לְבַשׁ

𐤋𐤁𐤔

lᵉbash

H3848 verb

SILEX Entry

Root ל-ב-ש to put on, wear, be clothed, dress (oneself or another)

Definition

To put on, wear, or be clothed (with), referring to the act of wrapping oneself in or dressing another in clothing or other garments. Can refer to literal clothing, ritual robes, or figurative investiture (such as honor, shame, or specific roles). The word is primarily an Aramaic verb in biblical texts and often appears in narrative contexts involving dressing, investiture, or symbolic acts of clothing.

Semantic Range

to put on (garments), to wear, to dress, to clothe (another), to be clothed, to invest (in figurative sense), to wrap oneself in

Root / Etymology

Aramaic לְבַשׁ is cognate with Hebrew לָבַשׁ (lavash), both from root לבש meaning 'to put on clothing, be clothed, wear.' The root is common in Northwest Semitic languages.

Historical & Contextual Notes

In the biblical text, לְבַשׁ occurs only in Aramaic portions, especially in Daniel and Ezra. It functions essentially as the Aramaic form corresponding to the Hebrew לָבַשׁ. Usage is most often literal, where individuals are described as putting on garments or being clothed by others (sometimes for honor, at other times for disgrace). It may also occur in ceremonial or symbolic clothing, for instance the clothing of royal officials or those being publicly honored or shamed. In rabbinic and later Aramaic, the term maintains the same basic range of meaning. English translations such as "clothe" and "wear" generally capture the basic force, but may miss nuances related to ceremonial or social function of clothing in the scene. Distinct from Hebrew הִלְבִּישׁ (“to clothe, dress someone”), which is the causative form of the same root.

Original Strong's Gloss (1890)

(Aramaic) corresponding to לָבַשׁ; {properly, wrap around, i.e. (by implication) to put on agarment or clothe (oneself, or another), literally or figuratively}; clothe.

Bantu Hebrew

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Root Family

לבש (l-b-sh) — to put on, wear, be clothed, dress

Strong's Lemma SIBI-P1
H3830 לְבוּשׁ in garment of
H3831 לְבוּשׁ his garment
H3847 לָבַשׁ I will clothe
H4403 מַלְבּוּשׁ the garment

Word Forms

3 distinct forms

SIDANCE Surface Transliteration Morphology Common SIBI-P1 Occurrences
H3848-03 יִלְבַּ֗שׁ yilebash AVqi3ms he shall be clothed he will put on 1
H3848-01 תִלְבַּ֗שׁ tilebash AVqi2ms you shall be clothed you will put on 1
H3848-02 וְ/הַלְבִּ֤ישׁוּ vehalebishu AC/Vhp3mp and they clothed they clothed 1

Occurrences in Scripture

3 total occurrences

SIDANCE Reference Word Transliteration Morphology Common SIBI-P1
H3848-03 Daniel 5:7 יִלְבַּ֗שׁ yilebash AVqi3ms he shall be clothed he will put on
H3848-01 Daniel 5:16 תִלְבַּ֗שׁ tilebash AVqi2ms you shall be clothed you will put on
H3848-02 Daniel 5:29 וְ/הַלְבִּ֤ישׁוּ vehalebishu AC/Vhp3mp and they clothed they clothed