2 Samuel 10:4

“Wherefore Hanun took David’s servants, etc.] His ambassadors: and shaved off one half of their beards; that is, he ordered them to be shaved off; than which a greater indignity could not have been well done to them and to David, whom they represented, since the Israelites shaved not their beards, and were very careful of preserving them; for had it been the custom to shave, they might have shaved off the other half, and then they would not have appeared so ridiculous; and with other people it has been reckoned a very great punishment as well could be inflicted, and as great an affront as could well be offered, to mar a man’s beard, or shave it off in whole or in part f160. The Lacedemonians,…”

“Hanun took David's servants, and shaved off the one half of their beards--From the long flowing dress of the Hebrews and other Orientals, the curtailment of their garments must have given them an aspect of gross indelicacy and ludicrousness. Besides, a knowledge of the extraordinary respect and value which has always been attached, and the gross insult that is implied in any indignity offered, to the beard in the East, will account for the shame which the deputies felt, and the determined spirit of revenge which burst out in all Israel on learning the outrage. Two instances are related in the modern history of Persia, of similar insults by kings of haughty and imperious temper, involving the…”

“In 1 Chronicles 19:4, more concisely “shaved.” Cutting off a person’s beard is regarded by the Arabs as an indignity equal to flogging and branding among ourselves. The loss of their long garments, so essential to Oriental dignity, was no less insulting than that of their beards. return to 'Top of Page'”

“Shaved - To fasten this is a reproach upon them, and to make them ridiculous and contemptible. Cut off, &c. - This was worse than the former, because the Israelites wore no breeches, and so their nakedness was hereby uncovered. 2 Kings (2 Samuel) 10:19”

“10:4 Shaving half of each man’s beard was intended to maximize the humiliation and ridicule. • cut off their robes: The humiliating display of genitalia or the buttocks was associated with military defeat and exile (Isa 20).”

“and shaved: The beard is held in high respect and greatly valued in the East. the possessor considers it as his greatest ornament; often swears by it; and, in matters of great importance, pledges it; and nothing can be more secure than such a pledge; for its owner will redeem it at the hazard of his life. The beard was never cut off but in mourning, or as a sign of slavery. It is customary to shave the Ottoman princes, as a mark of their subjection to the reigning emperor. The beard is a mark of authority and liberty among the Mohammedans. The Persians who clip the beard, and shave above the jaw, are reputed heretics. They who serve in the seraglios have their beards shaven, as a sign of…”