"You will also leave that place with your hands on your head, for the Lord has rejected those you trust; you will not be helped by them." Jeremiah 2:37

This was a way of expressing great grief. It is thought by some commentators to mean that the heavy hand of God's affliction is pressing on the mourner.

This was one of the means of mourning adopted by Tamar after her cruel treatment by Amnon: "She put her hand on her head and went away, weeping aloud as she went" (2 Sa.13:19)

Mourners with their hands on their heads have been depicted on Egyptian sculptures, as this was a common way of expressing grief in Egypt.

One commentator said this about a similar custom in a Middle Eastern nation: "When people were in great distress, they put their hands on their head, the fingers being clasped on the top of the crown. should a man who is plunged into despair meet a friend, he would immediately put his hands on his head to illustrate his circumstances. When a person heard of the death of a relation or friend he forthwith clasped his hands and placed them on his head. When young boys were punished at school they would run home with their hands on their heads."