Beard

Boyd’s Bible Dictionary:

(barbed). Badge of manhood. Tearing, cutting, or neglecting, a sign of mourning (Ezra 9:33And when I heard this thing, I rent my garment and my mantle, and plucked off the hair of my head and of my beard, and sat down astonied. (Ezra 9:3), Isa. 15:2; 50:62He is gone up to Bajith, and to Dibon, the high places, to weep: Moab shall howl over Nebo, and over Medeba: on all their heads shall be baldness, and every beard cut off. (Isaiah 15:2)
6I gave my back to the smiters, and my cheeks to them that plucked off the hair: I hid not my face from shame and spitting. (Isaiah 50:6); Jer. 41:5; 48:375That there came certain from Shechem, from Shiloh, and from Samaria, even fourscore men, having their beards shaven, and their clothes rent, and having cut themselves, with offerings and incense in their hand, to bring them to the house of the Lord. (Jeremiah 41:5)
37For every head shall be bald, and every beard clipped: upon all the hands shall be cuttings, and upon the loins sackcloth. (Jeremiah 48:37)). To insult it a gross outrage (2 Sam. 10:44Wherefore Hanun took David's servants, and shaved off the one half of their beards, and cut off their garments in the middle, even to their buttocks, and sent them away. (2 Samuel 10:4)). Taken hold of in salutation (2 Sam. 20:99And Joab said to Amasa, Art thou in health, my brother? And Joab took Amasa by the beard with the right hand to kiss him. (2 Samuel 20:9)). Removed in leprosy (Lev. 14:99But it shall be on the seventh day, that he shall shave all his hair off his head and his beard and his eyebrows, even all his hair he shall shave off: and he shall wash his clothes, also he shall wash his flesh in water, and he shall be clean. (Leviticus 14:9)).

Concise Bible Dictionary:

The Israelites always cultivated the beard, and highly valued it. The law forbade them to “mar the corners of their beards” (Lev. 19:2727Ye shall not round the corners of your heads, neither shalt thou mar the corners of thy beard. (Leviticus 19:27)), and a priest must not shave off the corner of his beard as a sign of mourning (Lev. 21:55They shall not make baldness upon their head, neither shall they shave off the corner of their beard, nor make any cuttings in their flesh. (Leviticus 21:5)). King Hanun inflicted a sore indignity when he marred the beards of David’s ambassadors (2 Sam. 10:44Wherefore Hanun took David's servants, and shaved off the one half of their beards, and cut off their garments in the middle, even to their buttocks, and sent them away. (2 Samuel 10:4)). Ezra in great grief at the sin of the people plucked off the hair of his head and of his beard (Ezra 9:33And when I heard this thing, I rent my garment and my mantle, and plucked off the hair of my head and of my beard, and sat down astonied. (Ezra 9:3): Compare. Jer. 41:55That there came certain from Shechem, from Shiloh, and from Samaria, even fourscore men, having their beards shaven, and their clothes rent, and having cut themselves, with offerings and incense in their hand, to bring them to the house of the Lord. (Jeremiah 41:5)). God’s judgment on Israel is compared to the beard being consumed by a razor, (Isa. 7:2020In the same day shall the Lord shave with a razor that is hired, namely, 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. (Isaiah 7:20)); and they were to be scattered as hair that is cut off (Ezek. 5:1, 2, 121And thou, son of man, take thee a sharp knife, take thee a barber's razor, and cause it to pass upon thine head and upon thy beard: then take thee balances to weigh, and divide the hair. 2Thou shalt burn with fire a third part in the midst of the city, when the days of the siege are fulfilled: and thou shalt take a third part, and smite about it with a knife: and a third part thou shalt scatter in the wind; and I will draw out a sword after them. (Ezekiel 5:1‑2)
12A third part of thee shall die with the pestilence, and with famine shall they be consumed in the midst of thee: and a third part shall fall by the sword round about thee; and I will scatter a third part into all the winds, and I will draw out a sword after them. (Ezekiel 5:12)). Of Moab it was said, every beard should be cut off (Isa. 15:22He is gone up to Bajith, and to Dibon, the high places, to weep: Moab shall howl over Nebo, and over Medeba: on all their heads shall be baldness, and every beard cut off. (Isaiah 15:2); Jer. 48:3737For every head shall be bald, and every beard clipped: upon all the hands shall be cuttings, and upon the loins sackcloth. (Jeremiah 48:37)).

“273. The Beard Cut Off” From Manners and Customs of the Bible:

According to Oriental sentiment a greater indignity could not have been put upon them. The beard is considered a symbol of manhood, and, in some places, of freedom-slaves being compelled to shave their beards in token of servitude. By shaving half their beard Hanun not only treated David’s ambassadors with contempt, but made them objects of ridicule. The beard is usually kept with care and neatness; and thus when David feigned madness in the presence of Achish, king of Gath, he “let his spittle fall down upon his beard,” which convinced the beholders that he must be bereft of his senses (1 Sam. 21:1313And he changed his behavior before them, and feigned himself mad in their hands, and scrabbled on the doors of the gate, and let his spittle fall down upon his beard. (1 Samuel 21:13)). So disgraceful is it considered to have the beard cut off, that some of the Orientals would prefer death to such a punishment. Niebuhr, in his Description of Arabia, relates that in the year 1764, Kerim Kahn, one of the three rebels ‘who at that time desired to obtain dominion over Persia, sent ambassadors to Mir Mahenna, the prince of a little independent territory on the Persian Gulf, to demand a large tribute, and threatened to come to him with his army if he did not conduct himself as an obedient subject. Mahenna, however, treated the ambassadors with great contempt, which was especially marked in cutting off their beards. Upon hearing of this, Kerim Kahn was so indignant that he sent a large army which subdued the territory.

“288. Touching the Beard” From Manners and Customs of the Bible:

To touch the beard of another was an insult, unless done as an act of friendship and a token of respect. Joab therefore showed the base treachery of his heart by coming to Amasa in the manner of a friend, thus entirely concealing his murderous intent. He inquired after his health, gently touched his beard as if to give a kiss, and then suddenly grasped it with his right hand and quickly stabbed the unsuspecting Amen with the unnoticed sword which he held in his left.

Related Books and Articles:

288. Touching the Beard
273. The Beard Cut Off