מְרַאֲשָׁוֹת
mar.a.shah
head
Lexicon Entry
Lexicon data from STEPBible TIPNR, Tyndale House, Cambridge. Licensed under CC BY 4.0.
What Original Readers Understood
ExploredThe word מְרַאֲשָׁוֹת (mar.a.shah) translates to "head". It belongs to the semantic domain of Body & Health, indicating its primary association with human anatomy. The word appears eight times in the Bible. As a term specifically denoting the head, it highlights its importance in the broader context of human physiology. The head is a central and vital part of the human body, serving as the locus for sensory perception, cognitive function, and motor control. By using the word "head" as a distinct concept, the biblical text underscores the significance of this part of the body. The usage of "head" in an anatomical sense is consistent throughout its occurrences in the Bible, with no apparent figurative or metaphorical connotations. Its semantic purity reinforces its literal meaning, underscoring the importance of the head in both its physical and functional roles within the human body.
Source data & methodology
Occurrences in Scripture
8 total occurrences across the text
He came to a certain place, and stayed there all night, because the sun had set. He took one of the stones of the place, and put it under his head, and lay down in that place to sleep.
Genesis 28:18Jacob rose up early in the morning, and took the stone that he had put under his head, and set it up for a pillar, and poured oil on its top.
1 Samuel 19:13Michal took the teraphim, and laid it in the bed, and put a pillow of goats’ hair at its head, and covered it with clothes.
1 Samuel 19:16When the messengers came in, behold, the teraphim was in the bed, with the pillow of goats’ hair at its head.
1 Samuel 26:7So David and Abishai came to the people by night: and, behold, Saul lay sleeping within the place of the wagons, with his spear stuck in the ground at his head; and Abner and the people lay around him.
1 Samuel 26:11Yahweh forbid that I should stretch out my hand against Yahweh’s anointed; but now please take the spear that is at his head, and the jar of water, and let’s go.”
1 Samuel 26:16This thing isn’t good that you have done. As Yahweh lives, you are worthy to die, because you have not kept watch over your lord, Yahweh’s anointed. Now see where the king’s spear is, and the jar of water that was at his head.”
1 Kings 19:6He looked, and behold, there was at his head a cake baked on the coals, and a jar of water. He ate and drank, and lay down again.