The Hebrew rosh is one of the most common words in the Hebrew Bible, meaning head (of a person or animal), top or summit (of a mountain), chief or leader (of a tribe or army), beginning or first (of a year or sequence), or the best or choicest portion of something.
Rosh carries the full weight of the English 'head' — authority, primacy, origin, and identity. As the physical head governs the body, so rosh in its social use denotes the one in authority — the tribal chief, the military commander, the firstborn. Theologically, the most significant use is the confession that Christ is the rosh — the head of the church (Colossians 1:18; Ephesians 1:22) and 'the beginning (arche), the firstborn from the dead.' This headship is not domination but the organic connection and life-giving authority of a head over its body. The 'corner stone' of Psalm 118:22 — which Jesus applies to himself — is literally 'head of the corner' (rosh pinnah), the stone that governs the entire structure.