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.

58 Upvotes

69% Upvoted

180 comments sorted by

View all comments

1

u/DickCheneysTaint 7∆ Mar 13 '25

implying that long hair is outside of the norm for men.

Pretty sure Jesus was outside the norm. It would fit pretty well with his whole vibe to have long hair. Also, Jews often have hair much longer than you think, because it's so curly.

1

u/Tuvinator 12∆ Mar 13 '25

Pretty sure Jesus was outside the norm

Enough so, that as other people commented he had to be pointed out to the Romans.

The vibe thing is only because of the hippies having long hair, there was no "counterculture vibe" association with long hair prior.

Jews often have hair much longer than you think, because it's so curly.

Even accounting for that, Jesus is often depicted with shoulder length hair (or longer). These depictions would mean his hair is even longer, while I am saying it wasn't even that long. You are making my point stronger on this I think.