Original Word: גָּלַח
Part of Speech: Verb
Transliteration: galach
Pronunciation: gah-LAKH
Phonetic Spelling: (gaw-lakh')
KJV: poll, shave (off)
NASB: shave, shave off, shaved, cut, shaved off
Word Origin: [a primitive root]

1. (properly) to be bald, i.e. (causatively) to shave
2. figuratively to lay waste

poll, shave off

A primitive root; properly, to be bald, i.e. (causatively) to shave; figuratively to lay waste -- poll, shave (off).

Word Origin
a prim. root
Definition
to be bald, shave, shave off
NASB Translation
cut (3), shave (9), shave off (4), shaved (4), shaved off (3).

[גָּלַח] verb be bald (Arabic );

Pi`el shave, shave off (so Late Hebrew, Aramaic) — Perfect וְגִלַּח consecutive Leviticus 14:8 2t.; suffix וְגִלְּחוֺ consecutive 2 Samuel 14:26; 3feminine singular וְגִלְּחָה consecutive Deuteronomy 21:12; Imperfect יְגַלַּח Leviticus 14:9; Isaiah 7:20, יְגַלֵּחַ֑ Leviticus 13:33 2t., וַיְגַלַּח Genesis 41:14; 2 Samuel 10:4; suffix (3masculine singular) יְגַלְּחֶגּוּ, וַיְגַלְּחֵם1Chronicles 19:4; 3 feminine singular וַתְּנַלַּךְ Judges 16:19; 3masculine plural יְגַלֵּ֑חוּ Leviticus 21:5; Ezekiel 44:20; Infinitive suffix of subject גַּלְּחוֺ 2 Samuel 14:26; —

1 shave, object the head, ראֹשׁ Numbers 6:9 (twice in verse); Numbers 6:18 (P) Deuteronomy 21:12 (hair as containing impurity, compare RS^{Sem i. 407}), 2 Samuel 14:26 (twice in verse) compare; 2 Samuel 14:26; Ezekiel 44:20; Leviticus 13:33 (P), object הַנֶתֶק; object persons 1 Chronicles 19:4.

2 shave off, the hair שֵׂעָר Leviticus 14:8,9 (twice in verse) (P) compare Judges 16:19; the beard זָקָן Leviticus 21:5 (H) 2 Samuel 10:4.

3 figurative of devastation by Assyrians Isaiah 7:20 (object הָראֹשׁ, שַׂעַר הָרַגְלָ֑יִם and הַזָּקָן).

4 intransitive he shaved (himself) Genesis 41:14 (E).

Pu`al Perfect גֻּלָּ֑ח Judges 16:22, גֻּלַּחְתִּי Judges 16:17; Participle construct מְגֻלְּחֵי Jeremiah 41:5; — be shaven, subject person (of Samson) Judges 16:17,22; מְגֻלְּחֵי זָקָן Jeremiah 41:5.

Hithpa`el Perfect וְהִתְגַּלָּ֑ח consecutive Leviticus 13:33; Infinitive suffix הִתְגַּלְּחוֺ Numbers 6:19; — shave oneself Leviticus 13:33; with accusative אֶתנִֿזְרוֺ Numbers 6:19 (both P).

I. גלל ( be great in rank or dignity (often of God)).

Overview

The verb גָּלַח occurs twenty-three times and consistently describes the removal or cutting of hair. Scripture weaves this act into narratives of preparation, purification, consecration, humiliation, mourning, and judgment. The variety of settings reveals how something as commonplace as shaving can bear rich theological meaning.

Personal Grooming and Readiness for Royal or Public Service

When Joseph is summoned from prison, “he shaved and changed his clothes, and went in before Pharaoh” (Genesis 41:14). The quick grooming underscores both respect for authority and a decisive moment of elevation. Absalom’s annual cutting of his heavy hair (2 Samuel 14:26) displays royal splendor; its extraordinary weight hints at the personal pride that later fuels rebellion. Such texts show that the outward state of hair could symbolize inward readiness—or vanity—when entering the public eye.

Ritual Purification and Health Regulations

Leviticus devotes detailed instruction to the role of shaving in the diagnosis and cleansing of skin disease (Leviticus 13:33; 14:8-9). The total removal of hair after the sprinkling of blood and water dramatizes a fresh start: every visible vestige of defilement is stripped away. Similarly, a foreign woman taken captive is required to shave her head before marriage into Israel (Deuteronomy 21:12). The act distances her past life and visually marks her transition into the covenant community.

Consecration and Vows

The Nazirite vow required hair to grow untouched as a visible sign of devotion, yet the vow culminated in a complete shaving at the tent of meeting: “The Nazirite is to shave his consecrated head at the entrance to the Tent of Meeting” (Numbers 6:18). Hair set apart for God is then burned beneath the fellowship sacrifice (Numbers 6:18-19), demonstrating that even personal glory belongs on the altar. When a sudden death defiled the Nazirite, immediate shaving reset the period of consecration (Numbers 6:9). Samson’s narrative embodies the vow’s gravity: once Delilah “shave[d] off the seven braids of his head” (Judges 16:19), his strength left him, and Israel’s deliverer became powerless until “the hair of his head began to grow back” (Judges 16:22).

Priestly Regulations and Moderation

Priests were forbidden extreme styles: “They must not shave their heads or shave off the edges of their beards” (Leviticus 21:5), and later, “They must not shave their heads or let their hair grow long, but they are to carefully trim” (Ezekiel 44:20). The balance between total shaving and unkept growth reflects an ethic of moderation befitting holy representatives, avoiding both pagan mourning rites and ostentatious display.

Humiliation and Shame

Enemies often used shaving to disgrace. Hanun “shaved off half of each man’s beard” of David’s envoys (2 Samuel 10:4; 1 Chronicles 19:4), forcing them into seclusion until regrowth restored honor. Isaiah extends the image to national humiliation: Assyria will “shave your head and the hair of your legs, and remove your beard” (Isaiah 7:20), portraying comprehensive subjugation under God’s discipline.

Mourning and Lament

Mourners sometimes expressed grief by shaving. The men who came to the ruined temple “with their beards shaved off, their clothes torn, and their bodies gashed” (Jeremiah 41:5) visually embodied national sorrow after Jerusalem’s fall. Though priests were barred from such displays, lay Israelites employed shaving to signify inner anguish.

Divine Judgment and Symbolic Action

Prophets use shaving as enacted prophecy. Isaiah’s image of the “hired razor” points to a coming purge, while Ezekiel’s own hair-cutting (outside Strong’s 1548 yet thematically linked) models the scattering of Judah. In both cases hair removal becomes a tangible sign of God’s sweeping judgment.

Practical and Theological Insights for Ministry

1. Cleansing and Renewal: The leper’s shaved body illustrates total dependence on God’s cleansing. New-covenant believers similarly present themselves “a living sacrifice” with no reservation of personal glory.

2. Consecration: The Nazirite cycle warns against temporary zeal without perseverance; true devotion keeps its vow until laid on the altar.

3. Humility vs. Pride: Absalom’s heavy locks and Samson’s lost braids caution against equating outward strength or beauty with spiritual vitality.

4. Pastoral Balance: Priestly hair guidelines remind modern ministers to avoid extremes—neither worldly displays of grief nor flamboyant self-promotion befit those who serve a holy God.

Key Themes for Preaching and Teaching

• External actions reveal internal states.
• God alone confers honor; man-wrought humiliation is temporary when the Lord restores.
• Purification requires radical removal of defilement, yet culminates in worship.
• Dedication that begins well must end at the altar, lest strength be lost mid-course.

Through these varied uses of גָּלַח, Scripture testifies that even mundane grooming serves the larger narrative of redemption—manifesting humility, consecration, and the hope of restoration for all who submit to the Lord’s gracious shave and renewal.

גֻּלַּ֙חְתִּי֙ גֻּלָּֽח׃ גלח׃ גלחתי הִֽתְגַּלְּח֥וֹ התגלחו וְגִלְּח֑וֹ וְגִלְּחָה֙ וְגִלַּ֣ח וְגִלַּ֤ח וְהִ֨תְגַּלָּ֔ח וַֽיְגַלְּחֵ֔ם וַיְגַלַּח֙ וַתְּגַלַּ֕ח וּֽבְגַלְּחוֹ֮ ובגלחו וגלח וגלחה וגלחו והתגלח ויגלח ויגלחם ותגלח יְגַלְּחֶֽנּוּ׃ יְגַלֵּ֑חַ יְגַלֵּ֑חוּ יְגַלֵּ֔חַ יְגַלֵּ֔חוּ יְגַלַּ֣ח יגלח יגלחו יגלחנו׃ מְגֻלְּחֵ֥י מגלחי gul·lāḥ gul·laḥ·tî gulLach gulLachti gullāḥ gullaḥtî hiṯ·gal·lə·ḥōw hitgalleCho hiṯgalləḥōw mə·ḡul·lə·ḥê megulleChei məḡulləḥê ū·ḇə·ḡal·lə·ḥōw ūḇəḡalləḥōw uvegalleCho vattegalLach vaygalLach vaygalleChem vegilLach vegilleChah vegilleCho veHitgalLach wat·tə·ḡal·laḥ wattəḡallaḥ way·ḡal·laḥ way·ḡal·lə·ḥêm wayḡallaḥ wayḡalləḥêm wə·ḡil·laḥ wə·ḡil·lə·ḥāh wə·ḡil·lə·ḥōw wə·hiṯ·gal·lāḥ wəḡillaḥ wəḡilləḥāh wəḡilləḥōw wəhiṯgallāḥ yə·ḡal·laḥ yə·ḡal·lê·aḥ yə·ḡal·lə·ḥen·nū yə·ḡal·lê·ḥū yegalLach yəḡallaḥ yegalLeach yəḡallêaḥ yegalleChennu yegalLechu yəḡalləḥennū yəḡallêḥūInterlinear Greek • Interlinear Hebrew • Strong's Numbers • Englishman's Greek Concordance • Englishman's Hebrew Concordance • Parallel Texts