H1538 H1538
Skull; head or poll as a unit for counting persons in a census
Derived from the root meaning 'to roll,' gulgōlet denotes the skull or cranium in its physical sense and, by extension, a 'head' counted in a census or per-capita assessment. When a woman drops a millstone on Abimelech's skull at Thebez (Judg 9:53), the word is starkly anatomical. Yet in the Priestly census lists of Numbers, it shifts to an administrative term: 'per head' or 'per poll,' enumerating individuals one by one. The same distributive usage appears in Exodus 16:16 where each person collects an omer of manna 'per head.' This dual usage — broken bone and bureaucratic headcount — mirrors the English word 'poll,' which likewise moved from 'head' to 'census.'
1. head, poll (unit of counting) — The head or poll used as a counting unit in census and assessment contexts. In the Priestly source, gulgōlet functions distributively — 'per head' — as in the wilderness census (Num 1:2, 18, 20, 22) and the manna allotment of an omer per person (Exod 16:16). Spanish renders it 'por cabeza,' Hindi 'prati-vyakti' (per individual), reflecting the same per-capita logic. The half-shekel levy of Exodus 38:26 and the Levite census of 1 Chronicles 23:3 use the same idiom. 9×
AR["بِرُؤُوسِهِمْ","لِلرَّأْسِ","لِلْجُمْجُمَةِ"]·ben["-তে-তাদের-মাথা-পিছু","-তে-মাথা-পিছু","প্রতি-মাথায়","মাথা-পিছু"]·DE["[לגלגלתם]","durch-ihr-Haeupter","fuer-der-Haupt","per-Haupt"]·EN["by-their-heads","for-the-head","per-head"]·FR["[לגלגלתם]","par-leur-heads","per-tête","pour-le-tête"]·heb["ל-גולגולת","ל-גלגלתם","ל-גלגלתם-ם","ל-ה-גולגולת","ל-ה-לגלגלת"]·HI["उनके-प्रति-व्यक्ति","प्रति-व्यक्ति","प्रति-सिर","सिरों-के-अनुसार"]·ID["kepala-kepala-mereka","per-kepala","per-kepala-mereka"]·IT["[לגלגלתם]","da-loro-capi","per-capo","per-il-capo"]·jav["dhateng-saben-sirah","kanggé-saben-sirah","miturut-sirah","miturut-sirahipun"]·KO["그들의-머리에-따라","머리마다","에-머리들-그들의","에게-머리"]·PT["para-cabeça","para-crânios-deles","para-o-crânio","por-cabeça,","por-suas-cabeças"]·RU["на-голову","по-головам-их","по-голове"]·ES["por-cabeza","por-cabezas-de-ellos","por-la-cabeza","por-sus-cabezas"]·SW["kwa-kichwa","kwa-vichwa-vyao"]·TR["başa-göre","başlarına-göre","kafalarına-göre","kafaya","kişi-başına"]·urd["سروں-کے-حساب-سے","فی-سر","کے-لیے-سروں-ان","کے-لیے-فی-کس","ہر-سر-کے-لیے"]
▼ 1 more sense below
Senses
2. skull (anatomical) — The literal bony cranium or skull. In Judges 9:53 a woman fractures Abimelech's skull with an upper millstone, and in 2 Kings 9:35 Jehu's men find only Jezebel's skull, feet, and palms remaining after the dogs. First Chronicles 10:10 records Saul's skull fastened in the temple of Dagon. Multilingual evidence confirms the anatomical reading: Spanish 'cráneo,' Arabic 'jumjuma,' and Aramaic gulgaltā all point to the physical cranium. 3×
AR["الْجُمْجُمَةَ","جُمْجُمَتَهُ"]·ben["তাঁর-মাথার-খুলি","মাথার-খুলি","মাথার-খুলির-তার"]·DE["[גלגלתו]","der-skull","sein-skull"]·EN["his-skull","the-skull"]·FR["[גלגלתו]","le-skull","son-skull"]·heb["גולגולתו","גלגלתו-ו","ה-גולגולת"]·HI["उसकी-खोपड़ी","हगुल्गोलेत"]·ID["-tengkorak","tengkoraknya"]·IT["[גלגלתו]","il-skull","suo-skull"]·jav["sirah","sirah-ipun"]·KO["그의-해골-을","두개골-그의","해골과"]·PT["crânio-seu","o-crânio","seu-crânio"]·RU["череп","череп-его"]·ES["el-cráneo","su-cráneo"]·SW["fuvu-la-kichwa","fuvu-lake"]·TR["kafatası-o","kafatasını","kafatasını-onun"]·urd["اس-کی-کھوپڑی","کھوپڑی","کھوپڑی-اُس-کی۔"]
BDB / Lexicon Reference
† גֻּלְגֹּ֫לֶת n.f. skull, head, poll (person) (BaNB 205; Aramaic גּוּלְגַּלְתָּא, Arabic جُمْجُمَة )—abs. ג׳ 2 K 9:35 + 3 times; sf. גֻּלְגָּלְתּוֹ Ju 9:53 1 Ch 10:10; pl. sf. גֻּלְגְּלֹתָם Nu 1:2 + 5 times;— 1. skull, as broken by a stone Ju 9:53; as severed from body 2 K 9:35 1 Ch 10:10. 2. head, poll (in counting, taxing, etc.; only P and late) עֹמֶר לַגּ׳ Ex 16:16 an omer for every man; cf. 38:26 Nu 1:2, 18, 20, 22; 3:47 1 Ch 23:3, 24.