Why is “heads” used in this verse?

Thomas R. Valletta

“The term head seems out of place. We would expect something like most important to be used. But the expression is readily explainable in terms of Hebrew. The Hebrew word for the head of the body is sometimes used to describe things as chief (see Deut. 33:15, Ps. 137:6, and Prov. 1:21) or precious (see Amos 6:1, Song 4:14, Ezek. 27:22). This is probably the sense in which Jacob used the word” (Tvedtnes, “Hebrew Background,” 90).

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