Baldness —What does the Bible say about it?
Practices in biblical times

Baldness from natural causes was uncommon in ancient biblical times (2 Kings 2:23; Isaiah 3:24). It was included apparently under “scab” and “scurf,” which disqualified for the priesthood (Leviticus 21:20).

The Egyptians were rarely bald naturally. It was their custom to constantly shave their heads, only allowing the hair to grow as a sign of mourning.

In contrast, with the Israelites, artificial baldness was a sign of mourning (Isaiah 22:12; Jeremiah 7:29; 16:6).

Shaving the head also marked the conclusion of a Nazarite’s vow (Acts 18:18; 21:24; Numbers 6:9). It is often alluded to (Micah 1:16; Amos 8:10; Jeremiah 47:5).

Shaving the head and gashing the body were common in the ancient Near East at funerals and after a city’s fall. Jeremiah mentions this practice referring to Moab (Jeremiah 48:37) and for Judah’s own dead (Jer. 16:6). Isaiah uses shaved heads for Moab (Isaiah 15:2) and for Jerusalem (Isa. 22:12). Micah tells Zion to shave her head “as bald as the eagle” in mourning (Micah 1:16).

The Jews were forbidden to follow the idolatrous customs of surrounding nations in making themselves bald (Deuteronomy 14:1).

Gaza

Baldness has come upon Gaza;
Ashkelon has been ruined.
O remnant of their valley,
How long will you gash yourself? —Jeremiah 47:5 LSB

The “baldness” referred to here is not a disease and or a comment on Gaza’s appearance. It is a mourning rite: people shaved their heads (or tore out their hair) to show extreme grief after death or disaster.

The city is personified as a mourner whose head has been shaved. The NIV translation makes this explicit: “Gaza will shave her head in mourning.”

Israel’s law forbade these practices for Israelites (Leviticus 19:27–28; Deuteronomy 14:1) because they were tied to pagan mourning and foreign cults. The Philistines are pictured doing exactly what the Torah banned: frantic, bodily mourning that cannot stop the judgment.

So “baldness has come upon Gaza” means: the city is in the deepest possible grief—defeated, emptied, its people acting like mourners at a funeral. Some commentators add a second layer: a shaved head can also stand for a city stripped bare, houses demolished, like a scalp without hair.

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Article Version: September 19, 2026