Hebrew word · H1548

גָּלַח

yegaleach

to shave

In its intensive form it means to shave off completely: the head, the beard, or the whole body.

Appears 23 times in 18 verses of the Hebrew Old Testament. ·

What it means

1) to poll, shave, shave off, be bald

1a) (Piel)

1a1) to shave

1a2) to shave off

1a3) (fig. of devastation)

1b)(Pual) to be shaven

1c) (Hithpael) to shave oneself

Abridged from Brown, Driver and Briggs, A Hebrew and English Lexicon of the Old Testament (1906), via STEPBible.org (CC BY 4.0).

In depth

From the study of Ezekiel 44:20

Range of meaning

In its intensive form it means to shave off completely: the head, the beard, or the whole body. It is used for ritual cleansing (the healed leper, Lev 14:8–9), for ending or breaking a Nazirite vow (Num 6:9, 18), for humiliation (Hanun shaving David's envoys, 2 Sam 10:4), for captive women in mourning (Deut 21:12), and for Samson's loss of his consecrated hair (Judg 16:17–22).

Against the English

'Shave' is accurate. But a modern reader hears a grooming choice. In Israel a shaved head was a public sign: grief, a vow completed, cleansing after disease, or disgrace.

How it drifted

Shaving the head is now mostly a style choice, so its ritual meaning disappears for modern readers.

Used elsewhere in the period

Lev 21:5 already bans priests from making 'baldness' (qorḥāh) on the head, and Deut 14:1 bans it for all Israel 'for the dead.' The prophets treat shaved heads as the standard picture of mourning (Isa 15:2; Jer 16:6; 48:37; Ezek 7:18; 27:31). Outside Israel, Herodotus (Histories 2.36–37) reports that Egyptian priests shaved their heads, and even their whole bodies, every few days. Akkadian has a related verb (gullubu, 'to shave'), and commentators note that shaving was part of consecrating some Mesopotamian temple personnel.

From the study of Genesis 41:14

Range of meaning

Shave: the head, the beard, or body hair. It can be part of ordinary grooming, of ritual cleansing (the healed leper in Leviticus 14:8–9, the Levites in Numbers 8:7), of ending a Nazirite vow (Numbers 6:9, 18), or of disgrace when done by force (Judges 16:19; compare 2 Samuel 10:4 with a different verb).

Against the English

English "shaved" makes most readers picture a quick face shave for neatness. The Hebrew does not say what was shaved. KJV adds "[himself]" in brackets because the Hebrew gives no object.

How it drifted

Modern shaving is personal grooming. In this setting shaving marked cultural identity and social status, which a modern reader may not notice.

Used elsewhere in the period

Herodotus (Histories 2.36) says Egyptians were normally shaven and let their hair and beards grow only in mourning, the reverse of other peoples. Egyptian art shows Egyptian men clean-shaven and Asiatics (Semites) bearded, for example the tomb painting of a Semitic caravan at Beni Hasan (c. 1890 BC). Pharaoh's beard was a false, ceremonial one. Egyptian copper razors survive in large numbers.

From the study of Jeremiah 41:5

Range of meaning

Gālaḥ means 'to shave' (head, beard, body hair). It is used in purification rites (Lev 13–14; Num 6:9) and in mourning. Zāqān is the beard, a mark of adult male dignity.

Against the English

English versions agree ('shaved off their beards'). The English cannot carry the sense of shame that comes with it.

Used elsewhere in the period

Lev 19:27 forbids marring the 'edges' of the beard, and Lev 21:5 forbids priests to shave them. Prophetic texts describe shaven beards as national mourning (Isa 15:2; Jer 48:37). When David's envoys had their beards half-shaved, it was such a disgrace that they hid until the beards grew back (2 Sam 10:4–5).

Where it appears

Genesis · 1

  1. Genesis 41:14 וַיְגַלַּח֙ and he shaved

    So Pharaoh sent for Joseph, who was quickly brought out of the dungeon. After he had shaved and changed his clothes, he went in before Pharaoh.

    Here: "And he shaved." Joseph removes the beard, and possibly the head hair, of a neglected prisoner. He conforms to Egyptian grooming, which was clean-shaven, unlike the bearded Semites of the Levant. Hebrew does not say whether he did it himself or had it done.

Leviticus · 6

  1. Leviticus 13:33 וְהִ֨תְגַּלָּ֔ח יְגַלֵּ֑חַ and he will shave himself, he will shave

    then the person must shave himself except for the scaly area. Then the priest shall isolate him for another seven days.

  2. Leviticus 14:8 וְגִלַּ֣ח and he will shave

    The one being cleansed must wash his clothes, shave off all his hair, and bathe with water; then he will be ceremonially clean. Afterward, he may enter the camp, but he must remain outside his tent for seven days.

    Here: An intensive verb form: shave completely, shave off. Used for ritual shaving at points of changed status (the Nazirite, the Levites).

  3. Leviticus 14:9 יְגַלַּ֣ח יְגַלֵּ֑חַ he will shave

    On the seventh day he must shave off all his hair—his head, his beard, his eyebrows, and the rest of his hair. He must wash his clothes and bathe himself with water, and he will be clean.

    Here: The intensive (piel) form, meaning to shave off completely, down to bare skin. This is the second total shave; the first was on day one (v. 8).

  4. Leviticus 21:5 יְגַלֵּ֑חוּ they will shave

    Priests must not make bald spots on their heads, shave off the edges of their beards, or make cuts in their bodies.

    Here: An intensive verb form meaning to shave off completely. This is the same verb used for the shaving required of a healed skin-disease sufferer (Lev 14:9) and of a Nazirite (Num 6:9). Shaving as such is not banned; this particular mourning act is.

Numbers · 4

  1. Numbers 6:9 וְגִלַּ֤ח יְגַלְּחֶֽנּוּ׃ and he will shave, he will shave it

    If someone suddenly dies in his presence and defiles his consecrated head of hair, he must shave his head on the day of his cleansing—the seventh day.

  2. Numbers 6:18 וְגִלַּ֣ח and he will shave

    Then at the entrance to the Tent of Meeting, the Nazirite is to shave his consecrated head, take the hair, and put it on the fire under the peace offering.

  3. Numbers 6:19 הִֽתְגַּלְּח֥וֹ he has shaved himself

    And the priest is to take the boiled shoulder from the ram, one unleavened cake from the basket, and one unleavened wafer, and put them into the hands of the Nazirite who has just shaved the hair of his consecration.

Deuteronomy · 1

  1. Deuteronomy 21:12 וְגִלְּחָה֙ and she will shave

    then you shall bring her into your house. She must shave her head, trim her nails,

Judges · 3

  1. Judges 16:17 גֻּלַּ֙חְתִּי֙ I was shaved

    Samson told her all that was in his heart: “My hair has never been cut, because I have been a Nazirite to God from my mother’s womb. If I am shaved, my strength will leave me, and I will become as weak as any other man.”

  2. Judges 16:19 וַתְּגַלַּ֕ח and she shaved off

    And having lulled him to sleep on her lap, she called a man to shave off the seven braids of his head. In this way she began to subdue him, and his strength left him.

  3. Judges 16:22 גֻּלָּֽח׃ פ it had been shaved

    However, the hair of his head began to grow back after it had been shaved.

2 Samuel · 4

  1. 2 Samuel 10:4 וַיְגַלַּח֙ and he shaved

    So Hanun took David’s servants, shaved off half of each man’s beard, cut off their garments at the hips, and sent them away.

  2. 2 Samuel 14:26 וּֽבְגַלְּחוֹ֮ יְגַלֵּ֔חַ וְגִלְּח֑וֹ and when shaved he, he shaved, and he shaved it

    And when he cut the hair of his head—he shaved it every year because his hair got so heavy—he would weigh it out to be two hundred shekels, according to the royal standard.

1 Chronicles · 1

  1. 1 Chronicles 19:4 וַֽיְגַלְּחֵ֔ם and he shaved them

    So Hanun took David’s servants, shaved their beards, cut off their garments at the hips, and sent them away.

Isaiah · 1

  1. Isaiah 7:20 יְגַלַּ֣ח he will shave

    On that day the Lord will use a razor hired from beyond the Euphrates—the king of Assyria—to shave your head and the hair of your legs, and to remove your beard as well.

Jeremiah · 1

  1. Jeremiah 41:5 מְגֻלְּחֵ֥י shaven of

    eighty men who had shaved off their beards, torn their garments, and cut themselves came from Shechem, Shiloh, and Samaria, carrying grain offerings and frankincense for the house of the LORD.

    Here: 'Shaven of [the] beard.' The form describes a state they are in: their beards have been shaved off. For a man in that culture, giving up his beard was a deliberate public sign of grief and humiliation.

Ezekiel · 1

  1. Ezekiel 44:20 יְגַלֵּ֔חוּ they will shave

    They must not shave their heads or let their hair grow long, but must carefully trim their hair.

    Here: 'They shall shave (clean).' The intensive verb form means shaving the head bare. In Israel this was done for mourning, for ritual cleansing (the healed leper, the Nazirite finishing a vow), and was known as a mark of some foreign priesthoods.

Word data: STEPBible.org (CC BY 4.0), main text only.