2 Samuel 19:24Ezekiel 44:20

Shaving was done with a sharp cutting instrument made from a variety of materials, but usually from either flint, obsidian, or iron (Isaiah 7:20; Ezekiel 5:1 ), but only in unusual circumstances. The razor could be a simple knife, probably elongated with a rounded end, or an elaborate instrument, sometimes decorated. Shaving was practiced as a sign of mourning (Job 1:20; Jeremiah 7:29 ), as a sign of subservience to a superior (Numbers 8:7; Genesis 41:14 ), and as a treatment for a person with leprosy (Leviticus 14:9 ).

Jimmy Albright