Ethiopian Bible Teachings on Hair Washing

The Bible does not contain specific teachings from an "Ethiopian Bible" regarding hair washing. The phrase "Ethiopian Bible" typically refers to the Ethiopic Orthodox Tewahedo Church's canon, which includes books not found in other traditions, but the core biblical texts are largely consistent with other Christian Bibles. Therefore, any biblical teachings on hair washing would be derived from the shared Old and New Testament texts.

In the Old Testament, hair is frequently mentioned in contexts related to personal appearance, mourning, and ritual purity. Long hair was admired in young men ^[2], and black hair was considered beautiful ^{[2, 3]}. Conversely, cutting or tearing hair was a sign of grief or affliction ^{[2, 6]}. For instance, Ezra tore his hair as a token of grief ^[2]. Shaving the head and beard was a practice among Egyptians, who only let their hair grow during mourning ^[1]. Joseph shaved before appearing before Pharaoh, indicating a cultural practice of cleanliness or presentation ^[1].

Ritual cleansing in the Old Testament sometimes involved shaving all hair. Leviticus 14:8 describes a purification ritual where a person to be cleansed must "wash his clothes, and shave off all his hair, and bathe himself in water; and he shall be clean" ^[4]. This act of shaving was understood by some commentators as ensuring that water could reach every part of the body for thorough cleansing from defilement ^[9]. The Egyptian priests, for example, shaved their entire bodies every third day to prevent defilement ^[9]. The prophet Ezekiel is commanded to use a barber's razor to shave his head and beard as a symbolic act ^[7]. Baldness, however, did not render a person unclean ^[8].

While the Bible does not explicitly command or prohibit hair washing as a regular practice, it does touch on related concepts within Jewish tradition, particularly concerning ritual immersion (mikvah) and Sabbath observance. Rabbinic discussions in the Babylonian Talmud address the timing of hair washing in relation to immersion for women. For example, some traditions hold that a woman should not wash her hair many days before immersing unless there is no other option ^[10]. There are debates among rabbis regarding whether a woman may wash her hair on the eve of Shabbat and immerse after Shabbat, or if she should wash her hair immediately before immersion ^{[11, 12]}. Rav Huna suggests that a woman could wash her hair on Sunday and immerse on Monday night, or even on Wednesday night, drawing parallels to situations where immersion is delayed after washing due to Shabbat or Rosh HaShana ^{[13, 14, 15, 16]}. However, Rav Hisda cautions against deriving general rules from these specific cases, emphasizing that when immediate washing and immersion are possible, they should occur together ^{[17, 18]}.

The act of washing itself, particularly with water, is often used metaphorically in the Bible. Water is an emblem of the Holy Spirit, symbolizing cleansing, fertilizing, and refreshing ^[5]. This symbolic association highlights the importance of cleanliness, both physical and spiritual, within biblical thought.

Sources

Easton's Bible Dictionary “Easton's Bible Dictionary: Hair — (1.) The Egyptians let the hair of their head and beard grow only when they were in mourning, shaving it off at other times. "So particular were they on this point that to have neglected it was a subject of reproach and ridicule; and whenever they intended to convey the idea of a man of low condition, or a slovenly person, the artists represented him with a beard." Joseph shaved himself before going in to Pharoah (Gen. 41:14). The women of Egypt wore their hair long and plaited. Wigs were worn by priests and laymen to cover the shaven skull, and false beards w”
Smith's Bible Dictionary “Smith's Bible Dictionary: Hair — The Hebrews were fully alive to the importance of the hair as an element of personal beauty. Long hair was admired in the case of young men. (2 Samuel 14:26) In times of affliction the hair was altogether cut off. (Isaiah 3:17,24; 15:2; Jeremiah 7:29) Tearing the hair (Ezra 9:3) and letting it go dishevelled were similar tokens of grief. The usual and favorite color of the hair was black, (Song of Solomon 5:11) as is indicated in the comparisons in (Song of Solomon 1:5; 4:1) a similar hue is probably intended by the purple of (Song of Solomon 7:6) Pure white ha”
Torrey's Topical Textbook “Torrey's Topical Textbook: Hair, The — The natural covering of the head -- Ps 68:21. Innumerable -- Ps 40:12; 69:4. Growth of -- Jdj 16:22. God Numbers. -- Mt 10:30. Takes care of. -- Da 3:27; Lu 21:18. Black, particularly esteemed -- Song 5:11. White or gray A token of age. -- 1Sa 12:2; Ps 71:18. A token of weakness and decay. -- Ho 7:9. An emblem of wisdom. -- Da 7:9; Job 12:12. With righteousness, a crown of glory. -- Pr 16:31. To be reverenced. -- Le 19:32. Man cannot even change the colour or -- Mt 5:36. Of women Worn long for a covering. -- 1Co 11:15. Plaited and broidered. -- 1Ti 2:9; 1”
Leviticus ““He who is to be cleansed shall wash his clothes, and shave off all his hair, and bathe himself in water; and he shall be clean. After that he shall come into the camp, but shall dwell outside his tent seven days. -- Leviticus 14:8”
Torrey's Topical Textbook “Torrey's Topical Textbook: Emblems of the Holy Spirit, The — Water -- Joh 3:5; 7:38,39. Cleansing. -- Eze 16:9; 36:25; Eph 5:26; Heb 10:22. Fertilising. -- Ps 1:3; Isa 27:3,6; 44:3,4; 58:11. Refreshing. -- Ps 46:4; Isa 41:17,18. Abundant. -- Joh 7:37,38. Freely given. -- Isa 55:1; Joh 4:14; Re 22:17. Fire Purifying. -- Isa 4:4; Mal 3:2,3. Illuminating. -- Ex 13:21; Ps 78:14. Searching. -- Zep 1:12; 1Co 2:10. Wind Independent. -- Joh 3:8; 1Co 12:11. Powerful. -- 1Ki 19:11; Ac 2:2. Sensible in its effects. -- Joh 3:8. Reviving. -- Eze 37:9,10,14. Oil -- Ps 45:7. Healing. -- Lu 10:34; Re 3:18. Co”
Smith's Bible Dictionary “Smith's Bible Dictionary: Mourning — One marked feature of Oriental mourning is what may be called its studies publicity and the careful observance of the prescribed ceremonies. (Genesis 23:2; Job 1:20; 2:12) + Among the particular forms observed the following may be mentioned: (a) Rending the clothes. (Genesis 37:29,34; 44:13) etc. (b) Dressing in sackcloth. (Genesis 37:34; 2 Samuel 3:31; 21:10) etc. (c) Ashes, dust or earth sprinkled on the person. (2 Samuel 13:19; 15:32) etc. (d) Black or sad-colored garments. (2 Samuel 14:2; Jeremiah 8:21) etc. (e) Removal of ornaments or neglect of person”
Ezekiel “You, son of man, take a sharp sword; You shall take it as a barber’s razor to you, and shall cause it to pass on your head and on your beard: then take balances to weigh, and divide the hair. -- Ezekiel 5:1”
Leviticus ““If a man’s hair has fallen from his head, he is bald. He is clean. -- Leviticus 13:40”
Leviticus (Methodist/Wesleyan) “Adam Clarke on Leviticus 14:8: And shave off all his hair - That the water by which he was to be washed should reach every part of his body, that he might be cleansed from whatever defilement might remain on any part of the surface of his body. The Egyptian priests shaved the whole body every third day, to prevent all manner of defilement.”
Babylonian Talmud (Jewish (Rabbinic)) “Babylonian Talmud, Niddah 146a.134:16: Mareimar taught: The halakha is in accordance with the opinion of Rav Ḥisda, that a woman should not wash her hair many days before immersing except when there is no other possibility. And the halakha is also in accordance with the manner in which Rav Yeimar explains that if Rosh HaShana occurs after Shabbat a woman should wash her hair on the night of her immersion.”
Babylonian Talmud (Jewish (Rabbinic)) “Babylonian Talmud, Niddah 68a.2: § Rava taught: A woman may wash her hair on the eve of Shabbat and immerse at the conclusion of Shabbat. Rav Pappa said to Rava: But didn’t Ravin send the following halakha in his letter: A woman may not wash her hair on the eve of Shabbat and immerse at the conclusion of Shabbat? Instead, she should wash her hair after the conclusion of Shabbat immediately before she immerses.”
Babylonian Talmud (Jewish (Rabbinic)) “Babylonian Talmud, Niddah 146a.135:2: § Rava taught: A woman may wash her hair on the eve of Shabbat and immerse at the conclusion of Shabbat. Rav Pappa said to Rava: But didn’t Ravin send the following halakha in his letter: A woman may not wash her hair on the eve of Shabbat and immerse at the conclusion of Shabbat? Instead, she should wash her hair after the conclusion of Shabbat immediately before she immerses.”
Babylonian Talmud (Jewish (Rabbinic)) “Babylonian Talmud, Niddah 146a.134:11: § Rav Huna says: A woman may wash her hair on the first day of the week, Sunday, and immerse on the third day of the week, i.e., Monday night. The proof of this is that sometimes a woman washes her hair on the eve of Shabbat, but she does not immerse until the conclusion of Shabbat, which is the same interval as from Sunday to Monday night.”
Babylonian Talmud (Jewish (Rabbinic)) “Babylonian Talmud, Niddah 67b.11: § Rav Huna says: A woman may wash her hair on the first day of the week, Sunday, and immerse on the third day of the week, i.e., Monday night. The proof of this is that sometimes a woman washes her hair on the eve of Shabbat, but she does not immerse until the conclusion of Shabbat, which is the same interval as from Sunday to Monday night.”
Babylonian Talmud (Jewish (Rabbinic)) “Babylonian Talmud, Niddah 67b.13: Furthermore, a woman may wash her hair on the first day of the week, Sunday, and immerse on the fifth day of the week, Wednesday night. The proof of this is that sometimes a woman washes her hair on the eve of Shabbat, but she does not immerse until the conclusion of two days of Rosh HaShana that occurs after Shabbat, which is the same interval as from Sunday to Wednesday night.”
Babylonian Talmud (Jewish (Rabbinic)) “Babylonian Talmud, Niddah 146a.134:13: Furthermore, a woman may wash her hair on the first day of the week, Sunday, and immerse on the fifth day of the week, Wednesday night. The proof of this is that sometimes a woman washes her hair on the eve of Shabbat, but she does not immerse until the conclusion of two days of Rosh HaShana that occurs after Shabbat, which is the same interval as from Sunday to Wednesday night.”
Babylonian Talmud (Jewish (Rabbinic)) “Babylonian Talmud, Niddah 67b.14: But Rav Ḥisda said: We say that all of these long gaps between a woman washing her hair and immersing are permitted. But we do not say as proof that since a woman washes her hair before Shabbat and immerses only several days later, she may do so during a regular week as well. One cannot learn this halakha from those situations involving Shabbat, as one cannot derive cases where alternatives are possible from those cases where alternatives are not possible. Where it is possible for a woman to wash her hair and immerse immediately, it is possible, and she is not”
Babylonian Talmud (Jewish (Rabbinic)) “Babylonian Talmud, Niddah 146a.134:14: But Rav Ḥisda said: We say that all of these long gaps between a woman washing her hair and immersing are permitted. But we do not say as proof that since a woman washes her hair before Shabbat and immerses only several days later, she may do so during a regular week as well. One cannot learn this halakha from those situations involving Shabbat, as one cannot derive cases where alternatives are possible from those cases where alternatives are not possible. Where it is possible for a woman to wash her hair and immerse immediately, it is possible, and she i”

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