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 was; me he restored unto my office, and him he hanged.
And, behold, seven other cows came up after them, lean and very ugly in appearance, and thin, such as I have never seen in all the land of Egypt for ugliness.
Then Israel stretched out his right hand and laid it upon Ephraim's head, who was the younger, and his left hand upon Manasseh's head, guiding his hands with understanding; for Manasseh was the firstborn.
Then Moses said unto Aaron and unto Eleazar and unto Ithamar, his sons, Do not uncover your heads, neither rend your clothes lest ye die and lest wrath come upon the whole congregation; but your brethren, the whole house of Israel, shall lament the burning which the LORD has done.
And the leper in whom the plague is, his clothes shall be rent and his head uncovered, and he shall put a covering upon his upper lip and shall cry, Unclean, unclean.
and Aaron shall lay both his hands upon the head of the live he goat and confess over it all the iniquities of the sons of Israel and all their rebellions and all their sins, putting them thus upon the head of the he goat and shall send him away into the wilderness by the hand of a man prepared for this;
Ye shall not round the corners of your heads, neither shalt thou mar the corners of thy beard.
They shall not make baldness upon their head, neither shall they shave off the corner of their beard, nor make any cuttings in their flesh.
And if anyone dies very suddenly beside them, and they have defiled the head of their Nazariteship, then they shall shave their head in the day of their cleansing; on the seventh day shall they shave it.
And thus shalt thou do unto them, to cleanse them: Sprinkle water of atonement for sin upon them, and let them shave all their flesh, and let them wash their clothes, and be clean.
and he laid his hands upon him and gave him a charge, as the LORD had commanded by the hand of Moses.
Ye are the sons of the LORD your God: ye shall not cut yourselves nor make any baldness over your eyes for the dead.
then thou shalt bring her home to thine house, and she shall shave her head and pare her nails,
And the LORD shall make thee the head, and not the tail, and thou shalt be above only, and thou shalt not be beneath, when thou shalt hearken unto the commandments of the LORD thy God, which I command thee this day, to keep them and to fulfill them.
I will make my arrows drunk with blood and my sword shall devour flesh, in the blood of the slain and of the captives of the heads, in revenge as an enemy.
And David said to Achish, Surely thou shalt know what thy slave can do. And Achish said to David, Therefore, I will make thee keeper of my head all the days.
it came to pass on the third day that, behold, 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 to David, that he fell to the earth and did obeisance.
And Tamar put ashes on her head and rent her garment of different colours that was on her and laid her hand on her head and went on crying.
And David went up by the ascent of Mount Olivet and wept as he went up and had his head covered, and he went barefoot. And all the people that were with him covered each one his head, and they went up, weeping as they went up.
And the sons of the prophets that were at Bethel came forth to Elisha and said unto him, Knowest thou that the LORD will take away thy master from thy head today? And he said, Yes, I know it; be silent.
Then Job arose and rent his mantle and shaved his head and fell down upon the ground and worshipped
His work shall return upon his own head, and his violent dealing shall come down upon his own pate.
And now shall my head be lifted up above my enemies round about me; therefore I will offer sacrifices of joy in his tabernacle; I will sing, yea, I will sing praises unto the LORD.
He shall drink of the brook in the way; therefore he shall lift up his head.
O GOD the Lord, the strength of my saving health, cover thou my head in the day of battle.
for thou shalt heap coals of fire upon his head, and the LORD shall reward thee.
Therefore the LORD will cut off from Israel head and tail, branch and rush, in one day.
He is gone up to Bajith and to Dibon, the altars, to weep; Moab shall howl over Nebo and over Medeba: every head among her shall become bald, and every beard shall be cut off.
Therefore the Lord GOD of the hosts did call in this day unto weeping and to mourning and to baldness and to girding with sackcloth:
Thou shalt also go forth from him with thine hands upon thine head; for the LORD has rejected thy confidences, and thou shalt not prosper in them.
And their nobles have sent their little ones to the waters: they came to the pits and found no water; they returned with their vessels empty; they were ashamed and confounded and covered their heads.
Jod The elders of the daughter of Zion sat upon the ground and are silent: they have cast up dust upon their heads; they have girded themselves with sackcloth; the daughters of Jerusalem hung their heads down to the ground.
They shall also gird themselves with sackcloth, and trembling shall cover them; and shame shall be upon all faces, and baldness upon all their heads.
Forbear to cry, make no mourning for the dead, bind thy turban upon thy head, and put on thy shoes upon thy feet and do not cover thy lips and do not eat the bread of comfort.
and I will turn your feasts into mourning and all your songs into lamentation; and I will cause sackcloth to be brought up upon all loins and baldness upon every head; and I will make it as the mourning of an only son and the end thereof as a bitter day.
Neither shalt thou swear by thy head because thou canst not make one hair white or black.
these they set before the apostles, and when they had prayed, they laid their hands on them.
And Paul after this tarried there yet a good while and then took his leave of the brethren and sailed from there into Syria and with him Priscilla and Aquila, having shorn his head in Cenchrea, for he had a vow.
Therefore, if thine enemy hungers, feed him; if he thirsts, give him drink; for in so doing thou shalt heap coals of fire on his head.
but following the truth in charity, let us grow up into him in all things, who is the head, the Christ:
For the husband is the head of the wife even as the Christ is head of the congregation , and it is he who gives saving health to the body.
And he is the head of the body, the congregation , who is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, that in all things he might have the preeminence.
and not holding fast to the Head, from whom all the body, fed and united by its joints and bonds, grows in the increase 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 I will put enmity between thee and the woman and between thy seed and her seed; that seed shall bruise thy head, and thou shalt bruise his heel.
But I would have you know that the head of every man is the Christ, and the head of the woman is the man, and the head of Christ is God.
And has put all things under his feet and gave him to be the head over all things to the congregation ,
For the husband is the head of the wife even as the Christ is head of the congregation , and it is he who gives saving health to the body.
And he is the head of the body, the congregation , who is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, that in all things he might have the preeminence.
and ye are complete in him, who is the head of all principality and power.
And there appeared another sign in the heaven; and, behold, a great red dragon, having seven heads and ten horns, and seven crowns upon his heads.
So he carried me away in the spirit into the wilderness: and I saw a woman seated upon a scarlet-coloured beast, full of names of blasphemy, having seven heads and ten horns.
And here is the meaning which has wisdom. The seven heads are seven mountains, on which the woman sits.
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 I will put enmity between thee and the woman and between thy seed and her seed; that seed shall bruise thy head, and thou shalt bruise his heel. Unto the woman he said, I will greatly multiply thy sorrow and thy conception; in sorrow thou shalt bring forth sons; and thy desire shall be to thy husband, and he shall rule over thee.
The stone which the builders rejected is become the head of the corner.
Blessings are upon the head of the just, but the mouth of the wicked covers violence.
Thy garments shall always be white, and thy head shall never lack ointment.
For the head of Syria shall be Damascus, and the head of Damascus Rezin; and within sixty-five years Ephraim shall be broken, and it shall never again be a people.
Therefore the LORD will cut off from Israel head and tail, branch and rush, in one day. The ancient and venerable to look upon is the head; the prophet that teaches lies, he is the tail.
This is the word which the LORD has spoken concerning him, Has he despised thee? Has he laughed thee to scorn O virgin daughter of Zion? Has he shaken his head behind thy back O daughter of Jerusalem?
and I will turn your feasts into mourning and all your songs into lamentation; and I will cause sackcloth to be brought up upon all loins and baldness upon every head; and I will make it as the mourning of an only son and the end thereof as a bitter day.
But I would have you know that the head of every man is the Christ, and the head of the woman is the man, and the head of Christ is God.
And if they desire to learn anything, let them ask their husbands at home, for it is a dishonest thing for women to speak in the congregation .
Likewise, ye husbands, dwell with them wisely, giving honour unto the woman, as unto a more fragile vessel and as being heirs together of the grace of life, that your prayers not be hindered.