Beard
The mode of wearing it was definitely prescribed to the Jews (Lev 19:27; Lev 21:5). Hence the import of Ezekiel’s (Lev 5:1–4) description of the “razor” i.e., the agents of an angry providence being used against the guilty nation of the Jews. It was a part of a Jew’s daily toilet to anoint his beard with oil and perfume (Ps 133:2). Beards were trimmed with the most fastidious care (2 Sam 19:24), and their neglet was an indication of deep sorrow (Isa 15:2; Jer 41:5). The custom was to shave or pluck off the hair as a sign of mourning (Isa 50:6; Jer 48:37; Ezra 9:3). The beards of David’s ambassadors were cut off by hanun (2 Sam 10:4) as a mark of indignity.
On the other hand, the Egyptians carefully shaved the hair off their faces, and they compelled their slaves to do so also (Gen 41:14).
From Easton’s Bible Dictionary (1897), by Matthew George Easton.
