Word

לָשׁוֹן

lâshôwn · H3956 · Hebrew · 117 occurrences

See all 117 in Search

Meanings

tongue

The fleshy organ in the mouth, used for tasting, licking, swallowing, and (in the case of humans) speaking

Examples
Judges 7:5 So he brought the people down to the water. Then the LORD said to Gideon, “You shall put everyone who laps the water with his tongue as a dog laps in one group, and everyone who kneels down to drink in another.”
2 Samuel 23:2 “The Spirit of the LORD spoke through me, And His word was on my tongue.
Proverbs 6:17 Haughty eyes, a lying tongue, And hands that shed innocent blood,
snake charmer

Literally: master of the tongue; person skilled in charming snakes

Examples
Ecclesiastes 10:11 If the serpent bites before being charmed, there is no benefit for the charmer.
language

Literally: tongue; hence: a system of communication used by a community, ethnic group, or nation

Examples
Genesis 10:5 From these the people of the coastlands of the nations were separated into their lands, every one according to his language, according to their families, into their nations.
Genesis 10:20 These are the sons of Ham, according to their families, according to their languages, by their lands, and by their nations.
Genesis 10:31 These are the sons of Shem, according to their families, according to their languages, by their lands, and according to their nations.
bar

Literally: tongue; hence: a long, rigid piece of metal

Examples
Joshua 7:21 when I saw among the spoils a beautiful robe from Shinar, two hundred shekels of silver, and a bar of gold fifty shekels in weight, then I wanted them and took them; and behold, they are hidden in the ground inside my tent, with the silver underneath.”
Joshua 7:24 Then Joshua, and all Israel with him, took Achan the son of Zerah, the silver, the robe, the bar of gold, his sons, his daughters, his oxen, his donkeys, his sheep, his tent, and all that belonged to him; and they brought them up to the Valley of Achor.
tongue

Literally: tongue; hence: something shaped like a tongue

Examples
Isaiah 5:24 Therefore, as a tongue of fire consumes stubble, And dry grass collapses in the flame, So their root will become like rot, and their blossom blow away like dust; For they have rejected the Law of the LORD of armies, And discarded the word of the Holy One of Israel.
Literally: to sharpen one's tongue; hence: action by which humans or animals show aggression to someone else with sounds or in speech (to speak (against), to say something bad (about), to bark, to growl)

Examples
Exodus 11:7 ‘But not even a dog will threaten any of the sons of Israel, nor anything from person to animal, so that you may learn how the LORD distinguishes between Egypt and Israel.’
Joshua 10:21 that all the people returned to the camp, to Joshua at Makkedah in peace. No one uttered a word against any of the sons of Israel.
slanderer

Literally: person of tongue; hence: a human who speaks bad about alleged faults they find with other humans

Examples
Psalm 140:11 “May a slanderer not endure on the earth; May evil hunt a violent person violently.”
slow of speaking

Literally: heavy of tongue; hence: state in which one's tongue, does not function well

Examples
Exodus 4:10 Then Moses said to the LORD, “Please, Lord, I have never been eloquent, neither recently nor in time past, nor since You have spoken to Your servant; for I am slow of speech and slow of tongue.”
bay

A broad inlet of the sea where the land curves inward

Examples
Joshua 15:2 Their southern border was from the lower end of the Salt Sea, from the bay that turns to the south.
Joshua 15:5 The eastern border was the Salt Sea, as far as the mouth of the Jordan. And the border of the north side was from the bay of the sea at the mouth of the Jordan.
Joshua 18:19 Then the border continued to the side of Beth-hoglah northward; and the border ended at the north bay of the Salt Sea, at the south end of the Jordan. This was the southern border.

How it’s used In 10 roles

Every occurrence, grouped by the words it is grammatically related to.

the word studied the word it goes with

Whose, or of whatGenitive or possessive

93 occurrences in 30 groups

הֶםtheir 20
הוּhis 18
יmy 15
שֶׁקֶרlie, falsehood, false 5
ךָyour 4
יָםsea 3
Other words · 23 groups that occur once or twice (26) 26

Words describing itAdjectives, demonstratives, participles

5 occurrences in 5 groups

דָבַרto speak, to say 1
אֶחָדone 1
אַחֵרother 1
פָּנָהto turn, to face 1
רַךְtimid 1

Named alongside itApposition

2 occurrences in 1 groups

רְמִיָּהdeceit, slackness 2

What it doesIt is the subject

26 occurrences in 19 groups

דָּבַקto cling, to cleave 4
הָגָהto utter, to meditate, to moan 3
Other words · 17 groups that occur once or twice (19) 19

What is done to itIt is the object

25 occurrences in 21 groups

Other words · 21 groups that occur once or twice (25) 25

Second object ofSecond object

1 occurrences in 1 groups

לָמַדto teach, to learn 1

What it is said to bePredicate

10 occurrences in 10 groups

Other words · 10 groups that occur once or twice (10) 10

What is said to be itIt is the predicate

6 occurrences in 8 groups

גְּבוּלborder, territory 1
דְּבַשׁhoney 1
אָוֶןevil 1
חָלָבmilk 1
מִלָּהword, words 1
עָמָלtoil, trouble 1

After prepositionsPrepositional phrases

33 occurrences in 7 groups

בin/on/with 16
כlike/as 7
עַלon, upon, over, against 6
לto/for 6
תַּחַתunder, below, instead of 5
מִןfrom 4

In phrases “… of it”It is the genitive

11 occurrences in 11 groups

Other words · 11 groups that occur once or twice (11) 11

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.

In the other Testament 2 words

γλῶσσα glōssa · G1100 · tongue, language, dialect: Greek γλῶσσα (glōssa, G1100) ('tongue,' and by implication 'language') is the direct cross-linguistic equivalent of Hebrew לָשׁוֹן across both its literal anatomical sense (the physical tongue) and its extended metaphorical senses (language, speech), representing the standard Septuagint rendering of this Hebrew term.
לִשָּׁן lishshân · H3961 · language: לִשָּׁן (lishshân, H3961) (Aramaic לִשָּׁן) is the direct Aramaic cognate of לָשׁוֹן (lâshôwn, H3956) (Hebrew לָשׁוֹן), sharing the same root and core meaning 'tongue/language' but appearing in Aramaic portions of Scripture (Daniel, Ezra).

Semantic domains 7 entries

Professions001001003009: לָשׁוֹן can denote a talker or one who speaks in a professional or public capacity, reflected in its gloss's coverage of 'babbler' and 'evil speaker' as descriptions of a person's speaking role.
Languages002004001009003: The word denotes language or tongue in the sense of a distinct speech-community, as in Genesis 10:5's peoples divided "according to his language," placing it among named languages.
Artifacts001003001001: The same word also denotes a wedge-shaped object, such as a tongue-shaped bar of gold or a wedge, reflected in its gloss 'wedge,' placing it among crafted objects.
Shape002001001052: The word describes the tongue-like shape of an object such as a bay or promontory, reflected in its gloss 'bay,' tying the word to a distinctive elongated shape.
Speak002004001009008: The word's dominant sense is the physical tongue as the organ of speech, as in Exodus 4:10's Moses who is "slow of speech and slow of tongue," placing it among terms for the act of speaking.
Unable002001001065: The word covers a tongue rendered incapable of speech, as reflected in its gloss's coverage of speech impediment, tying the tongue to an inability to communicate.
Waterbodies001002008: The word additionally names a tongue-shaped bay or inlet of a body of water, as in Joshua 15:2's description of the Dead Sea's "tongue" facing southward, placing it among named water features.

Word family 3 words

Words formed from the same root. They share a form, not always a meaning.

לָשַׁן lâshan · H3960 · to slander · 2×לָשׁוֹןlâshôwn · H3956לִשָּׁן lishshân · H3961 · language · 7×

Brown-Driver-Briggs Hebrew Lexicon H3956. lashon לָשׁוֺן noun masculineJos 7:21 and (more often) feminineIsa 28:11 tongue…

H3956. lashon
לָשׁוֺן noun masculineJos 7:21 and (more often) feminineIsa 28:11 tongue (Late Hebrew id.; also Assyrian lišânu; Arabic ; Ethiopic ; Aramaic לִישָּׁן לִשָּׁן,, (all li-); Zinjirli לשן DHMSendsch. 59); — absolute ׳ל Exo 4:10 +; הַלָּשֹׁן Jos 15:2; construct לְשׁוֺן Jos 7:21 +; suffix לְשׁוֺנִי 2Sa 23:2; לְשֹׁנוֺ Exo 11:7 Exo 11:2t.; לְשׁוֺנוֺ Jdg 7:5; Est 1:22; לְשׁוֺנְךָ Psa 34:14; לְשׁוֺנְכֶם Isa 59:3, etc.; plural לְשֹׁנוֺת absolute Psa 31:21; Isa 66:18; construct Zec 8:23; suffix לְשֹׁנֹתָם Gen 10:20, Gen 10:31; —
1 tongue of men,
a. used in lapping Jdg 7:5; cleaving to the palate (חֵק), in thirst Lam 4:4, so as to produce dumbness Job 29:10 (|| נֶחְבָּא קוֺל), Psa 137:6; Eze 3:26 (|| נֶאֱלַם); cleaving to jaws (מַלְקוֺחַ) Psa 22:16; ׳ל נָשָׁ֑תָּה בַּצָּמָא Isa 41:17 their tongue for thirst is parched; ׳לְ בְּפִיהֶם תִּמַּק Zec 14:12 (of ׳יs judgment); a choice morsel is held ל ׳תַּחַת Job 20:12 (figurative of mischief), compare Psa 10:7 (ready to be uttered), Psa 66:17 (|| מֶּה), Son 4:11.
b. usually as organ of speech, both good and bad (especially Psalms, Proverbs, often || שָׂפָה מֶּה,); — ל ׳כְּבַד Exo 4:10 (J) heavy of tongue; ל ׳מַעֲנֵה Pro 16:1, עַללְֿשׁוֺנִי מִלָּתוֺ 2Sa 23:2, compare Pro 31:26; Psa 139:4 (׳בִּל), עַוְלָה בִּלְשׁוֺנִי הֲיֵשׁ Job 6:30; ל בְּיַד וְחַיִּים ׳מָוֶת Pro 18:21, compare Pro 21:23; Pro 25:15; of (false) prophets, ל ׳הַלֹּקְהִים Jer 23:31; subject of verb of speaking, בֶּר Di — לְשׁוֺנִי דִּבְּרָה בִחִכִּי Job 33:2; Psa 12:4; Psa 37:30; compare (Jer 9:7 below and) לְדַבֵּר ׳ל תְּמַהֵר ֗֗֗ Isa 32:4, מָהִיר סֹפֵר עֵט לְשׁוֺנִי Psa 45:2, i.e. as swift as a rapid scribe's stylus; subject of הָגָה Isa 59:3; Job 27:4; Psa 35:28; Psa 71:24; subject of נִשְׁבַּע Isa 45:23; ׳ל בָּאָרֶץ תִּהַלַךְ Psa 73:9; of hostile speech, insolence, etc., Jos 10:21 (J E; object of I. חָרַץ q. v., compare
3 below), Jer 18:18; Isa 3:8; ל ׳זַעַם Hos 7:16 (but text dubious, compare We Now), ׳ל חַדָּה חֶרֶב Psa 57:6, compare Psa 64:4; ל שָֽׁנְנוּ ׳נָחָשׁ כְּמוֺ Psa 140:4; ׳כָּללֿ אִתָּךְ תָּקוּם Isa 54:17; ל ׳הֶאֱרִיךְ Isa 57:4; further, Jer 9:2; Jer 9:4; as instrument of seductive flattery (הֶחֱלִיק), without בְּ, Psa 5:10; Proverbs 28:33, compare לָ חֶלְקַת ׳נָכְרִיָּה Pro 6:24;. of falsehood Psa 78:36 (compare below); of slander (compare לושֵׁן) עַללֿ ׳רָגַל Psa 15:3, לָשׁוֺן אִישׁPsa 140:12, compare ׳לְ סָ֑תֶר Proverbs 25:33; בְּל ׳חָטָא Psa 39:2; compare Psa 64:9 (text dubious, see Hup Che Bae); moral qualities ascribed to: — as arrogant Psa 12:5 (compare Psa 12:4 above); as devising injuries, ל תַּחְשֹׁב ׳הַוּוֺת Psa 52:4, compare ׳לְ הַוֺת Pro 17:4; ׳ל מִרְמָה תַּצְמִיד Psa 50:19 nectere fraudem; ל נְצֹר ׳מֵרָ֑ע Psa 34:14 ׅ || מִרְמָה מִדַּבֵּר (וּשְׂפָתֶיךָ; often of lying tongue: שֶׁקֶר לְשׁוֺן Pro 6:17; Pro 12:19; Pro 21:6; Pro 26:28; Psa 109:2; ׳לְ מִרְמָה Psa 52:6; ׳לָ רְמִיָּה Mic 6:12; Psa 120:2; Psa 120:3; ׳לְ תַּרְמִית Zep 3:13; ׳לְ תַּהְמֻּכוֺת Pro 10:31, and בִּל ׳נֶהְמָּךְ Pro 17:20; עֲרוּמִים׳ל Job 15:5; also ׳ל דִּבֵּ֑ר מִרְמָה Jer 9:7; on the other hand ׳לְ צַדִּיק Pro 10:20; ׳ל חֲכָמִים Pro 12:18; Pro 15:2; לָ ׳מַרְמֵּה Pro 15:4; ׳לְ לִמּוּדִים Isa 50:4. — Note phrases ל ׳שׁוֺט Job 5:21 scourge of (the) tongue, לְשֹׁנוֺת רִיב Psa 31:21; לְשׁוֺנָם מַּלַּג Psa 55:10: also הַלּ ׳בַּעַל Ecc 10:11 (of serpent-charmer), and ל עַלשְֿׂפַת ׳וַתֵּעֲלוּ Eze 36:3. — On tongue of ׳י (once), see 4 below
c. organ of singing, subject of רָנַן Psa 51:16; Psa 126:2; Isa 35:6, עָנָה Psa 119:172.
2 = language Deu 28:49; Jer 5:15 and later, namely: Eze 3:5-6, (ל ׳כִּבְדֵי, || שָׂפָה עִמְקֵי, but strike out ᵐ5 Manuscripts Co SgfrKauAT), Isa 28:11 (|| שָׂפָה לַעֲגֵי ׳ל, אַחֶרֶת, figurative of ׳יs unintelligible dealings); ל נִלְעַג ֗֗֗ ׳עַם Isa 33:19 (|| שָׂפָה עִמְקֵי); Isa 66:18 (|| גּוֺיִם), Zec 8:23; Gen 10:5, Gen 10:20, Gen 10:31 (all P), Neh 13:24; Est 1:22 (twice in verse); Est 3:12; Est 8:9 (twice in verse); Dan 1:4.
3 tongue of animals: dog Exo 11:7 (J; object of I. חָרַץ q. v.; compare 1b), Psa 68:24; adder Job 20:16 (subjectof תַּהֲרֹג); crocodile Job 40:25.
4 tongue of fire, devouring, אֵשׁ לְשׁוֺן קַשׁ כֶּאֱכֹל Isa 5:24; compare of אֹכָ֑לֶת כְּאֵשׁ וּלְשׁוֺנוֺ ׳י, Isa 30:27 (|| זַעַם מָֽלְאוּ שְׂפָתָיו).
5 = (tongue-shaped) wedge of gold Jos 7:21, Jos 7:24 (JE). **So Assyrian lišânu; see MeissnZAW xxlii {1905}, 151 f. JohnsAssyrian Deeds 2, 281.
6 = (tongue-shaped) bay of sea Isa 11:15; Jos 15:2, Jos 15:5; Jos 18:19 (all P).
לִשָּׁן noun masculineDan 3:7 tongue (ᵑ7 Syriac; see Biblical Hebrew לָשׁוֺן, √ לשׁן ); — tongue = language, figurative for people: absolute וְל אֻמָּה ׳עַם Dan 3:29; plural emphatic ׳ע ׳א וְלִשָּׁנַיָּא Dan 3:4; Dan 3:7; Dan 4:31; Dan 5:19; Dan 6:26; Dan 7:14 (compare Biblical Hebrew לָשׁוֺן
2, Isa 66:18).
מָא see מָה. below

Brown, Driver and Briggs, A Hebrew and English Lexicon of the Old Testament (1906), public domain

Topical studies with this word 7 entries

Professions1 occurrence Waterbodies4 occurrences Artifacts2 occurrences Shape1 occurrence Unable1 occurrence Languages19 occurrences Speak3 occurrences

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