Reference: Head
Hastings
Not the head but the heart was regarded as the seat of intellect; it was, however, the seat of life, and was naturally held in honour. Hence phrases such as 'keeper of my head' (1Sa 28:2; cf. Ps 140:7), 'swearing by the head' (Mt 5:36), and the metaphorical use, common to all languages, as equivalent to 'chief.' In De 28:13; Isa 9:14, we find 'head and tail' as a proverbial expression. Christ is the head of the Church (Eph 4:15; Col 1:18; 2:19), as man is of the woman (Eph 5:23). To lift up the head is to grant success (Ps 27:6; 110:7; Ge 41:13, where there is an obvious ironical parallel in Ge 41:19). The hand on the head was a sign of mourning (2Sa 13:19; Jer 2:37); so dust or ashes (2Sa 1:2; La 2:10); or covering the head (2Sa 15:30; Jer 14:3). On the other hand, to uncover the head, i.e. to loose the turban and leave the hair in disorder, was also a sign of mourning (see AV and Revised Version margin, Le 10:6; 13:45; Eze 24:17). Similarly shaving the head, a common practice in the East (Job 1:20; Isa 15:2; 22:12; Eze 7:18; Am 8:10); it was forbidden to priests (Le 21:5), and, in special forms, to all Israelites (Le 19:27; De 14:1). It might also mark the close of a period of mourning (De 21:12), or of a Nazirite's vow (Nu 6:9; Ac 18:18), or of a Levite's purification (Nu 8:7). In De 32:42 there is a reference to the warrior's long hair, Revised Version margin. Laying hands on the head was (a) part of the symbolism of sacrifice (Le 16:21), (b) a sign of blessing (Ge 48:14), (c) a sign of consecration or ordination (Nu 27:23; Ac 6:6). In 2Ki 2:3 the reference seems to be to the pupil sitting at the feet of his master. 'Head' is also used, like 'face,' as a synonym for 'self' (Ps 7:16; and probably Pr 25:22; Ro 12:20).
C. W. Emmet.
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And it came to pass as he interpreted to us, so, it happened, - me, he restored to mine office but him, he hanged.
And lo! seven other heifers, coming up after them, poor and very uncomely in form and lean in flesh, - I had never seen such in all the land of Egypt, for uncomeliness.
Then Israel put forth his right hand and laid it upon the head of Ephraim, though, he, was the younger, and his left hand upon the head of Manasseh, - crossing his hands, although, Manasseh, was the first-born.
Then said Moses unto Aaron and to Eleazar and to Ithamar, his sons - Your heads, ye may not bare and your garments, ye shall not rend so shall ye not die, neither against all the assembly, will he be wroth, - but let, your brethren the whole house of Israel, bewail the consuming fire wherewith Yahweh hath consumed.
Now, as for the leper in whom is the plague, His clothes, shall be rent, And, his head, shall be bare, And, his beard, shall he cover, - And, Unclean! Unclean! shall he cry.
And Aaron shall lean his two hands upon the head of the living goat, and confess over him, all the iniquities of the sons of Israel, and all their transgressions, to the extent of all their sins, - and shall put them upon the head of the goat, and then send him away, by the hand of a man appointed towards the desert:
Ye shall not shave in a circle around your head, - nor shalt thou disfigure the fringe of thy beard.
They shall not make a baldness behind in their head, And the border of their beard, shall they not cut off, - And, in their flesh, shall they not make incisions.
But if one that is dying should die by him in a moment suddenly, then shall he count unclean his head of separation, - and shall shave his head, on the day he cleanseth himself, on the seventh day, shall he shave it.
And, thus, shalt thou do unto them, to purify them, sprinkle upon them sin-cleansing water, - then shall they, cause a razor to pass over all their flesh, and shall wash their clothes and so make themselves pure.
and leaned his hands upon him and charged him, - As Yahweh spake by the hand of Moses.
Sons, are ye unto Yahweh your God, - ye shall not cut yourselves, neither shall ye put baldness between your eyes for the dead.
then shalt thou bring her into the midst of thy house, - and she shall shave her head and pare her nails;
And Yahweh, will give thee, to be the head, and not the tail, and thou shalt be only above, and shalt not be beneath, - because thou dost hearken unto the commandments of Yahweh thy God, which I am commanding thee, to-day, to observe and to do;
I will make mine arrows drunk with blood, And, my sword, shall devour flesh, - With the blood of the slain and the captive, With the flesh of the chief leader of the foe.
And David said unto Achish, Therefore, now, shalt thou know what thy servant can do. And Achish said unto David, Therefore, keeper of my head, will I appoint thee, all the days.
yea so it was, on the third day, that lo! a man came out of the camp, from Saul, with his clothes rent, and earth upon his head, - and so it was, when he came in unto David, that he fell to the earth, and did homage.
And Tamar put ashes upon her head, and, the long tunic that was upon her, she rent, - and put her hand upon her head, and went her way, crying out as she went.
Now, David, was going up by the ascent of Olivet, weeping as he went up, with his head covered, himself, passing on barefoot, - and all the people who were with him, covered every man his head, and went up, weeping as they went.
And the sons of the prophets who were in Bethel came forth unto Elisha, and said unto him, Knowest thou that, to-day, Yahweh is taking away thy lord, from thy head? And he said - I also, know, be silent.
Then Job arose, and rent his robe, and shaved his head, and fell to the earth and worshipped;
His mischief, turneth back, on his own head, - and, on his own crown, his violence, descendeth.
Now, therefore, shall my head be raised high above my foes round about me, and I will sacrifice in his tent the sacrifices of triumphant joy, I will sing and touch the strings, to Yahweh.
Of the torrent in the way, will he drink; - For this cause, will he lift up his head.
O Yahweh, My Lord, my saving strength, thou hast screened my head in the day of battle.
For, burning coals, shalt thou be heaping upon his head, - and, Yahweh, will repay thee.
Therefore hath Yahweh cut off from Israel - Head and tail Palm-top and rush, In one day.
He hath gone up to Bayith and Dibon, to the high places, to weep, - On Nebo and on Medeba, Moab is howling, On all their heads, a baldness, Every beard, clipped.
And, when My Lord Yahweh of hosts called in that day, - for weeping, and for lamentation, and for shaving bare and for girding with sackcloth,
Even from this one, shalt thou go forth, with thy hands upon thy head, - For Yahweh hath rejected those in whom thou confidest, and thou shalt not prosper with them.
And, their nobles have sent their menials to the waters, - They have been to the pits, They have found no water They have returned, their vessels empty, They are pale and ashamed and have covered their heads.
Seated on the ground, in silence, are the elders of the daughter of Zion, They have lifted up dust on their head, have girded themselves with sackcloth, - Bowed down to the ground is the head, of the virgins of Jerusalem.
Therefore shall they gird themselves with sackcloth, And shuddering shall cover them,-And in all faces, shall be paleness, And in all their heads, baldness.
To groan, forbear, Over the dead - no mourning, shalt thou make Thy chaplet, bind thou on thee And thy sandals:, put thou on thy feet, And thou shalt not cover thy beard, And the bread of other men, shalt thou not eat.
So will I turn your festivals into mourning, and all your songs into a dirge, and I will bring up - on all loins - sackcloth, and upon every head - baldness, - and I will make it like the mourning for an only one, even the afterpart thereof, as a day of bitterness.
Nor, by thine own head, mayest thou swear, because thou art not able to make, one hair, white or black.
Whom they set before the Apostles, and, praying, they laid upon them their hands.
Paul, however, still further abiding a good many days with the brethren, bidding them adieu, set sail for Syria; and, with him, Priscilla and Aquila; having shorn his head in Cenchreae, for he had a vow.
But - if thine enemy hunger, be feeding him, if he thirst, be giving him drink; for, this doing, coals of fire, shalt thou heap upon his head.
But, pursuing truth - may, in love, grow into him in all things, - who is the head, Christ, -
Because, a husband, is the head of his wife, as, the Christ also, is the head of the assembly, he, being the saviour of the body, -
And, he, is the head of the body, the assembly, Who is the beginning, Firstborn from among the dead, in order that, he, might become, in all things, himself, pre-eminent; -
And not holding fast the head: from which, all the body, through means of its joints and uniting bands, receiving supply, and connecting itself together, groweth with the growth of God.
Morish
Besides the common use of this as 'chief,' referring to the heads of families and heads of tribes, the word was used symbolically of government and power, as when God declared that the Seed of the woman should bruise the serpent's 'head.' Ge 3:15. In the N.T. the term ?????? is employed for the relative position of man in nature, and of Christ and of God: the head of the woman is the man; the head of every man is Christ; and the head of Christ is God. 1Co 11:3. In another connection Christ is the head of the church, Eph 5:23; Col 1:18; and He is head over all things to the church. Eph 1:22; Col 2:10. As head of the church Christ removes entirely every other controlling or guiding authority. As the head of a man guides and controls his body, so Christ has the complete control over His church.
In Re 12:3 the 'head' symbolises a form of power or kingdom; and in Re 17:3,9, the seven heads are seven mountains on which the woman sitteth, representing Rome, which was commonly described as built upon seven hills, and the woman signifies Papal Rome.
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And enmity, will I put between thee, and the woman, and between thy seed and her seed, - He shall crush thy head, but, thou, shalt crush his heel.
But I wish you to know - that, the head of every man, is, the Christ, and, the head of a woman, is, the man; and, the head of the Christ, is, God.
And did put, all things, in subjection beneath his feet. And gave him to be head over all things unto the assembly,
Because, a husband, is the head of his wife, as, the Christ also, is the head of the assembly, he, being the saviour of the body, -
And, he, is the head of the body, the assembly, Who is the beginning, Firstborn from among the dead, in order that, he, might become, in all things, himself, pre-eminent; -
And ye are, in him, filled full, - Who, is the head of all principality and authority,
And there appeared another sign in heaven; and lo! a great red dragon, - having seven heads and ten horns, and, upon his heads, seven diadems;
And he carried me away into a desert, in spirit. And I saw a woman, sitting upon a scarlet wild-beast full of names of blasphemy, having seven heads and ten horns.
Here, is the mind that hath wisdom. The seven heads, are, seven mountains, whereupon the woman sitteth;
Watsons
HEAD. This word has several significations, beside its natural one, which denotes the head of a man. It is sometimes used in Scripture for the whole man: "Blessings are upon the head of the just," Pr 10:6.; that is, upon their persons. God says of the wicked, "I will recompense their way upon their head," Ezekiel 9., 10. It signifies a chief or capital city: "The head of Syria is Damascus," Isa 7:8. It denotes a chief or principal member in society: "The Lord will cut off from Israel head and tail. The ancient and honourable, he is the head," Isa 9:14-15. "The seed of the woman shall bruise the head of the serpent," Ge 3:15; that is, Christ Jesus, the blessed seed of the woman, shall overthrow the power, policy, and works of the devil. The river in paradise was divided into four heads or branches. In times of grief, the mourners covered their heads: they cut and plucked off their hair. Amos, speaking of unhappy times, says, "I will bring baldness upon every head," Am 8:10. In prosperity, they anointed their heads with sweet oils: "Let thy head lack no" perfumed "ointment," Ec 9:8. To shake the head at any one, expresses contempt: "The virgin, the daughter of Zion, hath despised thee, and laughed thee to scorn; the daughter of Jerusalem hath shaken her head at thee," Isa 37:22.
Head is taken for one that hath rule and preeminence over others. Thus God is the head of Christ; as Mediator, from him he derives all his dignity and authority. Christ is the only spiritual head of the church, both in respect of eminence and influence; he communicates life, motion, and strength to every believer. Also the husband is the head of his wife, because by God's ordinance he is to rule over her, Ge 3:16; also in regard to pre- eminence of sex, 1Pe 3:7, and excellency of knowledge, 1Co 14:35. The Apostle mentions this subordination of persons in 1Co 11:3: "But I would have you know, that the head of every man is Christ, and the head of the woman is the man, and the head of Christ is God." "The stone which the builders rejected was made the head of the corner," Ps 118:22. It was the first in the angle, whether it were disposed at the top of that angle to adorn and crown it, or at the bottom to support it. This, in the New Testament is applied to Christ, who is the strength and beauty of the church, to unite the several parts of it, namely, both Jews and Gentiles together.
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And enmity, will I put between thee, and the woman, and between thy seed and her seed, - He shall crush thy head, but, thou, shalt crush his heel. Unto the woman, he said, I will, increase, thy pain of pregnancy, In pain, shalt thou year children, - Yet, unto thy husband, shall be thy hinging, Though, he, rule over thee.
A stone the builders refused, hath become the head of the corner:
Blessings, are for the head of the righteous man, but, the mouth of the lawless, covereth up wrong.
Continually, let thy garments be white, - and, ointment upon thy bead, let it not be lacking.
For, though the head of Syria is Damascus, And, the head of Damascus, is Rezin, Yet within threescore and five years more, shall Ephraim be broken that it shall not be a people;
Therefore hath Yahweh cut off from Israel - Head and tail Palm-top and rush, In one day. The eider and favourite, he, is the head, - And the prophet teaching falsehood, he, is the tail;
this, is the word which Yahweh hath spoken concerning him, - The virgin daughter of Zion, laugheth thee to scorn - mocketh thee, The daughter of Jerusalem after thee doth wag her head,
So will I turn your festivals into mourning, and all your songs into a dirge, and I will bring up - on all loins - sackcloth, and upon every head - baldness, - and I will make it like the mourning for an only one, even the afterpart thereof, as a day of bitterness.
But I wish you to know - that, the head of every man, is, the Christ, and, the head of a woman, is, the man; and, the head of the Christ, is, God.
If, however, they are wishing to learn something, at home, their own husbands, let them question; for it is a shame for a woman to be speaking in assembly.
Ye husbands, in like manner, dwelling with them according to knowledge, - as unto a weaker vessel, unto the female vessel , assigning honour, as joint - inheritors also of life's favour, - to the end that unhindered may be, your prayers.