Joan Taylor as written a fascinating albeit
short article on Jesus' physical appearance. In order to read the whole thing, you'll need to register with ASOR (free). Among her many interesting points, she argues that Jesus' long hair is probably a mythological addition to his legacy as are his flowing robes. We'd be closer to the mark imagining Jesus with short hair and with a sleeveless tunic. Or, in other words, Jesus looked more like high-school Chris Keith than high-school Anthony Le Donne.
-anthony
Anthony, can you post a pic in your flowing robes?
ReplyDeletelol
DeleteI would but I stole most of my robes from the Flamingo Hotel in Santa Rosa. I wouldn't want to incriminate myself with online evidence.
ReplyDelete-anthony
There is some controversy on the long hair thing. Part of the Bible suggested that it was not good for a man. But another part says those who take the oath of a Nazarite,vow not to drink or cut their hair.
ReplyDeleteAnonymous, I've often heard a confusion of categories re: Nazarite / Nazarene. No doubt, you already know this, but allow me to make the distinction for others: Nazarenes in Jesus' context are people from a particular area of Galilee. This is a geographical designation. This should not be confused with Nazarites (e.g. Samson) who took vows that included avoidance of haircuts, wine, GMO foods, etc. (I'll have to double check about the GMO thing). Moreover, it ought to be clear that Jesus wasn't considered a Nazarite by his reputation of wine consumption.
Delete-anthony
Might not be just a confusion.
DeleteNazarite oaths could be for a stipulated period only. And towards the end, J vows not to drink till the kingdom appears.
There might also have been earlier dry spells for J.
So he might have been a peaceful hippie long hair after all.
I keep trying to think of some response but I wore far too many sleeveless t-shirts in high school to be able to run from the charge.
ReplyDelete