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Hair: The Hebrews were fully alive to the importance of the hair as an element of personal beauty. Long hair was admired in the case of young men. 2Sa 14:26 In times of affliction the hair was altogether cut off. Isa 3:17,24; 15:2; Jer 7:29 Tearing the hair Ezr 9:3 and letting it go dishevelled were similar tokens of grief. The usual and favorite color of the hair was black, So 5:11 as is indicated in the comparisons in So 1:5; 4:1 a similar hue is probably intended by the purple of So 7:6 Pure white hair was deemed characteristic of the divine Majesty. Da 7:9; Re 1:14 The chief beauty of the hair consisted in curls, whether of a natural or an artificial character. With regard to the mode of dressing the hair, we have no very precise information; the terms used are of a general character, as of Jezebel, 2Ki 9:30 and of Judith, ch. 10:3, and in the New Testament, 1Ti 2:9; 1Pe 3:3 The arrangement of Samson's hair into seven locks, or more properly braids, Jud 16:13,19 involves the practice of plaiting, which was also familiar to the Egyptians and Greeks. The locks were probably kept in their place by a fillet, as in Egypt. The Hebrews like other nations of antiquity, anointed the hair profusely with ointments, which were generally compounded of various aromatic ingredients, Ru 3:3; 2Sa 14:2; Ps 23:6; 92:10; Ec 9:8 more especially on occasions of festivity or hospitality. Lu 7:46 It appears to have been the custom of the Jews in our Saviour's time to swear by the hair, Mt 5:36 much as the Egyptian women still swear by the side-locks, and the men by their beards.
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