Ezekiel 44:20

20 "Priests must neither shave their heads nor let their hair grow long. They are to keep it a proper length. ¹

Ezekiel 44:20 Meaning and Commentary

Ezekiel 44:20

Neither shall they shave their heads
As the priests and worshippers of Isis and Serapis did, as Jerom on the text observes; and as the Romish priests now do, from whom the Lord's faithful ministers must be distinguished: nor suffer their locks to grow long;
as the Nazarites, that a distinction might be preserved between those who were and were not such; or rather, after the manner of women, their locks hanging down, and flowing about their shoulders, as a token of levity, wantonness, effeminacy, pride, and vanity; see ( 1 Corinthians 11:14 1 Corinthians 11:15 ) : they shall only poll their heads;
observe a medium between both; neither shave their heads close, nor let their hair grow long, but keep it in an even moderate length; for which reason godly men of the last age among us were called "round heads".

Ezekiel 44:20 In-Context

18 So that they won't perspire, they are to wear linen turbans and linen trousers, but no belt.

19 Before they go to the outer courtyard where the people are, they must first take off the clothes they wore on duty in the Temple and leave them in the holy rooms. They are to put on other clothing in order to keep their sacred clothing from harming the people.

20 "Priests must neither shave their heads nor let their hair grow long. They are to keep it a proper length.

21 Priests must not drink any wine before going into the inner courtyard.

22 No priest may marry a divorced woman; he is to marry only an Israelite virgin or the widow of another priest.

Cross References

• 1. 44.20Leviticus 21.5.