qa.rach denotes making oneself or a head bald, in mourning, prohibition, command, or physical consequence.

The attested use concerns making oneself or a head bald: it appears in prohibitions and a command connected with mourning, and also describes heads made bald through labor or an act of lamentation.

1. Making oneself bald in mourning-related acts · dominant

   In Jeremiah 16:6 the Niphal imperfect occurs among acts not to be done for the dead; the APB renders the clause "they shall not make themselves bald for them." In Ezekiel 27:31, the Hiphil sequential perfect is joined with sackcloth, weeping, and bitter mourning, while Micah 1:16 uses a Qal imperative before the stated loss of sons.

   Jeremiah 16:6Ezekiel 27:31Micah 1:16
2. Making a head bald or baldness as a result · common

   Leviticus 21:5 uses Qal imperfect forms in a prohibition concerning the head, alongside shaving and cuts in the flesh; the APB renders "They shall not make their heads bald." In Ezekiel 29:18, the Hophal passive participle describes every head as "made bald" during the army's service against Tyre.

   Leviticus 21:5Ezekiel 29:18

In the Anselm Project Bible: The APB presents the action with "make themselves bald," "made themselves bald," "make their heads bald," and "made bald." These phrases confirm the clauses' overall presentation rather than fix a separate English rendering for each form.