ANE

e nom.

appears in most of the Sem. languages, and the mean-

ing in the dierent languages is fairly consistent. In biblical Aram. is used for the head of a human (Dan 2:28), the head of a statue (2:32), metaphorically for leaders (Ezra 5:10), and for the beginning or the substance of a dream (Dan 7:6). e word also appears in Phoenician and Punic, in Moabite (Mesha 20 for a division of an army), and in Ugar. (for head, the summit of a mountain, and with the same use as in Ezra 5:10). e same meaning appears also in Arab. (ras), Syr. (ry), and Akk. (rum and rum). OT 1. Head of a human. OT. e nom. is o en used with this meaning in the ings can be carried on the head (Gen

e expression from head to foot is used to denote a humans whole

body (cf. Lev 13:12; Isa 1:6).

40:1617). Special provision was made for sores on the head as part of the provisions for ceremonial cleansing (cf. Lev 13:2930, 44). In the case of the ceremonial cleansing of infectious skin diseases, the head had to be shaven and oil poured on the head of the person who is cleansed (Lev 14:9, 18, 29). In certain rituals the head also had an important role. When somebody blessed somebody else, his hands were laid on the head of the other person (Gen 48:1418). e laying of hands on somebodys head could, however, also have a totally dierent signicance. In Lev 24:1023 the stoning of a blasphemer is related. All those who heard his blasphemy had to lay their hands on his head to conrm their testimony (24:14).

New International Dictionary of Old Testament eology & Exegesis, ed. Willem VanGemeren (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan Publishing House, 1997).
!"#$%&'()*%$+),$-$.)/012')3$*&45%')67)889:;)<=)>'?'+1'%)8@7)A:8AB !

In Lev 19 a number of laws dealing with holiness are found.

ey

include a stipulation that the hair on the side of the head may not be shaven (19:27). Priests were forbidden to shave their hair (21:5), and so also Nazirites (Num 6:5; Judg 13:5). e unshaven head served as a symbol of the Nazirites consecration to the Lord (Num 6:7). When the period of separation has passed, the hair had to be shaven and placed in the re under the sacrice of the fellowship oering (6:1819). In the same way the head of a captured woman also had to be shaven (Deut 21:12). People in certain oces had their heads decorated. In Ezek 13:18 judgment is pronounced on the women who adorned their heads with veils in order to ensnare people. Figuratively, wisdom is described as an adornment for somebodys head (Prov 1:9). e priest received a turban on his head (Exod 29:6). Oil was poured on the priests head as sign of his consecration (29:7; Lev 21:10). In the same way a king was also anointed (cf. 1 Sam 10:1; 2 Kgs 9:3, 6; Ps 23:5). A crown on the head of a king or queen indicated their royal dignity (1 Chron 20:2; Esth 2:17). When the crown of the high priest was taken away from him (Zech 6:11), it signied the removal of his honor. In Deut 28:23 over your head refers spatially to that which is above one (the sky in this case). In 33:16 reference is made to blessings that will come on somebodys head, i.e., that will become his. On the other hand, a storm that will come on ones head is a sign of judgment (Jer 23:19). In ba le the head was regarded as an easy target. For this rea-

New International Dictionary of Old Testament eology & Exegesis, ed. Willem VanGemeren (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan Publishing House, 1997).
!"#$%&'()*%$+),$-$.)/012')3$*&45%')67)889:;)<=)>'?'+1'%)8@7)A:8AB !

son it was o en protected with a helmet (1 Sam 17:5).

e head of a slain

enemy was regarded as a war trophy (17:57; 29:4). In Ezek 29:18 a head rubbed bare was regarded as a sign of heavy service in the army. 2. e head of an animal. e word is also used for the heads of animals. e Passover lamb is is o en the case with animals used in sacrices.

had to be roasted in its entirety, including the head, legs, and inner parts (Exod 12:9). During the consecration of priests a young bull and two lambs were to be sacriced. Before slaughtering the bull, Aaron and his sons had to lay their hands on the bulls head (29:10). done with both the lambs (vv. 15, 19). e same had to be is laying of the hands before a sac-

rice appears frequently in Lev. In Lev 1:4 the sacricer is commanded to lay his hand on the head of the burnt oering. Dierent explanations have been oered, such as transference of the sins to the animal, declaration of the purpose of the sacrice or of innocence, or ownership. In the case of Lev 1:4 only one hand was used, while two were used in the case of the scapegoat in 16:21. In the la er text, transference is probably the right explanation. In 1:4 and related instances the action probably refers to the ownership of the oering by the sacricer. is action is omi ed when the sacricer could carry the oering. In the case of the scapegoat, the guilt of Israel was transferred to the scapegoat and then he was driven into the desert to carry the guilt of Israel away. When a dove was sacriced, the priest had to wring his head from his body, sometimes com-

New International Dictionary of Old Testament eology & Exegesis, ed. Willem VanGemeren (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan Publishing House, 1997).
!"#$%&'()*%$+),$-$.)/012')3$*&45%')67)889:;)<=)>'?'+1'%)8@7)A:8AB !

pletely (1:15) and sometimes partially (5:8). In 2 Sam 3:8 the head of a dog is used in a derogatory reference to a person. In 2 Kgs 6:25 the value a ached to a donkeys head denoted the severity of a famine. 3. Head of statue or idol. In 1 Sam 5:4 the word refers to the head of the statue of Dagon that was broken o before the ark of the Covenant. 4. Head of other things. Cherubim also had heads (Ezek 10:1, 11). Also the sea monsters and the Leviathan had heads (Job 41:7 [40:31]; Ps 74:13, 14). In Ps 24:7, 9 gates are personied in the reference that they must li their heads. 5. Metonymically for hair, individual, or person. e expression to shave someones head, meaning to shave his hair, appears frequently (cf. 2 Sam 14:26; Ezek 44:20). In Ps 140:7 [8] it is said that the Lord will protect the head of the poet, head referring metonymically to his life. Also in 1 Chron 12:20 the word denotes life in the expression, It will cost us our heads. In 2 Sam 2:16 reference is made to youths who grabbed each others head (= hair) in ba le. In 1 Sam 28:2 a bodyguard is called (lit.) the keeper of my head. 6. e nom. in conjunction with vbs. denoting gestures. In particular, the shaking of the head is important. In Jer 18:16 the shaking of the head is a sign of amazement. In Ps 44:14 [15] it is a sign of scorn and derision. In Job 16:4 it expresses mocking (cf. also 2 Kgs 19:21).

New International Dictionary of Old Testament eology & Exegesis, ed. Willem VanGemeren (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan Publishing House, 1997).
!"#$%&'()*%$+),$-$.)/012')3$*&45%')67)889:;)<=)>'?'+1'%)8@7)A:8AB !

7. Leader. For a full discussion of the use of the word in this meaning, cf. Bartle (1969). is nom. is frequently used to denote dierent kinds of leaders. It can denote leaders in general (cf. Num 25:4; Deut 29:10 [9]; 33:5; Josh 23:2; 24:1; Job 29:25), important people in society (Isa 9:14, 15 [13, 14]), or leaders of specic groups. It is used frequently for heads of families (Exod 6:14, 25; Num 7:2) and the heads of the tribes of Israel (Num 1:16; 32:28; Deut 1:15; 1 Kgs 8:1; 2 Chron 5:2). ere are also references to the leaders of Jacob (Mic 3:1), the leaders of the house of Judah (3:9), the leaders of the people (Neh 10:14 [15]), and provincial leaders (11:3). Jephthah is called a head in Judg 11:411. It must denote more than just a military leader in this instance, perhaps something like a governor. Saul is also called the leader of the tribes of Israel (1 Sam 15:17). e word is also used for leaders of non-Israelite tribes (Num 25:15) or of the world in general (Job 12:24). Moses elected leaders, on the recommendation of Jethro, to assist him in judging cases (Exod 18:25, 26). Sam 22:44; Ps 18:43 [44]; Jer 31:7). e king of Israel is denoted by this word as the one who is a leader amongst the nations (2 e word is o en used in military conree (2 texts, e.g., for the head of the army (1 Chron 11:6) the leader of the

Sam 23:8, 18), and the thirty leaders of Davids army (2 Sam 23:13). It is used for the high priest (2 Kgs 25:18; Jer 52:24) as well as for other important leading priests (Neh 12:7), and also for leaders of the Levites (Neh 12:24). In the cult a leader in thanksgiving and prayer is mentioned (Neh

New International Dictionary of Old Testament eology & Exegesis, ed. Willem VanGemeren (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan Publishing House, 1997).
!"#$%&'()*%$+),$-$.)/012')3$*&45%')67)889:;)<=)>'?'+1'%)8@7)A:8AB !

11:17), and also leaders (directors) for the singers (Neh 12:46). Even a city can be called the leading city in an area or among a group of cities (Josh 11:10; Isa 7:8, 9), and so also the mountain of the Lords temple as chief among the mountains (Isa 2:2). In connection with this use, the expression to put at a groups head denotes the appointment of somebody as leader (Deut 1:13, 15; 20:9). It is also used for a rstborn son (1 Chron 23:8, 11, 16) or a son who received the privileges of a rstborn (26:10). 8. Temporally: beginning. e nom. can also be used temporally, to denote the beginning of time (Prov 8:23), the rst month of the year (Exod 12:12), the rst day of a month (Num 28:11), and the beginning of a year (Ezek 40:1). It is also used for the beginning of a watch (Judg 7:19; Lam 2:19). It can also be used in an abs. sense, for the beginning (Isa 40:21; 41:4, 26), also in opposition to the end of something (Eccl 3:11). 9. Spatially: summit of a mountain, topside. e nom. is used for the upper end of an object. It is o en used for the summit of mountains or hills (Gen 8:5; Num 14:40; Isa 42:11). In Exod 34:2 God met Moses on the summit of a mountain. as holy (Ezek 43:12). e summit of the temple mountain was regarded is is probably related to the fact that the summit of

a mountain was o en used for sacrices (Hos 4:13). e word is also used for the top of a rock (Gen 28:18), the top of the stand in the temple (1 Kgs 7:3536), of the pillars in the temple (2 Chron

New International Dictionary of Old Testament eology & Exegesis, ed. Willem VanGemeren (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan Publishing House, 1997).
!"#$%&'()*%$+),$-$.)/012')3$*&45%')67)889:;)<=)>'?'+1'%)8@7)A:8AB !

3:15, 16), of a throne (1 Kgs 10:19), of a lampstand (Zech 4:2), of a tower (Gen 11:4), of a ladder (28:12), of the posts in the tabernacle (Exod 36:38), and of a tree (Ezek 17:4) or other plants (2 Sam 5:24). In Job 24:24 the heads of grain refers to the ears of crops. In Job 22:12 the word is used to denote the highest stars. honor (1 Sam 9:22). 10. Best or highest example of something. Finest spices are o en denoted by use of joy. 11. e head of God or of the Lord. e nom. is used infrequently with respect to God. In the vision of the Ancient of Days in Dan 7:9 God is represented as an old man whose hair is gray, as a sign of wisdom and knowledge. In the imagery in Isa 59:17 Gods head is also mentioned, but evidently as part of an extended metaphor where God is pictured as an armored soldier, ready for vengeance. In 1 Chron 29:11 God is called the head of all, expressing his dominion. ple. 12. Mourning rites. rites of Israel. e head played an important role in the mourning e rst rite was usually to throw dust, soil, or ashes on the is is related to the use of the nom. to denote leaders. In 2 Chron 13:12 the Lord is called the leader of the peo(cf. Exod 30:23; Ezek 27:22). It is also used absolutely for the best things (Deut 33:15). In Ps 137:6 it is used for the highest e head of a table was regarded as a position of

head (Josh 7:6; 1 Sam 4:12; 2 Sam 1:2; 15:32; Job 2:12; Lam 2:10; Ezek 27:30).

New International Dictionary of Old Testament eology & Exegesis, ed. Willem VanGemeren (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan Publishing House, 1997).
!"#$%&'()*%$+),$-$.)/012')3$*&45%')67)889:;)<=)>'?'+1'%)8@7)A:8AB !

To put the hand on the head was regarded as a sign of sorrow (2 Sam 13:19, with a reference to Tamars actions a er being raped by Amnon; cf. also Jer 2:37). Ben-Hadad and his men tied ropes around their heads in addition to wearing sackcloth for their surrender to Israel (1 Kgs 20:3132). It was also customary to shave the hair of the head as sign of mourning (Isa 15:2; Jer 48:37; Ezek 7:18). loose (Lev 10:6) or le e head was also covered (2 Sam 15:30; Esth to hang 6:12; Jer 14:34). When the hair was not shaved, it could be le head is also mentioned in this regard (Ezra 9:3). 13. Head, total amount, sum. In Num 5:7 the nom. refers to the sum of money to be paid as restitution, i.e., the capital amount on which interest must be reckoned. In Ps 119:160 and 139:17 the word refers to the sum or total of the Lords words. 14. Head, division, partition. In Gen 2:10 the nom. is used to denote the four headwaters of the river running from Eden. 7:16, 20; 9:34, 37, 4344; 1 Sam 11:11; 13:1718; Job 1:17). 15. e nom. refers to a main cornerstone in Ps 118:22, in the . e head of a person is also used in dierent expression e nom. is commonly used as a military term for dierent military formations or units (cf. Judg

unkempt (2 Sam 15:30). To pull the hair from the

16. Idiomatic expressions.

idiomatic expressions, sometimes with a positive and sometimes with a negative sense. In Eccl 2:14 the wise person is typied as the one who has

New International Dictionary of Old Testament eology & Exegesis, ed. Willem VanGemeren (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan Publishing House, 1997).
!"#$%&'()*%$+),$-$.)/012')3$*&45%')67)889:;)<=)>'?'+1'%)8@7)A:8AB !

his eyes in his head, while the fool walks in darkness.

is image is related

to the opposition between light and darkness that appears frequently in the Wisdom literature to describe the two groups (wise people and fools). To heap burning coals on someones head is an idiomatic expression taken over by many languages (Prov 25:22). image used refers to severe pain. is is a controversial idiom. e e pain could be the pain of contrition

or sorrow caused by the good deed as payment for a bad deed. Some commentators refer to an Egyptian ritual in which live coals on the head of a penitent person was a mark of contrition. Others refer to an Old-Assyr. law with a similar punishment for a whore. A good deed can cause an evildoer to repent. e expression, not a hair of his head will fall to the e expression more than the hair ground, meaning that a person will come to no harm (1 Sam 14:45), also became idiomatic in many languages. of my head is used to express a large number (Ps 40:12 [13]). e expression, your blood be on your own head, is used to denote that something is somebodys own fault (2 Sam 1:16; cf. Ezek 33:4). If somebody is, however, responsible for something that happened to somebody else, esp. if it caused the others death, the expression is used to denote the guilt of that party (his blood will be on his own head, Josh 2:19; may his blood fall upon , 2 Sam 3:29; e L ORD will repay him for the blood he shed , 1 Kgs 2:3233). In the last instance it is stated that the guilt will rest on the head of Joab and his descendants forever. To let

New International Dictionary of Old Testament eology & Exegesis, ed. Willem VanGemeren (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan Publishing House, 1997).
!"#$%&'()*%$+),$-$.)/012')3$*&45%')67)889:;)<=)>'?'+1'%)8@7)A:8AB !

something return on someones head (NIV to make someone pay for something, Judg 9:57) means to repay someone for what he did. It is mostly used with a negative sense, such as to repay someone for the evil he did (9:57; 1 Sam 25:39), for his insults (Neh 4:4 [3:36]), for his way (1 Kgs 8:32), or for what he did (Joel 3:4, 7 [4:4, 7]). To humiliate someone is expressed by the expression to trample on the heads of (Amos 2:7). e expression my head will be exalted denotes a position of honor and the certainty of victory (Ps 27:6). Related to this is the expression to li up someones head. It denotes the appointment to a position of honor (cf. Gen 40:13), although it can also be used ironically to denote that someone was hanged (40:1920). In the last case the addition of the prepositional phrase mlyk makes it clear that the expression has an ironic meaning (cf. Marcus, 1989, for a discussion of this usage of the nom.). e same expression is also used for the taking of a census (Exod 30:12; Num 1:2, 49; 4:2, 22). A nation that was humiliated and subjected is unable to raise its head (Judg 8:28; cf. also Job 10:15; Ps 3:3 [4]; 83:2 [3]; Zech 1:21 [2:4]). Jehoiachins release from prison is denoted by the same expression (2 Kgs 25:27). Marcus (1990, 21) distinguishes four meanings for this expression: (a) to take o someones head, to carry it o (1 Chron 10:9); (b) to take a census; (c) to be happy or to assert oneself; and (d) as in the case of Jehoiachin, it perhaps has the meaning to review a case. e expression that someones head touches the clouds denotes human pride (Job 20:6).

New International Dictionary of Old Testament eology & Exegesis, ed. Willem VanGemeren (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan Publishing House, 1997).
!"#$%&'()*%$+),$-$.)/012')3$*&45%')67)889:;)<=)>'?'+1'%)8@7)A:8AB !"

e head of a street denotes one end of a street (Isa 51:20; Ezek 16:25). Cf. also the head of a valley (Isa 28:1) and the head of a passage (Prov 1:21; Ezek 42:12). 17. e word is also used for the tip of a scepter (Esth 5:2) or of , headrest, refers to a rock used by Jacob as a pilpoles (1 Kgs 8:8). e nom. low (Gen 28:11, 18), to the head end of a bed (1 Sam 19:13), and to the place at Sauls head on the ground, where he planted his spear for the night and where his water jug stood (1 Sam 26:7, 1112, 16; cf. 1 Kgs 19:6). P-B In Mish. Heb. the word is used in the same way as in the OT. In the LXX it is usually translated with !"#$%& (#3051). Other translations are also possible, reecting the use of the nom. in the Heb., e.g., '()& (#794) in Ps 137:6 [136:6] and *(+,-,.!./ (#4758) in 1 Chron 5:12. NT In the NT !"#$%& (#3051) is used mainly for the head of a human, but also for animals and demons. It is also used in connection with fasting and penitence (Ma 6:17; Acts 18:18; Rev 18:19). Eph 4 is esp. important, where Christ is described as the head and the church as the body. sizes the authority of Christ. See Head See Beginning B IBLIOGRAPHY is empha-

New International Dictionary of Old Testament eology & Exegesis, ed. Willem VanGemeren (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan Publishing House, 1997).
!"#$%&'()*%$+),$-$.)/012')3$*&45%')67)889:;)<=)>'?'+1'%)8@7)A:8AB !!

NIDNTT 2:15663; TDNT 3:67382; THAT 2:70115; TWAT 7:27184; J. R. Bartle , e Use of the Word as a Title in the Old Testament, VT e Bargaining Between Jephtah and the 19, 1969, 110; D. Marcus,

Elders (Judges 11:411), JANESCU 19, 1989, 95100; idem, Li ing Up the Head: On the Trail of a Word Play in Genesis 40, Proo exts 10, 1990, 1727; J. Milgrom, Leviticus 116, AB, 1991, 15053, 104143. Harry F. van Rooy

New International Dictionary of Old Testament eology & Exegesis, ed. Willem VanGemeren (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan Publishing House, 1997).
!"#$%&'()*%$+),$-$.)/012')3$*&45%')67)889:;)<=)>'?'+1'%)8@7)A:8AB !"