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מָלוֹן

𐤌𐤋𐤅𐤍

mâlôwn

H4411 noun

SILEX Entry

Root לון to lodge, to spend the night, to stay temporarily

Definition

A place of overnight stay, temporary lodging spot, or encampment, especially for travelers. The term refers to a site where one stops to spend the night, ranging from an informal open area used for camping to a formal shelter for sojourners. In some contexts, it may refer to a wayside inn or managed lodging, but most commonly to a temporary resting place.

Semantic Range

place to lodge, temporary encampment, overnight resting place, caravan halt, waystation, informal inn

Root / Etymology

From the root לוּן (to lodge, abide, spend the night) with the mem-prefix turning it into a noun indicating a place where the root-action occurs; thus, 'place for lodging' or 'lodging-site.'

Historical & Contextual Notes

'מָלוֹן' appears several times in the Hebrew Bible (e.g., Genesis 42:27; Exodus 4:24), principally signifying a stopping place used by travelers for an overnight stay. In the patriarchal and monarchic periods, malon typically indicated an informal or semi-organized site along travel routes—distinct from a modern inn. There were few, if any, established commercial inns in early Israelite society; most lodging places were open spaces near water or roadways where caravans rested. Only by the late biblical or post-exilic period does the concept of a commercial or staffed inn (an idea closer to 'פֻּנְדָּק', pundak) start to appear. English translations as 'inn' may evoke a later or more formal context than is usually suggested by malon. The location in Exodus 4:24 (the 'lodging place') is a typical malon—an ad hoc location along a road. Malon is to be distinguished from בית ('house'), which denotes a dwelling, and from פֻּנְדָּק, a loanword appearing much later with the sense of an inn as a staffed establishment for guests. The word malon is unconnected to ethnic, tribal, or religious identity, focusing strictly on the function as a resting site.

Original Strong's Gloss (1890)

from לוּן; a lodgment, i.e. caravanserai or encampment; inn, place where...lodge, lodging (place).

Bantu Hebrew

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Root Family

לון (l-w-n) — to lodge, to spend the night, to stay temporarily

Strong's Lemma SIBI-P1
H3210 יָלוֹן and Yalon
H3885 לוּן I will lodge overnight
H4412 מְלוּנָה like a lodging-hut
H8519 תְּלוּנָה those lodging complaints

Word Forms

4 distinct forms

SIDANCE Surface Transliteration Morphology Common SIBI-P1 Occurrences
H4411-01 בַּ/מָּל֑וֹן bamalon HRd/Ncmsa at the lodging place in the lodging-place 3
H4411-04 מְל֣וֹן melon HNcmsc lodging lodging-place of 2
H4411-02 הַ/מָּל֗וֹן hamalon HTd/Ncmsa the lodging place the lodging-place 2
H4411-03 מָל֣וֹן malon HNcmsa lodging overnight lodging-place 1

Occurrences in Scripture

8 total occurrences

SIDANCE Reference Word Transliteration Morphology Common SIBI-P1
H4411-01 Genesis 42:27 בַּ/מָּל֑וֹן bamalon HRd/Ncmsa at the lodging place in the lodging-place
H4411-02 Genesis 43:21 הַ/מָּל֗וֹן hamalon HTd/Ncmsa the lodging place the lodging-place
H4411-01 Exodus 4:24 בַּ/מָּל֑וֹן bamalon HRd/Ncmsa at the lodging place in the lodging-place
H4411-01 Joshua 4:3 בַּ/מָּל֕וֹן bamalon HRd/Ncmsa in the lodging place in the lodging-place
H4411-02 Joshua 4:8 הַ/מָּל֔וֹן hamalon HTd/Ncmsa the lodging place the lodging-place
H4411-04 2 Kings 19:23 מְל֣וֹן melon HNcmsc lodging lodging-place of
H4411-03 Isaiah 10:29 מָל֣וֹן malon HNcmsa lodging overnight lodging-place
H4411-04 Jeremiah 9:1 מְלוֹן֙ melon HNcmsc lodging-place lodging-place of
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