Jeremiah 16:1

Jeremiah Forbidden to Marry, to Mourn, or to Feast

16:1 The Lord said to me,

Jeremiah 41:5

41:5 eighty men arrived from Shechem, Shiloh, and Samaria. ¹  They had shaved off their beards, torn their clothes, and cut themselves to show they were mourning. ²  They were carrying grain offerings and incense to present at the temple of the Lord in Jerusalem. ³ 

Jeremiah 48:37

48:37 For all of them will shave their heads in mourning.

They will all cut off their beards to show their sorrow.

They will all make gashes in their hands.

They will all put on sackcloth. ⁴ 

Leviticus 19:28

19:28 You must not slash your body for a dead person ⁵  or incise a tattoo on yourself. ⁶  I am the Lord.

Leviticus 21:5

21:5 Priests ⁷  must not have a bald spot shaved on their head, they must not shave the corner of their beard, and they must not cut slashes in their body. ⁸ 

Deuteronomy 14:1

The Holy and the Profane

14:1 You are children ⁹  of the Lord your God. Do not cut yourselves or shave your forehead bald ¹⁰  for the sake of the dead.

Deuteronomy 14:1

The Holy and the Profane

14:1 You are children ¹¹  of the Lord your God. Do not cut yourselves or shave your forehead bald ¹²  for the sake of the dead.

Deuteronomy 18:1

Provision for Priests and Levites

18:1 The Levitical priests ¹³  – indeed, the entire tribe of Levi – will have no allotment or inheritance with Israel; they may eat the burnt offerings of the Lord and of his inheritance. ¹⁴ 

Mark 5:5

5:5 Each night and every day among the tombs and in the mountains, he would cry out and cut himself with stones.

¹ sn Shechem, Shiloh, and Samaria were all cities in the northern kingdom of Israel with important religious and political histories. When Israel was destroyed in 722 b.c., some of the Israelites had been left behind and some of the Judeans had taken up residence in these northern cities. People residing there had participated in the reforms of Hezekiah (2 Chr 30:11) and Josiah (2 Chr 34:9) and were evidently still faithfully following the Jewish calendar. They would have been on their way to Jerusalem to celebrate the Jewish New Year and the Feast of Tabernacles (Lev 23:34).

² tn The words “to show they were mourning” are not in the text but are implicit in the acts. They are supplied in the translation for clarification for readers who may not be familiar with ancient mourning customs.

³ tn The words “in Jerusalem” are not in the text but are implicit. They are supplied in the translation for clarity.

⁴ tn Heb “upon every loin [there is] sackcloth.” The word “all” is restored here before “loin” with a number of Hebrew mss and a number of versions. The words “in mourning” and “to show their sorrow” are not in the text. They have been supplied in the translation to give the average reader some idea of the significance of these acts.

⁵ tn Heb “And slash for the soul you shall not give.” The Hebrew term נֶפֶשׁ (nefesh, “soul, person, life”) can sometimes refer to a “dead person” (cf. Lev 21:1, 5; 22:5). See J. E. Hartley, Leviticus (WBC), 306, 320-21.

⁶ tn Heb “and a writing of incision you shall not give in you.”

⁷ tn Heb “they”; the referent (priests, see the beginning of v. 1) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

⁸ tn Heb “and in their body they shall not [cut] slash[es]” (cf. Lev 19:28). The context connects these sorts of mutilations with mourning rites (cf. Lev 19:27-28 above).

⁹ tn Heb “sons” (so NASB); TEV, NLT “people.”

¹⁰ sn Do not cut yourselves or shave your forehead bald. These were pagan practices associated with mourning the dead; they were not be imitated by God’s people (though they frequently were; cf. 1 Kgs 18:28; Jer 16:6; 41:5; 47:5; Hos 7:14 [LXX]; Mic 5:1). For other warnings against such practices see Lev 21:5; Jer 16:5.

¹¹ tn Heb “sons” (so NASB); TEV, NLT “people.”

¹² sn Do not cut yourselves or shave your forehead bald. These were pagan practices associated with mourning the dead; they were not be imitated by God’s people (though they frequently were; cf. 1 Kgs 18:28; Jer 16:6; 41:5; 47:5; Hos 7:14 [LXX]; Mic 5:1). For other warnings against such practices see Lev 21:5; Jer 16:5.

¹³ tn The MT places the terms “priests” and “Levites” in apposition, thus creating an epexegetical construction in which the second term qualifies the first, i.e., “Levitical priests.” This is a way of asserting their legitimacy as true priests. The Syriac renders “to the priest and to the Levite,” making a distinction between the two, but one that is out of place here.

¹⁴ sn Of his inheritance. This is a figurative way of speaking of the produce of the land the Lord will give to his people. It is the Lord’s inheritance, but the Levites are allowed to eat it since they themselves have no inheritance among the other tribes of Israel.