Endnote 5 – Biblical Views: Unholy Ink: What Does the Bible Say about Tattoos?

Herodotus (Histories II.13) describes a similar custom for Egyptians: “If a runaway slave takes refuge in this shrine and allows the sacred marks, which are the sign of his submission to the service of the god, his master, no matter who he is, cannot lay hands on him.” (See Aubrey de Selincourt, trans., Herodotus, the Histories (London: Penguin, 1954), p. 171. Also, see Philo, Laws I:58 and Lucian, De Dea Syria 59. W. Hayes (The Scepter of Egypt, Part 2 [New York: Metropolitan Museum of Art, 1953], pp. 219–221) describes various tattoo marks on female figures from various periods. In addition, James Breasted cites some examples of branding captives (Ancient Records of Egypt: Historical Documents from the Earliest Times to the Persian Conquest, vol. 4 [Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1906–1907], par. 405).