The beard was regarded as a sign of freedom and respect. Pulling out the beard, therefore, was an expression of extreme contempt, among the most degrading of insults, not to mention the cause of pain (2 Samuel 10:4; Nehemiah 13:25).1
The beard was regarded as a sign of freedom and respect. Pulling out the beard, therefore, was an expression of extreme contempt, among the most degrading of insults, not to mention the cause of pain (2 Samuel 10:4; Nehemiah 13:25).1
6 I gave my back to those who strike, and my cheeks to those who pull out the beard; I hid not my face from disgrace and spitting.