Pt1 Body, Blemish, and Temple Duty: Physical Deformities that Disqualify Priests from Serving (Mishnah Bekhorot 7:1-6; Leviticus 21:18-20)
With comparison to modern medical terminology
This is the first part of a three-part series. The outline is below.
As part of my project on structure in Mishnah, see the “Mishnah - Formatted” section at my Academia page.
I’ll also be discussing what these descriptions might be referring to, from a modern scientific perspective. I did that in a previous piece on animal and plant reproduction in tractate Bekhorot, see my series, final part here.
Outline
Head: Pointed, turnip-like, hammer-like, indented head; back of head protrudes
Back: Humped
Hair: Bald - Lacks a row of hair encircling head from ear to ear
Gibben: No eyebrows, single eyebrow, or two backs and two spines
Eyes: unusual eye placements; unable to look at the sun; eyelashes missing
Disproportionate Eye, Body, Nose, or Ear Sizes; Ears like a sponge
Lips: Protruding lips
Teeth: missing teeth
Chest and Stomach: breasts like a woman; swollen or protruding stomach
Neurological or Mental Health Disorders: Epilepsy; Depression
Male Genitals: Long scrotum or penis; missing or single testicle; crushed or swollen testicles
Legs and Feet: Crooked legs; bowlegged
Legs and Feet: protuberance on thumb or toe, protruding heel, wide feet
Fingers and Handedness: Extra Finger; Ambidextrous
Unusual Physical Features and Problematic Mental Conditions: Cushi (Ethiopian), Giḥor, Pale, Kipe’aḥ, Dwarf, deaf-mute, mentally disabled, alcoholic, and one with a skin condition
Appendix - Table Summarizing
Intro - the Biblical Verses (Leviticus 21:18-20)
כי כל איש אשר בו מום לא יקרב:
איש
עור
או פסח
או חרם
או שרוע
או איש אשר יהיה בו שבר רגל או שבר יד
או גבן
או דק
או תבלל בעינו
או גרב
או ילפת
או מרוח אשך
No one at all who has a defect (מום) shall be qualified:
no man who is
Blind (עור)
or lame (פסח)
or has a limb too short (חרם)
or too long (שרוע)
no man who has a broken leg (שבר רגל) or a broken arm (שבר יד)
or who is a hunchback (גבן)
or a dwarf (דק)
or who has a growth (תבלל) in his eye1
or who has a boil-scar (גרב)
or scurvy (ילפת)
or crushed (מרוח) testes (אשך)
The Mishnah
Blemishes that disqualify an animal (i.e. a first-born animal (בכור בהמה טהורה) from requiring gift to the priest), discussed in the previous chapter (Bekhorot.6) whether permanent or temporary, similarly disqualify a priest from performing Temple service.
מומין אלו,
בין קבועין בין עוברין,
פוסלין באדם.
Concerning these blemishes which were taught with regard to an animal,
whether they are permanent or transient,
they also disqualify in the case of a person, i.e., they disqualify a priest from performing the Temple service.
Head: Pointed, turnip-like, hammer-like, indented head; back of head protrudes
In addition to general blemishes, specific physical deformities disqualify a priest from service:
A pointed head (כילון - narrow above, wide below)2
An indented (שקוע) head5
A head with a protruding back (קיפס)6
יותר עליהן באדם:
הכילון,
והלפתן,
המקבן,
ושראשו שקוע,
ושקיפס.
And in addition to those blemishes, there are other blemishes that apply only to a priest:
One whose head is pointed, narrow above and wide below;
and one whose head is turnip-like, wide above and narrow below;
and one whose head is hammer-like, with his forehead protruding;
and one whose head has an indentation;
and one wherein the back of his head protrudes.
Back: Humped
Regarding those with humped backs (חטוטרת),7 R' Yehuda considers them fit for service, but the majority Rabbis disqualify them.
ובעלי החטוטרת --
רבי יהודה מכשיר,
וחכמים פוסלין
And with regard to those with humped backs,
R' Yehuda deems them fit for service
and the Rabbis deem them disqualified.
Hair: Bald - Lacks a row of hair encircling head from ear to ear
A bald person (קרח)8 is disqualified from performing Temple service due to a lack of a continuous row of hair around his head, from ear to ear. If he has such a row of hair, he is considered fit for service.
הקרח --
פסול.
איזהו קרח?
כל שאין לו שטה של שער מקפת מאזן לאזן.
ואם יש לו --
הרי זה כשר.
The kere’aḥ
is disqualified from performing the Temple service.
What is a kere’aḥ?
It is anyone who does not have a row of hair encircling his head from ear to ear.
If he has a row of hair from ear to ear,
that person is fit for service.
Gibben: No eyebrows, single eyebrow, or two backs and two spines
The biblical term gibben (גבן ; which is #6 in the list in the verses quoted in the intro, see above), is interpreted as one who is missing one or both eyebrows (גבינים).9
R' Dosa defines a gibben as someone with exceptionally long eyebrows that cover his eyes.10
R' Ḥanina ben Antigonus interprets that a gibben is one with two backs (גבים) and two spines (שדראות).11
אין לו גבינים,
אין לו אלא גבין אחד --
הוא "גבן" האמור בתורה.
רבי דוסא אומר: כל שגביניו שוכבין.
רבי חנינא בן אנטיגנוס אומר:
כל שיש לו
שני גבים
ושתי שדראות
If a priest has no eyebrows,
or if he has only one eyebrow,
that is the gibben that is stated in the Torah in the list of blemished priests (see Leviticus 21:20).
R' Dosa says: A gibben is one whose eyebrows are so long that they lie flat and cover his eyes.
R' Ḥanina ben Antigonus says:
A gibben is one who has
two backs
and two spines.
This blemish (תבלל) is listed among eye blemishes in the previous chapter in tractate Bekhorot, regarding first-born animals, Mishnah_Bekhorot.6.2, where it’s explained:
[…]
הרי בעיניו דק,
תבלול,
[…]
ואיזהו תבלול?
לבן הפוסק בסירא, ונכנס בשחור.
[…]
For these blemishes of the eye, one may slaughter the firstborn animal outside the Temple:
[…]
and likewise, one may slaughter a firstborn animal outside the Temple if there was in his eye a cataract;
[or] a tevallul,
[…]
What is a tevallul?
It is a white thread that bisects the iris (סירא) and enters the black pupil.
[…]
Pointed head (כילון ; narrow above and wide below; see also. Jastrow: “one whose head has the shape of a basket (calathus), wedge-shaped“): This might refer to dolichocephaly (from Greek: δολιχός 'long' and κεφαλή 'head'), a condition where the head is longer and narrower. It could also indicate craniosynostosis, where early fusion of skull sutures alters head shape, sometimes creating a pointed or elongated form.
Turnip-like head (wide above and narrow below): This shape may describe certain forms of plagiocephaly or brachycephaly (from Greek: Greek βραχύς, 'short' and κεφαλή, 'head'), both types of cranial asymmetry. These conditions can result from premature suture fusion or positioning, leading to a head that’s wider at the top.
Hammer-like head (with protruding forehead): This could represent frontal bossing, a symptom where the forehead appears unusually prominent. Frontal bossing can occur in various genetic conditions or syndromes, such as achondroplasia or craniofacial dysplasia, which also impact skeletal development.
Indented head: An indented head might be linked to cases of cranial defects or scaphocephaly (a specific type of craniosynostosis), leading to irregular contours on the skull. Alternatively, it could relate to traumatic skull injuries or bone mineral deficiencies that cause malformation.
Protruding back of the head (קיפס; see Jastrow: “סְקִיפַס, שְׁקִי׳ […] one whose occiput has the shape of a lintel (having an angular projection).“): This feature could correlate with occipital protrusion, commonly seen in conditions that affect head shape, such as occipital bun (an extension of the skull at the back), which can naturally vary or result from specific genetic traits. Severe cases could be associated with developmental abnormalities.)
Humped back: Commonly seen in kyphosis, a condition that creates an abnormal spinal curvature, often causing a hunched or rounded back. Kyphosis can arise from congenital factors, degenerative diseases, or spinal conditions.
See my piece here on R’ Yehoshua the Bald, in his back and forth with a eunuch making fun of each other on their respective physical shortcomings.
(Compare the Wikipedia entry, “List of people known as the Bald“.)
Missing or Single Eyebrows: The absence of eyebrows could result from various conditions. Alopecia areata, an autoimmune disorder causing hair loss, may lead to missing eyebrows. Additionally, certain genetic disorders can cause congenital eyebrow absence. An individual with only one eyebrow might have suffered an injury or could have a partial loss due to localized conditions, like trichotillomania, where a person pulls out their own hair, often leading to uneven hair patterns.
Long Eyebrows Covering the Eyes (R' Dosa's Interpretation): Exceptionally long eyebrow hair, covering the eyes, could be a result of hypertrichosis, a condition of excessive hair growth that can occur all over the body or in specific areas. Another possibility is hypothyroidism, which can cause unusual hair growth patterns, though the description of hair covering the eyes is rare. This portrayal may exaggerate for emphasis, as rabbinic descriptions often do (see, for example, my piece “Hyperbole in the Bible and the Mishnah According to the Talmud - Six Sequential Examples (Tamid 29a-b)“).
Two Backs and Two Spines (R' Ḥanina ben Antigonus's Interpretation): This description may relate to a rare congenital condition known as diphygus, in which there is partial or complete duplication of the lower spine and pelvis. Another possibility is spina bifida with spinal abnormalities, where irregular development could give an appearance of an unusual back shape. While literal duplication of a spine is exceedingly rare, the phrasing could reflect observation of spinal deformities or malformations that result in irregular back shapes, likely viewed as a severe anomaly in the mishanic context.