Hebrew word · H3835

לָבֵן

lilbon

to whiten

To be or become white. In the form used here (hiphil) it often describes something taking on or showing a colour ('turn white', Joel 1:7; Ps 51:9 [Eng 51:7], 'I shall be whiter than snow'; Dan 11:35, purifying and 'making white').

Appears 8 times in 8 verses of the Hebrew Old Testament. ·

What it means

1) to be white

1a) (Hiphil)

1a1) to make white, become white, purify

1a2) to show whiteness, grow white

1b) (Hithpael) to become white, be purified (ethical)

Abridged from Brown, Driver and Briggs, A Hebrew and English Lexicon of the Old Testament (1906), via STEPBible.org (CC BY 4.0).

In depth

From the study of Isaiah 1:18

Range of meaning

To be or become white. In the form used here (hiphil) it often describes something taking on or showing a colour ('turn white', Joel 1:7; Ps 51:9 [Eng 51:7], 'I shall be whiter than snow'; Dan 11:35, purifying and 'making white').

Against the English

English 'shall be as white as snow' reads as a plain promise. The Hebrew verb form can also be a possibility ('may/can become white') or, in tone, a question. See debates.

Used elsewhere in the period

Ps 51:7 (Heb v.9) combines washing and 'whiter than snow' in a prayer for cleansing. The Septuagint makes God the one who acts: λευκανῶ, 'I will make white'.

From the study of Daniel 12:10

Range of meaning

To be white or make white. The root gives lavan, 'white', and levanah, 'moon'. In moral and ritual contexts it means being cleansed of a stain: 'though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be as white as snow' (Isaiah 1:18); 'wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow' (Psalm 51:7).

Against the English

KJV/WEB 'made white' is literal and keeps the image. BSB/NIV 'made spotless' turns the colour picture into a picture of removed stains. That is fine, but the visual link to later 'white robes' imagery is lost.

Used elsewhere in the period

Daniel 11:35 lalbēn gives the purpose: 'to make white … until the time of the end'. In Daniel 7:9 the Ancient of Days wears clothing 'white as snow' (Aramaic). Revelation picks the image up: the martyrs 'washed their robes and made them white' (Revelation 7:14).

From the study of Genesis 11:3

Range of meaning

Levenah is a molded clay brick, usually sun-dried (Exod 5:7–19). It is also a paving or pavement (Exod 24:10, 'a work of sapphire pavement'). The verb lavan in this sense is built from the noun and means 'to make bricks' (Exod 5:7, 14). It is a separate word from lavan, 'to be white'.

Against the English

English 'let us make bricks' is correct but loses the 'brick bricks' doubling and its sound link to nivneh, 'let us build' (v. 4), and navlah, 'let us confuse' (v. 7).

Used elsewhere in the period

It is related to Akkadian libittu, '(mud)brick', the basic building unit of Mesopotamia. Akkadian has a separate word, agurru, for kiln-fired brick, and verse 3 describes that higher grade by adding 'let us burn them'. In Enuma Elish (the Babylonian creation epic), tablet VI, the gods mould bricks for a year to build Esagila, Marduk's temple in Babylon, and 'raise its head'. That is a close counterpart to 'its top in the heavens' in v. 4.

Where it appears

Genesis · 1

  1. Genesis 11:3 נִלְבְּנָ֣ה let us make bricks

    And they said to one another, “Come, let us make bricks and bake them thoroughly.” So they used brick instead of stone, and tar instead of mortar.

    Here: A verb made from the noun 'brick': literally 'let us brick'. The '-ah' ending marks a resolve or proposal ('let us…'). Its consonants l-b-n come back reversed in God's 'let us confuse' (n-b-l) in verse 7.

Exodus · 2

  1. Exodus 5:7 לִלְבֹּ֥ן to make bricks

    “You shall no longer supply the people with straw for making bricks. They must go and gather their own straw.

  2. Exodus 5:14 לִלְבֹּן֙ by making bricks

    Then the Israelite foremen, whom Pharaoh’s taskmasters had set over the people, were beaten and asked, “Why have you not fulfilled your quota of bricks yesterday or today, as you did before?”

Psalms · 1

  1. Psalm 51:7 אַלְבִּֽין׃ I will become white

    Purify me with hyssop, and I will be clean; wash me, and I will be whiter than snow.

    Here: 'I will be white' (or 'show white'). It is the same verb as Isaiah 1:18, 'they shall be as white as snow'. Laundered cloth coming out bright white is the picture of guilt fully removed.

Isaiah · 1

  1. Isaiah 1:18 יַלְבִּ֔ינוּ they will become white

    “Come now, let us reason together,” says the LORD. “Though your sins are like scarlet, they will be as white as snow; though they are as red as crimson, they will become like wool.

    Here: "They will turn white" (or "can turn white" or, if read as a question, "will they turn white?"). This form of the verb describes taking on or showing a colour. The sins themselves are pictured changing colour.

Daniel · 2

  1. Daniel 11:35 וְלַלְבֵּ֖ן and to purify [them]

    Some of the wise will fall so that they may be refined, purified, and made spotless until the time of the end, for it will still come at the appointed time.

    Here: 'To make white', a shortened causative form. White stands for cleanness, as in Isaiah 1:18 and Psalm 51:7 ('whiter than snow'), and in Daniel it is the colour of the heavenly court (7:9). The three verbs build up: smelted, sifted, whitened.

  2. Daniel 12:10 וְיִֽתְלַבְּנ֤וּ and they may purify themselves

    Many will be purified, made spotless, and refined, but the wicked will continue to act wickedly. None of the wicked will understand, but the wise will understand.

    Here: 'And they will make themselves white' (or 'be made white'). This is the language of cleansing: a stain is removed, as in Isaiah 1:18 and Psalm 51:7. This verb form appears only here in the Hebrew Bible. It picks up 11:35, where the same verb describes the purpose behind the suffering of the faithful teachers.

Joel · 1

  1. Joel 1:7 הִלְבִּ֖ינוּ they have become white

    It has laid waste My grapevine and splintered My fig tree. It has stripped off the bark and thrown it away; the branches have turned white.

Word data: STEPBible.org (CC BY 4.0), main text only.