Where Do the Scriptures Suggest That Men Should Be Clean Shaven?
1) Direct Answer
Scripture does not command men to be clean shaven. The Bible teaches men to keep a clear, masculine distinction and to avoid long hair, but it does not require shaving the beard.
2) Scriptural Explanation
- 1 Corinthians 11:14—“Doth not even nature itself teach you, that, if a man have long hair, it is a shame unto him?” The emphasis is on hair length for men, not on shaving beards.
- Deuteronomy 22:5—God forbids blurring the male–female distinction. Appearance should clearly reflect manhood.
- Leviticus 19:27; 21:5—Israel was told not to mar the edges of the beard or shave the head in pagan ways. That shows beards themselves were normal and not condemned; the issue was pagan customs.
- Ezekiel 44:20—Priests were not to shave their heads nor let their hair grow long, but to “poll” (trim) their hair. The principle is modest, masculine trim—neither shaven bald as a ritual nor long and unkempt.
- 2 Samuel 10:4—Shaving off half the beard was used to shame David’s men, showing a beard was a sign of manly honor in Israel’s culture.
- Isaiah 50:6—“I gave my cheeks to them that plucked off the hair,” indicating hair on the cheeks (a beard) in the prophetic picture of Christ’s suffering.
- 1 Corinthians 6:9—“Nor effeminate…” God rejects soft, feminized presentation in men.
3) Simple Clarifying Logic
- The Bible never says, “Thou shalt be clean shaven.” It does say a man’s long hair is a shame and warns against effeminate appearance and pagan grooming rites.
- Therefore, the safe, biblical line is: keep a masculine look, keep hair short, keep grooming modest and clean. A beard, if worn, should not be unkempt or used to mimic worldly, effeminate, or rebellious styles.
4) Reinforcing Statement
So the standard is not “must shave,” but “look like a man,” keep it decent and orderly before God. The Word sets boundaries—short hair and masculine distinction—while leaving beard or no beard as a matter of liberty, testimony, and modest discipline.
Ask a Follow-up Question
What did the Laodicean Church Age (our age) Angel (- messenger) Say about this?
Ranked passages from the local William Branham sermon and Church Age Book database. Relevance is relative, not a statement of doctrinal certainty.
God keeps His Word, part 1
57-0306 §39
Brother, you take one another's spirits. That's exactly right. You take one another's spirits instead of the Holy Spirit. Just like a good man takes a bad woman's spirit or vice-versa, you take each other's spirit. And I have done this one thing, brother... If God... If I know my heart, with my Bible here tonight, if there's one thing I've tried to stay clean of, I've never tried any sensations or anything to get people to look at me. I've tried not to even to lay my hands on a person, but preach the Gospel, and le...
Seals 1: God hiding and revealing Himself in simplicity
63-0317M §180
I'm going to hurt here just a little bit now, but I don't mean to ... for the next few minutes, just a minute or two, so that you'll be sure to understand. Can you hear me? Look. "Why...?" Them men who had walked with Christ---"Why does the scriptures first say that Elias must come?" And they were John's own converts, and didn't even know him. "Why did the scriptures say...?" The teacher---see what I mean? "Why does the scriptures say that Elias must first come?" The disciples that walked with him---"Why does the s...
From that time
61-0415B §34
and..." Oh, of course that's all right, sure. And I don't blame any woman---look your best, and whatever be clean, and lady... That's all right, but I just hate to see somebody disfigure themselves. These women don't even look like a human, see. But look clean, be like a lady. And men, don't be sloppy. That's not humble; that's dirty, see. Be clean, but don't try to ... you know, just don't try to do things like that. Just be just an ordinary brother, see. Just be yourself. I hate to see anybody try to put on somet...
Why it had to be shepherds
64-1221 §28
And when these wise men came to Jerusalem... The star led them to the religious capitol of the world, Jerusalem. And as soon as they entered those gates, that star (the supernatural that had led them) refused to show them any more. Up and down the streets these fine men, rich men with fine draped camels, and so forth ... up and down the streets saying, "Where is He that's born King of the Jews. We saw His star in the east." And that great religious capitol, after two years of the shepherd's message, still didn't ha...
The mark of the beast
56-0715 §12
Now, sometimes in speaking in a mixed audience as we have today, both men and women... Sometimes using parables to get the point in, it would seem like that maybe I might say something that wouldn't be just appropriate among a mixed group of people. But, if you were sitting in a doctor's office, you would listen to him no matter if you're teenage girl or boy or whoever it was. And we're in the house of God, where we're to have clean minds and clean hearts. And if we haven't, it's our place at the altar. That's righ...