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There are many secondary nuances of
!
First, the word can represent the “hair on
one’s head”: “And on the seventh day, he shall shave all his hair off his
;
he shall
shave off his beard and his eyebrows, all his hair” (Lev. 14:9,
RSV
). The word can
connote unity, representing every individual in a given group: “Have they not sped? have
they not divided the prey; to every man a damsel or two …” (Judg. 5:30). This word may
be used numerically, meaning the total number of persons or individuals in a group:
“Take ye the sum of all the congregation of the children of Israel, after their families, by
the house of their fathers, with the number of their names, every male by their polls”
(Num. 1:2)
can also emphasize the individual: “And there was a great famine in
Samaria: and, behold, they besieged it, until an ass’s head [i.e., an individual donkey] was
sold for fourscore pieces of silver …” (2 Kings 6:25). It is upon the “head” (upon the
person himself) that curses and blessings fall: “The blessings of thy father have prevailed
above the blessings of my progenitors … : they shall be on the head of Joseph …” (Gen.
49:26).
sometimes means “leader,” whether appointed, elected, or self-appointed. The
word can be used of the tribal fathers, who are the leaders of a group of people: “And
Moses chose able men out of all Israel, and made them heads over the people …” (Exod.
18:25). Military leaders are also called “heads”: “These be the names of the mighty men
whom David had: The Tachmonite that sat in the seat, chief among the captains …” (2
Sam. 23:8). In Num. 1:16, the princes are called “heads” (cf. Judg. 10:18). This word is
used of those who represent or lead the people in worship (2 Kings 25:18—the chief
priest).
When used of things,
means “point” or “beginning.” With a local emphasis, the
word refers to the “top” or summit of a mountain or hill: “… Tomorrow I will stand on
the top of the hill with the rod of God in mine hand” (Exod. 17:9). Elsewhere the word
represents the topmost end of a natural or constructed object: “Go to, let us build us a city
and a tower, whose top may reach unto heaven …” (Gen. 11:4).
In Gen. 47:31, the word denotes the “head” of a bed, or where one lays his “head.” In
1 Kings 8:8,
refers to the ends of poles. The word may be used of the place where a
journey begins: “Thou hast built thy high place at every head of the way …” (Ezek.
16:25); cf. Dan. 7:1: “the sum of the matters.…” This sense of the place of beginning
appears in Gen. 2:10 (the first occurrence): “And a river went out of Eden to water the
garden; and from thence it was parted, and became [the source of four rivers].” This
nuance identifies a thing as being placed spatially in front of a group; it stands in front or
at the “head” (Deut. 20:9; cf. 1 Kings 21:9). The “head” of the stars is a star located at the
zenith of the sky (Job 22:12). The “head” cornerstone occupies a place of primary
importance. It is the stone by which all the other stones are measured; it is the chief
cornerstone (Ps. 118:22). This word may have a temporal significancemeaning
“beginning” or “first.” The second sense is seen in Exod. 12:2: “This month shall be unto
you the beginning of months.…” In 1 Chron. 16:7 the word describes the “first” in a
whole series of acts: “Then on that day David delivered first this psalm to thank the Lord
into the hand of Asaph and his brethren.”
may also have an estimative connotation: “Take thou also unto thee [the finest
of] spices …” (Exod. 30:23).