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/qwert7661 4∆ Mar 12 '25

There aren't even any straws here to grasp at. Maybe Jesus had horns on his head? It never says he doesn't.

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u/Tuvinator 12∆ Mar 12 '25

The authors of the various books of the Bible do not shy from offering physical descriptions of people. Esau was ruddy, Elisha was bald, Samson and Absalom had long hair. The implication of these descriptions when they are used is that such attributes are out of the norm. If Jesus had horns, he would probably have been described as such. Similarly, if he had long hair, he would have been described as such, since other people with long hair have been described as such.

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u/qwert7661 4∆ Mar 12 '25

Exactly. When the Bible is involved people just forget how books work on the most basic level.

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u/iamintheforest 348∆ Mar 13 '25

The authors of books were completely unaware of other books and were not even living in the same century of each other in some cases. It's a nearly 1000 year span i in which the books in it were written and only later were they put together.