3839. libneh

Lexical Summary

libneh: poplar

Original Word: לִבְנֶה
Part of Speech: Noun Masculine
Transliteration: libneh
Pronunciation: lib-neh'
Phonetic Spelling: (lib-neh')
KJV: poplar
NASB: poplar
Word Origin: [from H3835 (לָבַן - To be white)]

1. some sort of whitish tree, perhaps the storax

Strong's Exhaustive Concordance

poplar

From laban; some sort of whitish tree, perhaps the storax -- poplar.

see HEBREW laban

NAS Exhaustive Concordance

Word Origin
from laben
Definition
poplar
NASB Translation
poplar (2).

Brown-Driver-Briggs

לִבְנֶה noun [masculine] poplar (apparently = Arabic ; Ethiopic styrax officinalis; but ᵐ5 λεύκη, compare ᵑ6 and Löw^No.107); — Genesis 30:37 לַח וְלוּז וְעַרְמוֺן ׳מַקַּל ל as marking places of idolatrous incense-burning תַּחַת אַלּוֺן וְלִבְנֶה וְּאֵלָה Hosea 4:13. **named from exuding milky (white) gum De Ges and others.

Topical Lexicon

Botanical Profile and Habitat

Libneh designates the poplar, a fast-growing deciduous tree valued for its light-colored wood and broad, shade-giving crown. Widely distributed along watercourses in the Levant, it thrives in the moist ravines of Canaan, making it readily available both to pastoralists in the Patriarchal era and to worshipers frequenting elevated sanctuaries in later centuries.

Scriptural Occurrences

Genesis 30:37 records Jacob’s use of “fresh branches of poplar” in an unconventional breeding strategy designed to distinguish and multiply his own flocks. Centuries later, Hosea 4:13 rebukes the Northern Kingdom for idolatry carried out “under oak, poplar, and terebinth—because their shade is pleasant”. Though only twice mentioned, libneh thus spans the narrative arc from covenant promise to prophetic indictment.

Historical and Cultural Significance

1. Pastoral Utility. Poplar shoots, easily peeled, could be fashioned quickly into rods. Jacob’s selective removal of the outer bark revealed the white inner wood, creating variegated patterns that corresponded to the markings he desired in the newborn lambs and kids. While the mechanism remains debated, Scripture emphasizes God’s providential backing of Jacob’s ingenuity (Genesis 31:10-12).
2. Worship Context. By Hosea’s day, the same tree provided the cooling shade favored by apostate Israelites who blended Canaanite fertility rites with nominal allegiance to Yahweh. The pleasant canopy of the poplar became a witness against spiritual adultery, its natural attraction co-opted for sin.

Symbolic Themes

• Contrast of Purpose: A single species serves both lawful, covenantal gain (Genesis 30) and unlawful, covenant-breaking worship (Hosea 4), underscoring that moral value lies not in the created object but in human obedience or rebellion.
• Visibility of the Heart: Jacob’s peeled rods lay openly before the flocks, and Hosea’s worshipers sinned in conspicuous public places. In each setting the poplar draws attention to what is displayed—either faith in divine promise or faithlessness toward divine command.
• Shade and Light: Poplar foliage offers relief from harsh sunlight; yet Hosea twists that blessing into a cover for iniquity. The prophet therefore exposes the false security of hiding under any created provision apart from God Himself (see Psalm 91:1 for the true “shadow of the Almighty”).

Theological Insights

• Divine Sovereignty and Human Means. Jacob’s resort to poplar branches illustrates how human resourcefulness, rightly submitted to God, operates within His overarching sovereignty. The account rings with assurance that “God has seen my hardship and the toil of my hands” (Genesis 31:42).
• Idolatry’s Subtle Appeal. Hosea reveals the ease with which legitimate gifts—cooling shade, fertile landscapes, aesthetically pleasing trees—become platforms for idolatry when the heart drifts from covenant fidelity.
• Covenant Accountability. The two texts stand as bookends: promise safeguarded (Patriarchal narratives) and promise violated (Prophetic era). Libneh functions almost as a silent witness, reminding readers that covenant blessings demand covenant faithfulness (Deuteronomy 28:1-2; Hosea 4:6).

Practical Ministry Applications

1. Steward Creativity. Encourage believers to employ God-given ingenuity—like Jacob’s poplar rods—in work, family, and ministry, always crediting the Lord for outcomes.
2. Guard Sacred Spaces. Worship settings must be evaluated continuously lest modern equivalents of the pleasant poplar shade provide cover for compromise (2 Corinthians 11:3).
3. Preach the Whole Story. When teaching Genesis 30, connect it to Hosea 4 to show how Scripture interprets Scripture and how good gifts may become snares.
4. Cultivate Visible Integrity. Just as the white inner wood of the peeled libneh branches was exposed, so ministers are to “renounce secret and shameful ways” and live transparently before God and man (2 Corinthians 4:2).

Summary

Libneh, the poplar, appears briefly yet meaningfully in the Old Testament, demonstrating how ordinary elements of creation can either participate in God-honoring enterprise or become instruments of rebellion. Its twin portraits call Christians to a discerning use of every natural gift under the lordship of the Creator, who alone turns simple branches into testimonies of His covenant purposes.

Forms and Transliterations

וְלִבְנֶ֛ה ולבנה לִבְנֶ֛ה לבנה liḇ·neh liḇneh livNeh velivNeh wə·liḇ·neh wəliḇneh

Englishman's Concordance

Genesis 30:37
HEB: יַעֲקֹ֗ב מַקַּ֥ל לִבְנֶ֛ה לַ֖ח וְל֣וּז
NAS: rods of poplar and almond
KJV: of green poplar, and of the hazel
INT: Jacob rods of poplar fresh and almond

Hosea 4:13
HEB: תַּ֣חַת אַלּ֧וֹן וְלִבְנֶ֛ה וְאֵלָ֖ה כִּ֣י
NAS: oak, poplar and terebinth,
KJV: under oaks and poplars and elms,
INT: Under oak poplar and terebinth Because

2 Occurrences

Strong's Hebrew 3839
2 Occurrences

liḇ·neh — 1 Occ.
wə·liḇ·neh — 1 Occ.