The Reason Why They Gave Jesus a Beard
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 23 ก.ย. 2020
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Why do depictions of Jesus always seem to portray him with long hair and a full beard? The reason stretches back to the earliest centuries of Christianity. The first images of Jesus actually depict him as beardless, but by the 4th century, bearded Christ was much more common.
Bibliography:
Thomas Mathews, "The Clash of Gods: A Reinterpretation of Early Christian Art," Princeton University Press, 1999.
Joan Taylor, "What Did Jesus Look Like?" Bloomsbury T&T Clark, 2018.
Joan Taylor, “What Did Jesus really look like?” www.bbc.com/news/magazine-351...
Michael Peppard, "The World's Oldest Church," Yale University Press, 2016.
Mike Fillon, The Real Face of Jesus, Popular Mechanics, article: www.popularmechanics.com/scie...
Claudine Chavannes-Mazel, “Popular Belief and the Image of the Beardless Christ,”
John Dominic Crossan, “The Essential Jesus: Original Sayings and Earliest Images,"
Signup for your free trial to The Great Courses Plus here: ow.ly/Rl3d30rb5Tb. | I personally recommend Dr. Brakke's Gnosticism course and Dr. Bart Ehrman's "Lost Christianities."
I really love your content please keep on continuing this❤️
Dude wtf😂😂
Dude I'm a strong believer in Christ that doesn't mean that I can't question things it's fun knowing facts don't take it on the wrong side
Okay, just after presenting us with two ideas of what Jesus looked liked (one from the Western art tradition and the other from forensic anthropologists), you declare, "We still have no idea what he looked liked." You're incongruent. Not a good start to the first minute of your video.
@@oiausdlkasuldhflaksjdhoiausydo That's the beauty of facts.... A situation can be interpreted in more than one way by different people, each interpretation more convincing yet equally comparable to the other ones...... You are just seeing the one side of the story, and knowing the other half (which can be contradictory and against your norms and beliefs) won't make you antichristian, aethist or stuff.....
Archeologists from the far future will be befuddled discovering the poster of blue-jeans wearing Jesus leaning over a Harley Davidson.
Biker Jesus, my absolute favorite 🙄😂
Bahahaha
I could roll with that Jesus
not if Japanese Anime mobile game big-tiddie waifu Jesus becomes the norm first. Or, Jedi Jesus who kills cyborgs with blasters.
St Marlboro
"There was no standard Jesus."
So, everyone could have their own personal Jesus?
There's an episode about that in American Gods...a bunch of different personalized Jesuses.
@@ReligionForBreakfast Ah, I should maybe look into that. I enjoyed Gaiman's Norse Myths, even with the small changes.
I was definitely going for the song reference I hope they would play if the show referenced that portion
th-cam.com/video/K3QDDlWmR9Q/w-d-xo.html
Someone to hear your prayers.
Jesus a beard due the Shroud of Tourin mixed with Eastern European art... Has anybody looked into the typical 1st Century Jew beard wearing? Modern day Muslims and Jews do not shave because it is thought to be sinful. Could this be an old custom?
I think he's actually depicted as having a beard, because it says in the bible they plucked out his beard to torture him. Therefore he had a beard (though that does imply he had much of his beard ripped out before he was crucified). The reason Greeks probably showed him without a beard as they depicted men without beards as did early Romans, they probably assuemd he didn't have a beard like most of them rather than like a Hebrew who would like have one.
Adult men having a beard was a part of the Mosaic Law, it would be expected for an adult male Israelite to have a beard. Jesus was an Israelite and would have been raised with the Mosaic Law (until he supplanted it after his resurrection, at least), so it would only make sense that he would have a beard.
@@Vostok7 True, true.
@@Vostok7 exactly, especially since he was a rabbi: the beard would have been longer and only cut at the bottom (not trimmed along the sides) as per Mosaic Law.
Yes and No.
Early Christians didn’t want to be associated with Judaism so they changed the look of Jesus to look more Roman and thus those early Jesus statues don’t have a beard.
Isaiah 50:6? That's actually a servant talking, not Jesus.
One more point to consider: Artists often work from a life model / reference, especially starting with the Renaissance. This just drives home the notion that the depiction of Jesus simply reflects the beauty ideal of that time. But it's worth a mention that artists are persons, too, with their individual skills and intentions. And to some extend the Patrons had a bit of influence on the depiction, too.
Love this! On the conclusion: in Cambodia, Jesus is depicted crucified and with only one leg as to remember the mines that spread all around the country and their casualties. Such a fascinating topic! Love it! 😍
@WolraadWoltemade 1652 I'd imagine so
@WolraadWoltemade 1652 It van be, but it is not meant for others.
WolraadWoltemade 1652 I don’t consider it insulting, but there are probably Christians who would consider it evil, but those would be the same Christians who think The Chronicles of Narnia is satanic
Whoa
It's also interesting to compare representations of Lenin in different ethnic corners of the old Soviet Union.
Also: beards were commonly seen as barbaric by the Romans. When looking at Roman portrait busts, beards only start appearing from around the first half of the second century (specifically the emperor Hadrian). Therefor, I presume it was also either a mark of respect, or a sign to pagan Romans that Jesus was a worthy or civilised figure.
Beards go in and out of style.
@@chrisyeomans5547 I know. That's why I said 'commonly'. The political elites based their fashion trends on the emperor. Beards went out of style in the Republican period, but Hadrian was inspired by the Greeks to make beards fashionable again. Of course, the general populace probably didn't care all that much about fashion.
Always fascinated me that no matter how out of style beards got for the Roman upper class, and associated with barbarism in contrast with the (mostly) clean shaven Emperors - Jupiter is never beardless. Ever.
Part of it may just be artistic inertia where regardless of style, artists and priests don’t want to change recognizable iconography. Part of it may be that despite often disdaining beards as barbaric, Romans still closely prized their (semi-imaginary) cultural heritage from Classical Greece, and Jupiter always had to reflect that heritage.
Greek weeb emperors like Marcus Aurelius loved some beard!
Old Muslim saying: If a beard means you are the wisest person, the goat would be the wisest in the village.
Seeing how beautifully that Serapis painting is preserved is like euphoric to me. THAT is what I call a miracle. The Fayum portraits are just amazing.
The use of the staff as a motif is interesting...in te Hebrew scriptures Moses used his staff for miraculous events.
Interesting point
What do you think of the copper serpent Moses made...lifted up to cure deadly snake bites...
Later an Apostle explains it was a prefiguring of Jesus bring crucified to heal us from the Great Serpent' s venom of Sin
Amazing?!?? Worthy of worship!!?
I've not read of Yeshua carrying a staff. In regards to Moses, his staff and magic, when Moses went before Pharaoh, to prove God's power, God told Moses to throw down his staff, whereupon it turned into a snake. When Moses picked it up by the tail, it turned back into his staff. A miracle! But, when Pharaohs seers, or shall we say "Magi" did the same, it was only magic. Why was their act not considered a miracle? Or God's considered magic?
"This surprised looking guy" made me laugh!
Jesus was all like, "Nu?"
Yea me too...
@Tom Taakool thrown?
@Tom Taakool how many videos of 12 year old Hindus do you think there are where they receive a vision of their Gods? I bet 12 year old Muslims get visions of Mohammed as well. Your standard of proof has been tested and found to be lacking.
It proves how stupod and ignorant you are!!!
I also like how in Japan they depict Jesus, Mary and the saints. There they are painted in the Japanese style and with Japanese characteristics.
In Indonesia we also depict Jesus and Mary in Indonesian style
So confusing.
@@sumaryantosumaryan5037 Not so, because the intention is not scientific or historical. The point is spiritual. How Jesus and Mary really looked like is not important nor the point. Devotion is.
@@rjltrevisan
It's important, because there are some. today. that knows much more than they want to share, at this time.
It's important, especially for those who have no idea, but...if they knew, there would be an uproar! So I'll
wait to tell that. Unbelievable. Worry not, after this election, knowledge shall come. Exciting for some, horr-
ible, for others.
Makes sense to me!
I love the way you put things in their historical context for me a simple joiner. Thanks.
I must admit that I gain a lot of knowledge from this channel thank you so much.
Dunkey: *works hard to plow fields*
Romans: “what a pathetic creature, lowest of all the beasts”
Dunkey: *sad dunkey noises*
It's actually spelled dunke
@@DARTH-R3VAN Danke. Und schoen.
Donke
Do you mean a 'Donkey'?
The term donkey in slang means beast of burden. Calling someone a donkey long ago would imply an individual with a low position or low social standing. Today has no meaning.
This channel is like, everything my Religious Education lessons weren't at school. I'm hooked.
Don't be fooled, he leaves a lot out and misinterprets a lot. Jesus Christ is God.
@@conservativeriot5939 Matter of opinion I guess. My point being, it's a lot more interesting than my RE lessons ever were.
@@ianmansfield68 its not a matter of opinion. He either is or isnt. He way more likely than not isn't.
@ThxGod It'sOver Quite hard to read in capitals, and I'm not sure I understand your point.
Love your scholarly historical and artistic expositions.
Thank you very much for the subtitles, I don't take them or the effort to make them for granted.
Depiction of Jesus is basically a fanart, then someone make a fanart of fanart, so on and on until the original art get lost in the vast sea of fanart
So the real jesus is to the current jesus, what Sanic is to Sonic.
Which should make people question how far the real jesus was from the current one...
Lol yes
not really its based on shroud of Turin
Depends on the Country. J.C. is made to look like the average person for that area, so if in Africa, J.C. is depicted with dark skin. In Norway it is light skin, blue eyes and flowing blonde hair and a HAMMER for RAGNAROK(aka fun times) "So says Odin."
The artist probably matched the colors to his own skin color...which would be the color of the "hood". Never overlook the obvious. Or, he ran out of colors in his paint box so went with the nearest-which is why sometimes J.C. is yellow orange.
@@rihardsmitrevics The Turin Hoax came centuries after the roman depictions of a caucasian jesus. So, highly unlikely.
The only thing i remember from my children's bible with pictures is that everyone had beards
And halos. Halos everywhere.
The power is in the beard
Samson approved!
and they wore blankets instead of stitched clothing.
@Tom Taakool With respect: Anyone can say anything about what they've seen of a spirit world, which makes (wannabe) academics like us skeptical, at best, upon hearing such stories. :P
A great channel to dive into and satiate my curiosities for Christianity. Thank You Dr. Henry!
I always assumed that the donkey-head was a reference to the "immaculate conception" and it was an insult about who his father was, if not Joseph..
The first thing God says to Moses, in Exodus, is to take his shoes off since he is on holy ground. Some of the oldest Egyptian art (predynastic) depicts proto-Pharos praying, with their shoes sitting next to them. In an Egyptian context, taking one's shoes off was a sign that you were about to pray. This doesn't mean that the Israelites were copying the Egyptians, trying to say that their God was a Pharo, it just means that this was a familiar way to indicate that someone was interacting with divinity.
That is also a custom followed by Hindus.
@Ummer Farooq you are incorrect about the lack of similarities. Judaism has always been capable of taking the positive aspects of surrounding cultures while rejecting what they feel are falsities. Hence, many Jews practiced Yoga then and now, among other things. Many jews referred to God as Amun following the monotheistic moment in Egypt, similar to the use of Baal in place of God's name. Whether God approved of this is irrelevant to the conversation.
Michael Acton thank you for thank information!
@Michael Kevin Millet why would the image of a dead guy be sacred? Why would a book be sacred? Why would anything be sacred?
Answer to all of these questions (including your question about cows): Because people believe it to be sacred.
@Michael Kevin Millet No human being is completely reasonable or rational. We are inherently emotional and intuitive beings. That is a simple fact of biology, and trying to ignore that fact is both highly irrational and very very human.
Maybe Jesus with a donkey head is a callback to the story where Jesus rode a donkey into Jerusalem.
maybe its that donkey's carry weight and I guess sins too lol what an ass uwu
@@harveywabbit9541
What does it mean?
"Donkey" is still considered a pretty strong insult in the Arab world. Actually, even the Quran uses it in 62:5
@@butterowlet6774
Being called a donkey is an insult in English too, but its other names, "ass" or "jackass", are used in contexts of insult.
@@butterowlet6774 For greeks to call someone a donkey head means that they are stuborn and closed minded or to call somone a donkey is to call him lazy
I love how ya engage the dance of the mystery traditions without outright confronting them in direct light, well played, sir.
amazing video to think about beliefs , cultures, and all other stuff.
Why did I have to go to the About page of your channel to find out you got that piece of paper that means so much? Congratulations, Dr. Henry!
Wow, I forgot to check that. Thanks.
Maybe because he had a beard? He wasn't portrayed as a bearded man in early Roman art because the Romans were clean shaven and beards were seen as barbaric.
jesus is described as looking average, not barbaric
@@samuelhale3605 The NT was written by Jews, not Romans. Jews often grew out their beards, even today. Jesus was Jewish, so for them, average would mean having a beard.
It actually went in and out of fashion. Lots of Roman Emperors had beards, you just need to look at coins. Hadrian had a very splendid beard.
@@rexterrocks yeah but long after jesus time
@@samuelhale3605 he says that BEARDS were considered barbaric by the romans not that jesus was barbaric LOL
I very much enjoyed this video, and in fact I enjoy many of your videos. Thank you
Another excellent episode
I remember learning a bit about early Christian art while studying Classical Roman art during one of my art history classes in college. I always thought it interesting how early believers portrayed Christ in various ways people could relate to!
@Ummer Farooq you look scary
This is seen is Buddhism and is seen as a good thing. Every man a bodhisattava. In Buddhism, the physical form is considered nothing. One of the biggest mistakes in Christianity was locking onto a singular image. Jesus then became inflexible belonging solely to one group. No image of Jesus existed until the Third-Fourth Century then there was a brief explosion of many until the State locked on one. The only prior image was a fish. Of course, I could be mistaken, early believers used multiple images until Constantine I
The "hollywood jesus" looks like a vegan guy from San Francisco who sells stuff from eBay
@Dojocho Eve is the second wife of adam according to Genesis. The first wife of Adam, Lilith was created equal to Adam but he was displeased with her rejection of Adam's dominion over her so God replaced her with Eve that he made from the ribs of Adam so she would be insubordinate to him.
@@One.Zero.One101 or why he has mexican name?
@Dojocho do you say God is binary?
@Mike Oxlong PT I can praise a god like Shaft
@@One.Zero.One101 Coz patriarchy. Same reason Adam disliked Lilith for rejecting his dominion I guess. Same reason Lilith was cancelled & Eve created
What a fantastic channel!!
THX for this valuable info
Luckily, there is a clean shaven Obi-Wan, too. The memes can go on, beard or not.
Yes yes indeed
Amen.
I prefer the picture of charles manson 😂
🤣😂🤣 Yes!
I guess he has the high ground?
You can't just drop the "They thought Jews and Christians worshipped a donkey" and then leave that there how did that happen???
Edit: a little tired of answers that ignore that the rumor was first applied to Jews.
Look up the reference mentioned in the video. Ad nationes, book 1, chapter 11. “ an absurdity which Cornelius Tacitus first suggested” in his history of the Jews. The chapter goes on to say how Tacitus contradicts himself when he describes how “Pompey the Great, after conquering the Jews and capturing Jerusalem, entered the temple, but found nothing in the shape of an image, though he examined the place carefully.” Tertullian offers a diatribe againt the falsehood and injustices made against Christians (and Jews) in the Ad Nationes
Baphomet - which is ananogram for the SET/SETH worshippers - which is easier to understand if you read the main KABBALISTIC texts concerning DA’AT and the seven splendid Sephiroph.
Lots of people forget that ADONAI YEHESHUA MESSIAH was initiated into the Ptolemaic and Jewish wisdom traditions that focuses on PISTIS and SOPHIA.
I think it's just an insult.
@@cognitivedissonancecamp6326 We dont forget, we reject it.
It was a simple insult
Delightfull Work! Thanks!
Beautifully said God bless you
I saw the Dura Europos illustrations at the Met last year, incredible, and seemingly underrated. Awesome video!
Jesus as a blue-eyed white man still makes me laugh. And people firmly believe that is what he looked like, they get triggered right away if you suggest otherwise 😂
if they get triggered, they are not being very christian
Jewish records from Gamaliel also stated that he had blonde hair.
The Real Israelites are Black Skinned after 70 AD they were takened to West Africa and sold as slaves to North and South America
@@greybone777 read Revelation chapter 1 that describes his true origin
@@richardwolff71 we wuz izzraelights
Thanks for the video! It was really informative. I hope some day you do some other of the depictions of the Virgin Mary, there is an interesting variety in South America and around the world, and is often a figure of cult herself.
Fantastic video and points
The only thing about Jesus' outer appearance that we know exactly is that he didn't stand out in any way. In John 7, we learn that he could wander around Jerusalem for several days without being recognised. (Apologies for my poor English)
In order for Jesus to be recognized people should have seen him before. You forget that back then they didn’t have television, internet, social media and not even newspapers with photos. Jesus was from Nazareth and started his ministry in Galilee. Nobody knew him in Jerusalem. Even if someone had heard of him they certainly could not recognize him by sight. Very probably he was an ordinary guy but that’s not saying much! By definition most people are ordinary. We can assume he didn’t have noteworthy physical defects like a limp or a hunchback because that would have been mentioned by witnesses and recorded in the gospels.
@@pansepot1490 Some people were easily recognized: People in Bethlehem immediately recognized Samuel, probably due to his long hair. John the Baptist and Samson also had long hair. King Saul was way taller than most of the people. And so on. Apparently about Jesus' outer appearance, there was nothing known that would have helped to recognize him without having known him before. Most movies on Jesus' life, on the other hand, and also some of the pictures discussed in the video depict him in a way that lets the viewer immediately see which person in the (motion) picture is supposed to be him.
In perfect English!
@@larapalma3744 Thank you!
Don’t apologize. Jesus did not speak very good English either, even by medieval King James standards.
So I went to the thrift store today because my girlfriend needed to find a bust to copy for an art assignment and the only thing they had was this statue of a man slinging a sheep over his shoulders. I googled it when I got home and learned about the Kriophoros. Not 3 hours later I see you've posted this video that mentions the very topic. I'm a little spooked, not gonna lie.
As someone who has had many experiences like this, I can tell you though there are coincidences, not everything is. 😇✝️☦⛪🦦
Thank you for sharing
Nice job, as always.
your objectivity earned a sub my friend, thankyou.
Lol, that's a good one. The sarcasm is strong with you.
These are great - thank you
I remember watching a documentary by John Romer in which he claimed that the statue of Zeus at Olympia by Phidias was the model for the "standard" image of Jesus. The statue (according to the documentary) was removed to Constantinople and would thus have been at a key location when Christianity became the official religion of the Roman Empire. It may be a bit of a stretch but it's an interesting idea and, I thought, worth adding here. People who saw the statue said Phidias must have seen the face of Zeus to produce such a divine image.
They gave him a beard because in Isaiah it said they would pluck out his beard.
Ouch
@Eleni Weiser ever heard of the TH-cam "One for Iseral?
You could look at them
@Eleni Weiser sorry look up "One for Iseral Ministry"
@Eleni Weiser I know Iseral is not a country or relgion it's the People whom God made a convenient with
@Eleni Weiser what do you mean?
The deeper question is, "Why do Bugs Bunny and Mickey Mouse wear white gloves?"
That's actually a lot easier to answer!
It's a race thing
So that they don't leave fingerprints when they commit a crime :)
Why does Donald Duck wear a shirt and no pants ? If I walked around like that I'd be famous too ! hehe
Probably to do with how hard it is to draw hands
this channel is so underrated
Because it's garbage.
Speaking of beards and images being in flux, I had just watched an old video of yours dated 6 years ago, the Jesus' wife forgery fragment, where you are clean shaven. Jumping to this video where you have the beard is definitely a stark contrast.
I think it is such an amazing telling thing that Jesus claimed to be the image of God, and seeing him meant you've seen the Father, and yet no one today knows what he physically looked like for certain. Clearly the important thing he wanted to preserve, his image, was who he was as a persona and what he did/taught, and that it didn't matter what he looked liked :)
TMH tells us clearly that there is No one on earth that we could compare him to! Whether spiritually or physically!
TMH: Isaiah 40:25-31
King James Version
25 To whom then will ye liken me, or shall I be equal? saith the Holy One.
Lean not on our own understanding!
Someone coming to die for all of mans sins is against universal law...Laws which govern every single thing around us!
Deuteronomy 24:16
“The fathers shall not be put to death for the children, neither shall the children be put to death for the fathers: every man shall be put to death for his own sin.”
King James Version (KJV)
Anyone that came through the womb of a physical woman and was circumcised is sign of being cursed because of sin! We're all spiritual beings going through a physical experience because we broke the laws of our creator.These physical bodies are not our natural forms.
How could man learn from his error with our heavenly father,if someone else pays the ransom?
No one can die for anothers sin,our heavenly father makes that very clear that he will not share his glory with anyone!
Isaiah 43:11
King James Version
11 I, even I, am the Lord; and beside me there is no saviour.
The I in this verse is singular...Our creator said that he works alone!
Again,we cannot lean on our own understanding!
@IVAN KRAWEC Your right. I think it's a replay of Moses. Moses is an Egyptian name meaning "son of the God". The Gods name inserted in the front, like Ramses. Ra= sun God, mses= the son of the God(Ra).Jesus called himself ,The Son of God, very strange since he was supposed to be a Messiah. Moses walked in the wilderness for 40 years. Jesus walked in the wilderness for 40 days. Moses used his staff for tricks, Jesus used his staff for tricks. Moses gave us the commandments, Jesus gave us commandments. All male children of one were killed in Goshen when Pharo heard a savior was to be born, All male children of one were killed in Nazareth when Herod heard a savior was to be born. Just sayen.
But the beard! We have to know about the beard!
Actually there was many many picture arts of Yeshua, they were located in the library of Iraq....
Hence the SHOCK AND AWE bombing of a foreign country.
the kidnapping and quick disposal of a foreign President
And finally, the reconstruction of the city. No weapons of mass destruction...unless knowledge was the weapon...
@@Irinrover it isn't a replay, Moses and Christ were both related. History repeats itself, while the devils try and thwart the plans of positivity and freedom of mankind's conciousness. Need I say anymore?
Antonio Banderas.
He would look like Antonio Banderas.
I agree.
That's a Messiah I would totally worship
Nah, Antonio is good looking, Jesus is average looking, biblically speaking.
who says and what makes you think so
tisFrancesfault
There were many potential messiahs. The verse you’re talking about isn’t referring to jesus it’s referring to a messiah the Jews were looking for, besides his name was to be Immanuel. Jesus wasn’t what the Jews were looking for, they hate jesus they don’t consider him the messiah much less a prophet
I'm surprised you didn't mention the Shroud of Turin.
Also, Akiane has one of the best paintings of Jesus I've ever seen.
Also also, you should read a book called "Return of the Gods" by Jonathan Cahn. Fascinating stuff.
The Shroud of Turin is known to be a forgery made long after the popularization of bearded Jesus.
Yes! That is the conclusion I came to some time back. Instead of looking at the earliest depictions to try to guess what he looked like, understand that each culture and group of people rendered him their way for their purposes.
he was definitelly a red head like most jews in the levant at the time... and non jews... canaan was phoenician territory, phoenician literally get their name from having red hair. Muhammed was born in the same general area, except being an Edomite/Bedoin, and Esau's bloodline is cousins with Israel.... Muhammed also had a red beard, ask any devote muslim.
I love this. I'm hugely interested in how semiotics are used to convey cultural narrative (and narrative of all kinds). This condenses a lot of these concepts I've been curious about.
Could there be subtitles in English? I'm deaf and a lip-reader and really need subtitles to follow all of your amazingly informative videos...
I hope he will see your comment.
I also hope he sees it!
I'll make this happen. My apologies for not having a more accessible video.
@@ReligionForBreakfast why are you apologizing? You didn't know
Ok @jmaraf77, the subtitles are published.
This is very fascinating.
Wow, the content on philosopher and throne iconography is totally new to me. So greatful to learn this!
One observation I can offer: The beardless motifs in early art must have been known artistic liberties, due to the fact that the Christian community attributed Jewish scriptures such as Isaiah 50:6 to Jesus and knew of the Mosaic commandment regarding shaving.
Good observation. I also wonder about the liberties taken with the depiction of long hair, since Paul’s admonition in 1 Corinthians 1:14-15. Since Paul would’ve have known disciples who knew what Jesus actually looked like, it seems unlikely that he would say this if Jesus actually had long hair.
@@Salisbury2015 You lack the historical and scriptural context regarding Paul's ruling on hair length. What is considered long hair today isn't what was considered long then.
Paul is talking about the length that was common for women to have their hair at, which is to say : anywhere below the shoulders.
The verse you quote is part of a wider chapter specifically addressing *women* hair. St Paul sees womanly behaviour in men as abominous (and the reverse as well), in the wider sense, what he's rulling as unnatural is basically transvestism.
A shoulder length haired Jesus wouldn't have shocked St Paul in the slightest, it was an extremely common feature in men of first century judea.
Alternative title: "How Christianity transformed from a Jewish sect into a Greco-Roman religion."
It’s pretty much that
I don’t feel the Ethiopians or Syro-Malabars to be “Greco-Roman”
Acts 7:43 rev 2:9,3:9
@@revertrevertz5438 Perhaps I should have said western Christianity. You are right that the orthodox church isn't Greco-Roman. Also the Reformation was a rejection of the Greco-Roman influence.
@ModestMagician The Apostle Paul was a Pharisee, all his epistles are theologically grounded in Judaism. He did evangelise to non Jews, and the mosaic covenant was something he didn't emphasize as much. But he never introduced a tradition of images or any other non-Jewish traditions into Christianity. He actually wrote against such practices extensively in the letters to the Corinthians.
Jesus has a beard because the text of the Bible describes him as being bearded since they plucked his beard during the beating before the crucifixion.
I personally never heard of it! Do you remember which part of the bible?/which version?
Daniel C. All versions.
Isaiah 50:6 NKJV
[6] I gave My back to those who struck Me, And My cheeks to those who plucked out the beard; I did not hide My face from shame and spitting.
Interesting that the earliest depictions of Jesus ignored that bit of the texts. Almost as if some of the books were not there to serve as reference and were added/altered later on...
palmieres
Isaiah was written 800 years before Jesus, the oldest full copy is dated at 150 BC. And can be seen in the Dead sea scrolls museum in Israel today. Interestingly the content is the same as the book of Isaiah that you would find in your bibles today. Praise God.
Read Isaiah chapter 53 in that context and it will already change your view of the Bible and of Christ for ever.
Maamobi Morata
Respectfully that can’t be the case, because Isaiah did not suffer like Jesus did. Also in the language of Isaiah 52 and 53 Isaiah is clearly talking about another person not himself nor the nation of Israel.
Isaiah 9:6-7 Would support my view.
[6] For unto us a Child is born, Unto us a Son is given; And the government will be upon His shoulder. And His name will be called Wonderful, Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. [7] Of the increase of His government and peace There will be no end, Upon the throne of David and over His kingdom, To order it and establish it with judgment and justice From that time forward, even forever. The zeal of the LORD of hosts will perform this.
"It's over Kaiba! l summon Ruler of the Cosmos Bearded Jesus in attack position and attack your life points directly!"
"Ha! You've activated my trap card - Beardless Hermes Jesus; his virile calves absorb the attack."
is it yu gi oh hahhaha?!
Isaiah 50:6
I gave my back to those who strike,
and my cheeks to those who pull out the BEARD;
I hid not my face from disgrace and spitting.
How do you know that actually happened? Someone literally could have just wrote it to fit their narrative , most of those books were written later on “by he said she said” , if he had a beard , that mostly likely means he was married , because he was also called rabbi , which they have to be married
@@AR-gu2nohe’s quoting a messianic prophecy stop coping so hard
I remember reading one time that trying to imagine what Jesus looked like is impossible because there are many factors to consider. For instance, while he was a Jew, Israel was becoming increasingly Hellenistic and being a Jew with short hair and a shaved beard wouldn’t be too uncommon. Also, while he very well could have been dark hair and dark skinned there are examples of lighter skinned Jews, or those with blue eyes and even red hair. So as far as we know he could have been dark haired, dark skinned, bearded, brown eyed or clean shaven with blue eyes and sandy hair. I find it fascinating that the image of Jesus changes with the culture that worships him, changing with the needs of the people. Almost how in Buddhist art the Buddha was often depicted abstractly until Greek art influenced Indian artists and suddenly Buddha starts looking like Apollo (with Hercules as his body guard no less).
@WolraadWoltemade 1652 well I read that Buddha was from the warrior caste, which is one of the upper castes. I don't think he was flat nosed and big lips.
Michael Kevin Millet “Needs of the people” is very broad - to some people those needs might be highly personal, to others they might be more cultural or artistic.
He was from the tribe of Judah. The whole tribe of Judah would've been black and the rest of Jacobs brothers would've had black genes which would make Jews look more like black people today.
Michael Kevin Millet No, “needs of the people” is just a fairly vague concept by its very nature. People across time and space have vastly different needs.
That is something that I find very fascinating. The Jewish race has so much complexity. There are Jews that look like other caucasians (Natalie Portman, Ben Shapiro, ect.), but then there are also Jews who look more middle eastern (specifically if you look at modern Israel's celebrities like Elan Galon). I've even seen Jews who look nearly like Africans. Jesus really could have looked like anything. Rather he was white, black, or in between we cannot say. The only race that can claim Jesus is the Jews.
I am a patron, and watch all your videos. This has absolutely been one of my favorites!
Question: I remember hearing Jesus as depicted with a beard came from his Jewish ancestry - That it was typical of Jewish men (the standard even) to grow beards.
I wonder what is the oldest known text discussing what Jesus would have looked like - discussing why he is depicted this or that way.
I also wonder if the Romans, looking down on Jews, opted to depict Jesus without a beard to *dissociate him from being too Jewish-looking.
That's so awesome! Happy to hear it was one of your favs. And yeah that's a really good question....whether the artists were trying to disassociate him from his Jewishness. I'd need to see if anyone has published peer-reviewed work on that yet, because I really don't know.
@@ReligionForBreakfast you’re a LIAR and NOT a SCHOLAR!! This is not history..this is mockery!! I’m quite sure you’re one of those luciferean academia shils who sold out your degree..your platform..so you can freely mock and discredit Jesus Christ. Shame on you SELL OUT!!
@@ReligionForBreakfast
If you haven't already, please do a basic DNA and various "Jewish" Peoples. Tribe"s"
There are so many lighter hair, blue and or green eyes, etc.
People have a modern idea of people's geographically, and no clue that some White Folks originated in the Region, over to through Caucasus Mountains, etc.
Your works are truly Higher Minded, Authentic, and so professionally Produced.
Much appreciation.
Jesus was the embodiment of the old Law
Leviticus 19 28Ye shall not round the corners of your heads, neither shalt thou mar the corners of thy beard.
he 1000% had a beard or he couldn't fulfill the Law.
wow!! great stuff!!
Interesting promo: The Great Courses Plus
As far as the image of a holy figure wearing a robe with his chest exposed, think about another equally popular one who came before Jesus: Siddhartha.
Seems like alot of people dressed that way back then. Looks comfy and breathable too.
@@angryspoidah9607 I think it's supposed to convey that they are unconcerned with worldly things like fashion and status symbols.
I mean, that’s what a lot of people dressed like all around the world at the time.
I would have gone with Obi-Wan but sure that works to
@@e.458 They try to identify with the poor who had little to no worldly things to worry themselves with, so I think that is also true.
I mean he was an orthodox Jew so he was supposed to grow his beard
True, but why do the earliest depictions show him beardless? Apparently the ancient artists didn't make this connection.
@@ReligionForBreakfast I wonder how the "No graven images" old testament commandment fit in here. Did the Jewish Christians refrain from making images of Christ to keep this commandment and only after Christianity had separated from Judaism did images begin showing up?
@@ReligionForBreakfast What type of Judaism did Jesus follow? Have those traditions similarities with modern day Judaism?
There isn't a biblical mitzvah imposing to grow a beard, except it's forbidden to shaving sideburns, the beard thing is mostly a hassidic rule, not Orthodox.
@@ReligionForBreakfast not true, Jews in Roman times dressed not differently than people from the region.
I believe the Middle Eastern custom was a man could only have a beard if he was married. So, the earliest portraits were probably the most accurate.
Well, I usually sport a beard cause I hate shaving. But sometimes I shave it off cause it gets itchy and then I'm beardless for a while. So yeah, the beard comes and goes.
I assumed the bearded question came because of a confusion between "Nazarene" and "Nazirite", in which the Nazirites, Samson being the most prominent example, were forbidden to cut their hair, and I often assumed that meant no shaving.
coupled with the very old and longstanding mid-eastern value of beards signifying wisdom.
A Jewish man would have a beard. Samson and other Nazarites would have more than just a beard but have hair all around their bodies and 7 locks in their head
Leviticus 19:27
You shall not round off the corners on your head, or destroy the corners of your beard.
Jesus was also a Nazarite he also took a Nazarite vow so that meant he was not to cut his hair or shave his beard ..
@@djabberwocky7 what are your sources
Well Christians could have portrayed Jesus with a beard because in the Old Testament the Torah God said not to shave the corners of your beard
That's a good argument for the idea that he probably did have a beard in real life, but I think the video is less about whether Jesus really had a beard and more about the fact that he was portrayed as beardless in certain cultural contexts and bearded in others. (The title's a bit misleading in that regard)
That's right.
Correct
Jesus had a beard . I gave My back to those who struck Me, And My cheeks to those who plucked out the beard; I did not hide My face from shame and spitting.
Isaiah 50:6 is about Jesus .
@@justfrank5974 wrong, that scripture is referring to Isaiah not Jesus.
Great video.
It's worth remebering that several Roman Emperors at the peak of the empire had beards. Hadrian, Antoninus Pius, Marcus Aurelius etc. were depicted as bearded, so beards were back in fashion among respectable romans while the early Jesus depictions were made.
There is a church in Riverton, Wyoming [the seat, if you will, of the Wind River Reservation, in the US that has a painting of Jesus depicted as a tribal chief in full tribal regalia. The head-dress, the staff, riding in on a horse.
Well-Presented!!
I dont recall the paralysed man. I' ve actually met a lady who couldn't walk but after treatment with ecg recovered the use of her legs. Every few years she reverted to not being able to walk. This started after a very botched abdominal operation that left her seriously ill for ages. But this was in the days before ptsd had been described.
is no one going to talk about how much Andrew looks like all those paintings of Jesus?
Will the real Jesus please stand up lol
We all have our inspirations ;)
Lots of dark haired men have beards…. Plus he looks Jewish…
Aside from the glasses. Jesus has never been depicted with glasses.
@@martinmaguire-music6692 Until now…
I think the early christian persecutions really "romanized" the depiction of Jesus a lot, to the point that now it's very difficult for many to see him as anything other than the classical long haired, bearded philosopher wearing the toga... I don't hate this depiction, but I can't help but imagine him wearing the typical jewish tallit that has tzitzit, like they seem to be mentioned in MT 9: 20-22, MT 14: 36, and MT 23:5. He definitely did have a beard, since that was common for Jews during his time, but I don't know about the long hair. Maybe he had the two long locks of hair at the sides of his head, called payot, but who knows. In any case, what matters more is the message not the exterior.
Thank you, this is interesting, but it's disappointing that you didn't even mention the shroud of Turin, and the recent studies on the Holy face of Manoppello, which corresponds to the features of the shroud. Catholic mystics like Maria Valtorta and Saint Faustina had visions of Jesus and His likeness resembles the shroud of Turin. They reconstructed the likeness of Jesus from the Holy Shroud. Please have a look at this material!
Probably because things like the Shroud of Turin are almost guaranteed to be fakes.
I have never been more interested in art history before!!
HOWEVER-the one scenario, glaring in it's absence from your presentation, that you did not cover is the possibility that the early ROMAN depictions may have omitted a beard for cultural reasons. You identify the age of the depictions as 100 to 300 CE. These dates occur before Constantine''s declaration and,therefore, would have been more culturally attractive as shaven-like most of the Roman population at that time..
Who starts a sentence with 'however"? Genuine question.
@@TempleGuitars WELL- perhaps you are using your "concern" over grammatical construction to deflect from your discomfort with the critique of the thesis. HOWEVER rest assured that there are bound to be other sites that you can stalk the purveyors of poor grammar, debate the timing and use of dangling participles, etc. Rather than repeat your error of simply spouting out an unfinished sentence (i.e "Genuine question") I will role model for you the proper construction of a sentence by stating that this is a genuine reply. If I may be of further help to you let me know..
I don't recall Andrew saying that the 3rd century depictions are considered to be any more accurate likenesses than the later ones.
This reminds me of the Black Jesus episode of Good Times, when JJ modeled a painting of Jesus after a wino he saw in the street that reminded him of verses in the Bible describing Christ's appearance. Funny and thought-provoking episode.
Lol! I knew someone here was going to bring up JJ's black Jesus 🤣
Jim the wino!
@SNES Nes just us old timers!😄
Interestingly, I attended an art exhibit at the National Shrine of Our Lady of the Snows, in Belleville, Illinois. This exhibition was called the Face(s) of Jesus. It was quite mind-blowing to see hundreds, if not thousands of illustrations of him. These pictures came from all over the world. There were no two that looked alike. "He was illustrated in many different nationalities, too. I was dumbfounded, as well as curious. What drew me to attend the event was that I had seen a couple of different representations of him. So, I was curious, and I figured if anyone knew the Church would give us the correct answer. I left the event that day just as dumbfounded as I went in. It wasn't until a few decades later that I came upon a lecturer named Neville Goddard. Then I began to see things clearer🙂
Thanks for this! I have always wanted a decent investigation into this question and it's surprisingly hard to find a coherent account (especially one made for non-academics). I have always been curious about the relations with earlier divine images such as Buddha, whose iconic appearance apparently derives a lot from the Greek Apollo that was brought into India by Hellenistic culture after Alexander's conquests. I see a lot of similarity between that and the early beardless Jesus imager, I wonder if that is relevant.
Great video as always. I think it would be really cool if you looked into the deification of Kings like Alexander the Great and his father, as well as Roman Imperial cults.
Nice video
Once again, I appreciate and admire your knowledge and presentation of information. Unfortunately, this is lacking in most Christian teaching. Now, concerning the video: Someone else may have mentioned th
Sprague De Camp footnote in his 'The Mountain of Light' essay: "While there is no historical evidence of the appearance of Jesus, it is likely from several considerations that he was a small, dark, clean-shaven, short-haired man. The conventional modern pictures of him all go back to a self-portrait by Albrecht Dürer." (The lost parable of the shaving nick seems to clinch it. One step back: and who was the role model for the alleged role model.)
The book "Zealot" by Reza Aslan posits Yeshua was a historical figure. Among other things.
To call Jesus white is unfortunately a very American centric thought - especially at universities. They didn't categorize or distinguish people like that in the ancient world. What you can say is the depictions reflect a typical Mediterranean look that could have been from any region at that time.
Couldn't have said it better myself. The sooner these vague and anachronistic labels vacate the general vicinity of classical studies, the better.
Yeah, it happens. Hannibal is called black.
This was great, but It’s a bit too Euro-Centric, which would have been fine if pre-specified
I would’ve like to hear a discussion on the artistic choices chosen by Ethiopian christians, nestorian chinese christians, st thomas indian christians, and christians around the world generally.
Would have added more to your point about how Christian artist depicted him in a light that suited the Christian community of their respective regions in their respective eras/situations
Cool story bro
Most Nestorians would not have been Han.
“Part 2: How modern/non-European depictions of Jesus reflect those cultures” ?
Korean jesus from 21 jump street
@@virding232 He didn't say Han, he said Chinese. It's totally fair to not want the two conflated, especially when talking about a time when the "Chinese" empire didn't cover all the area it does today, but I think he just meant "people living in what is now China."
If Jesus was the "Ram-Bearer", and the age before Jesus was the Age of Aries (age of Roman conquest), it follows that the past 2000 years after Jesus were the Age of Pisces, the Fish (also representative of Christianity). Now we are entering the cusp of the Age of Aquarius (which is the water-bringer, bringer of Pisces). I find this astrological paradox quite striking!
I don’t know, why am I watching so much similar content lately. To hear what I already knew/felt, since my twenties?
Perhaps a Greek speaker wanted to make a pun on "monocoetes" (only-begotten) as "onocoetes" (donkey-begotten).
Idk 🤷🏽♂️
Like that!
Jesus, John, and others lived by puns.
@Tom Taakool A thrown? Past tense verb.
I find delving into origins of religious stuff fascinating. I loved your review on the origins of the Devil. I don't know how much learning religious history would make a difference to hard core Christians, who "take the bible literally" and all that stuff but I'm sure that some would definitely re-think some of what they'd learn and maybe modify their beliefs.
I'm a Messianic Jewish fellow and for over 2 years I attended a private Christian college to be ordained as both Rabbi and Minister. My experience is that hardcore Christians can become openminded for short periods of time, especially when they're young and searching out matters on their own. After a while they return to their learned roots and belief systems choosing to either ignore or deny anything beyond very strict literal religious teachings that they're accustomed to and have lived with in a kind of intellectual religious safety. I remained to grow keeping an open mind as I studied different religions and met a great variety of good people with different religions. Most all of them stayed true to their religious heritage after exploring some brief periods of vicarious religious wanderings and questions. So goes the world. Everyone who is at peace seems to be just fine in my opinion...and honestly, how can God by any name or fashion be displeased with any of his children who have beliefs and are peaceful to the rest of humankind?
you don't modify your beliefs with the true living God
@@REPENTturn2Christ Rose M is talking about how everyone can become more informed & learn new things about God...you misunderstand her comment.
They sure need to
Also important to read carefully the original scripture in Greek and Hebrew. Some translations imbue over-interpretation, and others miss the mark entirely.
Quick correction: 2:11 Tertullian wasn’t a bishop. Some sources (Jerome, if I recall correctly) state that he was a presbyter, but modern scholars are beginning to contest this.
this is great!
My dad was a minister. He always told me growing up that he saw Jesus and he didn't look like the pictures that everybody had. When that picture done by the forensic artists came out, I believe it was on the cover of Time magazine, I showed it to him and he looked at me and said that's exactly what he looks like.
I will add though that all this complaining about Jesus being portrayed as white is feeling to understand that every culture had pictures of Jesus that looked like them.
Yes but those images were not forced on people like White Jesus was in the South and elsewhere in the U.S.