The Narrow Path Ministries

This question was spawned from the following thread concerning beards:
http://www.wvss.com/forumc/viewtopic.php?t=1135

It has been stated that Isaiah 50:6 is a prophecy that describes that the coming Messiah (Jesus) would have a beard. After looking at the passage, I'm not sure that text is explicit in communicating if He had a beard.

First, the context of the passage seems to describe the shameful and violent treatment that the Messiah will endure, along with the fact that He will not fight or run from it. Rather, He will offer himself to those who want to shame him. These verses don't seem to be giving a physical description of the Messiah but rather describing his attitude and actions.

Second, different version translate this differently.
Some (NIV, The Message,NET) refer to "my beard"
Others (ESV, NKJV, NASB, ASV) refer to "the beard"
Referring to "the beard" may describe that those to whom the Messiah offered Himself were the types that shamed others, commonly seen by pulling out hair from the beard, rather than describe the Messiah's appearance. Since different translators see it differently, this weakens the assertion that Isaiah 50:6 prophecies that the Messiah will have a beard.

Finally, there isn't any reference to whether or not Jesus had a beard in the NT.

I know.
You are probably thinking, "So what? The question of whether He had a beard or didn't doesn't really affect my faith in God".
True.
However, this may be a case where poetic literature is found to be saying something more specific that it may have been intended to communicate, thereby missing the forest for the trees.

These are my thoughts.

What are yours?

i thought for sure that somewhere in one of the passion narratives it stated that Jesus's accusers pulled out his beard, but now i cant find it. i know for sure i read this at some time. can anyone help out?

TK

Hi, Dave,

For what it's worth, the whole "my beard"/"the beard" is inferential. In the Hebrew text, it just states that "I gave ... my cheeks to the ones making bare".

Shalom,
Emmet

And, of course, wouldn't it be assumed that an adult male would have a beard, since that was a Jewish cultural norm?

I was truly surprised to find that the Greek word for "beard" namely "pōgōn" is not found in the New Testament.

It occurs many times in the Septuagint. However the passage in question, Isaiah 50:6 does not contain it.

The Septuagint translation renders the verse as follows:

I gave my back to scourges, and my cheeks to blows; and I turned not away my face from the shame of spitting.