2 Nephi 17:20

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Reference Search: 2 Nephi 17:20

20 In the same day shall the Lord shave with a razor that is hired, by them beyond the river, by the king of Assyria, the head, and the hair of the feet; and it shall also consume the beard.

Quotes for Discussion

Razor

The humiliation and slavery that will befall the people is represented in verse 20 by the razor cutting off their hair. The Assyrians cut off all the hair from their captives for three reasons: humiliation, sanitation (especially while traveling under crude conditions to Assyria), and separation (if any slaves escaped while being moved from their homeland, they could not blend in with other peoples since their baldness would give them away; thus they usually were quickly recaptured, punished, and returned to their captors).

Victor L. Ludlow, Isaiah: Prophet, Seer, and Poet [salt Lake City: Deseret Book Co., 1982], 145

The full, rounded beard was a sign of manhood and a source of pride to Hebrew men. It was considered an ornament, and much care was given to its maintenance. In fact, the wealthy and important made a ceremony of caring for their beards. Custom did not allow the beard to be shaved, only trimmed (Lev. 19:27; 21:5), except in special circumstances….

An attack on the beard is an attack on the person. Because the beard was a symbol of manhood, it was a great insult to degrade someone’s beard. Thus David’s men suffer grave humiliation when they return from a diplomatic mission with half of each man’s beard shaven by the Ammonites. In fact, they did not return to Jerusalem until their beards had grown back (2 Sam. 10:4-5). Similarly, Isaiah warns Israel that they will suffer a figurative emasculation at the hand of the king of Assyria (Isa. 7:20).

Dictionary of Biblical Imagery, ed. Leland Ryken, James C. Wilhoit, and Tremper Longman III, [Downers Grove, Illinois: InterVarsity Press, 1998], 80-81