Hair. The Hebrews were fully alive to the importance of the hair as an element of personal beauty. Long hair was admired in the case of young men. 2 Samuel 14:26. In times of affliction, the hair was altogether cut off. Isaiah 3:17; Isaiah 3:24; Isaiah 15:2; Jeremiah 7:29. Tearing the hair, Ezra 9:3, and letting it go dishevelled were similar tokens of grief.

The usual and favorite color of the hair was black, Song of Solomon 5:11, as is indicated in the comparisons in Song of Solomon 1:5; Song of Solomon 4:1; a similar hue is probably intended by the purple of Song of Solomon 7:6. Pure white hair was deemed characteristic of the divine Majesty. Daniel 7:9; Revelation 1:14.

The chief beauty of the hair consisted in curls, whether of a natural or an artificial character. With regard to the mode of dressing the hair, we have no very precise information; the terms used are of a general character, as of Jezebel, 2 Kings 9:30, and of Judith, Judith 10:3, and in the New Testament, 1 Timothy 2:9; 1 Peter 3:3.

The arrangement of Samson's hair into seven locks, or more properly braids, Judges 16:13; Judges 16:19, involves the practice of plaiting, which was also familiar to the Egyptians and Greeks. The locks were probably kept in their place by a fillet, as in Egypt.

The Hebrews like other nations of antiquity, anointed the hair profusely with ointments, which were generally compounded of various aromatic ingredients, Ruth 3:3; 2 Samuel 14:2; Psalms 23:6; Psalms 92:10; Ecclesiastes 9:8, more especially on occasions of festivity or hospitality. Luke 7:46. It appears to have been the custom of the Jews in our Saviour's time to swear by the hair, Matthew 5:36, much as the Egyptian women still swear by the side-locks, and the men by their beards.