What does cutting hair symbolize in the Bible?
Christopher Snyder
Updated on March 18, 2026
The Bible says that any woman who cuts and styles her hair to be so short as to look like a man's might as well be shorn (shaved) to symbolize a fallen woman. God views a woman cutting her hair short as a sign of open rebellion toward her Creator (verse 6). Cutting one's hair is not the same as shearing or shaving it.
What does cutting of hair symbolize?
For women of color, in addition to potentially symbolizing the beginning of a new chapter in life, cutting your hair (also referred to as "the big chop" in the POC community) is often a form of liberating self-expression, as well.Does the Bible say not to trim your hair?
Biblical Translations of Leviticus 19:27What is this? “Do not trim off the hair on your temples or trim your beards.” “You shall not round off the hair on your temples or mar the edges of your beard.” “Ye shall not round the corners of your heads, neither shalt thou mar the corners of thy beard.”