He shaved his head at Cenchreae because of a vow he had taken. NLT Paul stayed in Corinth for some time after that, then said good-bye to the brothers and sisters and went to nearby Cenchrea. There he shaved his head according to Jewish custom, marking the end of a vow.
Shaving the head normally was regarded as a sign of humiliation (2 Sam 10:4–5) or mourning (Isa 15:2; Jer 41:5–6; 48:37; Ezek 9:3). It also was practiced in pagan rituals for the dead.
Luke tells us that Paul 'cut' his hair while at Cenchrea, the eastern port of Corinth bordering the Adriatic Sea, because he had a vow (Acts 18:18). He doesn't say how long Paul had taken the vow, nor does he say why Paul made a vow.
Acts 18:18b At Cenchreae he (Paul) had cut his hair, for he was under a vow. Here we see the apostle Paul keeping the Law of Moses by taking part in the Nazarite Vow from 'Numbers' chapter 6. “If” Paul taught that the Law of Moses was abolished, why would he do this?
Why did Job do this? Again, in his grief, the shaving of his head and face is a sign of loss. A sign of loss not only of things, but of his own personal glory. Taking away what made him a man, what made him Job and debasing himself to just being human, to be like the young babe that he came into this world as.
As a symbol of subordination
In many cultures throughout history, cutting or shaving the hair on men has been seen as a sign of subordination. In ancient Greece and much of Babylon, long hair was a symbol of economic and social power, while a shaved head was the sign of a slave.
In the Bible, beards often symbolize wisdom, dignity, and masculinity, reflecting a man's status, maturity, and adherence to cultural and religious traditions.
He shaved his head at Cenchreae because of a vow he had taken. NLT Paul stayed in Corinth for some time after that, then said good-bye to the brothers and sisters and went to nearby Cenchrea. There he shaved his head according to Jewish custom, marking the end of a vow.
In the Hebrew Bible, a nazirite or a nazarite (Hebrew: נָזִיר Nāzīr) is an Israelite (i.e. Jewish) man or woman who voluntarily took a vow which is described in Numbers 6:1–21.
Chapter Summary
Acts 18 recounts the end of Paul's second missionary journey. He leaves Athens for Corinth, in southern Greece, and works with Priscilla and Aquila as a tentmaker until Silas and Timothy rejoin him. The team stays eighteen months with no significant pressure.
Men of some Greek cultures often wore hair that modern people would consider "long." In general, though, men wear their hair shorter than most women, in most cultures, without being forced to do so. For Paul, this was evidence of God's design for men to leave their heads "uncovered" to better reflect the glory of God.
Paul was not speaking of exalting himself above measure through pride, but rather, the thorn came from Satan to keep Paul from being exalted by God in the eyes of the people. Many more people would have received what Paul preached if everything was always “rosy” for him.
Samson confessed that he would lose his strength “if my head were shaved” (Judges 16:15- 17). While he slept, the faithless Delilah brought in a Philistine who cut Samson's hair, draining his strength.
Shaving the head is a symbol of spiritual surrender, a letting go of the physical ego. By releasing attachment to our appearance, we free ourselves from the distractions of the material world. With a shaved head, we embody the spirit of simplicity, humility, and inner focus.
It comes down to your heart. Leviticus 19:28 says You shall not make any cuts on your body [in mourning] for the dead, nor make any tattoo marks on yourselves; I am the Lord. In other scriptures, God punished the Israelites for wearing earrings because they were doing it at a feast to the idol, Baal.
With the Jews artificial baldness was a sign of mourning ( Isaiah 22:12 ; Jeremiah 7:29 ; 16:6 ); it also marked the conclusion of a Nazarite's vow ( Acts 18:18 ; 21:24 ; Numbers 6:9 ). It is often alluded to ( Micah 1:16 ; Amos 8:10 ; Jeremiah 47:5 ).
Deborah was a prophet, poet, and the only female judge of Israel named in the Old Testament. Legend states that based on a vision, she called up General Barak and the forces of Israel to battle against the Canaanite general Sisera. Deborah foresaw that it would not be Barak who defeated Sisera, but a woman.
The Nazarite vow terminates by bringing offerings to the Temple. Since today there is no Temple, a Nazarite would remain a Nazarite forever. Rabbi Dovid Cohen, zatzal (father of the current Chief Rabbi of Haifa) took a Nazarite vow, and hence remained one his whole life.
There shall come forth a Rod from the stem of Jesse, and a Branch shall grow out of his roots. The Hebrew word translated Branch sounds like “Nazir” (neser). So, Jesus was certainly a Nazarene – from Nazareth, and associated with a lowly and even despised place. But He was not a Nazirite.
In art, Simon has the identifying attribute of a saw because according to tradition he was martyred by being sawn in half.
Biblical accounts of hair loss
One of the more notorious stories is in Kings 2:23, where the prophet Elisha is taunted by some young men because of his bald head. Elisha puts a curse on the youths, causing two bears to appear, and maul them.
Evidence is offered to suggest a neurological origin for Paul's ecstatic visions. Paul's physical state at the time of his conversion is discussed and related to these ecstatic experiences. It is postulated that both were manifestations of temporal lobe epilepsy.
If your motives are to glorify His work in your life (Romans 14:23), the tattoo can be an excellent conversation starter. Just as we are commanded to do all things to the glory of God (1 Corinthians 10:31), we can view the act of tattooing in the same manner.
In 1 Corinthians 11:3-15, Paul writes that if a woman is to be so immodest as to wear her hair uncovered while praying or prophesying in a Christian assembly she might as well shave her head. Paul instructs the Corinthians that it is “one and the same” for a woman to have her head shaved and for her to unveil her hair.
Scholars have also suggested that it is likely Jesus had short hair and a beard, in accordance with Jewish practices of the time and the appearance of philosophers. The earliest depictions of Jesus from the Roman catacombs depict him as free of facial hair.