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לָוָה

𐤋𐤅𐤄

lâvâh

H3867 verb

SILEX Entry

Root לוה to join, to accompany, to be attached, to associate

Definition

To accompany, to join oneself or become attached to another person or group (often by traveling together or remaining with them), or to be joined together in companionship; in extended usage, to borrow (receive something as a temporary obligation) or to lend (give temporarily, of goods or money). The primary meaning involves drawing near or associating closely with another, sometimes physically (as in accompanying on a journey) and sometimes socially or figuratively (as in joining one's company). The sense of borrowing or lending emerges as a specific application of being 'joined with' a person through an obligation or promise.

Semantic Range

to accompany, to travel with, to join oneself, to attach oneself, to cleave to, to borrow, to incur an obligation, to lend, to provide on loan

Root / Etymology

Root: לוה; the core meaning of the root is 'to join, to accompany, to be attached.' The verb לָוָה develops from this root to signify both the physical act of accompanying and the social/economic act of entering a reciprocal relationship (such as through lending/borrowing, which creates a tie between people).

Historical & Contextual Notes

In early Israelite usage, לָוָה often refers to the physical act of joining or accompanying (e.g., a host accompanying a guest on departure, someone joining a processional). The extension to borrowing/lending appears in contexts of economic exchange, especially in legal or prophetic texts, where the obligations of borrower and lender create a lasting social connection. The borrowing/lending sense is not present in every context; meanings depend heavily on grammatical form and syntactic context. In post-monarchic and Second Temple periods, the borrowing/lending sense may be more pronounced due to the growth of written law and focus on social obligations. Unlike חָבַר (to bind, associate, often with the nuance of binding by a common purpose or league), לָוָה centers around the act of accompanying or being bound by mutual obligation. Standard English translations alternate between 'accompany,' 'join,' 'borrow,' and 'lend,' but these may narrow the original nuance, which is more relational and dynamic. The term does not carry the sense of a permanent familial bond as some other roots might but usually indicates a temporary or situational association.

Original Strong's Gloss (1890)

a primitive root; properly, to twine, i.e. (by implication) to unite, to remain; also to borrow (as a form of obligation) or (caus.) to lend; abide with, borrow(-er), cleave, join (self), lend(-er).

Bantu Hebrew

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Root Family

לוה (l-w-h) — to join, to accompany, to attach, to associate

Strong's Lemma SIBI-P1
H3878 לֵוִי the Joined-one
H3879 לֵוִי and the joined-ones
H3880 לִוְיָה encircling garland-of
H3881 לֵוִיִּי Joined-One
H3882 לִוְיָתָן coiled sea-dragon

Word Forms

19 distinct forms

SIDANCE Surface Transliteration Morphology Common SIBI-P1 Occurrences
H3867-15 וְ/נִלְו֣וּ venilevu HC/VNq3cp and let us join ourselves and they joined themselves 4
H3867-07 מַלְוֵ֣ה maleveh HVhrmsc lender the one causing to join 2
H3867-12 וּ/מַלְוֶ֑ה umaleveh HC/Vhrmsa and lends and one who lends 2
H3867-06 לֹוֶ֣ה loveh HVqrmsa borrower one who joins himself 2
H3867-02 הַ/נִּלְוִ֤ים hanilevim HTd/VNrmpa those who joined themselves the ones who attach themselves 2
H3867-14 וְ/נִלְוָ֤ה venilevah HC/VNq3ms will join and he joined himself 1
H3867-03 כַּ/לֹּוֶ֔ה kaloveh HRd/Vqrmsa so with the borrower one who joins himself 1
H3867-08 נִלְוָ֣ה nilevah HVNp3ms has joined he has attached himself 1
H3867-11 תִלְוֶֽה tileveh HVqi2ms shall borrow you will attach yourself 1
H3867-16 וְ/יִלָּו֥וּ veyilavu HC/VNi3mp and they shall be joined and they will attach themselves 1

Occurrences in Scripture

26 total occurrences

SIDANCE Reference Word Transliteration Morphology Common SIBI-P1
H3867-18 Genesis 29:34 יִלָּוֶ֤ה yilaveh HVNi3ms will be attached he will be joined
H3867-09 Exodus 22:24 תַּלְוֶ֣ה taleveh HVhi2ms you lend you cause to join
H3867-16 Numbers 18:2 וְ/יִלָּו֥וּ veyilavu HC/VNi3mp and they shall be joined and they will attach themselves
H3867-15 Numbers 18:4 וְ/נִלְו֣וּ venilevu HC/VNq3cp and-they-shall-join and they joined themselves
H3867-13 Deuteronomy 28:12 וְ/הִלְוִ֨יתָ֙ vehilevita HC/Vhq2ms and you shall lend and you will cause to join
H3867-11 Deuteronomy 28:12 תִלְוֶֽה tileveh HVqi2ms shall borrow you will attach yourself
H3867-17 Deuteronomy 28:44 יַלְוְ/ךָ֔ yalevekha HVhi3ms/Sp2ms will lend to you he will attach you
H3867-10 Deuteronomy 28:44 תַלְוֶ֑/נּוּ talevenu HVhi2ms/Sp3ms will lend to him you will lend to him
H3867-14 Isaiah 14:1 וְ/נִלְוָ֤ה venilevah HC/VNq3ms will join and he joined himself
H3867-04 Isaiah 24:2 כַּ/מַּלְוֶה֙ kamaleveh HRd/Vhrmsa as with the lender like the lending-one
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