The head is the top part of the body that contains the brain, eyes, ears, nose, and mouth. The word "head" appears many times in the Bible as a physical description of this body part. In the Hebrew language of the Old Testament, the word for "head" is also used in a symbolic way. Often, it represents leadership, importance, or authority.
Old Testament Usage
In the Old Testament, the position of the head had special meaning. To raise one’s head was seen as an act of pride: "Those who surround me proudly rear their heads" (Psalm 140:9, New International Version; see also Judges 8:28). To raise someone else's head was seen as an act of honor (Genesis 40:20; Psalms 3:3; 27:6). To lower one's head showed humility (Isaiah 58:5) or sadness (Lamentations 2:10). The Hebrew word is used to mean the top of mountains (Genesis 8:5), buildings (Genesis 11:4) or trees (2 Samuel 5:24), and the beginning of rivers (Genesis 2:10). It was often used to show positions of power in government, the army, or families. In this way, the “head” had control over those under them (Judges 10:18; 1 Samuel 15:17; Psalms 18:43; Isaiah 7:8–9; Jer 31:7; Hos 1:11).
Greek Usage
Greek thinkers used the idea of a body to explain the world. They saw Zeus (their chief god) or Reason as the "head" that created and supported all parts of the world. This included heavenly beings, humans, animals, plants, and non-living things. The universe, or “body,” owed its existence to the “head.”
The first writings of Hippocrates come from around 460 BC. Galen, who developed Hippocrates’s writings, died in AD 200. During this time, Greek doctors came to understand the head as the place of thinking. They learned that the brain receives information from the body through the eyes, ears, skin, and other parts. The brain then sends signals back to control different parts of the body.
New Testament Usage
In the New Testament, the term "head" refers to the actual human head (Matthew 5:36; 6:17; 14:8; 26:7; Mark 6:27; 14:3; Luke 7:46; John 13:9; 20:7). It is also used when describing heavenly beings in the book of Revelation (Revelation 1:14; 4:4; 12:1) and animals (Revelation 9:7, 17, 19; 12:3).
The New Testament also uses "head" in several expressions:
“Heap burning coals on his head” means to return kindness for evil (Romans 12:20; compare Matthew 5:44).
“Shear” or “anoint the head” refers to making a vow (Acts 21:24).
“To lay down the head” means to sleep (Matthew 8:20; Luke 9:58).
The Apostle Paul's Usage
The apostle Paul used the Old Testament's symbolic understanding of "head" to explain the relationships of God as the head of Christ, Christ as the head of man, and man as the head of woman (1 Corinthians 11:316; compare Ephesians 5:23). Based on these relationships, Paul encouraged women in Corinth to wear veils during worship. The veil symbolized a woman’s authority to worship equally with men before God. The word is used again to mean “authority” to show Christ's rule over everything (Ephesians 1:21–22; Colossians 2:10).
Paul used the image of the head and body to show the relationship between Jesus and his church (Ephesians 4:15; 5:23; compare 1 Corinthians 12:12–27). Jesus is not only the ruler over the church but also the force that gives it direction and unity. The church's ability to exist and its main purpose come from its “head,” Jesus Christ.
Some modern scholars say that being the head does not mean having power as much as being the source, like a spring of water. They see God as Jesus's source, Jesus as the church's source, and man as woman's source.