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![]() Leviticus 19:28 seems to imply this when it says, “you will not make cuttings in your flesh, for the dead, nor print marks on you.” In light of this information from Egypt and Canaan, it would seem God was forbidding scarification, not tattooing as we know it. Archeology, backed by biblical texts, indicates the Canaanites would customarily slash their bodies for ritualistic purposes ( 1 Kings 18:28), especially to mourn their dead and honor their gods. In Canaan, evidence indicates that instead of marking the body with ink, more extreme scarification measures, like branding, slashing or gashing the skin were used. Women also frequently had imprints of the fertility goddess, Bes, which seems to support this theory. Evidence suggests that tattooing the body parts of women associated with fertility (breasts, thighs and abdomen) was believed to be a good luck charm to protect the birthing process. Recent archeology indicates that, while Egypt did tattoo, it was limited to women. ![]() The background to this law was that Israel, after being rescued from slavery, was between Egypt and Canaan. This is probably why the KJV, written in the early 1600s, is closer to the literal translation saying, “ye shall not. Further, the word tattoo did not enter into the English language until the late 1700s. The word for marks, also used here alone, has an uncertain root, so we’re not really sure what the word means. Leviticus 19:28 literally translates, “And a cutting for the dead you will not make in your flesh and writing marks you will not make on you I am the Lord.” The word writing refers to inscribed or engraved symbols/words, and is used only here. Both of these approaches, however, are misleading because, as we will see, the answer to the tattoo question is that the Bible has nothing clearly to say about the practice of injecting ink under the skin to form permanent pictures, patterns or messages-a.k.a. If you go online to try to answer the tattoo question, you’ll see both approaches and contradictory conclusions. Other Christians say this passage no longer applies to us because it is Old Testament law, and not for Christians. For example, the NIV reads, “Do not cut your bodies for the dead or put tattoo marks on yourselves. Since the word tattoo does appear in this verse in some popular English translations, this argument seems straightforward. Some Christians condemn all tattooing as immoral because God clearly forbids them in Leviticus 19:28. The Bible makes no specific reference to tattoos as we understand them in modern times. ![]() Is it a Sin to Get a Tattoo? What Does the Bible Say About Tattoos? With such prevalence and rising interest, Christians rightfully ask what the Bible says about tattoos. Entertainers, professional athletes, and even a 2009 version of Barbie, have multiple, and very visible, tattoos. adults has at least one tattoo (21percent) which is up from the 16 percent and 14 percent who reported having a tattoo in 20, respectively, by the Harris Poll. ![]()
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