|
|
|
Etymology •
& Meaning •
Hebrew •
Greek •
Bible •
Names •
|
|
|
Meaning and etymology of the name Laban
|
|
| | |
Laban 
Laban is a son of Bethuel, son of Nahor with Milcah. Laban is also the brother of Rebekah and father of Leah and Rachel, the wives of Jacob (Genesis 24:29).
The name Laban comes from the unused root (lbn), and is identical to the word (laban), meaning white. In our modern sense of symbolism, white is often associated to goodness and black to badness but in the Bible this difference is far less pronounced. In the Bible, whiteness may simply be a hue (Genesis 30:35), and it may denote moral purity (Psalm 51:7; washed "whiter than snow") but it's also the color of judgment (Joel 1:7) and skin disease such as leprosy (Leviticus 13, Numbers 12:10, where Miriam turns leprous and "white as snow").
Some other derivatives:
The verb (laben), meaning to be white;
The noun (lebanah), meaning moon (a name derived from another word for moon is Jerah);
The noun (lebonah), frankincense (a white powder);
The name (lebanon), Lebanon;
The noun (lebneh), meaning poplar;
The noun (lebenah), brick;
The verb (laban 1074h), meaning to make bricks. The latter two are used in succession in Genesis 11:3, where the tower builders say,
"Let us laban labans and burn them thoroughly."
For a meaning of the name Laban, both NOBS Study Bible Name List and Jones' Dictionary of Old Testament Proper Names read White.
|
|
|
•Look for baby names
•Augment your Hebrew language study
•Deepen your knowledge of the Bible
•Enrich your cruise to or travel holiday in Israel
|
|