Tattoos and the Bible

Unlike some of the major decisions I’ve made in my life (like buying a house or a Harley), I actually put a lot of thought and research into getting a tattoo. I’ve been wanting to get a tattoo since last April, but before I could go through with it, I needed to find out what the Bible actually says about tattoos. Before I did any research, the only verse I knew in the Bible that referred to tattoos was Leviticus 19:28. Until I looked into what that meant, I thought that was enough to not get a tattoo, but I needed to look into what Leviticus 19 actually said.

I found a website called Sacred Ink that was very helpful in explaining this passage further. Sacred Ink’s author, Pastor Chuckk Gerwig of Elevation Church in Santa Cruz, California, writes:

“The “tattoo” marks described in Leviticus 19:28 were clearly related to false religious practices. The word translated tattoo in our English Bibles is the Hebrew word “qa aqa”, this word appears only one time in the Bible, here in this passage Leviticus. The word “qa aqa” means literally “to cut” but taken with the surrounding words indicates a cutting that left a mark imprinted in the skin. This could have been a form of branding, scarring, cutting or a process where ink was inlaid into the skin; there is not enough data to fully define exactly what this word meant. However we translate the word “qa aqa” though, in this passage, it is certainly used in the context of cultic religious worship. The prohibition against “qa aqa”, (translated tattoo) was to keep the Israelites from being involved or affiliated with cultic worship practices.

The tattoo of today is much different than it was for those who originally received the Pentateuch. Today tattoo is a decorative means of self expression and personal decoration. In our current culture people modify their appearance for beauty in many ways such as clothing choice, makeup, plastic surgery, haircutting and coloring, weight loss, body-building, and ear piercing. Some of these practices have a history in ancient ritual and false religion, but in our cultural context they do not denote a connection with evil or false faith. In the same way tattoos today do not link the wearer to cultic worship practices and is not generally practiced for ancient religious purposes, tattoos today are for ornamentation.”

This clarification and research into the original context helped me to understand the difference between pagan ritual and our interpretation of what a tattoo is today. Furthermore, I wanted a greater reason to get a tattoo than just because I thought they were cool. Many use the scripture in 1 Cor 3:16 that our bodies are a temple of the Holy Spirit, so marking them with a tattoo would be to damage our “temple.” If I was to get a tattoo, I wanted to make sure that this wouldn’t be an issue.

When I came upon the verse in Isaiah 44:5 that says, “⁵ One will say, ‘I belong to the LORD ‘; another will call himself by the name of Jacob; still another will write on his hand, ‘The LORD’s,’ and will take the name Israel.’” If you have read the story behind my tattoo, then you would know that the name “Israel” meant everything to me. When it comes to taking care of my body as a temple, this seemed like a valid reason to get a tattoo. I was literally writing on my hand that I am the Lord’s and taking the name Israel.

Another thing that was interesting to me was in Revelation 19:16 where Jesus has written on his thigh, “KING OF KINGS AND LORD OF LORDS.” Now, I consider it a stretch to call this a tattoo and would not encourage someone using this scripture to justify getting any tattoo, but I thought it was interesting that the only person in the Bible with a mark on his body that says something in word or art is Jesus Christ.

Furthermore, I always loved the verse in Song of Solomon 8:6 where the Lover (Jesus Christ), says to the Beloved (the Bride or the body of Christ), to “Place Him like a seal over our heart, like a seal on our arm.” This tattoo is a seal on my arm that declares my love for Christ.

I spent a lot of time in prayer too. Scripture aside, I wanted to know that I felt a peace from God about this and my motives for getting one were genuine and not coming out of empty desires. I went to my authority too and waited to get their blessing on me getting a tattoo. At first my parents were not for me getting a tattoo and I told them that I wouldn’t if it would dishonor them, but they came back to me and told me they trusted my ability to hear from God and so supported my decision–even if they weren’t thrilled about me getting one. To me, honor was more important than getting a tattoo. Ephesians 6:1-2 says that if I want my life to go well, then I need to honor and obey my parents. I may be an adult now, but I will always be their child; therefore, I will always honor them.

A couple references that were helpful to me in learning more about what the Bible said about tattoos were:

Sacred Ink and Never Thirsty.

I would encourage looking at those for more information.

What is your opinion? Have you done any research of your own? I’d love to hear your thoughts on this topic.