Did Jesus Have Long Hair?: part2

two excellent books that one may reference are a history of the holy land (michael avi-yonah, editor) and daniel to paul (gaalyahu cornfeld, editor). on pages 126 to 127 of the former, you will find pictures of the busts of roman leaders, such as augustus, pompey, and one believed to be herod. each one has short hair. as a matter of fact, all the carvings and statues of the roman legionnaires show them as having closely cropped hair. motion pictures involving stories of this time period always portray men with short hair. it would have been quite an oddity for a roman man to wear his hair long. it used to be the same for all men in our society. the reality is that before, during and after the time of christ, every roman emperor from julius caesar to trajan had short hair. and it was the emperor who set the pattern in style and mode of dress for the entire empire.

the hellenistic greek culture dominated the eastern mediterranean area, influencing judea before the romans came on the scene. quite a large segment of the jewish population spoke the greek language and had a hellenistic view in the time of christ. (notice john 12:20; acts 6:1.) the style of hair for men of this culture was to wear it short. (cornfeld, pp.15, 146). you will find on page 146 of the book daniel to paul a picture showing a “marble statuette of an unidentified man of the hellenistic period—a time of close contacts between the jewish and hellenistic civilizations in thought, art, and everyday life. whether jewish or gentile, he evokes his age and environment.” the man shown in the picture of this statuette had short hair. from the comment made by the author, a learned historian and archaeologist, it is clear that he could not tell if the man was a jew or a gentile. why? because throughout the near-eastern region, the styles were the same—including short hair on men.