Hebrew word · H6936

קׇדְקֹד

kadekod

crown

The crown or top of the head, the scalp (Gen 49:26; Deut 28:35; 33:16, 20; Ps 68:22 [Eng 21] "the hairy crown"; Jer 48:45).

Appears 11 times in 11 verses of the Hebrew Old Testament. ·

What it means

head, crown of head, top of head, hairy crown, scalp

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 Psalm 7:16

Range of meaning

The crown or top of the head, the scalp (Gen 49:26; Deut 28:35; 33:16, 20; Ps 68:22 [Eng 21] "the hairy crown"; Jer 48:45).

Against the English

KJV "pate" (old English for the top of the head) is accurate but now sounds comic. WEB "crown of his own head" is the most exact. BSB folds it into "his own head" and loses the second, more pointed image.

Used elsewhere in the period

It is often paired with rōʾš, "head", in poetry (Gen 49:26; Deut 33:16; Ps 68:22). Ps 68:22 uses it of God striking the crowns of his enemies. LXX: koryphē, "top, crown".

Where it appears

Genesis · 1

  1. Genesis 49:26 וּלְקָדְקֹ֖ד and to the scalp

    The blessings of your father have surpassed the blessings of the ancient mountains and the bounty of the everlasting hills. May they rest on the head of Joseph, on the brow of the prince of his brothers.

Deuteronomy · 3

  1. Deuteronomy 28:35 קָדְקֳדֶֽךָ׃ scalp your

    The LORD will afflict you with painful, incurable boils on your knees and thighs, from the soles of your feet to the top of your head.

  2. Deuteronomy 33:16 וּלְקָדְקֹ֖ד and to [the] scalp of

    with the choice gifts of the land and everything in it, and with the favor of Him who dwelt in the burning bush. May these rest on the head of Joseph and crown the brow of the prince of his brothers.

  3. Deuteronomy 33:20 קָדְקֹֽד׃ a scalp

    Concerning Gad he said: “Blessed is he who enlarges the domain of Gad! He lies down like a lion and tears off an arm or a head.

2 Samuel · 1

  1. 2 Samuel 14:25 קָדְקֳד֔וֹ scalp his

    Now there was not a man in all Israel as handsome and highly praised as Absalom. From the sole of his foot to the top of his head, he did not have a single flaw.

    Here: The crown or top of the head. Here it points ahead: the next verse dwells on the hair growing from this very crown.

Job · 1

  1. Job 2:7 קָדְקֳדֽוֹ׃ scalp his

    So Satan went out from the presence of the LORD and infected Job with terrible boils from the soles of his feet to the crown of his head.

    Here: The top of the head. 'Sole to crown' is a figure that names the two ends to mean everything in between: every inch of Job's body is affected.

Psalms · 2

  1. Psalm 7:16 קָ֝דְקֳד֗וֹ scalp his

    His trouble recoils on himself, and his violence falls on his own head.

    Here: "His crown": the very top of the skull. It is more specific and more physical than "head", the exact spot where a falling object would strike.

  2. Psalm 68:21 קָדְקֹ֥ד scalp of

    Surely God will crush the heads of His enemies, the hairy crowns of those who persist in guilty ways.

Isaiah · 1

  1. Isaiah 3:17 קָדְקֹ֖ד scalp of

    the Lord will bring sores on the heads of the daughters of Zion, and the LORD will make their foreheads bare.”

Jeremiah · 2

  1. Jeremiah 2:16 קָדְקֹֽד׃ scalp

    The men of Memphis and Tahpanhes have shaved the crown of your head.

  2. Jeremiah 48:45 וְקָדְקֹ֖ד and [the] scalp of

    “Those who flee will stand helpless in Heshbon’s shadow, because fire has gone forth from Heshbon and a flame from within Sihon. It devours the foreheads of Moab and the skulls of the sons of tumult.

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