Beard

BEARD. The Hebrews all wear a Beard Levit, xix. 27. Jerem. xli. 5. and xlviii. 37. If. xv. 2. Baruch vi. 30.upon their chin, but not upon the upper lip or cheeks. Moses forbids them to cut off intirely the angle, or extremity of their Beard, that is to say, to manage it after the manner of the Egyptians, who left only a little tuft of Beard at the extremity of their chins; whereas the Jews still at this day suffer a little fillet of hair to grow from the lower end of their ears to their chins, where, as well as upon their lower lips, their Beards are in a pretty long bunch. While they mourned they intirely shaved the hair of their Heads and Beards, and neglected to trim their Beards, that is to say, to cut off what grew upon their upper lips and cheeks. In times of grief and affliction they 2 Sam. xix. 24. Ezra ix. 3. 2 Sam. x. 4, 5. and 1 Chr. xix. 5.pluckt off the hair of their Heads and Beards, as was the practice of other Nations under great calamities.

The King of the Ammonites designing to insult David’s Ambassadors, cut off half their Beard and half their Cloaths, that is to say, he cut off all their Beard on one side of their faces, and David did not permit them to appear at Court, till their Beards were intirely Lev. xiv. 9.grown again.

When a leper was cured of his leprosy, he washed himself in a bath, and shaved off all the hair of his body, after which he returned into the camp or city, and seven days after he washed himself and his cloaths again, shaved off all his hair, and offered the Sacrifices appointed for his purification. a Plin. lib. viii. c. 36.

Numb. viii. 7.The Levites, on the day of their consecration, were purified by bathing and washing their bodies and cloaths, after which they shaved off all the hair of their bodies, and then offered the Sacrifices appointed for their consecration. See hereafter To Shave.

Altho’ the Hebrews took great care of their Beards, to make them grow in a certain manner, at times when they were not in mourning, and on the contrary did not trim them when they were in mourning ; yet I do not observe that they had any veneration for their Beard. “ On the “ contrary, the Arabians¹ have so much “ respect for theirs, that they look upon “ them as sacred ornaments given by God, “ to distinguish them from women.” They never shave them, but suffer them to grow from their youth. Nothing can be more infamous than for a man to be thus shaved ; they make the preservation of their Beards a capital point of Religion, because Mahomet never cut off his. It is likewise a mark of authority and liberty among them, as well as among the Turks. The Persians who clip them, and shave above the jaw, are reputed Hereticks. The razor is never drawn over the Grand Seignior’s face : they who serve in the Seraglio, have their Beard shaved, as a sign of their Servitude. They do not suffer it to grow till the Sultan has set them at liberty, which is bestowed as a reward upon them, and is always accompanied with some employment.

Young people, who are not married, may cut their Beards ; but when they are married, or have a child, they forbear doing so, to shew that they are become wiser, have renounced the vanities of youth, and think no longer of any thing but their honour and salvation. When they comb their Beards, they hold a handkerchief upon their knees, and gather very carefully the hairs that fall, and when they have got together a certain quantity, they fold them up in paper, and carry them to the place where they bury the dead.

Among them it is more infamous for any one to have his Beard cut off, than among us to be publickly whipt or branded with a hot iron. There are abundance of people in this country, who would prefer death to this kind of punishment. — — The wives kiss their husbands Beards, and children their fathers, as often as they come to salute them : the men kiss one another’s Beards reciprocally on both sides, when they salute one another in the streets, or come off from any journey. ---- They say, that the Beard is the perfection of the human face, which would be more disfigured by having this cut off than the nose.

They admire and envy those who have fine Beards. Pray do but behold, they cry, that Beard ; the very sight of it would persuade any one, that he whom it belongs to is an honest man. If any one with a fine Beard is guilty of an unbecoming action ; what a disadvantage is this, they say, to such a Beard, how is such a Beard to be pitied. If they would correct any one’s mistakes, they will tell him often, for shame of your Beard, does not the confusion that follows such an action light upon your Beard ? If they entreat any one, or make use of oaths in affirming or denying any thing, they say, I conjure you by your Beard, by the life of your Beard to grant me this : or by your Beard this is or is not so. They say farther in the way of acknowledgment, May God preserve your blessed Beard ; may God pour out his blessings on your Beard. And in comparisons, This is more valuable than one’s Beard.

One of the principal Ceremonies observed in serious visits, is to throw sweetscented water on one’s Beard, and to perfume it afterwards with aloes-wood, which sticks to this moisture, and gives it an agreeable smell, &c. This is something like what is said in Psalm cxxxiii. v. 2. of the precious ointment which was poured on Aaron’s head, and ran down upon his Beard and the skirts of his garments.

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