Lexical Summary Lebaoth: Lebaoth Original Word: לְבָאוֹת Strong's Exhaustive Concordance Lebaoth Plural of labiy'; lionesses; Lebaoth, a place in Palestine -- Lebaoth. See also Beyth Lba'owth. see HEBREW labiy' see HEBREW Beyth Lba'owth NAS Exhaustive Concordance Word Originfrom the same as labi Definition a city in S. Judah NASB Translation Lebaoth (1). Brown-Driver-Briggs לְבָאוֺת proper name, of a location a city in southern Judah, Joshua 15:32, ᵐ5 Δαβως, A ᵐ5L Δαβωθ = ׳בֵּית ל (q. v. p. III above) Joshua 19:6, ᵐ5 Βαθαρωθ, ᵐ5L Βηθλεβαωθ. Site unknown. לבב (meaning dubious; DlPr. 88 ff. finds original meaning in Assyrian lab'bu, in unruhiger Bewegung sein; — √ of לֵבָב, לֵב; compare Late Hebrew id., Assyrian libbu, Aramaic לִבָּא 1 earliest poetry, J and E chiefly, Ephr document of Judges/Samuel/Kings chiefly, Amos, Hosea, Zechariah 9-11, Isaiah 15 use לֵב. 2 לֵבָב first appears in Isaiah and certain strata of E and Ephr document of Judges Samuel Kings, and is continued in Zephaniah, Nahum (probably) D H Deuteronomy editors and some Psalms 3 Jeremiah Ezekiel Job prefer לֵב but use occasionally לֵבָב. 4 Isa2, Isa3, Lamentations and exilic Psalms use לֵב. 5 Isaiah 13-14:23; Jeremiah 50-51, Haggai, Zechariah 1-8, Joshua, Jonah, Psalm 25, 90, 104, use לבב. 6 Malachi, Obadiah, Zechariah 12-14, Memorials of Ezra and Nehemiah, Proverbs, Ruth, Canticles and many Psalms of Persian period use לֵב. 7 Chronicles and Daniel use לֵבָב. 8 Ecclesiastes Esther and latest Psalms use לֵב. Exceptions will be noted and suspected passages indicated by ? under לבב and לב which are treated apart. See Br. 'Study of the use of לב and לבב in the O.T.' in Semitic Studies in Memory of Dr. Kohut, Berlin, 1897. Topical Lexicon Usage in Scripture Lebaoth appears once in the Hebrew canon: “Lebaoth, Shilhim, Ain, and Rimmon—twenty-nine cities in all, with their villages” (Joshua 15:32). The listing comes in the allotment of the Negev to Judah, yet the same settlement reappears under the variant form “Beth-Lebaoth” within the territory of Simeon (Joshua 19:6; 1 Chronicles 4:31). This dual linkage illustrates the internal distribution of towns to Simeon “within the inheritance of the children of Judah” (Joshua 19:1), highlighting the cooperative settlement pattern between the two tribes. Geographical Setting Located in the arid southern reaches of Judah’s inheritance, Lebaoth lay among a string of fortified sites guarding caravan routes between the hill country and the wilderness of Zin. Its inclusion with Rimmon and Ain—towns associated with abundant springs—suggests a strategic oasis community, offering water, pasture, and refuge for travelers moving toward the Gulf of Aqaba or Egypt. Modern proposals place the site near Khirbet el-Baʿiya or Tell el-Beida, though a final identification remains uncertain. Historical Significance 1. Frontier Protection. The Negev towns functioned as Judah’s first line of defense against nomadic incursions from the south and east. By enumerating Lebaoth, Scripture presents an organized network of settlements reinforcing covenant claims to the land. Archaeological and Extra-Biblical Data Excavations across the Negev have uncovered Iron Age fortresses featuring casemate walls, four-room houses, and rock-hewn cisterns—architectural hallmarks matching biblical descriptions of southern Judah. Pottery assemblages point to agricultural and pastoral life adapted to semi-arid conditions. While Lebaoth itself has not been conclusively located, the pattern of these excavated sites corroborates the kind of settlement Joshua records. Redemptive-Theological Themes • The Lion Motif. The consonants of Lebaoth evoke the imagery of a lioness. Within Judah’s allotment, this subtly echoes Jacob’s prophecy: “Judah is a lion’s cub” (Genesis 49:9). The town’s very name reinforces the messianic trajectory that culminates in the “Lion of the tribe of Judah” (Revelation 5:5). Ministry Applications 1. Faithfulness in Small Things. Although Lebaoth garners only a brief mention, its inclusion signals God’s meticulous oversight. Ministry leaders can draw encouragement that no labor, however obscure, escapes divine notice (Hebrews 6:10). Related Biblical References Joshua 15:21-32; Joshua 19:1-9; 1 Chronicles 4:28-33; Genesis 49:9; Revelation 5:5. Forms and Transliterations וּלְבָא֥וֹת ולבאות ū·lə·ḇā·’ō·wṯ ūləḇā’ōwṯ ulevaotLinks Interlinear Greek • Interlinear Hebrew • Strong's Numbers • Englishman's Greek Concordance • Englishman's Hebrew Concordance • Parallel TextsEnglishman's Concordance Joshua 15:32 HEB: וּלְבָא֥וֹת וְשִׁלְחִ֖ים וְעַ֣יִן NAS: and Lebaoth and Shilhim and Ain KJV: And Lebaoth, and Shilhim, and Ain, INT: and Lebaoth and Shilhim and Ain 1 Occurrence |
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Ethiopic 
Arabic 
Sabean לב, SabDenkmp. 13, No. 1, 1. 7); — the literary usage of לֵב and לֵבָב is: