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 cometh to pass, as he hath interpreted to us so it hath been, me he put back on my station, and him he hanged.'
and lo, seven other kine are coming up after them, thin, and of very bad form, and lean in flesh; I have not seen like these in all the land of Egypt for badness.
And Israel putteth out his right hand, and placeth it upon the head of Ephraim, who is the younger, and his left hand upon the head of Manasseh; he hath guided his hands wisely, for Manasseh is the first-born.
And Moses saith unto Aaron, and to Eleazar, and to Ithamar his sons, 'Your heads ye do not uncover, and your garments ye do not rend, that ye die not, and on all the company He be wroth; as to your brethren, the whole house of Israel, they bewail the burning which Jehovah hath kindled;
As to the leper in whom is the plague, his garments are rent, and his head is uncovered, and he covereth over the upper lip, and 'Unclean! unclean!' he calleth;
and Aaron hath laid his two hands on the head of the living goat, and hath confessed over it all the iniquities of the sons of Israel, and all their transgressions in all their sins, and hath put them on the head of the goat, and hath sent it away by the hand of a fit man into the wilderness;
'Ye do not round the corner of your head, nor destroy the corner of thy beard.
they do not make baldness on their head, and the corner of their beard they do not shave, and in their flesh they do not make a cutting;
'And when the dead dieth beside him in an instant, suddenly, and he hath defiled the head of his separation, then he hath shaved his head in the day of his cleansing; on the seventh day he doth shave it,
'And thus thou dost to them to cleanse them: sprinkle upon them waters of atonement, and they have caused a razor to pass over all their flesh, and have washed their garments, and cleansed themselves,
and layeth his hands upon him, and chargeth him, as Jehovah hath spoken by the hand of Moses.
Sons ye are to Jehovah your God; ye do not cut yourselves, nor make baldness between your eyes for the dead;
then thou hast brought her in unto the midst of thy household, and she hath shaved her head, and prepared her nails,
'And Jehovah hath given thee for head, and not for tail; and thou hast been only above, and art not beneath, for thou dost hearken unto the commands of Jehovah thy God, which I am commanding thee to-day, to keep and to do,
I make drunk Mine arrows with blood, And My sword devoureth flesh, From the blood of the pierced and captive, From the head of the freemen of the enemy.
And David saith unto Achish, 'Therefore -- thou dost know that which thy servant dost do.' And Achish saith unto David, 'Therefore -- keeper of my head I do appoint thee all the days.'
and it cometh to pass, on the third day, that lo, a man hath come in out of the camp from Saul, and his garments are rent, and earth on his head; and it cometh to pass, in his coming in unto David, that he falleth to the earth, and doth obeisance.
And Tamar taketh ashes for her head, and the long coat that is on her she hath rent, and putteth her hand on her head, and goeth, going on and crying;
And David is going up in the ascent of the olives, going up and weeping, and he hath the head covered, and he is going barefooted, and all the people who are with him have covered each his head, and have gone up, going up and weeping;
And sons of the prophets who are in Beth-El come out unto Elisha, and say unto him, 'Hast thou known that to-day Jehovah is taking thy lord from thy head?' and he saith, 'I also have known -- keep silent.'
And Job riseth, and rendeth his robe, and shaveth his head, and falleth to the earth, and doth obeisance,
Return doth his perverseness on his head, And on his crown his violence cometh down.
And now, lifted up is my head, Above my enemies -- my surrounders, And I sacrifice in His tent sacrifices of shouting, I sing, yea, I sing praise to Jehovah.
From a brook in the way he drinketh, Therefore he doth lift up the head!
O Jehovah, my Lord, strength of my salvation, Thou hast covered my head in the day of armour.
For coals thou art putting on his head, And Jehovah giveth recompense to thee.
And Jehovah cutteth off from Israel head and tail, Branch and reed -- the same day,
He hath gone up to Bajith and Dibon, The high places -- to weep, On Nebo and on Medeba Moab howleth, On all its heads is baldness, every beard cut off.
And call doth the Lord, Jehovah of Hosts, In that day, to weeping and to lamentation, And to baldness and to girding on of sackcloth,
Also from this thou goest out, And thy hands on thy head, For Jehovah hath kicked at thy confidences, And thou dost not give prosperity to them!
And their honourable ones have sent their little ones to the water, They have come unto ditches, They have not found water, They have turned back -- their vessels empty! They have been ashamed, And have blushed and covered their head.
Sit on the earth -- keep silent do the elders of the daughter of Zion, They have caused dust to go up on their head, They have girded on sackcloth, Put down to the earth their head have the virgins of Jerusalem.
And they have girded on sackcloth, And covered them hath trembling, And unto all faces is shame, And on all their heads -- baldness.
Cease to groan, for the dead thou dost make no mourning, thy bonnet bind on thee, and thy shoes thou dost put on thy feet, and thou dost not cover over the upper lip, and bread of men thou dost not eat.'
And have turned your festivals to mourning, And all your songs to lamentation, And caused sackcloth to come up on all loins, And on every head -- baldness, And made it as a mourning of an only one, And its latter end as a day of bitterness.
nor by thy head mayest thou swear, because thou art not able one hair to make white or black;
whom they did set before the apostles, and they, having prayed, laid on them their hands.
And Paul having remained yet a good many days, having taken leave of the brethren, was sailing to Syria -- and with him are Priscilla and Aquilas -- having shorn his head in Cenchera, for he had a vow;
I will recompense again, saith the Lord;' if, then, thine enemy doth hunger, feed him; if he doth thirst, give him drink; for this doing, coals of fire thou shalt heap upon his head;
and, being true in love, we may increase to Him in all things, who is the head -- the Christ;
because the husband is head of the wife, as also the Christ is head of the assembly, and he is saviour of the body,
And himself is the head of the body -- the assembly -- who is a beginning, a first-born out of the dead, that he might become in all things -- himself -- first,
and not holding the head, from which all the body -- through the joints and bands gathering supply, and being knit together -- may increase with 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 enmity I put between thee and the woman, and between thy seed and her seed; he doth bruise thee -- the head, and thou dost bruise him -- the heel.'
and I wish you to know that of every man the head is the Christ, and the head of a woman is the husband, and the head of Christ is God.
and all things He did put under his feet, and did give him -- head over all things to the assembly,
because the husband is head of the wife, as also the Christ is head of the assembly, and he is saviour of the body,
And himself is the head of the body -- the assembly -- who is a beginning, a first-born out of the dead, that he might become in all things -- himself -- first,
and ye are in him made full, who is the head of all principality and authority,
And there was seen another sign in the heaven, and, lo, a great red dragon, having seven heads and ten horns, and upon his head seven diadems,
and he carried me away to a wilderness in the Spirit, and I saw a woman sitting upon a scarlet-coloured beast, full of names of evil-speaking, having seven heads and ten horns,
Here is the mind that is having wisdom; the seven heads are seven mountains, upon which the woman doth sit,
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 I put between thee and the woman, and between thy seed and her seed; he doth bruise thee -- the head, and thou dost bruise him -- the heel.' Unto the woman He said, 'Multiplying I multiply thy sorrow and thy conception, in sorrow dost thou bear children, and toward thy husband is thy desire, and he doth rule over thee.'
A stone the builders refused Hath become head of a corner.
Blessings are for the head of the righteous, And the mouth of the wicked cover doth violence.
At all times let thy garments be white, and let not perfume be lacking on thy head.
For the head of Aram is Damascus, And the head of Damascus is Rezin, And within sixty and five years Is Ephraim broken from being a people.
And Jehovah cutteth off from Israel head and tail, Branch and reed -- the same day, Elder, and accepted of face, he is the head, Prophet, teacher of falsehood, he is the tail.
this is the word that Jehovah spake concerning him: Trampled on thee, laughed at thee, Hath the virgin daughter of Zion, Behind thee shaken the head hath the daughter of Jerusalem.
And have turned your festivals to mourning, And all your songs to lamentation, And caused sackcloth to come up on all loins, And on every head -- baldness, And made it as a mourning of an only one, And its latter end as a day of bitterness.
and I wish you to know that of every man the head is the Christ, and the head of a woman is the husband, and the head of Christ is God.
and if they wish to learn anything, at home their own husbands let them question, for it is a shame to women to speak in an assembly.
The husbands, in like manner, dwelling with them, according to knowledge, as to a weaker vessel -- to the wife -- imparting honour, as also being heirs together of the grace of life, that your prayers be not hindered.