The evidence suggests that in Canaan, more drastic scarification procedures were utilized, such as branding, cutting, or gagging the skin, rather than ink markings. There is evidence to show that women’s tattoos on the breasts, legs, and abdomen were intended as talismans to safeguard childbirth. According to modern archaeological evidence, only Egyptian women were ever tattooed in Egypt. This is why “ye shall not… print marks upon you” appears more literally in the King James Version (KJV), which dates back to the 1600s.Īfter being freed from slavery, Israel found itself in the middle of the desert, halfway between Egypt and Canaan. In addition, the term “tattoo” was not part of the English language until the latter half of the 1700s. The term for marks, which is also used alone in this sentence, has an unknown etymology, so we do not honestly know what it signifies. Leviticus 19:28’s literal translation is: “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.” “Writing” refers to symbols or words written or engraved and used solely here. For example, the NIV reads, “Do not cut your bodies for the dead or tattoo yourselves. Given that the word “tattoo” is included in this passage in a number of popular English versions, the case appears straightforward. For God’s temple is holy, and you are that temple.” Others cite 1 Corinthians 3:16–17, where Apostle Paul writes: “Do you not know that you are God’s temple and that God’s Spirit dwells in you? If anyone destroys God’s temple, God will destroy him. There are Christians who view all tattoos as sinful because of one verse in the Old Testament: Leviticus 19:28.

There is no clear biblical precedent for tattoo marks as we know them today. With the growing acceptance of tattoos, many Christians wonder if the Bible has anything to say about tattoos.

Bible verse about tattoos leviticus