Hebrew word · H3892

לַח

lach

fresh

Lach means moist, fresh, full of sap (Gen 30:37, fresh rods; Num 6:3, fresh grapes; Judg 16:7–8, fresh bowstrings). Yavesh means dried out, withered. Set side by side, the two opposites stand for 'all kinds'.

Appears 6 times in 6 verses of the Hebrew Old Testament. ·

What it means

1) moist, fresh, new

1a) moist, fresh (of plants)

1b) new (of cords, sinews)

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 Ezekiel 20:47

Range of meaning

Lach means moist, fresh, full of sap (Gen 30:37, fresh rods; Num 6:3, fresh grapes; Judg 16:7–8, fresh bowstrings). Yavesh means dried out, withered. Set side by side, the two opposites stand for 'all kinds'.

Against the English

'Green' (KJV, WEB, BSB) is fine as long as it is taken to mean living, sappy wood. YLT's 'moist' is closer to the Hebrew picture: wet wood that normally will not catch.

Used elsewhere in the period

Ezekiel uses the same pair in 17:24 ('I dry up the green tree and make the dry tree flourish'). In the explanation in 21:3–4 the image becomes 'I will cut off from you both righteous and wicked'. Jesus' saying in Luke 23:31 ('if they do these things when the wood is green, what will happen when it is dry?') draws on this same proverbial pairing. That it echoes Ezekiel's image specifically is likely but not certain.

From the study of Judges 16:7

Range of meaning

Moist, fresh, full of sap, not dried out. Used of fresh-cut rods (Gen 30:37), fresh grapes as opposed to raisins (Num 6:3), and a 'green' (living, sappy) tree in contrast to a dry one (Ezek 17:24; 21:3 [20:47 Eng]). The related noun lēach means vigour or natural freshness (Deut 34:7, Moses' 'vigour had not abated').

Against the English

KJV and WEB say 'green', which in older English meant fresh or unseasoned (as in 'green wood'). A modern reader tends to hear the colour. BSB, NIV, ESV and NASB say 'fresh'. NLT says 'new'.

How it drifted

'Green' in the sense of 'unseasoned or unripe' has faded in everyday English, so 'green cords' sounds like a colour.

Used elsewhere in the period

The Hebrew Bible uses it consistently for moisture or freshness that has not yet dried. The Septuagint here has hygrai, 'wet, moist.'

Where it appears

Genesis · 1

  1. Genesis 30:37 לַ֖ח freshly cut

    Jacob, however, took fresh branches of poplar, almond, and plane trees, and peeled the bark, exposing the white inner wood of the branches.

Numbers · 1

  1. Numbers 6:3 לַחִ֥ים fresh

    he is to abstain from wine and strong drink. He must not drink vinegar made from wine or strong drink, and he must not drink any grape juice or eat fresh grapes or raisins.

    Here: Fresh, juicy grapes straight from the vine (KJV "moist").

Judges · 2

  1. Judges 16:7 לַחִ֖ים fresh

    Samson told her, “If they tie me up with seven fresh bowstrings that have not been dried, I will become as weak as any other man.”

    Here: Fresh, still moist, not yet seasoned. Used of fresh-cut rods (Gen 30:37) and fresh grapes (Num 6:3). It does not mean the colour green; it means 'not yet dried out.'

  2. Judges 16:8 לַחִ֖ים fresh

    So the lords of the Philistines brought her seven fresh bowstrings that had not been dried, and she tied him up with them.

Ezekiel · 2

  1. Ezekiel 17:24 לָ֔ח moist

    Then all the trees of the field will know that I am the LORD. I bring the tall tree down and make the low tree tall. I dry up the green tree and make the withered tree flourish. I, the LORD, have spoken, and I have done it.’”

    Here: "Moist, full of sap." Living wood, the opposite of dead dry wood. English "green" here means alive and vigorous, not a colour.

  2. Ezekiel 20:47 לַח֩ moist

    Say to the forest of the Negev: Hear the word of the LORD! This is what the Lord GOD says: I am about to ignite in you a fire, and it will devour all your trees, both green and dry. The blazing flame will not be quenched, and by it every face from south to north will be scorched.

    Here: Fresh, sap-filled wood, the kind that normally resists fire. The point is not the colour but that it is alive and full of moisture.

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