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Samson, legendary Israelite warrior and judge, or divinely inspired leader, renowned for the prodigious strength that he derived from his uncut hair. He is portrayed in the biblical Book of Judges (chapters 13–16).
Everyone is familiar with a biblical story of Samson and Delilah. Samson's phenomenal strength resided in his long uncut hairs, his girl friend Delilah wheedled this secret from him during one of his amorous moments and cut off his locks. Weak as a kitten, he was captured and blinded by the Philistines.
In the tragic story of Absalom, the handsome son of King Solomon, his scalp hairs used to get so heavy that he had to often cut them, and it was found to weigh 200 shekels by the royal measure, which is about 5 pounds - quite a weight to be carrying around on one's head.
These are the beautiful people of the Bible. “When he was about to enter Egypt, he said to his wife Sarai, 'I know well that you are a woman beautiful in appearance'” (Gen. 12:11). “[Rebekah] was very beautiful, a virgin whom no man had known” (Genesis 24:16 TNK).
Biblical narrative
Joseph's father, Jacob (also called Israel), favored him and gave Joseph the coat as a gift; as a result, he was envied by his brothers, who saw the special coat as an indication that Joseph would assume family leadership.
According to the Bible, King David was handsome, had beautiful eyes, and had a ruddy look.
Samson's long hair was notable because he was a Nazarite, a sect of Israelites who voluntarily took on vows, like not shaving/cutting their hair, as a part of a special devotion of their life to God.
Esau, a "man of the field", became a hunter who had "rough" qualities that distinguished him from his twin brother. Among these qualities were his redness and noticeable hairiness. Jacob was a plain or simple man, depending on the translation of the Hebrew word tam (which also means "relatively perfect man").
It probably stems from the notice a few chapters earlier that Absalom had a very thick head of hair, and was accustomed to cutting it once a year. The narrator of the book of Samuel states that this shearing produced a mass of hair that weighed about 200 shekels (2 Sam 14:26), equivalent to about 5.5 lbs (2.5 kg).
We don't know the exact color of David's hair. First Samuel ( 1Sam 16:12 describes the young king-to-be as “reddish” or “ruddy” (compare Gen 25:25 ), but without making any specific reference to his hair: “He [David] was ruddy-cheeked, bright-eyed, and handsome” (Jewish Publication Society, Tanakh translation).
Jesus told His disciples, “But the very hairs of your head are all numbered” (Matthew 10:30). As the Creator of human beings (and human hair), God takes great interest in how we care for His creation. We frequently receive questions from men and women on this subject.
In ancient cultures, hair was symbolic. In Samson's case, his long hair symbolized his Nazirite vow and consecration to God. The cutting of his hair represented a violation of his covenant with God and the loss of his supernatural strength.
Other than Samson (who had long hair only because of a very specific and unique vow, Numbers 6:5 and Judges 13:5) the only Israelite man in the Bible that we're told had long hair was King David's son Absalom.
The long untouched hair was therefore considered as the emblem of personal devotion (or devotedness) to the God of all strength. Thus it was an easy step to the thought that in the hair was the seat of strength of a Samson (Judges 16:17,20).
Hitchcock's Bible Names Dictionary - Harim
Harim [N] [E] [S] destroyed; dedicated to God.
According to The Good Book one of Jesus' ancestors was Jacob. Jacob's twin brother Esau had red hair, as probably did two other of Christ's ancestors the Kings David and Solomon [5-9].
Esau had a truly congenital hypertrichosis in that he was born hairy. From the rest of his story it is hard to find any other associated physical findings. He was accomplished and presumably enjoyed good health and mentation; In Genesis 25: 27 we learn that Esau became a good hunter and an outdoorsman.
The Tanakh describes the Edomites as descendants of Esau.
Across cultures and spiritual beliefs, cutting hair is often viewed as a symbolic act of release. It represents the shedding of past experiences and emotional burdens, helping individuals move forward with a lighter, renewed sense of self. Emotional Transformation: Hair can accumulate the energy of our experiences.
Samson's was involved with three women. The first was a woman from Timnah whom he married. The second woman was a harlot from Gaza, and the third was Delilah, with whom Samson fell in love. In the Midrash, the rabbis debated over when Samson's sin began.
Jewish legend records that Samson's shoulders were sixty cubits broad.
Esther 2:7
This young woman, who was also known as Esther, had a lovely figure and was beautiful. Mordecai had taken her as his own daughter when her father and mother died.
Now Absalom was praised as the most handsome man in all Israel. He was flawless from head to foot.
The ancient historian Josephus would mistranslate the Hebrew Torah to describe the more positive figure of King David as 'golden haired', in contrast to the negative figure of Esau, even though the original Hebrew Torah implies that both King David and Esau had 'fiery red hair'.