XXpat (qodhqodh): The word usually translated "crown," "crown of the head" (Gen 49:26; Dt 28:35; 33:16,20; 2 Sam 14:25; Job 2:7; Isa 3:17; Jer 2:16; 48:45) and "scalp" (Ps 68:21) is rendered "pate" in Ps 7:16 in agreement with earlier English translators since Coverdale: "His mischief shall return upon his own head, and his violence shall come down upon his own pate." The reason for the choice of the word lies evidently in the desire to make the Hebrew parallelism with "head" (rosh) apparent. The same object has, however, been achieved differently in another poetical passage (Gen 49:26 parallel Dt 33:16), namely, by the juxtaposition of "head" and "crown of the head."
H. L. E. Luering