לָעַג
lâʻag · H3932 · Hebrew · 18 occurrences
Meanings
-
to mock
Only used in poetry; action by which humans or deities express their disdain of others with words, sounds and/or gestures
Examples2 Kings 19:21 “This is the word that the LORD has spoken against him: ‘She, the virgin daughter of Zion, has shown contempt for you and mocked you; She, the daughter of Jerusalem, has shaken her head behind you!
2 Chronicles 30:10 So the couriers passed from city to city through the country of Ephraim and Manasseh, and as far as Zebulun, but they laughed at them with scorn and mocked them.
Proverbs 1:26 I will also laugh at your disaster; I will mock when your dread comes,
-
a mocking tongue
Literally: a mocking tongue; hence: action by which humans speak a foreign language that is unintelligible and sounds as if they are mocking
ExamplesIsaiah 33:19 You will no longer see a fierce people, A people of unintelligible speech which no one comprehends, Of a stammering tongue which no one understands.
How it’s used In 6 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
17 occurrences in 11 groups
- Not stated: you (one person) 3
- Not stated: he, she or it 3
- Other words · 9 groups that occur once or twice (11) 11
With prepositionsPrepositional phrases
16 occurrences in 12 groups
- לto/for+ הֶםthem 3
- Other words · 11 groups that occur once or twice (13) 13
Whose, or of whatGenitive or possessive
1 occurrences in 1 groups
- לָשׁוֹןtongue, language 1
Named alongside itApposition
1 occurrences in 1 groups
- עַםpeople 1
What it doesIt is the subject
1 occurrences in 1 groups
- חָרַףto reproach 1
What is done to itIt is the object
1 occurrences in 1 groups
- הָיָהto be, to become 1
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.
Near synonyms 2 words
- הָתַל hâthal · H2048 · to mock, to deceive
- Both the target term and תלל (הָתַל (hâthal, H2048)) genuinely overlap in the sense of 'mock.' תלל emphasizes deception or deceit alongside mocking, while the target term emphasizes derision or scornful laughter, but the core mocking sense is shared, and the two function as near-synonyms in that register.
- שָׂחַק sâchaq · H7832 · to laugh, to smile, to make merry
- לָעַג (lâʻag, H3932) focuses on scornful mocking and derision (18×); שָׂחַק (sâchaq, H7832) has broader range including playful laughter and rejoicing alongside mocking/scorn (36×).
Semantic domains 2 entries
- Revile002004001009012
- לָעַג means to mock or hold in derision, as in the recurring biblical picture of enemies mocking the afflicted, placing it among terms of scorn.
- Speak002004001009008
- The same word also covers stammering or speaking in a foreign, unintelligible tongue, reflected in its gloss 'stammering,' tying the mocking sense to a specific mode of speech.
Word family 3 words
Words formed from the same root. They share a form, not always a meaning.
Brown-Driver-Briggs Hebrew Lexicon H3932. laag [לָעַג] verb mock, deride; also (Niph`al) stammer, in poetry (Late Hebrew…
[לָעַג] verb mock, deride; also (Niph`al) stammer, in poetry (Late Hebrew Hiph`il id.; לְעֵג ᵑ7 Aph`el id.; stutter (compare Late Hebrew לִגְלֵג mock, לַגְלֵג ᵑ7 id.; Syriac stutter, Arabic id.)); —
Qal Perfect3feminine singular לָֽעֲגָה 2Ki 19:21; Isa 37:22; Imperfect יִלְעַגֿ Job 22:19; Psa 2:4 יִלְעָ֑ג Job 9:23; Job 9:3feminine singular תִּלְעַג Pro 30:17; Pro 30:2masculine singular תִּלְעַג Psa 59:9, ׳וַתִּל Job 11:3; Job 11:1singular אֶלְעַג Pro 1:26; Pro 1:3masculine plural יִלְעֲגוּֿ Psa 80:7; Participle לֹעֵג Pro 17:5; Jer 20:7; — mock, deride, have in derision, of Jerusalem triumphing over enemy (with לְ person or thing) 2Ki 19:21 = Isa 37:22 (|| בזה); of the innocent Job 22:19 (|| שׂמח); of God (with לְ) Job 9:23; Psa 2:4; Psa 59:9; absolute of wisdom Pro 1:26 (|| שׂחק); of wicked (with לְ) Pro 17:5 (|| שׂמח), Pro 30:17 (|| בוז), Jer 20:7 (|| שׂחק); so also perhaps Psa 80:7 (read לָנוּ for לָמוֺ with ᵑ9 ᵑ6 ᵐ5), compare (absolute) Job 11:3.
Niph`al Participle לָשׁוֺן נִלְעַג ֗֗֗ עַם Isa 33:19 a people stammering of tongue (i.e. barbarians, compare va; but read נעלג [√ עלג] GrMonatsschr. 1884, 45; || שָׂפָה עִמְקֵי).
Hiph`il (late; compare Late Hebrew) Imperfect3masculine singular וַיַּלְעֵג Nehemiah 3:33; Neh 3:2masculine singular תַּלְעִיג Job 21:3; Job 21:3masculine plural יַלְעִגוּ Psa 22:8, וַיַּלְעִגוּ Neh 2:19; Participle מַלְעִגִים2Ch 30:10; — mock, deride, always in bad sense: with לְ person Neh 2:19 (|| בזה), Psa 22:8; with עַלֿ person Nehemiah 3:33; with בְּ person 2Ch 30:10 (|| השׂחיק); absolute Job 21:3. — So also יִלְעִיג (or יִלְעַג) Pro 18:1 for יִתְגַּלַּע ᵑ0 Grl. c (see גלע, p. 166 above).
Brown, Driver and Briggs, A Hebrew and English Lexicon of the Old Testament (1906), public domain
Topical studies with this word 2 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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