Thirdly in this matter of beards, consider the example of Joseph: "Then Pharaoh sent and called Joseph, and they brought him hastily out of the dungeon: and he shaved himself, and changed his raiment, and came in unto Pharaoh" (Gen 41:14 Geneva Study Bible).
Pharaoh immediately sent for Joseph. As quickly as possible he was fetched from the prison; and after shaving the hair of his head and beard, and changing his clothes, as the customs of Egypt required (see Hengst. Egypt and the Books of Moses, p. 30), he went in to the king (Keil and Delitzsch Biblical Commentary on the Old Testament).Joseph shaved although there was nothing inherently wrong with his beard: he adapted to the customs of Egypt that did not conflict with God's laws. It's interesting to think about how Paul handled the issue of wearing a beard; he was a Jew (a Benjaminite) and Roman citizen who lived in a Hellenistic milieu as a follower of Christ. Hence, Paul wrote that he became all things to all men (1 Corinthians 9:19-23). At the end of the day, we know that ancient Israelite men were commanded not to destroy "the edges" of their beard (Leviticus 19:27). Hence, Jesus likely had a beard and Paul probably would have worn one as a Jew. Whether someone chooses to wear or not wear a beard today is a matter of choice like many other areas of life in Christianity. As Paul wrote about eating meat once sacrificed to idols, "If I partake with thankfulness, why am I denounced because of that for which I give thanks?" (1 Corinthians 10:30)
See the surrounding context of 1 Corinthians 10:30.
👏🏿👏🏿👏🏿👏🏿👏🏿
ReplyDeleteThere was a serious lice problem in Egypt, Women also shaved there heads & all royalty wore wigs.
ReplyDeletehttps://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6706986/
Similar was done in Europe.
https://www.headlice.org/comb/the-real-reason-people-from-history-wore-powdered-wigs/
If realities really had beards then the probably oiled them.
https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2022/11/221109085807.htm
I want to know the justifications for "tattoo" as a translation in Leviticus 19:28?
ReplyDeleteSee https://go.gale.com/ps/i.do?id=GALE%7CA225793246&sid=googleScholar&v=2.1&it=r&linkaccess=abs&issn=07923910&p=AONE&sw=w&userGroupName=anon%7E9c39d815&aty=open-web-entry
ReplyDeleteCompare Targum Onkelos and the Syriac Peshitta
ReplyDeletehttps://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Earmark_(agriculture)
ReplyDeleteCf. Exodus 21:6
This may sound dumb - when Paul says all things are “lawful to him” does he mean everything in the written context or everything that’s not a prohibition in the law already?
ReplyDeleteThat's far from a dumb question. A lot of ink has been spilled on 1 Corinthians 10:23-24, but my rule of thumb is to understand a verse according to its context, so I believe we can't overlook the fact that Paul discusses food sacrificed to idols for 3 chapters: 1 Corinthians 8:1-10:33.
ReplyDeleteThe context has to play a large part in how we understand his words.
From the 6/1/1961 WT:
ReplyDeleteA person might want to argue that he will eat or drink whatever he wishes when it is not unlawful in the sight of God to drink wine or eat certain foods. But even though a thing may be lawful in the sight of God, will it be upbuilding?
He might have the law in mind, but look at the whole discussion, including 1 Corinthians 8:3-6.
Compare 1 Corinthians 6:12-13
ReplyDelete