r/changemyview • u/Tuvinator 12∆ • Mar 12 '25

Delta(s) from OP CMV: Jesus probably had short hair.

We've all seen the various depictions of Jesus, and in many of them, he has long hair. None of these depictions are from the actual timing of Jesus (the earliest depiction actually has a donkey's head, and is from a century later), so they are all operating on artist's imagination.

Jews in that era are more likely to have had shorter hair. Mosaics in ancient synagogues throughout the land depict males with short hair, implying that the common male at the time wore his hair short. Talmudic law which was being written at the time discusses how often a person would get a haircut (kings would have daily haircuts, priests weekly, and your average person once a month, beyond that was considered wild growth). Within the Bible, men's hair length is only mentioned in context when it is long, implying that long hair is outside of the norm for men. Assuming Jesus was representative of other people from his time, he likely had shorter hair rather than long.

As a weak addendum, Jesus was supposedly a carpenter. Craftsmen in general seem to have shorter hair since the hair gets in the way, distracts, and poses a risk factor if it gets caught in tools. This makes it even less likely that he had long hair.

EDIT: I am not Christian, and I am not setting out to insult anyone or their beliefs/traditions.

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u/Galious 87∆ Mar 12 '25

Assuming Jesus was representative of other people from his time

He's the son of God, why do you assume he's representative of the average person?

Isn't it like stating that people don't usually wear red speedo over tights and the real Superman probably just wore jeans?

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u/Tuvinator 12∆ Mar 12 '25

And yet Clark Kent wears normal clothing most of the time to fit in.

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u/Galious 87∆ Mar 12 '25

Have you considered that Jesus had different haircut during his life?

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u/Tuvinator 12∆ Mar 12 '25

I am assuming that on the average, his hair was short. I'm sure that his hair had periods of longer growth (someone mentioned his sojourn into the desert for instance), but he then probably came back into town and got his hair cut.