Physical description. Biblical narrators are notably laconic in this matter. They rarely describe the outer person, so that when they do tell us that Sarah was beautiful, Esau was hairy, or that Ehud was left-handed, they want us to perceive character that will impact plot. For example, the author of 2 Samuel suggests Absalom’s handsome virility by describing his long hair that weighed 200 shekels (2 Sam. 14:26). In Hebrew culture, long hair was associated with strength. The description helps explain