Hebrew word · Strong's H7218

רֹאשׁ

rôʼsh · roshe · noun · “head, top, chief”

In a sentence

Rosh means head — top of the body, top of the mountain, the first or chief of anything. From it comes Rosh Hashanah (head of the year) and the rich biblical idea of leadership.

Rosh is the head — physical (the top of the body), positional (the chief), and temporal (the first). It is the “head of the year” at Rosh Hashanah.

The Bible uses it of those set over the people, but also of the stone the builders rejected becoming the rosh of the corner. Jesus, the rejected stone, becomes the head of God’s new building.

Strong's reference

Definition: the head (as most easily shaken), whether literal or figurative (in many applications, of place, time, rank, itc.)

KJV usage: band, beginning, captain, chapiter, chief(-est place, man, things), company, end, [idiom] every (man), excellent, first, forefront, (be-)head, height, (on) high(-est part, (priest)), [idiom] lead, [idiom] poor, principal, ruler, sum, top.

Reference gloss from Strong's Concordance (1890, public domain).

Key verses BSB · Public Domain (CC0)

Psalms 118:22 “The stone the builders rejected has become the cornerstone.” Numbers 1:4 “And one man from each tribe, the head of each family, must be there with you.” Matthew 21:42 “Jesus said to them, “Have you never read in the Scriptures: ‘The stone the builders rejected has become the cornerstone. This is from the Lord, and it is marvelous in our eyes’?”

Original BibleDawn word study. Original-language data and the public-domain Strong's (1890) gloss are referenced; see sources.