Imamat 13:40

Baldness on the Head

13:40 “When a man’s head is bare so that he is balding in back, ¹  he is clean.

Imamat 19:27

19:27 You must not round off the corners of the hair on your head or ruin the corners of your beard. ² 

[13:40]  ¹ tn Heb “And a man, when his head is rubbed bare, he is bald-headed.” The translation offered here, referring to the back of the head (i.e., the area from the top of the head sloping backwards), is based on the contrast between this condition and that of the following verse. See also B. A. Levine, Leviticus (JPSTC), 82.

[19:27]  ² tc Heb “and you [singular] shall not ruin the corner of your [singular] beard.” Smr, LXX, Syriac, and Tg. Ps.-J. have the plural pronouns (i.e., “you” and “your” plural) rather than the singular of the MT.