Hebrew word · H4696

מֵ֫צַח

metzach

forehead

Forehead, brow. It is the place of visible identity and also of brazen defiance: “a harlot's forehead” (Jeremiah 3:3); “hard of forehead” (Ezekiel 3:7–9, where God makes Ezekiel's forehead harder than flint). Leprosy appearing on the forehead marks King Uzziah (2 Chronicles 26:19–20).

Appears 13 times in 10 verses of the Hebrew Old Testament. ·

What it means

brow, forehead

Abridged from Brown, Driver and Briggs, A Hebrew and English Lexicon of the Old Testament (1906), via STEPBible.org (CC BY 4.0).

In depth

From the study of Ezekiel 9:4

Range of meaning

Forehead, brow. It is the place of visible identity and also of brazen defiance: “a harlot's forehead” (Jeremiah 3:3); “hard of forehead” (Ezekiel 3:7–9, where God makes Ezekiel's forehead harder than flint). The high priest's gold plate inscribed “Holy to YHWH” was worn on the forehead (Exodus 28:36–38). Leprosy appearing on the forehead marks King Uzziah (2 Chronicles 26:19–20).

Against the English

All English versions say “forehead.” The issue is not the translation but what a forehead mark would have meant to the first hearers.

Used elsewhere in the period

Exodus 28:38; Ezekiel 3:7–9. Compare Isaiah 44:5 (writing “Belonging to YHWH” on the hand) and the custom of marking slaves and temple dependents with their owner's or deity's name or sign, known from Mesopotamian and later Greco-Roman practice. Revelation 7:3; 14:1; 22:4 (God's name on the forehead).

From the study of Isaiah 48:4

Range of meaning

The forehead or brow. It is where the high priest's gold plate was worn (Exod 28:38), where Goliath was struck (1 Sam 17:49), where leprosy might appear (2 Chr 26:19), and where the faithful were marked (Ezek 9:4). Used figuratively, it is the face set in defiance or shamelessness.

Against the English

Modern English hears a hard head as being stupid or thick-skulled. The Hebrew picture is moral and social: a face that will not blush, that stares back without shame.

How it drifted

English idioms such as "hard-headed" and "thick-headed" point to stubborn thinking or dullness. The Hebrew forehead idiom is about shame and boldness, which is closer to the English "brazen-faced."

Used elsewhere in the period

Jer 3:3: "you have the forehead of a prostitute; you refuse to be ashamed." Ezek 3:7–9: "all the house of Israel are hard of forehead (ḥizqe-metsaḥ) and stubborn of heart," and God answers by making Ezekiel's forehead "harder than flint." In a culture built on honour and shame, blushing and lowering the face was the proper response to rebuke. A forehead that could not do this marked someone who no longer felt shame.

From the study of Jeremiah 3:3

Range of meaning

The forehead or brow. It can be literal, as with the stone that sank into Goliath's forehead (1 Sam 17:49), the high priest's gold plate (Exod 28:38) and the mark on the foreheads of the faithful (Ezek 9:4). In idiom it stands for boldness, nerve or obstinacy.

Against the English

KJV/WEB 'a whore's/prostitute's forehead' and YLT keep the literal body part but leave a modern reader puzzled. BSB/NIV 'the brazen look of a prostitute' gives the idiom's meaning but loses the body image and the link to 'hard forehead' passages elsewhere.

How it drifted

English does not use 'forehead' for boldness, so the literal rendering becomes opaque rather than misleading.

Used elsewhere in the period

Ezek 3:7–9: Israel has 'a hard forehead and a stubborn heart', and God makes the prophet's forehead 'harder than flint'. Isa 48:4: 'your neck is an iron sinew and your forehead bronze'. Jer 5:3: 'they made their faces harder than rock'. The prostitute in Rev 17:5 has a name written on her forehead, which may echo this verse.

Similar words

Where it appears

Exodus · 2

  1. Exodus 28:38 מֵ֣צַח מִצְחוֹ֙ [the] forehead of, forehead his

    And it will be worn on Aaron’s forehead, so that he may bear the iniquity of the holy things that the sons of Israel consecrate with regard to all their holy gifts. It shall always be on his forehead, so that they may be acceptable before the LORD.

    Here: The most visible part of the face. Whatever is placed there is shown to everyone, and in this setting it is shown before God.

1 Samuel · 2

  1. 1 Samuel 17:49 מִצְח֑וֹ בְּמִצְח֔וֹ forehead his, in forehead his

    Then David reached into his bag, took out a stone, and slung it, striking the Philistine on the forehead. The stone sank into his forehead, and he fell facedown on the ground.

2 Chronicles · 2

  1. 2 Chronicles 26:19 בְמִצְח֜וֹ on forehead his

    Uzziah, with a censer in his hand to offer incense, was enraged. But while he raged against the priests in their presence in the house of the LORD before the altar of incense, leprosy broke out on his forehead.

  2. 2 Chronicles 26:20 בְּמִצְח֔וֹ on forehead his

    When Azariah the chief priest and all the priests turned to him and saw his leprous forehead, they rushed him out. Indeed, he himself hurried to get out, because the LORD had afflicted him.

Isaiah · 1

  1. Isaiah 48:4 וּמִצְחֲךָ֖ and forehead your

    For I knew that you are stubborn; your neck is iron and your forehead is bronze.

    Here: "And your forehead." The face as it confronts someone. In Hebrew idiom a hard forehead belongs to someone who will not blush or back down (Jer 3:3; Ezek 3:7–9).

Jeremiah · 1

  1. Jeremiah 3:3 וּמֵ֨צַח and [the] forehead of

    Therefore the showers have been withheld, and no spring rains have fallen. Yet you have the brazen look of a prostitute; you refuse to be ashamed.

    Here: The forehead, or brow. In Hebrew idiom the forehead shows boldness or defiance, much as English talks of 'nerve', 'face' or 'cheek'. A 'hard' or 'bronze' forehead belongs to someone who will not back down (Ezek 3:7–9; Isa 48:4).

Ezekiel · 5

  1. Ezekiel 3:7 מֵ֥צַח forehead

    But the house of Israel will be unwilling to listen to you, since they are unwilling to listen to Me. For the whole house of Israel is hard-headed and hard-hearted.

    Here: The front of the face, where shame or defiance shows. A 'hard forehead' is a brow that will not flush or lower: a brazen, shameless, defiant face.

  2. Ezekiel 3:8 מִצְחֲךָ֥ מִצְחָֽם׃ forehead your, forehead their

    Behold, I will make your face as hard as their faces, and your forehead as hard as their foreheads.

    Here: 'Your forehead.' In Hebrew idiom the forehead is where shame shows or fails to show; a 'hard forehead' is a brow that will not flush or lower in embarrassment.

  3. Ezekiel 3:9 מִצְחֶ֑ךָ forehead your

    I will make your forehead like a diamond, harder than flint. Do not be afraid of them or dismayed at their presence, even though they are a rebellious house.”

    Here: 'Your forehead.' In Hebrew idiom the forehead carries a person's nerve or shamelessness (Jer 3:3; Isa 48:4). Israel's hard forehead (v.7) means defiance. Ezekiel's harder one means he will not flinch or back down.

  4. Ezekiel 9:4 מִצְח֣וֹת [the] foreheads of

    “Go throughout the city of Jerusalem,” said the LORD, “and put a mark on the foreheads of the men sighing and groaning over all the abominations committed there.”

    Here: The forehead is the most visible place on a person. The high priest wore “Holy to YHWH” there (Exodus 28:36–38). A forehead mark shows at a glance whom a person belongs to.

Word data: STEPBible.org (CC BY 4.0), main text only.