Forehead

Fausset's Bible Dictionary

As the women veiled their faces, not to do so was a mark of shamelessness; "thou hadst a whore's forehead" ( Jeremiah 3:3). The forehead is made the seat of boldness of speech and act ( Ezekiel 3:7-9): "the house of Israel are stiff of forehead ... against their foreheads as an adamant harder than flint have I made thy forehead." Votaries of idols branded themselves with the idol's symbol. So Antiochus Epiphanes branded the Jews with the ivy leaf, Bacchus' symbol ( 2 Maccabees 6:7; 3 Maccabees 2:29). God's seal and name are in the foreheads of His servants, the conspicuous, noblest part of man's body, the seat of the understanding, whereon the helmet, "the hope of salvation," is worn ( Ezekiel 9:4).

At the Exodus the mark was on the houses, for then it was families; here it is on the foreheads, for it is individuals whose safety is guaranteed by the Lord's mark. The mark on "the right hand and forehead" of the worshippers of the beast ( Revelation 13:16) implies prostration of body and intellect to him. "In the forehead for possession, in the hand for work and service." God's name shall be "in the saints' foreheads." Their sonship shall no longer be a personal secret between them and God ( Revelation 3:17), but shall be openly ( Revelation 22:4) visible to all citizens of New Jerusalem's that the free flow of mutual love among Christ's family will not be checked by suspicion as here.

Upon the harlot's (the apostate church) forehead was written "Mystery, Babylon The Great, The Mother Of Harlots And Abominations Of The Earth" What a contrast to the inscription on the mitre on the high priest's forehead, "Holiness To The Lord" ( Revelation 17:5;  Exodus 28:36). In  Ezekiel 16:12, "a jewel on thy forehead," rather "a ring in thy nose" ( Isaiah 3:21). However, Persian and Egyptian women often wear jewels and strings of coins across the forehead.

Holman Bible Dictionary

The Emblem of Holiness was placed on Aaron's forehead ( Exodus 28:38 ). This symbolized acceptance before the Lord. A mark was put upon the foreheads of those in Jerusalem who mourned for the wickedness of Jerusalem. They were spared in a time of terrible judgment ( Ezekiel 9:4 ).

The Bible indicates that a person's character can be determined by observing the forehead. A set forehead indicates opposition, defiance, and rebellion ( Jeremiah 3:3 ). Hardness of the forehead indicates determination to persevere ( Isaiah 48:4;  Ezekiel 3:8-9 ). It has been used as a representation of Satan ( Revelation 13:16-17 ). The forehead is used as a very dishonorable word when read of the harlot's forehead ( Jeremiah 3:3 ), indicating utter shamelessness. At the same time, it stands for courage as when God told Ezekiel that He had made the prophet's forehead harder than flint against the foreheads of the people ( Ezekiel 3:9 ).

In the apocalyptic literature of the New Testament the foreheads of the righteous were marked ( Revelation 7:3;  Revelation 9:4;  Revelation 14:1;  Revelation 22:4 ). The apocalyptic woman dressed in purple and scarlet had her name written on her forehead ( Revelation 17:5 ).

The biblical writers used the language of metaphors to describe the shameless apostasy and faithlessness of Israel ( Jeremiah 3:3;  Ezekiel 3:8-9 ). See Face .

Gary Bonner

Watson's Biblical & Theological Dictionary

Mark on the,   Ezekiel 9:4 . Mr. Maurice, speaking of the religious rites of the Hindoos, says, Before they can enter the great pagoda, an indispensable ceremony takes place, which can only be performed by the hand of a brahmin; and that is, the impression of their foreheads with the tiluk, or mark of different colours, as they may belong either to the sect of Veeshnu, or Seeva. If the temple be that of Veeshnu, their foreheads are marked with a longitudinal line, and the colour used is vermilion. If it be the temple of Seeva, they are marked with a parallel line, and the colour used is turmeric, or saffron. But these two grand sects being again subdivided into numerous classes, both the size and the shape of the tiluk are varied, in proportion to their superior or inferior rank. In regard to the tiluk, I must observe, that it was a custom of very ancient date in Asia to mark their servants in the forehead. It is alluded to in these words of Ezekiel, where the Almighty commands his angels to "go through the midst of the city, and set a mark on the foreheads of the men who sigh for the abominations committed in the midst thereof." The same idea occurs also in   Revelation 7:3 . The divers sects of the Hindoos have a distinguishing mark of the sect, by which they are known, on the forehead, of powdered sandal wood, or of the slime of the Ganges. The mark of the Wischnites consists of two nearly oval lines down the nose, which runs from two straight lines on the forehead. The mark of the Schivites consists of two curved lines, like a half moon with a point on the nose. It is made either with the slime of the Ganges, with sandal wood, or the ashes of cow dung.

Wilson's Dictionary of Bible Types

 Exodus 28:38 (c) This type describes the open confession and open acknowledgment of one's condition or position. (See also  Revelation 14:9).

 Jeremiah 3:3 (a) GOD compares the people of Israel to a wicked woman who is bold, brazen and unashamed in her sins.

 Ezekiel 3:8 (b) GOD promised to His prophet Jeremiah that strength would be given Him and courage to stand against the looks and the words of his enemies.

 Ezekiel 16:12 (a) A picture of the loveliness and the beauty which GOD put on Israel when He gave them to be the head of the nations, and placed them in Canaan which He calls the glory of all lands. (See  Ezekiel 20:6).

 Revelation 7:3 (a) Probably this is a literal mark put on the literal forehead. We do not usually consider this as a type, but rather as an actual fact. GOD will mark His children for public identification. The Devil uses this same plan to identify his children. (See the following passages in this book of Revelation:  Revelation 9:4;  Revelation 13:16;  Revelation 14:1-9;  Revelation 17:5;  Revelation 20:4;  Revelation 22:4).

Morrish Bible Dictionary

1. aph , 'nose.'  Ezekiel 16:12 is better translated 'ring upon thy nose.'

2. metsach, μέτωπον, used as a symbol of manifest character. Israel in apostasy is described as having a harlot's forehead, and refusing to be ashamed.  Jeremiah 3:3 . Ezekiel's forehead was made as hardas adamant, because of the hardness of Israel's forehead, with whom he had to contend.  Ezekiel 3:8,9 . Aaron wore a plate of gold on his forehead, with 'Holiness to the Lord' engraved thereon, that he might bear the iniquity of the holy things which the children of Israel should offer.  Exodus 28:36-38 . God set a mark upon the foreheads of those that sighed and cried for the abominations that were done in Jerusalem, and the rest of the inhabitants were to be slain.  Ezekiel 9:4,6 . So, in a future day the servants of God will have His mark in their foreheads; Satan will also cause his followers to have a mark on their right hands or on their foreheads. All will then have to be manifest as to whom they belong.  Revelation 7:3;  Revelation 9:4;  Revelation 13:16; Rev.14:1,9; Rev.17:5; Rev.20:4.

Hastings' Dictionary of the Bible

Forehead . In   Jeremiah 3:3 a whore’s forehead is a type of shamelessness; in   Ezekiel 3:8;   Ezekiel 3:8 the forehead stands for obstinacy. In   Ezekiel 9:4 the righteous receive a mark, probably the letter Taw , on their forehead. Hence the symbolism in   Revelation 7:3 , etc., where the mark is the Divine signet. It is doubtful what is the mark of the beast (  Revelation 13:15 ); see Swete, ad loc.   Revelation 17:5 is a probable allusion to a custom of Roman harlots. Shaving the forehead in sign of mourning is forbidden (  Deuteronomy 14:1 ). For   Ezekiel 16:12 , see RV [Note: Revised Version.] . See also Marks.

C. W. Emmet.

Smith's Bible Dictionary

Forehead. The practice of veiling the face, (forehead), in public for women of the high classes, especially married women, in the East, sufficiently stigmatizes with reproach the unveiled face of women of bad character.  Genesis 24:64;  Jeremiah 3:3.

The custom among many Oriental nations, both of coloring the face and forehead, and of impressing on the body marks indicative of devotion to some special deity or religious sect, is mentioned elsewhere. The "jewels for the forehead," mentioned by Ezekiel,  Ezekiel 16:12, and in margin of the Authorized Version,  Genesis 24:22, were in all probability nose-rings.  Isaiah 3:21.

Vine's Expository Dictionary of NT Words

1: Μέτωπον (Strong'S #3359 — Noun Neuter — metopon — met'-o-pon )

from meta, "with," and ops, "an eye," occurs only in the Apocalypse, 7:3; 9:4; 13:16; 14:1,9; 17:5; 20:4; 22:4.

Easton's Bible Dictionary

 Revelation 13:16,17 14:9 17:5 20:4

The "jewel on thy forehead" mentioned in  Ezekiel 16:12 (RSV, "a ring upon thy nose") was in all probability the "nose-ring" (  Isaiah 3:21 ).

In  Ezekiel 3:7 the word "impudent" is rightly rendered in the Revised Version "an hard forehead." (See also ver. 8,9.)

Webster's Dictionary

(1): ( n.) The front of that part of the head which incloses the brain; that part of the face above the eyes; the brow.

(2): ( n.) The aspect or countenance; assurance.

(3): ( n.) The front or fore part of anything.

American Tract Society Bible Dictionary

 Ezekiel 9:1-11;  Revelation 7:3 . The devotees of different idols in India receive at this day different marks on the forehead, distinguishing them one from another. By a similar method the slaves claimed by different owners were sometimes designated.

King James Dictionary

FOREHEAD, n. for'hed, or rather for'ed.

1. The part of the face which extends from the hair on the top of the head to the eyes. 2. Impudence confidence assurance audaciousness.

International Standard Bible Encyclopedia

for´ed ( מצח , mēcaḥ  ; μέτωπον , métōpon ):

(1) In a literal sense the word is used frequently in the Scriptures. Aaron and after him every high priest was to wear on the forehead the golden frontlet having the engraved motto, "Holy to Yahweh" (  Exodus 28:36 ,  Exodus 28:38 ). The condition of the forehead was an important criterion in the diagnosis of leprosy by the priest ( Leviticus 13:42 ,  Leviticus 13:43;  2 Chronicles 26:20 ). It was in the forehead that brave young David smote Goliath with the stone from his sling ( 1 Samuel 17:49 ). The faulty translation of the King James Version in  Ezekiel 16:12 has been corrected in the Revised Version (British and American), reference being had in the passage to a nose-ring, not to an ornament of the forehead. While the cutting or tattooing of the body was strictly forbidden to the Israelite on account of the heathen associations of the custom (  Leviticus 19:28 ), we find frequent mention made of markings on the forehead, which were especially used to designate slaves (see Philo, De Monarchia , I) or devotees of a godhead (Lucian, De Syria Dea, 59). In 3 Macc 2:29 we read that Ptolemy Iv P hilopator branded some Jews with the sign of an ivy leaf, marking them as devotees of Bacchus-Dionysos. Possibly we may compare herewith the translation of  Isaiah 44:5 (Revised Version margin): "And another shall write on his hand, Unto Yahweh" (or Yahweh's slave ). Very clear is the passage  Ezekiel 9:4 ,  Ezekiel 9:6 (and perhaps   Job 31:35 ), where the word used for "mark" is tāw , the name of the last letter of the Hebrew alphabet which in its earliest form has the shape of an upright plus sign (Baal Lebanon Inscr; 11th century bc) or of a lying (St Andrew's) cross X (Moabite Inscr, 9th century bc), the simplest sign in the old Israelite alphabet, and at the same time the character which in the Greek alphabet represents the X, the initial of Christ. In the New Testament we find a clear echo of the above-mentioned Old Testament passage, the marking of the foreheads of the righteous ( Revelation 7:3;  Revelation 9:4;  Revelation 14:1;  Revelation 22:4 ). The godless followers of the beast are marked on the (right) hand and on the forehead ( Revelation 13:16;  Revelation 14:9;  Revelation 20:4 ), and the apocalyptic woman dressed in scarlet and purple has her name written on her forehead ( Revelation 17:5 ).

(2) In a metaphorical sense the expression, "a harlot's forehead," is used (  Jeremiah 3:3 ) to describe the shameless apostasy and faithlessness of Israel. Ezek speaks of the stiff-necked obstinacy and the persistent unwillingness of Israel to hear the message of Yahweh: "All the house of Israel are of a hard forehead and of a stiff heart" ( Jeremiah 3:7 ), and God makes his prophet's "forehead hard ... as an adamant harder than flint," whereby an unflinching loyalty to God and a complete disregard of opposition is meant ( Jeremiah 3:8 ,  Jeremiah 3:9 ). Compare the phrase: "to harden the face," under the word Face .

Cyclopedia of Biblical, Theological and Ecclesiastical Literature

The custom among many Oriental nations both of coloring the face and forehead, and of impressing on the body marks indicative of devotion to some special deity or religious sect is mentioned by various writers (Burckhardt, Notes on Bed. 1:51; Niebuhr, Tray. 2:57; Wilkinson, Anc. Eg. 2:342; Lane, Modern Eg. 1:66). Sometimes it extends to serious inflictions. (See Cuttings In The Flesh). It is doubtless alluded to in Revelation ( Revelation 13:16-17;  Revelation 14:9;  Revelation 17:5;  Revelation 20:4), and in the opposite direction by Ezekiel ( Ezekiel 9:4-6), and in Revelation ( Revelation 7:3;  Revelation 9:4;  Revelation 14:1;  Revelation 22:4). The mark mentioned by Ezekiel with approval has been supposed by some to be the figure of the cross, said to be denoted by the word here used, תָּ• Copyright Statementthese Files Are Public Domain. Bibliography Informationmcclintock, John. Strong, James. Entry For 'Forehead'. Cyclopedia Of Biblical, Theological And Ecclesiastical Literature. Https://Www.Studylight.Org/Encyclopedias/Eng/Tce/F/Forehead.Html. Harper & Brothers. New York. 1870.

Kitto's Popular Cyclopedia of Biblial Literature

Marks upon the forehead, for the purpose of distinguishing the holy from the profane, are mentioned in , and again in .

The classical idolaters used to consecrate themselves to particular deities on the same principle. The marks used on these occasions were various. Sometimes they contained the name of the god; sometimes his particular ensign, or else they marked themselves with some mystical number whereby the god was described.

If this analogy be admitted, the mark on the forehead may be taken to be derived from the analogous custom among the heathen of bearing on their forehead the mark of the gods whose votaries they were. Some, however, would rather understand the allusion to refer to the custom of marking cattle, and even slaves, with the sign of ownership.