bald'-ness qorchah: The reference in the Bible to baldness is not to the natural loss of hair, but to baldness produced by shaving the head. This was practiced as a mark of mourning for the dead (
Le 21:5;
Isa 15:2;
22:12); as the result of any disaster (
Am 8:10;
Mic 1:16). The custom arose from the fact that the hair was regarded as a special ornament. It was the custom of the people of the land, and the Israelites were strictly forbidden to practice it (
Le 21:5;
Deut 14:1). These are striking passages with reference to the knowledge the Israelites had concerning the future life. This is saying to them what Paul said to the
Thessalonians (
1Th 4:13). To call one a "bald head" was an epithet of contempt, and was sometimes applied to persons who were not naturally bald. It was the epithet applied by certain infidel young men to Elisha (
2Ki 2:23,
24). In a figurative sense it is used to express the barrenness of the country (
Jer 47:5).