BIBLE HISTORY DAILY

What Does the Bible Say About Tattoos?

Taboo tattoos

open-torah-pointer

Torah Scroll. What is said about tattoos in the Bible? Leviticus, the third book of the Hebrew Bible, prohibits them without giving an explicit reason. Why does the Bible prohibit tattoos? Photo: “Open Torah and Pointer” by Lawrie Cate is licensed under CC-by-SA-2.0.

What does the Bible say about tattoos?

Leviticus 19:28 says, “You shall not make any gashes in your flesh for the dead or tattoo any marks upon you: I am the LORD.” Although this passage clearly prohibits tattoos, it does not give an explicit reason why. This begs the question: Why does the Bible prohibit tattoos?

In his Biblical Views column “Unholy Ink: What Does the Bible Say about Tattoos?” Mark W. Chavalas, Professor of History at the University of Wisconsin-La Crosse, examines the taboo on tattoos in the Bible. Not only does he analyze traditional explanations for this prohibition, but he also investigates what tattoos signified to ancient Near Eastern peoples, including the ancient Israelites, which suggests the real reason why tattoos were taboo.

Leviticus 19 denounces idolatry and several pagan mourning practices. Some have thought that because of the proximity of the taboo on tattoos to the prohibition of other pagan mourning practices in Leviticus, tattooing must have been a pagan mourning practice. However, we find no evidence of this in ancient texts from the Levant, Mesopotamia or Egypt. As far as we can tell, tattooing was not an ancient mourning practice in these cultures.


The religion section of most bookstores includes an amazing array of Bibles. In our free eBook The Holy Bible: A Buyer’s Guide, prominent Biblical scholars Leonard Greenspoon and Harvey Minkoff expertly guide you through 21 different Bible translations (or versions) and address their content, text, style and religious orientation.


This is not to give the impression that tattooing never appears in ancient Near Eastern texts; it does—just not as a mourning practice. In the ancient Near East, tattoos were used to mark slaves. Often the name of a slave’s owner would be tattooed or branded on his hand or forehead. If then the slave were to run away, he could be easily returned to his master. Thus, tattooing was seen as a sign of ownership.

Chavalas thinks that this might be behind the taboo on tattoos in the Bible:

“Tattooing, an insignia of ownership, was perhaps condemned in Leviticus because it reminded them [the Israelites] of their past. After all, they had just spent the last four centuries as slaves in Egypt, where tattooing was also used as a sign of slavery. No longer considered slaves, the Israelites now were prohibited to mark their bodies with permanent signs of servitude to former masters. This did not have to be explicitly articled to them; no one need ask prison inmates why they shed their orange jumpsuits when they are no longer incarcerated.”

Chavalas also notes that there might be a positive reference to tattoos in the Bible. Isaiah 44:5 reads:

This one will say, “I am the LORD’s,”
another will be called by the name of Jacob,
yet another will write on the hand, “The LORD’s,”
and adopt the name of Israel.

By writing God’s name on his hand, the Israelite in Isaiah 44:5 “was willingly proposing to become a servant of God.” At least in this case, it seems that tattooing was acceptable because the person was marking himself as belonging to the God of Israel.

To learn more about tattoos in the Bible, read Mark Chavalas’s full column “Unholy Ink: What Does the Bible Say about Tattoos?” in the November/December 2016 issue of Biblical Archaeology Review.

——————

Subscribers: Read the full Biblical Views column “Unholy Ink: What Does the Bible Say about Tattoos?” by Mark Chavalas in the November/December 2016 issue of Biblical Archaeology Review.

Not a BAS Library or All-Access Member yet? Join today.

The religion section of most bookstores includes an amazing array of Bibles. In our free eBook The Holy Bible: A Buyer’s Guide, prominent Biblical scholars Leonard Greenspoon and Harvey Minkoff expertly guide you through 21 different Bible translations (or versions) and address their content, text, style and religious orientation.


 

Related reading in Bible History Daily:

Love Your Neighbor: Only Israelites or Everyone?

Book of Leviticus Verses Recovered from Burnt Hebrew Bible Scroll

The Exodus: Fact or Fiction?


This Bible History Daily feature was originally published on October 31, 2016.


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39 Responses

  1. Interesting read! I’ve always wondered about the Bible’s take on tattoos. It’s eye-opening to see how the ancient Israelites weren’t allowed to get tattoos, and yet, tattoos are becoming more acceptable in modern Christian culture. I’m curious to see how this topic continues to be addressed in the Church.

  2. Krizzy says:

    However, tattooing was forbidden in the ancient Middle East by the authors of the Hebrew Bible. According to Leviticus 19:28, “you shall not make gashes in your flesh for the dead, or incise any marks on yourselves.” This is also why, rather than having a permanent mark on my skin, I exclusively use temporary tatatoos from https://wannabeink.com/collections/christian.

  3. I love reading your blog! I’m a tattoo enthusiast myself and I love reading about the biblical perspective on tattoos. I think it’s interesting to see how the Bible deals with this topic.

  4. Patrick Tilton says:

    Ought there not be a difference recognized between an adult seeking to adorn their body with art inked into their own skin, and branding marks forced on someone — such as the numbers forced onto the arms of Jews in the concentration camps? Does the Bible condemn the use of make-up by women to make themselves more attractive and photogenic? What about newscasters, who would look atrocious if not for make-up (like in the Tim Burton ‘BATMAN’ movie, when the Joker poisoned make-up products, forcing the newscasters to appear on TV without make-up) — including the make-ups worn by televangelists? What about actors wearing elaborate make-ups, such as the latex foam appliances worn by Roddy McDowall (et al.) in PLANET OF THE APES — wouldn’t THAT be just as egregious a ‘sin’ as tattooing oneself?
    This same book — or, anthology of books in the canon — claims that God answered Joshua’s imperative ‘prayer’ that the Sun and Moon cease moving across the sky for “about a day” . . . and nobody in their right mind believes that this biblical miracle actually happened in history — so why should anybody living in the 21st Century make a fuss about this taboo which has nothing to do with treating your fellow human beings with respect? As for ‘God’, well, He ought to care more about the well-meaning heart of us wretched slobs trying to get along with our neighbors — you know, the Golden Rule — than such innocuous activities engaged in by consenting adults who aren’t harming anybody else.

    1. Smart enough to see through you says:

      You presume to tell G-d how to judge!?
      Fool.

  5. […] What does the Bible say about tattoos? Leviticus 19:28 says, “You shall not make any gashes in you… […]

  6. sandy says:

    doesn’t Leviticus talk about not wearing mixed blends of fabric for clothing. then we are all in trouble

  7. Hans says:

    So…..that’s not what the verse says according to the original text. There was not and is not a word for tattoo in the original Hebrew text. This is misleading.

    I took this clipping below from a thread.

    וְשֶׂ֣רֶט לָנֶ֗פֶשׁ לֹ֤א תִתְּנוּ֙ בִּבְשַׂרְכֶ֔ם וּכְתֹ֣בֶת קַֽעֲקַ֔ע לֹ֥א תִתְּנ֖וּ בָּכֶ֑ם אֲנִ֖י יְהוָֽה׃

    I would say a more literal translation would be something like:

    An engraving for the dead: do not make one in your flesh, and do not make a tattooed inscription for yourself; I am the L!RD.

    Later rabbinic commentary argues about the exact parameters of this verse but does eventually settle on identifying this with various forms of bodily modification. But yes, in the Biblical context, it would appear that this commandment is linked with fears around imitating Canaanite mourning practices (whether they indeed practiced all or any of the things the Bible attributes to them is another question).

    1. I agree and believe strongly about what the bible says on

  8. David Bird says:

    Isn’t the body a temple so defiling the temple would be prohibited.

  9. Derek says:

    There are so many things we do that are anathema to the holy scriptures and in my opinion tattoos are much less consequential than most. Biblical body art may be better than wearing your religion on your sleeve!

  10. Melanie says:

    Isaiah 44:5 was referenced as saying “…write ON his hand… “. It actually says “…write WITH his hand”. There’s a difference.

  11. MARLENE says:

    To sandy: i dont believe you will be beld accountable if you didnt know. It is for someone who feels in their heart it could be wrong and study the bible and dont feel good about getting a tattoo and still go ahead with it. If have a tattoo and now feel the need to repent then you can be forgiven.

  12. Benny says:

    Think not that I am come to destroy the law, or the prophets: I am not come to destroy, but to fulfil.
    Matthew 5:17

    We suppose to be different cause JESUS LIVE IN US AND OUR BODIES ARE THE TEMPLE OF THE HOLY SPIRIT.

  13. Kelly Barndt says:

    The mark of the beast will be on the right hand or forehead.

  14. Sandy says:

    What about if you’ve already had tats and didn’t know about this. Bit late to do anything? Having them removed isn’t a financial option unfortunately. If God will accept murderers etc who have converted to being christians, why not people with tats?

  15. Richard says:

    I have a suggestion, why don’t we quit trying to be like the nations and just do what He says? He is who we are supposed to please, correct? Not the other way around. How would you like it if someone said, ” You’re putting too many restrictions upon me, I know what I want and what’s the best for my life, hey I give You maybe an hour each weekend!” He said what behavior, what time He has set aside for us to meet with Him, how to distinguish ourselves from the nations so that they can say ” what an awesome God you serve”. Wake up and smell the coffee, older, newer He doesn’t change, He’s the same yesterday today and guess what, tomorrow.
    Be obedient not to what you feel but what is written

  16. Jesse says:

    The passage from Isaiah 44:5, read literally, simply means that a person has inscribed WITH, not ON, their hand that they belong to Yah. It doesn’t use the same language as when referring to a tattoo. And the mention in Revelation 19:16 about a name being on Jesus’ thigh has only in our contemporary culture been thought of as a tattoo. Most commentators understood and explained that the name was written on either clothing or a sword on the thigh of Jesus, not his bare skin.

    I do agree with the writer, however, that the tattoo makes more sense when viewed as a branding of ownership rather than simply a mourning ritual. However, God doesn’t need tattoos to brand his servants. Several other signs were in place to make that distinction: circumcision, tallit, and in the case of literal servants, piercing a person’s ear with an awl, to name a few. Overall, the entirety of Torah was meant to distinguish who was God’s and who wasn’t.

  17. David says:

    This one will say, “I am the LORD’s,”
    another will be called by the name of Jacob,
    yet another will write on the hand, “The LORD’s,”
    and adopt the name of Israel.

    ‘ By writing God’s name on his hand, the Israelite in Isaiah 44:5 “was willingly proposing to become a servant of God.” At least in this case, it seems that tattooing was acceptable because the person was marking himself as belonging to the God of Israel.’

    I don’t buy this theory at all. It doesn’t make sense that the Bible would say to never mark up your skin in one passage and then completely contradict itself in another.

    Therefore, the ‘writing’ is referring to something else other than a tattoo.

    Here’s a complete different opinion on the subject of whether or not Christians can have a tattoo:
    http://jesustribune.com/what-does-the-bible-say-about-tattoos

  18. Rob Palmer says:

    We ostracize yet today. Ever visit someplace and view a tattooed person, especially a lady (girl?), and have the thought run across one’s mind: “Oh, there goes a person of a lower class than I am.”

  19. Gaey W. Harper says:

    I would think that the core of the prohibitions against decorative scarification, tattooing, piercings, and cutting the hair, even makeup, is due to man insisting that he can do better than Hashem, as to how man appears to the eye.

    In the Eyes of Hashem, each one of us was fashioned exactly as He chooses to make us. And he has made each one of us with the potential to be perfect, albeit in His eyes. No man can possibly improve upon the Hand of Hashem; it is arrogance and conceit, two grave errors, to think it even possible. .

  20. Harry Hersh says:

    The prohibition on tattoos is related to the prohibition on desecrating the body. Two examples: 1. One cannot be buried in a Jewish cemetery if their body contains a tattoo; 2. A Jewish body is never embalmed nor cremated as these two acts also desecrate the body.

  21. PJ says:

    This seems more of a customary law and not a moral law that Jesus said in Matthew 5:19-48. Jesus never said we are to keep the customary laws or right standing laws as he fulfilled it on the cross. The Jewish customs during their century does not apply in this century.

  22. Alfredo says:

    What do you think about allowing graffiti on the White House, the Capitol or any of those precious buildings? (Precious at men’s eyes…)

    What do you think about putting graffiti on the temple of the Holy Spirit? (Precious at God’s eyes…)

    1 Corinthians 6:19-20New International Version (NIV)
    19 Do you not know that your bodies are temples of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God? You are not your own;

  23. David says:

    It’s fairly obvious to me that tattooing was a practice of pagans for whatever reason, and the Israelites were forbidden to emulate them.
    So it occurs to me that perhaps the adult male Israelites, having been slaves, were tattooed, and that this was a subtext for them all dying in the desert, so that no one with a slave tattoo would enter the promised land…

  24. Dean Kutzler says:

    It’s clear, at least to me, that it was because of false idol worship. They didn’t want them on people’s bodies.

  25. alexc39 says:

    Thank you Heather, for your response. I totally agree. People like Norman who choose to add on to the bible when it suits them and chastise scholars who dare to actually ask questions are really missing the bigger picture. Most people like that don’t want to be bothered by new discoveries and insights. They just want to stay in their own little judgemental ignorant world.

  26. RevK says:

    “4 “On that day every prophet will be ashamed of his vision when he prophesies. He will not put on a hairy cloak in order to deceive, 5 but he will say, ‘I am no prophet, I am a worker of the soil, for a man sold me in my youth.’ 6 And if one asks him, ‘What are these wounds on your back?’ he will say, ‘The wounds I received in the house of my friends.’” – Zechariah 13

  27. Alice C. Linsley says:

    The prohibition seems to be on people marking themselves, but not on God marking us. Might the mark on Cain be a tattoo?

  28. elained12 says:

    God has tattoos. In both the old testament and the new it tells us that God has my (and your) name on the palm of His hand and His name on His thigh. Having a tattoo is not the issue. The reason why one has a tattoo is.

  29. James Walker says:

    I thought this was part of the Mosaic Law . Jesus said that it was the old law ,and he was the new law ??

  30. David B. says:

    I must say at the outset, I deplore tattoos as hideous and senseless. However, there appears to be little evidence Leviticus 19:28 has to do with tattoos as with the modern practice. The word cut has various interpretations, as a word search will show, while the word mark is unique to this verse. One should be careful not to take one brief reference to support their personal theory. The words print and mark in verse 28 probably have the meaning of cutting. (Taken literally one would need to be careful if visiting a hospital for a procedure.) There is another reference to cutting in Scripture, although a different word but probably infers the same practice, and found in 1Kings 18:28 where Elijah faces the prophets of Baal. When Baal did not answer their cries Elijah tell them to cut themselves with knives and lances. The practice appears to evoke a response by self harm and frenzy, and it was possibly that practice that God warned Israel about. (There is a similar principle mentioned by Jesus in the parable of the poor widow and the unjust judge, Luke 18. The Lord does not respond to continual and bothersome prayers but simple faith.) All this is not to say tattoos designed to represent a person’s ‘god’ is not wrong, any more or less than our way of life openly displays our faith and our God.

  31. D.C. al Fine says:

    Many of the prescriptions and proscriptions in Leviticus have a public health benefit.

  32. Heather says:

    I don’t believe that this article was meant to sway one’s opinion on the right or wrong of tattooing the body; but mainly to give a different perspective. How do you study and show yourself approved if you aren’t willing to hear the other side of the argument? We Christians are so quick to shut bible scholars down because they desire knowledge and wisdom, and at times it conflicts with what we know or believe. Who are we to say that bible scholars think they know everything? In fact, maybe they just want to know more. I find more honor and Godliness in that than just sticking to one book and condemning those who are searching for more. And I won’t even mention that we are no longer under the old law found in books such as Leviticus. We are under the new law (New Testament), which means regardless of a person tattooing their body or not, that person is still loved and can be forgiven of all sins. Otherwise, what did Jesus die for?

  33. Greg says:

    The rabbinic writings prohibit tattooing as a part of false worship, but allow it for marking slaves: “If a man wrote [on his skin] pricked-in writing [he is culpable] … but only if he writes it or pricks it in with ink or eye-paint or aught that leaves a lasting mark … R. Simeon b. Judah says in the name of R. Simeon: He is not culpable unless he writes there the name [of a god]” (Mishnah, Makkoth 3, 6). The Tosefta explains this passage of the Mishnah: “But not liable unless he makes the tattoo with ink or eye paint … for an idol … And he who makes a mark on his slave so that he will not run away, is exempt [so far as the prohibition of tattooing is concerned]” (Tosefta, Makkot 4, 15G-H, J).

  34. Greg says:

    A Biblical commentator, living in the time when ancient paganism was still being practiced, stated: “What does it mean … neither should you make tattoos upon yourselves? [Lev 18:28] … People even tattooed certain parts of the body with needles, and injected therein ink, out of reverence for the demons. Therefore, the divine law forbids these things” (“Questions about Leviticus” by Theodoret §28 in Patrologia Graeca vol. 80, col. 338; translation ours).

    His opinion finds sufficient backing in ancient literature and in an apocryphal book of the Bible. Whether the bodily marking was achieved by ink or by branding, a symbol having religious significance was imprinted upon the body permanently:

    “Egypt … in that mouth of the Nile … there stood upon the shore a temple, which still exists, dedicated to Hercules. If a slave runs away from his master, and taking sanctuary at this shrine gives himself up to the god, and receives certain sacred marks upon his person, whosoever his master may be, he cannot lay hand on him” (Herodotus 2, 113; 5th C. BCE). “The tattooed marks were the sign that the worshipper belonged to the god; thus at the temple of Heracles at the Canobic mouth of the Nile, the fugitive slave who had been marked with the sacred stigmata could not be reclaimed by his master” (Lectures on the Relgion of the Semites by W. Robertson Smith 9, p. 334, ftn. 1, London, Adam and Charles Black, 1894).

    “[Ptolemy IV Philopator] proposed to inflict public disgrace upon the Jewish community, and he set up a stone on the tower in the courtyard with this inscription: ‘None of those who do not sacrifice shall enter their sanctuaries, and all Jews shall be subjected to a registration involving poll tax and to the status of slaves. Those who object to this are to be taken by force and put to death; those who are registered are also to be branded on their bodies by fire with the ivy-leaf symbol of Dionysus, and they shall also be reduced to their former limited status.’ In order that he might not appear to be an enemy to all, he inscribed below: ‘But if any of them prefer to join those who have been initiated into the mysteries, they shall have equal citizenship with the Alexandrians’ ” (3Maccabees 2:27-30; Revised Standard translation; 2nd C. BCE).

    “Some men … hasten onwards to the slavery and service of images made by hands, confessing it in distinct characters … branding the characters deep on their persons with a burning iron, in order that they may remain ineffacebly, for these things are not dimmed or weakened by time” (“The Special Laws“ 1, 10, 58 in Philo Judaeus; 1st C. CE).

  35. Norman says:

    Leviticus 19:28 says, “You shall not make any gashes in your flesh for the dead or tattoo any marks upon you: I am the LORD.” Although this passage clearly prohibits tattoos, it does not give an explicit reason why. This begs the question: Why does the Bible prohibit tattoos?

    First of all the Lord is very clear on this matter for good reason. Tattoos is a pagan practice and those who wear tattoos unknowingly open a doorway to demonic influence. It is for your spiritual protection that you should not have any tattoos on your body regardless of its size. I really wish you Bible scholars quit rationalizing the word of God thinking you know everything because in reality you don’t know what you really need to know. If you truly want o understand God’s Word all you have to do is humble yourself and call on Him and He will impart understanding to you if you open your ears and listen. The Bible is in truth plainly written but you have to humble yourself and lean not to your own understanding.

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39 Responses

  1. Interesting read! I’ve always wondered about the Bible’s take on tattoos. It’s eye-opening to see how the ancient Israelites weren’t allowed to get tattoos, and yet, tattoos are becoming more acceptable in modern Christian culture. I’m curious to see how this topic continues to be addressed in the Church.

  2. Krizzy says:

    However, tattooing was forbidden in the ancient Middle East by the authors of the Hebrew Bible. According to Leviticus 19:28, “you shall not make gashes in your flesh for the dead, or incise any marks on yourselves.” This is also why, rather than having a permanent mark on my skin, I exclusively use temporary tatatoos from https://wannabeink.com/collections/christian.

  3. I love reading your blog! I’m a tattoo enthusiast myself and I love reading about the biblical perspective on tattoos. I think it’s interesting to see how the Bible deals with this topic.

  4. Patrick Tilton says:

    Ought there not be a difference recognized between an adult seeking to adorn their body with art inked into their own skin, and branding marks forced on someone — such as the numbers forced onto the arms of Jews in the concentration camps? Does the Bible condemn the use of make-up by women to make themselves more attractive and photogenic? What about newscasters, who would look atrocious if not for make-up (like in the Tim Burton ‘BATMAN’ movie, when the Joker poisoned make-up products, forcing the newscasters to appear on TV without make-up) — including the make-ups worn by televangelists? What about actors wearing elaborate make-ups, such as the latex foam appliances worn by Roddy McDowall (et al.) in PLANET OF THE APES — wouldn’t THAT be just as egregious a ‘sin’ as tattooing oneself?
    This same book — or, anthology of books in the canon — claims that God answered Joshua’s imperative ‘prayer’ that the Sun and Moon cease moving across the sky for “about a day” . . . and nobody in their right mind believes that this biblical miracle actually happened in history — so why should anybody living in the 21st Century make a fuss about this taboo which has nothing to do with treating your fellow human beings with respect? As for ‘God’, well, He ought to care more about the well-meaning heart of us wretched slobs trying to get along with our neighbors — you know, the Golden Rule — than such innocuous activities engaged in by consenting adults who aren’t harming anybody else.

    1. Smart enough to see through you says:

      You presume to tell G-d how to judge!?
      Fool.

  5. […] What does the Bible say about tattoos? Leviticus 19:28 says, “You shall not make any gashes in you… […]

  6. sandy says:

    doesn’t Leviticus talk about not wearing mixed blends of fabric for clothing. then we are all in trouble

  7. Hans says:

    So…..that’s not what the verse says according to the original text. There was not and is not a word for tattoo in the original Hebrew text. This is misleading.

    I took this clipping below from a thread.

    וְשֶׂ֣רֶט לָנֶ֗פֶשׁ לֹ֤א תִתְּנוּ֙ בִּבְשַׂרְכֶ֔ם וּכְתֹ֣בֶת קַֽעֲקַ֔ע לֹ֥א תִתְּנ֖וּ בָּכֶ֑ם אֲנִ֖י יְהוָֽה׃

    I would say a more literal translation would be something like:

    An engraving for the dead: do not make one in your flesh, and do not make a tattooed inscription for yourself; I am the L!RD.

    Later rabbinic commentary argues about the exact parameters of this verse but does eventually settle on identifying this with various forms of bodily modification. But yes, in the Biblical context, it would appear that this commandment is linked with fears around imitating Canaanite mourning practices (whether they indeed practiced all or any of the things the Bible attributes to them is another question).

    1. I agree and believe strongly about what the bible says on

  8. David Bird says:

    Isn’t the body a temple so defiling the temple would be prohibited.

  9. Derek says:

    There are so many things we do that are anathema to the holy scriptures and in my opinion tattoos are much less consequential than most. Biblical body art may be better than wearing your religion on your sleeve!

  10. Melanie says:

    Isaiah 44:5 was referenced as saying “…write ON his hand… “. It actually says “…write WITH his hand”. There’s a difference.

  11. MARLENE says:

    To sandy: i dont believe you will be beld accountable if you didnt know. It is for someone who feels in their heart it could be wrong and study the bible and dont feel good about getting a tattoo and still go ahead with it. If have a tattoo and now feel the need to repent then you can be forgiven.

  12. Benny says:

    Think not that I am come to destroy the law, or the prophets: I am not come to destroy, but to fulfil.
    Matthew 5:17

    We suppose to be different cause JESUS LIVE IN US AND OUR BODIES ARE THE TEMPLE OF THE HOLY SPIRIT.

  13. Kelly Barndt says:

    The mark of the beast will be on the right hand or forehead.

  14. Sandy says:

    What about if you’ve already had tats and didn’t know about this. Bit late to do anything? Having them removed isn’t a financial option unfortunately. If God will accept murderers etc who have converted to being christians, why not people with tats?

  15. Richard says:

    I have a suggestion, why don’t we quit trying to be like the nations and just do what He says? He is who we are supposed to please, correct? Not the other way around. How would you like it if someone said, ” You’re putting too many restrictions upon me, I know what I want and what’s the best for my life, hey I give You maybe an hour each weekend!” He said what behavior, what time He has set aside for us to meet with Him, how to distinguish ourselves from the nations so that they can say ” what an awesome God you serve”. Wake up and smell the coffee, older, newer He doesn’t change, He’s the same yesterday today and guess what, tomorrow.
    Be obedient not to what you feel but what is written

  16. Jesse says:

    The passage from Isaiah 44:5, read literally, simply means that a person has inscribed WITH, not ON, their hand that they belong to Yah. It doesn’t use the same language as when referring to a tattoo. And the mention in Revelation 19:16 about a name being on Jesus’ thigh has only in our contemporary culture been thought of as a tattoo. Most commentators understood and explained that the name was written on either clothing or a sword on the thigh of Jesus, not his bare skin.

    I do agree with the writer, however, that the tattoo makes more sense when viewed as a branding of ownership rather than simply a mourning ritual. However, God doesn’t need tattoos to brand his servants. Several other signs were in place to make that distinction: circumcision, tallit, and in the case of literal servants, piercing a person’s ear with an awl, to name a few. Overall, the entirety of Torah was meant to distinguish who was God’s and who wasn’t.

  17. David says:

    This one will say, “I am the LORD’s,”
    another will be called by the name of Jacob,
    yet another will write on the hand, “The LORD’s,”
    and adopt the name of Israel.

    ‘ By writing God’s name on his hand, the Israelite in Isaiah 44:5 “was willingly proposing to become a servant of God.” At least in this case, it seems that tattooing was acceptable because the person was marking himself as belonging to the God of Israel.’

    I don’t buy this theory at all. It doesn’t make sense that the Bible would say to never mark up your skin in one passage and then completely contradict itself in another.

    Therefore, the ‘writing’ is referring to something else other than a tattoo.

    Here’s a complete different opinion on the subject of whether or not Christians can have a tattoo:
    http://jesustribune.com/what-does-the-bible-say-about-tattoos

  18. Rob Palmer says:

    We ostracize yet today. Ever visit someplace and view a tattooed person, especially a lady (girl?), and have the thought run across one’s mind: “Oh, there goes a person of a lower class than I am.”

  19. Gaey W. Harper says:

    I would think that the core of the prohibitions against decorative scarification, tattooing, piercings, and cutting the hair, even makeup, is due to man insisting that he can do better than Hashem, as to how man appears to the eye.

    In the Eyes of Hashem, each one of us was fashioned exactly as He chooses to make us. And he has made each one of us with the potential to be perfect, albeit in His eyes. No man can possibly improve upon the Hand of Hashem; it is arrogance and conceit, two grave errors, to think it even possible. .

  20. Harry Hersh says:

    The prohibition on tattoos is related to the prohibition on desecrating the body. Two examples: 1. One cannot be buried in a Jewish cemetery if their body contains a tattoo; 2. A Jewish body is never embalmed nor cremated as these two acts also desecrate the body.

  21. PJ says:

    This seems more of a customary law and not a moral law that Jesus said in Matthew 5:19-48. Jesus never said we are to keep the customary laws or right standing laws as he fulfilled it on the cross. The Jewish customs during their century does not apply in this century.

  22. Alfredo says:

    What do you think about allowing graffiti on the White House, the Capitol or any of those precious buildings? (Precious at men’s eyes…)

    What do you think about putting graffiti on the temple of the Holy Spirit? (Precious at God’s eyes…)

    1 Corinthians 6:19-20New International Version (NIV)
    19 Do you not know that your bodies are temples of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God? You are not your own;

  23. David says:

    It’s fairly obvious to me that tattooing was a practice of pagans for whatever reason, and the Israelites were forbidden to emulate them.
    So it occurs to me that perhaps the adult male Israelites, having been slaves, were tattooed, and that this was a subtext for them all dying in the desert, so that no one with a slave tattoo would enter the promised land…

  24. Dean Kutzler says:

    It’s clear, at least to me, that it was because of false idol worship. They didn’t want them on people’s bodies.

  25. alexc39 says:

    Thank you Heather, for your response. I totally agree. People like Norman who choose to add on to the bible when it suits them and chastise scholars who dare to actually ask questions are really missing the bigger picture. Most people like that don’t want to be bothered by new discoveries and insights. They just want to stay in their own little judgemental ignorant world.

  26. RevK says:

    “4 “On that day every prophet will be ashamed of his vision when he prophesies. He will not put on a hairy cloak in order to deceive, 5 but he will say, ‘I am no prophet, I am a worker of the soil, for a man sold me in my youth.’ 6 And if one asks him, ‘What are these wounds on your back?’ he will say, ‘The wounds I received in the house of my friends.’” – Zechariah 13

  27. Alice C. Linsley says:

    The prohibition seems to be on people marking themselves, but not on God marking us. Might the mark on Cain be a tattoo?

  28. elained12 says:

    God has tattoos. In both the old testament and the new it tells us that God has my (and your) name on the palm of His hand and His name on His thigh. Having a tattoo is not the issue. The reason why one has a tattoo is.

  29. James Walker says:

    I thought this was part of the Mosaic Law . Jesus said that it was the old law ,and he was the new law ??

  30. David B. says:

    I must say at the outset, I deplore tattoos as hideous and senseless. However, there appears to be little evidence Leviticus 19:28 has to do with tattoos as with the modern practice. The word cut has various interpretations, as a word search will show, while the word mark is unique to this verse. One should be careful not to take one brief reference to support their personal theory. The words print and mark in verse 28 probably have the meaning of cutting. (Taken literally one would need to be careful if visiting a hospital for a procedure.) There is another reference to cutting in Scripture, although a different word but probably infers the same practice, and found in 1Kings 18:28 where Elijah faces the prophets of Baal. When Baal did not answer their cries Elijah tell them to cut themselves with knives and lances. The practice appears to evoke a response by self harm and frenzy, and it was possibly that practice that God warned Israel about. (There is a similar principle mentioned by Jesus in the parable of the poor widow and the unjust judge, Luke 18. The Lord does not respond to continual and bothersome prayers but simple faith.) All this is not to say tattoos designed to represent a person’s ‘god’ is not wrong, any more or less than our way of life openly displays our faith and our God.

  31. D.C. al Fine says:

    Many of the prescriptions and proscriptions in Leviticus have a public health benefit.

  32. Heather says:

    I don’t believe that this article was meant to sway one’s opinion on the right or wrong of tattooing the body; but mainly to give a different perspective. How do you study and show yourself approved if you aren’t willing to hear the other side of the argument? We Christians are so quick to shut bible scholars down because they desire knowledge and wisdom, and at times it conflicts with what we know or believe. Who are we to say that bible scholars think they know everything? In fact, maybe they just want to know more. I find more honor and Godliness in that than just sticking to one book and condemning those who are searching for more. And I won’t even mention that we are no longer under the old law found in books such as Leviticus. We are under the new law (New Testament), which means regardless of a person tattooing their body or not, that person is still loved and can be forgiven of all sins. Otherwise, what did Jesus die for?

  33. Greg says:

    The rabbinic writings prohibit tattooing as a part of false worship, but allow it for marking slaves: “If a man wrote [on his skin] pricked-in writing [he is culpable] … but only if he writes it or pricks it in with ink or eye-paint or aught that leaves a lasting mark … R. Simeon b. Judah says in the name of R. Simeon: He is not culpable unless he writes there the name [of a god]” (Mishnah, Makkoth 3, 6). The Tosefta explains this passage of the Mishnah: “But not liable unless he makes the tattoo with ink or eye paint … for an idol … And he who makes a mark on his slave so that he will not run away, is exempt [so far as the prohibition of tattooing is concerned]” (Tosefta, Makkot 4, 15G-H, J).

  34. Greg says:

    A Biblical commentator, living in the time when ancient paganism was still being practiced, stated: “What does it mean … neither should you make tattoos upon yourselves? [Lev 18:28] … People even tattooed certain parts of the body with needles, and injected therein ink, out of reverence for the demons. Therefore, the divine law forbids these things” (“Questions about Leviticus” by Theodoret §28 in Patrologia Graeca vol. 80, col. 338; translation ours).

    His opinion finds sufficient backing in ancient literature and in an apocryphal book of the Bible. Whether the bodily marking was achieved by ink or by branding, a symbol having religious significance was imprinted upon the body permanently:

    “Egypt … in that mouth of the Nile … there stood upon the shore a temple, which still exists, dedicated to Hercules. If a slave runs away from his master, and taking sanctuary at this shrine gives himself up to the god, and receives certain sacred marks upon his person, whosoever his master may be, he cannot lay hand on him” (Herodotus 2, 113; 5th C. BCE). “The tattooed marks were the sign that the worshipper belonged to the god; thus at the temple of Heracles at the Canobic mouth of the Nile, the fugitive slave who had been marked with the sacred stigmata could not be reclaimed by his master” (Lectures on the Relgion of the Semites by W. Robertson Smith 9, p. 334, ftn. 1, London, Adam and Charles Black, 1894).

    “[Ptolemy IV Philopator] proposed to inflict public disgrace upon the Jewish community, and he set up a stone on the tower in the courtyard with this inscription: ‘None of those who do not sacrifice shall enter their sanctuaries, and all Jews shall be subjected to a registration involving poll tax and to the status of slaves. Those who object to this are to be taken by force and put to death; those who are registered are also to be branded on their bodies by fire with the ivy-leaf symbol of Dionysus, and they shall also be reduced to their former limited status.’ In order that he might not appear to be an enemy to all, he inscribed below: ‘But if any of them prefer to join those who have been initiated into the mysteries, they shall have equal citizenship with the Alexandrians’ ” (3Maccabees 2:27-30; Revised Standard translation; 2nd C. BCE).

    “Some men … hasten onwards to the slavery and service of images made by hands, confessing it in distinct characters … branding the characters deep on their persons with a burning iron, in order that they may remain ineffacebly, for these things are not dimmed or weakened by time” (“The Special Laws“ 1, 10, 58 in Philo Judaeus; 1st C. CE).

  35. Norman says:

    Leviticus 19:28 says, “You shall not make any gashes in your flesh for the dead or tattoo any marks upon you: I am the LORD.” Although this passage clearly prohibits tattoos, it does not give an explicit reason why. This begs the question: Why does the Bible prohibit tattoos?

    First of all the Lord is very clear on this matter for good reason. Tattoos is a pagan practice and those who wear tattoos unknowingly open a doorway to demonic influence. It is for your spiritual protection that you should not have any tattoos on your body regardless of its size. I really wish you Bible scholars quit rationalizing the word of God thinking you know everything because in reality you don’t know what you really need to know. If you truly want o understand God’s Word all you have to do is humble yourself and call on Him and He will impart understanding to you if you open your ears and listen. The Bible is in truth plainly written but you have to humble yourself and lean not to your own understanding.

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