Deuteronomy 14:1-2

Deuteronomy 14:1-2

[1] Ye are the children  of the LORD  your God:  ye shall not cut  yourselves, nor make  any baldness  between your eyes  for the dead.  [2] For thou art an holy  people  unto the LORD  thy God,  and the LORD  hath chosen  thee to be a peculiar  people  that are upon  the earth. 

What does Deuteronomy 14:1-2 Mean?

Contextual Meaning

Because the Israelites were God"s sons ( Deuteronomy 14:1; i.e, because of their special intimate relationship with Yahweh) they were to eat and act as He directed here (cf. Deuteronomy 1:31; Deuteronomy 8:5). This is the first of two affirmations of Israel being God"s special possession, His chosen people, in Deuteronomy (cf. Deuteronomy 26:18). [1]
Self-mutilation and shaving the forehead were pagan practices associated with idolatry. The Canaanites did these things to express passionate sorrow for the dead. Laceration may have been a seasonal rite in the Baal fertility cults as well. [2]
"The external appearance of the people should reflect their internal status as the chosen and holy people of God." [3]