לָבַן
lâban · H3835 · Hebrew · 8 occurrences
Meanings
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to become white
Literally: to become white; hence: process by which branches become light in color because they are stripped of their bark
ExamplesJoel 1:7 It has made my vine a waste And my fig tree a stump. It has stripped them bare and hurled them away; Their branches have become white.
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to become pure
Literally: to become white; hence: causative process by which humans are considered free of guilt again, after having fallen into sin
ExamplesPsalm 51:7 Purify me with hyssop, and I will be clean; Cleanse me, and I will be whiter than snow.
Daniel 11:35 “And some of those who have insight will fall, to refine, purge, and cleanse them until the end time; because it is still to come at the appointed time.
Daniel 12:10 “Many will be purged, cleansed, and refined, but the wicked will act wickedly; and none of the wicked will understand, but those who have insight will understand.
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sins are made right
Literally: sins become white; hence: causative process by which the guilt resulting from wrongdoing will be removed
ExamplesIsaiah 1:18 “Come now, and let us debate your case,” Says the LORD, “Though your sins are as scarlet, They shall become as white as snow; Though they are red like crimson, They shall be like wool.
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to make bricks
Causative action by which humans produce bricks for building
ExamplesGenesis 11:3 Then they said to one another, “Come, let’s make bricks and fire them thoroughly.” And they used brick for stone, and they used tar for mortar.
Exodus 5:7 “You are no longer to give the people straw to make bricks as previously; have them go and gather straw for themselves.
How it’s used In 4 roles
Every occurrence, grouped by the words it is grammatically related to.
the word studied the word it goes with
Who or what does itSubject
7 occurrences in 5 groups
- Not stated (infinitive) 3
- שָׂרִיגbranch 1
- Not stated: we 1
- Not stated: I 1
- Not stated: they 1
What it acts on, or what is saidObject
2 occurrences in 1 groups
- לְבֵנָהbrick 2
With prepositionsPrepositional phrases
2 occurrences in 2 groups
- מִןfrom+ שֶׁלֶגsnow 1
- כlike/as+ שֶׁלֶגsnow 1
After prepositionsPrepositional phrases
2 occurrences in 1 groups
- לto/for 2
When two words share a role, as in “Paul and Barnabas said”, the verse appears under each, so a section’s counts can add up to more than the number of occurrences.
MACULA Greek Linguistic Datasets, available at https://github.com/Clear-Bible/macula-greek/, licensed CC BY 4.0; MACULA Hebrew Linguistic Datasets © 2022-2024 by Biblica, Inc., CC BY 4.0. Westminster Leningrad Codex (tanach.us). OpenScriptures Hebrew Bible morphology (hb.openscriptures.org), CC BY 4.0.
Semantic domains 4 entries
- Color002001001014
- This word's most literal sense is "to be white," describing the color of something, as sins becoming "white as snow" in Isaiah 1:18 and Psalm 51:9.
- Innocent002003003015
- The same "become white" imagery is used figuratively of sin being cleansed away, as Psalm 51:9's plea and Isaiah 1:18's promise, describing a restoration to innocence.
- Right002001003013
- The whitening imagery of Isaiah 1:18 is embedded in a legal appeal to "debate" and set the case right, connecting the word's cleansing sense with the establishing of what is right.
- Exist002002002005
- The word's other sense, "make bricks" (Genesis 11:3, Exodus 5:7, 14), describes bringing a manufactured building material into being through firing clay.
Word family 8 words
Words formed from the same root. They share a form, not always a meaning.
Brown-Driver-Briggs Hebrew Lexicon H3835. laban [לָבֵן] verb be white (on ֵ֯ see BaNB 166; LagBN 33, compare 53, 54 infers…
[לָבֵן] verb be white (on ֵ֯ see BaNB 166; LagBN 33, compare 53, 54 infers ֗֗֗ לָבֹן from לְבֹנָה; Late Hebrew id., Pi`el Hiph`il, and derivatives; Phoenician לבן white; Arabic milk; also be white, dialect of Yemen, MaltzanZMG xxvii, 1873, 247; apparently √ of following fourteen words, but this dubious especially in case of II. III. לִבְנָה לְבָנָא, לָבָן,, II. לְבוֺנָה, I. II. לִבְנִי); —
Hiph`il Perfect3plural הִלְבִּינוּ Joe 1:7; Imperfect1singular אַלְבִּין Psa 51:9; Psa 51:3plural יַלְבִּינוּ Isa 1:18; Infinitive construct וְלַלְבֵּן (= וּלְהַלְבֵּן) Dan 11:35; —
1 make white = purify (ethical) Dan 11:35 (no object expressed, || בָּרֵר צָרַף,).
2 shew whiteness, grow white, of fig-tree, stripped by locusts, Joe 1:7; figurative of moral purity, יַלְב ׳כַּשֶּׁלֶג Isa 1:18; אַלְב ׳מִשֶּׁלֶג Psa 51:9.
Hithpa`el Imperfect יִתְלַבְּנוּ Dan 12:10 be purified (ethical, || יִתְבָּֽרֲרוּ). — לָבַן, make brick, see below
[לָבַן] verb denominative make brick (as Assyrian labânu fromlibittu DlHWB 370); —
Qal Imperfect1pluralנִלְבְּנָה Gen 11:3 (with accusative of congnate meaning with verb); Infinitive construct לִלְבֹּן Exo 5:7 (with accusative of congnate meaning with verb), Exo 5:14 (absolute)
Brown, Driver and Briggs, A Hebrew and English Lexicon of the Old Testament (1906), public domain
Topical studies with this word 4 entries
Meanings adapted from the UBS Dictionary of the Greek New Testament, © United Bible Societies, CC BY-SA 4.0 and the UBS Dictionary of Biblical Hebrew (from the Semantic Dictionary of Biblical Hebrew), © United Bible Societies, CC BY-SA 4.0; MACULA Greek Linguistic Datasets, available at https://github.com/Clear-Bible/macula-greek/, licensed CC BY 4.0; MACULA Hebrew Linguistic Datasets © 2022-2024 by Biblica, Inc., CC BY 4.0. Westminster Leningrad Codex (tanach.us). OpenScriptures Hebrew Bible morphology (hb.openscriptures.org), CC BY 4.0.
Sources
eRhema lexical overview, based on the UBS Dictionary of Biblical Hebrew and the UBS Dictionary of the Greek New Testament (© United Bible Societies, CC BY-SA 4.0) and Macula Hebrew and Greek (Clear Bible, CC BY 4.0); released under CC BY-SA 4.0
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