לָשׁוֹן

𐤋𐤔𐤅𐤍

lâshôwn

H3956 noun

SILEX Entry

Root לשן to use the tongue, to speak, to lick, to slander

Definition

The physical tongue, the muscular organ in the mouth of humans and animals used for tasting, licking, eating, and especially for speech; by extension, speech itself (spoken language), utterance, or the special mode or means by which communication occurs. In some contexts, refers to the concept of 'language' (as a spoken system used by a people), and, in rare cases, denotes something resembling a tongue in form, such as a flame, landform, or a metal ingot.

Semantic Range

tongue (organ of speech or taste), language (spoken system), speech, utterance, tongue-shaped object (e.g., flame, landform, metal ingot), bay or cove, manner of speaking, evil-speaking (as in 'evil tongue')

Root / Etymology

From the root לשן (ל-ש-ן), meaning primarily 'to use the tongue; to lick, to slander.' The noun לָשׁוֹן is structurally a basic noun formation indicating the organ or an extension of its function (speech). The root meaning of 'tongue' gives rise to derivative applications: human speech, language, and by analogy, things shaped like a tongue.

Historical & Contextual Notes

In the Hebrew Bible, לָשׁוֹן is used both literally, referring to the physical tongue of a human or animal, and figuratively. Its figurative uses include (1) 'speech'—general spoken communication; (2) 'language'—the distinct linguistic systems of different peoples (e.g., Genesis 10:5); (3) 'utterance'—emphasizing the act or character of speaking; and (4) metaphorical applications to describe (a) a flame's appearance ('tongue of fire'), (b) geographic features resembling a tongue, such as a 'bay' or 'cove' (Joshua 15:2), and (c) a bar or ingot of metal, likely because of its elongated, tapering shape. The use of לָשׁוֹן for 'language' anticipates later usage in post-biblical Hebrew and closely parallels the development found in other Semitic languages. Plural forms sometimes have specific, differentiated senses (e.g., tongues = languages; tongues = strips or promontories of land). In legal and wisdom contexts, references to 'evil tongue' (לשון הרע, lashon hara) develop the concept of damaging speech, a notion with broad influence in later tradition but already present in nascent form in biblical passages. English translations often capture the primary meanings ('tongue,' 'language'), but some secondary senses (especially 'bar,' 'bay') are lost or paraphrased. This term is distinct from related terms such as שָׂפָה (safah), which also means 'lip' or 'language,' with nuances of boundary, edge, or communicative vehicle, but לשון emphasizes the organ and act of speech itself. There is no evidence for usage of לָשׁוֹן to mean 'Jew' or a related ethnic designation in any biblical period.

Original Strong's Gloss (1890)

or לָשֹׁן; also (in plural) feminine לְשֹׁנָה; from לָשַׁן; the tongue (of man or animals), used literally (as the instrument of licking, eating, or speech), and figuratively (speech, an ingot, a fork of flame, a cove of water); [phrase] babbler, bay, [phrase] evil speaker, language, talker, tongue, wedge.

Bantu Hebrew

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Root Family

לשן (l-sh-n) — to use the tongue, to speak, to lick, to slander

Strong's Lemma SIBI-P1
H3960 לָשַׁן malicious slanderer of
H3961 לִשָּׁן and tongue

Word Forms

35 distinct forms

SIDANCE Surface Transliteration Morphology Common SIBI-P1 Occurrences
H3956-08 לְשׁ֣וֹן leshon HNcbsc tongue tongue-of 20
H3956-07 לָשׁ֖וֹן lashon HNcbsa tongue tongue 17
H3956-10 לְשׁוֹנָ֤/ם leshonam HNcbsc/Sp3mp their tongue their tongue 12
H3956-15 לְשֹׁנ֔/וֹ leshono HNcbsc/Sp3ms his tongue his tongue 8
H3956-14 לְשׁוֹנִֽ/י leshoni HNcbsc/Sp1cs my tongue my tongue 8
H3956-22 וּ/לְשׁ֨וֹן uleshon HC/Ncbsc and a wedge and tongue-of 5
H3956-23 וּ/לְשׁוֹנָ֖/ם uleshonam HC/Ncbsc/Sp3mp and their tongue and their tongue 4
H3956-27 וּ/לְשׁוֹנ֖/וֹ uleshono HC/Ncbsc/Sp3ms and his tongue and his tongue 4
H3956-02 בִּ/לְשֽׁוֹנִ/י bileshoni HR/Ncbsc/Sp1cs on my tongue with my tongue 3
H3956-06 כִּ/לְשׁוֹנ֑/וֹ kileshono HR/Ncbsc/Sp3ms according to its language his tongue 3

Occurrences in Scripture

117 total occurrences

SIDANCE Reference Word Transliteration Morphology Common SIBI-P1
H3956-18 Genesis 10:5 לִ/לְשֹׁנ֑/וֹ lileshono HR/Ncbsc/Sp3ms according to his language to his tongue
H3956-19 Genesis 10:20 לִ/לְשֹֽׁנֹתָ֑/ם lileshonotam HR/Ncbpc/Sp3mp according to their languages their tongues
H3956-19 Genesis 10:31 לִ/לְשֹׁנֹתָ֑/ם lileshonotam HR/Ncbpc/Sp3mp according to their languages their tongues
H3956-07 Exodus 4:10 לָשׁ֖וֹן lashon HNcbsa tongue tongue
H3956-15 Exodus 11:7 לְשֹׁנ֔/וֹ leshono HNcbsc/Sp3ms his tongue his tongue
H3956-15 Deuteronomy 28:49 לְשֹׁנֽ/וֹ leshono HNcbsc/Sp3ms its language his tongue
H3956-22 Joshua 7:21 וּ/לְשׁ֨וֹן uleshon HC/Ncbsc and a wedge and tongue-of
H3956-08 Joshua 7:24 לְשׁ֣וֹן leshon HNcbsc wedge tongue-of
H3956-15 Joshua 10:21 לְשֹׁנֽ/וֹ leshono HNcbsc/Sp3ms his tongue his tongue
H3956-04 Joshua 15:2 הַ/לָּשֹׁ֖ן halashon HTd/Ncbsa the bay the tongue