqhn apekeirato caithn. thn ra sperceiw potamw trefe thleqowsan? ocqhsav dÆ ara eipen, idwn epi oinopa ponton? sperceiÆ, allwv soi ge pathr hrhsato phleuv. k. t. l.
Iliad, 1. xxiii., ver. 142, &c.
But great Achilles stands apart in prayer, And from his head divides the yellow hair, Those curling locks which from his youth he vowed, And sacred threw to Sperchius' honoured flood.
Then sighing, to the deep his looks he cast, And rolled his eyes around the watery waste.
Sperchius! whose waves, in mazy errors lost, Delightful roll along my native coast! To whom we vainly vowed, at our return, These locks to fall, and hecatombs to burn So vowed my father, but he vowed in vain, No more Achilles sees his native plain; In that vain hope these hairs no longer grow; Patrocius bears them to the shades below.POPE.
From Virgil we learn that the topmost lock of hair was dedicated to the infernal gods; see his account of the death of Dido:- "Nondum illi flavum Proserpina vertice crinem Abstulerat, Stygioque caput damnaverat orco - Hunc ego Diti Sacrum jussa fero; teque isto corpore solvo.
Sic ait, et dextra crinem secat." AEneid, lib. iv., ver. 698.
The sisters had not cut the topmost hair, Which Proserpine and they can only know.
Nor made her sacred to the shades below - This offering to the infernal gods I bear; Thus while she spoke, she cut the fatal hair.DRYDEN.
If the hair was rounded, and dedicated for purposes of this kind, it will at once account for the prohibition in this verse. The corners of thy beard.] Probably meaning the hair of the cheek that connects the hair of the head with the beard. This was no doubt cut in some peculiar manner, for the superstitious purposes mentioned above. Several of our own countrymen wear this said hair in a curious form; for what purposes they know best: we cannot say precisely that it is the ancient Egyptian custom revived.
From the images and paintings which remain of the ancient Egyptians, we find that they were accustomed to shave the whole hair off their face, except merely that upon the chin, which last they cut off only in times of mourning.
John Gill's Bible Commentary
Ver. 27. Ye shall not round the corners of your heads , etc.] The extremities of the hairs of the head, round about, on the forehead, temples, and behind the ears; this is done, as Jarchi says, when any one makes his temples, behind his ears, and his forehead alike, so that the circumference of his head is found to be round all about, as if they had been cut as with a bowl; and so the Arabians cut their hair, as Herodotus reports, (see Gill on “ Jeremiah 9:26”); neither shall thou mar the corners of thy beard ; by shaving them entirely; Jarchi and other Jewish writers say, there are five of them, two on the right, as Gersom reckons them, one on the upper jaw, the other on the nether, and two over against them on the left, and one in the place where the nether jaw joins the right to the left, the chin; the same observes, that it was the manner of idolaters to do the above things; and Maimonides is of opinion that the reason of the prohibition is, because the idolatrous priests used this custom; but this law does not respect priests only, but the people of Israel in general; wherefore rather it was occasioned by the Gentiles in common cutting their hair, in honour of their gods, as the Arabians did, as Herodotus in the above place relates, in imitation of Bacchus, and to the honour of him; and so with others, it was usual for young men to consecrate their hair to idols; but inasmuch as such practices were used on account of the dead, as Aben Ezra observes, it seems probable enough that these things are forbidden to be done on their account, since it follows, Ver. 28 . Ye shall not make any cuttings in your flesh for the dead , etc.] Either with their nails, tearing their cheeks and other parts, or with any instrument, knife, razor, etc. Jarchi says, it was the custom of the Amorites, when anyone died, to cut their flesh, as it was of the Scythians, as Herodotus relates, even those of the royal family; for a king they cut off a part of the ear, shaved the hair round about, cut the arms about, wounded the forehead and nose, and transfixed the left hand with arrows; and so the Carthaginians, who might receive it from the Phoenicians, being a colony of theirs, used to tear their hair and mouths in mourning, and beat their breasts f699 ; and with the Romans the women used to tear their cheeks in such a manner that it was forbid by the law of the twelve tables, which some have thought was taken from hence: and all this was done to appease the infernal deities, and to give them satisfaction for the deceased, and to make them propitious to them, as Varro affirms; and here it is said to be made “for the soul”, for the soul of the departed, to the honour of it, and for its good, though the word is often used for a dead body: now, according to the Jewish canons f701 , whosoever made but one cutting for a dead person was guilty, and to be scourged; and he that made one for five dead men, or five cuttings for one dead man, was obliged to scourging for everyone of them: nor print any marks upon you ; Aben Ezra observes, there are some that say this is in connection with the preceding clause, for there were who marked their bodies with a known figure, by burning, for the dead; and he adds, and there are to this day such, who are marked in their youth in their faces, that they may be known; these prints or marks were made with ink or black lead, or, however, the incisions in the flesh were filled up therewith; but this was usually done as an idolatrous practice; so says Ben Gersom, this was the custom of the Gentiles in ancient times, to imprint upon themselves the mark of an idol, to show that they were his servants; and the law cautions from doing this, as he adds, to the exalted name (the name of God): in the Misnah it is said f702 , a man is not guilty unless he writes the name, as it is said, ( Leviticus 19:28); which the Talmudists and the commentators interpret of the name of an idol, and not of God: I [am] the Lord ; who only is to be acknowledged as such, obeyed and served, and not any strange god, whose mark should be imprinted on them.
Matthew Henry Commentary
laws.
--There are some ceremonial precepts in this chapter, but most of thes precepts are binding on us, for they are explanations of the te commandments. It is required that Israel be a holy people, because the God of Israel is a holy God, ver. #(2). To teach real separation from the world and the flesh, and entire devotedness to God. This is now the law of Christ; may the Lord bring every thought within us int obedience to it! Children are to be obedient to their parents, very #(3). The fear here required includes inward reverence and esteem outward respect and obedience, care to please them and to make the easy. God only is to be worshipped, ver. #(4). Turn not from the tru God to false ones, from the God who will make you holy and happy, to those that will deceive you, and make you for ever miserable. Turn no your eyes to them, much less your heart. They should leave the gleanings of their harvest and vintage for the poor, ver. #(9). Work of piety must be always attended with works of charity, according to our ability. We must not be covetous, griping, and greedy of ever thing we can lay claim to, nor insist upon our right in all things. We are to be honest and true in all our dealings, ver. #(11). Whatever we have in the world, we must see that we get it honestly, for we cannot be truly rich, or long rich, with that which is not so. Reverence to the sacred name of God must be shown, ver. #(12). We must not detai what belongs to another, particularly the wages of the hireling, very #(13). We must be tender of the credit and safety of those that cannot help themselves, ver. #(14). Do no hurt to any, because they ar unwilling or unable to avenge themselves. We ought to take heed of doing any thing which may occasion our weak brother to fall. The fea of God should keep us from doing wrong things, though they will no expose us to men's anger. Judges, and all in authority, are commande to give judgment without partiality, ver. #(15). To be a tale-bearer and to sow discord among neighbours, is as bad an office as a man can put himself into. We are to rebuke our neighbour in love, ver. #(17) Rather rebuke him than hate him, for an injury done to thyself. We incur guilt by not reproving; it is hating our brother. We should say I will do him the kindness to tell him of his faults. We are to put of all malice, and to put on brotherly love, ver. #(18). We often wron ourselves, but we soon forgive ourselves those wrongs, and they do no at all lessen our love to ourselves; in like manner we should love ou neighbour. We must in many cases deny ourselves for the good of ou neighbour. Ver. #(31): For Christians to have their fortunes told, to use spells and charms, or the like, is a sad affront to God. They mus be grossly ignorant who ask, "What harm is there in these things?" Her is a charge to young people to show respect to the aged, ver. #(32) Religion teaches good manners, and obliges us to honour those to who honour is due. A charge was given to the Israelites to be very tende of strangers, ver. #(33). Strangers, and the widows and fatherless, ar God's particular care. It is at our peril, if we do them any wrong Strangers shall be welcome to God's grace; we should do what we can to recommend religion to them. Justice in weights and measures i commanded, ver. #(35). We must make conscience of obeying God' precepts. We are not to pick and choose our duty, but must aim a standing complete in all the will of God. And the nearer our lives an tempers are to the precepts of God's law, the happier shall we be, an the happier shall we make all around us, and the better shall we ador the gospel __________________________________________________________________
Original Hebrew
לא 3808 תקפו 5362 פאת 6285 ראשׁכם 7218 ולא 3808 תשׁחית 7843 את 853 פאת 6285 זקנך׃ 2206
