Midvash

לֵבlêb

לֵב: inner man, mind, will, heart, inner part, midst

Pronunciation: labe · Hebrew/Aramaic (Old Testament) · H3820

Meanings

I. seldom of things (Exodus 15:8; Proverbs 23:34; Proverbs 30:19)

II. elsewhere of men

1. the inner man, in contrast with outer (Psalms 84:3; Psalms 22:15; Jeremiah 4:19)

2. the inner man, indefinite, soul, comprehending mind, affections and will, with occasional emphasis of one or the other by means of certain verbs (1 Kings 8:23; 2 Chronicles 6:14; Psalms 9:2)

3. specific reference to mind

a. one's own mind, destitute of mind (Numbers 16:28; Numbers 24:13; 1 Kings 12:33)

b. knowledge (Deuteronomy 29:3; Proverbs 14:10; Proverbs 22:17)

c. thinking, reflection (Psalms 140:3; Proverbs 16:9; Genesis 6:5)

d. memory (Isaiah 44:19; Lamentations 3:21; Isaiah 46:8)

4. specific reference to inclinations, resolutions, and determinations of the will (2 Chronicles 12:14; Psalms 10:17; Psalms 78:8)

5. specific reference to conscience (1 Samuel 24:6; 1 Samuel 25:31)

6. specific reference to moral character (Psalms 17:3; Jeremiah 12:3; Jeremiah 20:12)

a. broken of heart, clean heart (Job 33:3; Psalms 7:11; Psalms 11:2)

b. evil heart, godless in heart (Proverbs 26:23; Job 36:13; Proverbs 11:20)

d. make the heart of this people fat, the heart of stone (Jeremiah 9:25; Ezekiel 44:7; Ezekiel 44:9)

7. for the man himself (Genesis 17:17; Genesis 27:41; 1 Kings 12:26)

8. as seat of appetites (Genesis 18:5; Judges 19:5)

9. as seat of the emotions and passions

a. speak unto the heart (Judges 16:25; Judges 18:20; Judges 19:6)

b. the heart melteth (2 Kings 6:11; Isaiah 65:14; Nehemiah 2:2)

10. seat of courage (Psalms 27:14; Amos 2:16; Psalms 76:6)

ᵑ7: id. (Daniel 7:28)

Same root

Where it appears

Appears 595 times in the Bible.

  • Genesis 6:5 The Lord observed the extent of human wickedness on the earth, and he saw that everything they thought or imagined was consistently and totally evil.
  • Genesis 6:6 So the Lord was sorry he had ever made them and put them on the earth. It broke his heart.
  • Genesis 8:21 And the Lord was pleased with the aroma of the sacrifice and said to himself, “I will never again curse the ground because of the human race, even though everything they think or imagine is bent toward evil from childhood. I will never again destroy all living things.
  • Genesis 17:17 Then Abraham bowed down to the ground, but he laughed to himself in disbelief. “How could I become a father at the age of 100?” he thought. “And how can Sarah have a baby when she is ninety years old?”
  • Genesis 18:5 And since you’ve honored your servant with this visit, let me prepare some food to refresh you before you continue on your journey.” “All right,” they said. “Do as you have said.”
  • Genesis 24:45 “Before I had finished praying in my heart, I saw Rebekah coming out with her water jug on her shoulder. She went down to the spring and drew water. So I said to her, ‘Please give me a drink.’
See every passage

Source: Brown, Driver and Briggs, Hebrew and English Lexicon of the Old Testament (1906), public domain; markup by unfoldingWord, CC BY (github.com/unfoldingWord/Brown-Driver-Briggs-Enhanced).