📖 Biblical Definition
"Head" in Scripture is primarily metaphorical: authority, source, representation. "Christ is the head of every man, and the man is the head of a wife, and God is the head of Christ" (1 Cor 11:3). "Christ is the head of the church" (Eph 5:23). Literal uses include the anointing-oil running down Aaron's head (Ps 133:2), Christ's crown of thorns (Matt 27:29), the head of the high priest marked "Holy to the LORD" (Ex 28:36-38). The head is where authority is expressed and where a representative stands for those he represents.
📜 Webster 1828 Definition
HEAD, n.
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HEAD, n. [Sax. heafod.] The uppermost part of the body; also, the leader, source, or representative. In Scripture, head is primarily metaphorical: Christ is head of the Church; the husband is head of the wife; God is head of Christ. Literal head-theology includes Aaron's anointing, Christ's crown of thorns, and the high priest's engraved plate "Holy to the LORD." The head is authority's seat and the representative's face.
📖 Key Scripture
1 Corinthians 11:3 — "But I want you to understand that the head of every man is Christ, the head of a wife is her husband, and the head of Christ is God."
Ephesians 5:23 — "For the husband is the head of the wife even as Christ is the head of the church, His body, and is Himself its Savior."
Colossians 1:18 — "And he is the head of the body, the church. He is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, that in everything he might be preeminent."
Psalm 133:2 — "It is like the precious oil on the head, running down on the beard, on the beard of Aaron, running down on the collar of his robes!"
⚠️ Modern Corruption
Modern egalitarianism denies biblical headship as oppressive. Scripture repeatedly affirms ordered headship — and defines it as sacrificial service.
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The biblical husband-head is no tyrant; he is Christ-patterned (Eph 5:25 — love your wife as Christ loved the Church and gave Himself for her). Headship is responsibility, not privilege; sacrifice, not indulgence. Modern egalitarian readings reject headship outright; Scripture refuses the rejection and insists headship is good, ordered, and Christ-shaped. The alternative — no head — is not equality but chaos.
🔗 Greek & Hebrew Roots
H7218 — rosh. G2776 — kephalē.
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H7218 — rosh (רֹאשׁ) — head; also "chief," "beginning."
G2776 — kephalē (κεφαλή) — head; authority and source.
Usage
"The head of every man is Christ. Biblical authority is ordered; it starts above."
"Headship is Christ-patterned: sacrifice, service, love unto death. Nothing less qualifies."