Lexical Summary libbah: Heart, inner self, mind Original Word: לִבָּה Strong's Exhaustive Concordance heart Feminine of leb; the heart -- heart. see HEBREW leb NAS Exhaustive Concordance Word Originfrom the same as lebab Definition heart NASB Translation heart (1). Brown-Driver-Briggs [לִבָּה] suffix לִבָּתֵךְ Ezekiel 16:30 should be corrected to לִבְרִיתֵךְ (see Co). > older view, as feminine of לֵבּ. Topical Lexicon Linguistic and Figurative Profile Libbāh is the feminine counterpart of lēḇ (heart) and accentuates the interior life—thoughts, motives, conscience, and moral character. Whereas lēḇ can bear a collective or even national nuance, libbāh consistently focuses on the individual’s inmost self, the place where decisions are weighed and loyalties are forged. Canonical Distribution The term appears eight times, exclusively in poetry and prophetic literature: Psalm 7:9; Psalm 125:4; Proverbs 15:11; Proverbs 17:3; Proverbs 21:2; Proverbs 24:12; Isaiah 44:18; Ezekiel 16:30. This limited spread concentrates its theological force on divine scrutiny and moral accountability. Divine Omniscience and Judgment Five of the eight occurrences emphasize God’s searching, testing, or weighing of the heart. In each case libbāh underscores that no outward piety can shield the hidden person from the Lord’s comprehensive gaze (compare Hebrews 4:12). Inner Moral Orientation Proverbs 21:2 warns of self-justification: “All a man’s ways seem right to him, but the LORD weighs the hearts.” Libbāh thus becomes the arena where self-deception is exposed. Psalm 125:4 couples upright conduct with an upright heart, asserting that true covenant fidelity begins within. Refinement and Formation The metallurgy image of Proverbs 17:3 reveals that divine testing is not merely evaluative but formative. Like silver refined to purity, the believer’s libbāh is purified through trials (see also 1 Peter 1:7). Ministry application: suffering may be viewed as the Lord’s crucible designed to bring integrity where duplicity once resided. Spiritual Blindness and Idolatry Isaiah 44:18 locates the problem of idolatry in the heart’s dullness: “He has shut their eyes so they cannot see and closed their minds so they cannot understand.” The text ties heart-blindness to the fashioning of idols, teaching that external idolatry springs from internal incapacity to perceive truth. Likewise Ezekiel 16:30 exposes covenant infidelity by diagnosing a “weak” heart—a moral frailty that pursues spiritual adultery. Ethical Accountability Proverbs 24:12 confronts passive complicity: “If you say, ‘Behold, we did not know this,’ does not He who weighs hearts consider it?” The implication is that ignorance claims cannot excuse injustice, because the Lord reads the heart’s motives. This principle undergirds Christian ethics: sins of omission are judged alongside overt transgressions. Historical and Cultural Background In Ancient Near Eastern anthropology the heart was the seat of intellect and volition, not merely emotion. Israel’s Scriptures adopt that framework yet deepen it: the heart is the covenantal control center where obedience or rebellion germinates. Libbāh therefore serves as a theological shorthand for the entire inner life responsible before God. Pastoral and Homiletical Significance 1. Self-examination: Regular prayer echoing Psalm 139:23, “Search me, O God,” invites the Spirit to expose and heal hidden motives. Trajectory into the New Covenant The Old Testament insistence on a purified libbāh prepares for the promise of a new heart in Ezekiel 36:26 and its fulfillment in the regenerating work of the Holy Spirit (Romans 5:5). The feminine nuance of libbāh subtly anticipates the Church as the Bride whose heart is cleansed for communion with Christ (Ephesians 5:25-27). Summary Libbāh concentrates the Bible’s teaching that authentic faith is internal before it is external. God’s omniscient testing, gracious refinement, and covenantal demand for integrity converge in this word, urging every generation to “guard your heart with all diligence, for from it flow the springs of life” (Proverbs 4:23). Forms and Transliterations בְּלִבּוֹתָֽם׃ בלבותם׃ לִ֭בּ֗וֹת לִבָּתֵ֔ךְ לִבֹּתָֽם׃ לִבּ֣וֹת לִבּ֥וֹת לִבּ֨וֹת ׀ לבות לבתך לבתם׃ bə·lib·bō·w·ṯām belibboTam bəlibbōwṯām lib·bā·ṯêḵ lib·bō·ṯām lib·bō·wṯ libbaTech libbāṯêḵ libBot libboTam libbōṯām libbōwṯLinks Interlinear Greek • Interlinear Hebrew • Strong's Numbers • Englishman's Greek Concordance • Englishman's Hebrew Concordance • Parallel TextsEnglishman's Concordance Psalm 7:9 HEB: צַ֫דִּ֥יק וּבֹחֵ֣ן לִ֭בּ֗וֹת וּכְלָי֗וֹת אֱלֹהִ֥ים KJV: God trieth the hearts and reins. INT: the righteous tries the hearts and minds God Psalm 125:4 Proverbs 15:11 Proverbs 17:3 Proverbs 21:2 Proverbs 24:12 Isaiah 44:18 Ezekiel 16:30 8 Occurrences |
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