7217. resh

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 to H7218 (רוֹאשׁ - head)]

1. the head
2. (figuratively) the sum

Strong's Exhaustive Concordance

chief, head, sum

(Aramaic) corresponding to ro'sh; the head; figuratively, the sum -- chief, head, sum.

see HEBREW ro'sh

NAS Exhaustive Concordance

Word Origin
(Aramaic) corresponding to rosh
Definition
head
NASB Translation
head (6), heads (1), mind (6), summary (1).

Brown-Driver-Briggs

רֵאשׁ noun masculine^{Daniel 7:6} head (Egyptian Aramaic, S-C^Pap.; Palmyrene רש; ᵑ7 רֵישׁ, Syriac ; Biblical Hebrew ראֹשׁ); — construct ׳ר Daniel 7:1; emphatic הָ֯ Daniel 2:38; suffix רֵאשׁי Daniel 4:2 +, חָ֯ Daniel 2:28, הֵּ֯ Daniel 2:32 +, הַּ֯ Daniel 7:20, הֵ֯וֺן Daniel 3:27; plural absolute רֵאשִׁין Daniel 7:6, suffix רָאשֵׁיהֹם (K^{§§ 53, Anm. b}); 63 Gu^{Hpt on the passage}) Ezra 5:10; —

1 head of man Daniel 3:27, compare Daniel 7:9; in vision: of image Daniel 2:32,38, beast Daniel 7:6,20.

2 head as seat of visions, הֶזְוֵי רֵאשָׁךְ, etc., Daniel 2:28; Daniel 4:2; Daniel 4:7; Daniel 4:10; Daniel 7:1,15.

3 = chief, ׳בְּר Ezra 5:10 in the capacity of their chiefs.

4 sum, essential content, of matters Daniel 7:1 (Nes^{MM 40} beginning).

Topical Lexicon

Overview

רֵאשׁ (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 in Daniel 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

Englishman's Concordance

Ezra 5:10
HEB: גֻּבְרַיָּ֖א דִּ֥י בְרָאשֵׁיהֹֽם׃ ס
NAS: of the men who were at their head.
KJV: of the men that [were] the chief of them.
INT: of the men who their head

Daniel 2:28
HEB: חֶלְמָ֨ךְ וְחֶזְוֵ֥י רֵאשָׁ֛ךְ עַֽל־ מִשְׁכְּבָ֖ךְ
NAS: and the visions in your mind [while] on your bed.
KJV: and the visions of thy head upon
INT: was your dream and the visions your mind upon your bed

Daniel 2:32
HEB: ה֣וּא צַלְמָ֗א רֵאשֵׁהּ֙ דִּֽי־ דְהַ֣ב
NAS: The head of that statue
KJV: This image's head [was] of fine gold,
INT: of that statue the head forasmuch gold

Daniel 2:38
HEB: ה֔וּא ק) רֵאשָׁ֖ה דִּ֥י דַהֲבָֽא׃
NAS: over them all. You are the head of gold.
KJV: Thou [art] this head of gold.
INT: Thou Thou are the head forasmuch of gold

Daniel 3:27
HEB: בְּגֶשְׁמְה֗וֹן וּשְׂעַ֤ר רֵֽאשְׁהוֹן֙ לָ֣א הִתְחָרַ֔ךְ
NAS: was the hair of their head singed,
KJV: was an hair of their head singed,
INT: the bodies was the hair of their head nor singed

Daniel 4:5
HEB: מִשְׁכְּבִ֔י וְחֶזְוֵ֥י רֵאשִׁ֖י יְבַהֲלֻנַּֽנִי׃
NAS: and the visions in my mind kept alarming
KJV: and the visions of my head troubled
INT: my bed and the visions my mind kept

Daniel 4:10
HEB: וְחֶזְוֵ֥י רֵאשִׁ֖י עַֽל־ מִשְׁכְּבִ֑י
NAS: Now [these were] the visions in my mind [as I lay] on my bed:
KJV: Thus [were] the visions of mine head in
INT: the visions my mind in my bed

Daniel 4:13
HEB: הֲוֵ֛ית בְּחֶזְוֵ֥י רֵאשִׁ֖י עַֽל־ מִשְׁכְּבִ֑י
NAS: in the visions in my mind [as I lay] on my bed,
KJV: in the visions of my head upon
INT: in the visions my mind upon my bed

Daniel 7:1
HEB: חֲזָ֔ה וְחֶזְוֵ֥י רֵאשֵׁ֖הּ עַֽל־ מִשְׁכְּבֵ֑הּ
NAS: and visions in his mind [as he lay] on his bed;
KJV: and visions of his head upon
INT: saw and visions his mind upon his bed

Daniel 7:1
HEB: חֶלְמָ֣א כְתַ֔ב רֵ֥אשׁ מִלִּ֖ין אֲמַֽר׃
NAS: [and] related the [following] summary of it.
KJV: [and] told the sum of the matters.
INT: the dream wrote the summary of the matters related

Daniel 7:6
HEB: ק) וְאַרְבְּעָ֤ה רֵאשִׁין֙ לְחֵ֣יוְתָ֔א וְשָׁלְטָ֖ן
NAS: also had four heads, and dominion
KJV: had also four heads; and dominion
INT: back had four heads the beast and dominion

Daniel 7:9
HEB: חִוָּ֗ר וּשְׂעַ֤ר רֵאשֵׁהּ֙ כַּעֲמַ֣ר נְקֵ֔א
NAS: And the hair of His head like pure
KJV: and the hair of his head like the pure
INT: white and the hair of his head wool pure

Daniel 7:15
HEB: נִדְנֶ֑ה וְחֶזְוֵ֥י רֵאשִׁ֖י יְבַהֲלֻנַּֽנִי׃
NAS: me, and the visions in my mind kept alarming
KJV: and the visions of my head troubled
INT: of body and the visions my mind alarming

Daniel 7:20
HEB: עֲשַׂר֙ דִּ֣י בְרֵאשַׁ֔הּ וְאָחֳרִי֙ דִּ֣י
NAS: horns that [were] on its head and the other
KJV: horns that [were] in his head, and [of] the other
INT: the ten which head and the other which

14 Occurrences

Strong's Hebrew 7217
14 Occurrences

rêš — 1 Occ.
rê·šāḵ — 1 Occ.
rê·šāh — 1 Occ.
rê·šêh — 3 Occ.
rê·šə·hō·wn — 1 Occ.
rê·šî — 4 Occ.
rê·šîn — 1 Occ.
ḇə·rā·šê·hōm — 1 Occ.
ḇə·rê·šah — 1 Occ.