What Does it Mean to Poll Thy Head?
Biblical terms such as "poll thy head" and other derivatives of the phrase, directly translated, mean to shave your head. Referenced most notably in Micah 1:16, according to Biblios.com, the practice likely served as a custom related to mourning, grief or shame.
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The Verse
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The King James Version of the Bible translates Micah 1:15 as "Make thee bald, and poll thee for thy delicate children; enlarge thy baldness as the eagle; for they are gone into captivity from thee."
Expert Insight
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In "The Holy Scriptures With Commentary," Max Leopold Margolis explains that shaving your head initially related to "superstitious conceptions" in primitive times, and signified grief and self-abasement. Forbidden in Deuteronomy 14:1, the Hebrews considered shaving to be a rejection of the natural -- and therefore a rejection of God -- explains the Bible Meanings website.
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Other Instances
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References to shaving also appear in other books of the Old Testament, including in Leviticus 14:8, Deuteronomy 21:12, and Isaiah 7:20.
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