Verses 40-44 deal with baldness in men. Note that verses 40 and 41 are combined in Good News Translation and in Die Bibel im heutigen Deutsch, since essentially the same thing is said of two slightly different types of baldness.

If a man’s hair has fallen: literally “And a man, when his head loses its hair.” In contrast with verse 38 above, women are not mentioned. Languages may have many different ways of describing what happens in baldness. Some may speak of “losing hair” (as in Hebrew and in Good News Translation), or of hair “falling out” or “disappearing,” or of the head being “polished” or “bare,” or some other expression. Whatever is natural in the receptor language should determine the translation of the verb here.

From his head: this obviously refers to the crown or top of the head and should be translated in such a way that it contrasts with the terms in verse 41.

From his forehead and temples: literally “from the front of his head.” This contrasts with a bald spot on the top of the head and is characterized by the loss of hair in the front.

Baldness of the forehead: the Hebrew had a special word for this type of baldness as opposed to the baldness on the top of the head. It is related to the verb meaning “to be high” and is always used in contrast with the baldness of the top of the head. Compare the English expression “to have a high forehead.”

Quoted with permission from Péter-Contesse, René and Ellington, John. A Handbook on Leviticus. (UBS Helps for Translators). New York: UBS, 1990. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .