Lexical Summary
resh: Head, top, summit, beginning
Original Word:רֵאשׁ
Part of Speech:Noun Masculine
Transliteration:re'sh
Pronunciation:ray-sh
Phonetic Spelling:(raysh)
KJV: chief, head, sum
NASB:head, mind, heads, summary
Word Origin:[(Aramaic) corresponding toH7218 (רוֹאשׁ - head)]
1. the head
2. (figuratively) the sum
Strong's Exhaustive Concordance
chief, head, sum
(Aramaic) corresponding toro'sh; the head; figuratively, the sum -- chief, head, sum.
see HEBREWro'sh
NAS Exhaustive Concordance
Word Origin(Aramaic) corresponding to
roshDefinitionhead
NASB Translationhead (6), heads (1), mind (6), summary (1).
Brown-Driver-Briggs
Daniel 7:6 (Egyptian Aramaic, S-C
Pap.; Palmyrene ; , Syriac
; Biblical Hebrew ); — construct
Daniel 7:1; emphatic
Daniel 2:38; suffix
Daniel 4:2 +,
Daniel 2:28,
Daniel 2:32 +,
Daniel 7:20,
Daniel 3:27; plural absolute
Daniel 7:6, suffix (K
§§ 53, Anm. b); 63 Gu
Hpt on the passage)
Ezra 5:10; —
head of manDaniel 3:27, compareDaniel 7:9; in vision: of imageDaniel 2:32,38, beastDaniel 7:6,20.
head as seat of visions, , etc.,Daniel 2:28;Daniel 4:2;Daniel 4:7;Daniel 4:10;Daniel 7:1,15.
=chief,Ezra 5:10in the capacity of their chiefs.
sum, essential content, of mattersDaniel 7:1 (NesMM 40beginning).
Topical Lexicon
Overviewרֵאשׁ (H7217) appears fourteen times, all within the Aramaic sections of Ezra and Daniel. It keeps the foundational Hebrew idea of “head” but broadens into three principal spheres: (1) literal head or hair, (2) the seat of thought, and (3) the first or chief in rank. Each sphere is anchored in redemptive–historical contexts that illumine God’s sovereignty and covenant purposes.
Leadership and Civil Authority
Ezra 5:10 places רֵאשׁ at the forefront of post-exilic governance: “we wrote down the names of the men who were their leaders.” The rebuilding of the temple advances because identifiable, accountable heads of the community stand before a pagan empire. Headship here is inseparable from responsibility; those who bear it must answer both to earthly authorities and to the God who sent them back from exile. In ministry settings, the verse commends transparent leadership that can be named, examined, and trusted.
The Head as Symbol of Imperial Dominion
Nebuchadnezzar’s statue (Daniel 2:32, 2:38) presents the gold head as the Babylonian empire at its zenith. By assigning “head” to Babylon, the Spirit highlights the transient glory of human rule and foreshadows its replacement by an everlasting kingdom (Daniel 2:44). Ministers may draw out three enduring lessons:
• Political supremacy is delegated, not inherent (2:37–38).
• The highest earthly “head” cannot secure permanence.
• God introduces history’s successive ages, preserving the flow of promise toward Christ, the ultimate stone cut without hands.
Physical Head Preserved by Divine Power
Daniel 3:27 records that “not a hair of their heads was singed.” The miracle reaches to the smallest feature of the head, underlining total preservation. The same Lord who numbers the hairs (Matthew 10:30) manifests that care in Babylon. For believers facing persecution, the verse reassures that fidelity to God never exposes them to risk beyond His control.
The Head as the Seat of Vision and Thought
Eight verses (Daniel 2:28; 4:5, 10, 13; 7:1 [twice], 7:15) speak of “visions passing through the head.” This usage shows:
1. Revelation is internally impressed before it is externally expressed.
2. True prophecy originates with God yet is processed in the human mind (“head”), underscoring inspiration without mechanical dictation.
3. The repeated night-time setting highlights dependence; even a prophet receives truth while at rest, so revelation is grace, not human attainment.
Pastoral implication: cultivate a mind receptive to Scripture; God still addresses His people primarily through the sanctified “head,” renewed by the Spirit (Romans 12:2).
Eschatological Imagery of Multiple Heads
Daniel 7:6–7:20 introduces beasts with several heads—a leopard with four, a terrifying creature with ten horns on its head. Multiplicity signifies divided yet coordinated power structures that will rise before God’s final judgment. The Ancient of Days’ own head (7:9) gleams with purity, contrasting the grotesque profusion of the beasts. The text teaches that:
• Multiplying heads cannot secure immortality; they meet the throne of the One whose single head radiates holiness.
• End-time upheavals are under strict heavenly surveillance; Daniel sees them because God discloses them.
Christological Trajectory
While רֵאשׁ never names Messiah directly, its themes converge in Him:
• He is “the head of all rule and authority” (Colossians 2:10).
• His head “were many crowns” (Revelation 19:12), the legitimate counterpart to the counterfeit horns.
• The preservation of the faithful inDaniel 3 anticipates union with Christ, in whom believers are seated “in the heavenly realms” (Ephesians 2:6).
Ministry Reflections
1. Guard the mind; it is God’s chosen theater for vision and conviction.
2. Exercise leadership that is both visible and accountable, like the heads named in Ezra.
3. Teach prophecy not as speculation but as a summons to faithfulness, remembering that every earthly headship yields to Christ.
Forms and Transliterations
בְרֵאשַׁ֔הּ בְרָאשֵׁיהֹֽם׃ בראשה בראשיהם׃ רֵ֥אשׁ רֵֽאשְׁהוֹן֙ רֵאשִׁ֖י רֵאשִׁין֙ רֵאשֵׁ֖הּ רֵאשֵׁהּ֙ רֵאשָׁ֖ה רֵאשָׁ֛ךְ ראש ראשה ראשהון ראשי ראשין ראשך ḇə·rā·šê·hōm ḇə·rê·šah ḇərāšêhōm ḇərêšah rê·šāh rê·šāḵ rê·šə·hō·wn rê·šêh rê·šî rê·šîn rêš rêšāh rêšāḵ rêšêh rêšəhōwn resh reShach reShah reSheh reshehOn reShi reShin rêšî rêšîn verasheiHom vereShah
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