Leviticus 19:27?

[Roseheart]

What does God mean when He says:

Ye shall not round the corners of thy head, neither shalt thy mar the corners of thy beard

? (Leviticus 19:27)

I read this part today and wasn't sure what God was telling the Levites. (it is the Levites He's speaking to, isn't it? Sorry, I'm not very wise yet when it comes to the Bible :o) Could someone please clear this up for me? As far as my understanding goes, the second part is telling them not to shave their beards... I think, so I sort of guessed the first part would be that they shouldn't cut their hair, but I wanted to make sure. I also wrote down a bit saying: "a just hin shall ye have". I was going to look up hin on Wiktionary but it didn't have it in English - that's why I don't have the verse it's in written down. Does anybody know what it means without the context? If not, I can find the verse.

I also have a question about Psalms. I don't know if the answer would come if I read further into the OT, since I haven't read all of it yet, but when the Psalms say: "To the Chief Musician", who is he?

Thank you and God Bless.

 

[granpa]

27`Ye do not round the corner of your head, nor destroy the corner of thy beard. 28`And a cutting for the soul ye do not put in your flesh; and a writing, a cross-mark, ye do not put on you; I [am] Jehovah.

http://biblos.com/leviticus/19-27.htm

http://www.blueletterbible.org/lang/lexicon/lexicon.cfm?Strongs=H5362&t=KJV

 

[Roseheart]

Oh, thank you!
I think I'll bookmark that first website - it should be useful.

 

[apocolypticremedy999]

Other translations read like this:

• Do not cut the hair at the sides of your head or clip off the edges of your beard. (NIV)
• Do not trim off the hair on your temples or trim your beards. (NLT)
• You shall not round off the hair on your temples or mar the edges of your beard. (ESV)

I do believe this meant that you cannot shave, trim, or cut any hair on the sides of your head. Hence why you still can find many Jews today who only have long hair on the sides of their heads while the hair on the tops or even the backs of their heads are short. Have you ever seen this? Have you ever seen pictures of the Jews of today who where those black top hats and suits whith curly long hair only on the sides of their heads? It is quite common today because they believe they are trying to follow the law. I do also believe that they could not have even trimed their beards, a law I myslef would not like as I try to keep my beard fairly short. I believe this law applied to the entire nation of Israel, not just the Levites. However, I do believe that through Christ, we have been freed from such legalism! (Does not the very nature of things teach you that if a man has long hair, it is a disgrace to him, -1 Corinthians 11:14)

As far as your question about the chief musician, many Psalms were in the form of songs. Thereofore, I do believe that the "chief musician" was like a conductor, who was probably David himself, for David was a musician. He played the harp! Remember when he played the harp for King Saul?

Whenever the spirit from God came upon Saul, David would take his harp and play. Then relief would come to Saul; he would feel better, and the evil spirit would leave him. -1 Samuel 16:23

Thereofore I do believe that David was the "chief musician." I could be wrong. It's either that or some kind of conductor.

 

[Prayer Circle]

See, it's threads like this that make for my Lady Schick to fly right out the window!

The Truth About the Beard ~ Should Followers of Messiah Grow Their Beards?

There are many faiths that hold certain rules or laws regarding the beard. Islam, is another of those beneath the Abrahamic umbrella.

 

[drjean]

Remember, God is speaking to the Tribe of Levi, those who were the priests for the temple.... different rules for them, being before God himself...

 

[Roseheart]

Thanks for the answers, everyone. I know we are free from the law in Christ; I was just curious about what it meant.

Remember when he played the harp for King Saul?

Whenever the spirit from God came upon Saul, David would take his harp and play. Then relief would come to Saul; he would feel better, and the evil spirit would leave him. -1 Samuel 16:23

Thereofore I do believe that David was the "chief musician." I could be wrong. It's either that or some kind of conductor.

Thank you! I haven't got to that part yet; I've only been reading the Bible for less than a year.