Ezekiel 5:1 - "And you, O son of man, take a sharp sword; use it as a barber’s razor and pass it over your head and your beard; then take balances for weighing, and divide the hair."

According to the dictionary, a barber is one who shaves or trims the beard and dresses the hair. And that’s about the extent of what barbers did in ancient times. This is a very ancient occupation, dating back to early Egyptian times. Hair, of course, had great significance for the Hebrews, as much as for any other ancient peoples.

We recall the children who were dedicated as Nazirites, and so forbidden to cut their hair. We certainly recall what happened to Samson when he violated this injunction! There is a mysterious force that is connected with hair, perhaps because the ancients were aware that it kept growing for a period after death and so assumed that it had a separate life of its own, perhaps for some other reason, but, whatever, it was important.

The beard was particularly important to a Hebrew. It was a sign that a man was very unhappy if he didn’t care for his beard, and if he shaved it off, he was in deep mourning indeed. To cut off a man’s beard was to insult him very deeply. There’s another footnote to history - since the Romans were clean-shaven, it is most probable that the Jews continued to be bearded as a further act of rebellion. Where have we heard that before? Today’s youth aren’t quite so modern as they would like to think!

The hair of the head, also, was a matter of great care and concern, particularly during the New Testament period. The wealthy were very fond of wearing it long, a practice that disgusted St. Paul (1 Corinthians 11:15). Depraved young men, says Josephus, would sprinkle their hair with gold dust to make it more brilliant. Old men like Herod, again according to Josephus, dyed it. And, again, unkempt hair was a sign of sorrow; even more so a shaven head or one with hair pulled out by the handful.

Although we find mention of barbers in the Bible, there is a very real question as to their real occupation. Since it is likely that most men did their own personal grooming chores, the idea has been propounded that the barbers were really more of hairdressers for the women.

But, be that as it may, for the wealthy and the royal, there were without question a professional group who were responsible for the care of the hair and beards of their patrons. And if they also took on milady, well, why not?

That certainly wouldn’t be too unusual today, either. The world’s most famous hairdressers are men. But our friends the barbers don’t have to feel downgraded in any way. Even though long hair and beards may have many of them on the verge of bankruptcy, they can remember that the world has gone through this before, and emerged short-haired and clean-shaven. And we will assume that it will do so again.