They shall not make baldness upon their head, neither shall they shave off the corner of their beard, nor make any cuttings in their flesh.
They shall not make baldness ... nor ... cuttings in their flesh. The superstitious marks of sorrow, as well as the violent excesses in which the pagan indulged at the death of their friends, were forbidden by a general law to the Hebrew people (Leviticus 19:28). The Moabites and other ancient idolaters cut themselves, as is also done by the modern Hindus, and even by Armenian Christians, and those pilgrims who go to Jerusalem (Joseph Wolff). But the priests were to be laid under a special injunction, not only that they might exhibit examples of piety in the moderation of their grief, but also, by the restraint of their passions, be the better qualified to administer the consolations of religion to others, and show, by their faith in a blessed resurrection, the reasons for sorrowing not as those who have no hope.