3870. Luz
Lexical Summary
Luz: Luz

Original Word: לוּז
Part of Speech: Proper Name Location
Transliteration: Luwz
Pronunciation: looz
Phonetic Spelling: (looz)
KJV: Luz
NASB: Luz
Word Origin: [probably from H3869 (לוּז - almond) (as growing there)]

1. Luz, the name of two places in Israel

Strong's Exhaustive Concordance
Luz

Probably from luwz (as growing there); Luz, the name of two places in Palestine -- Luz.

see HEBREW luwz

NAS Exhaustive Concordance
Word Origin
probably from the same as luz
Definition
earlier name of Bethel, also a Hittite city
NASB Translation
Luz (8).

Brown-Driver-Briggs
II. לוּז proper name, of a location 1. former name of Bethel Genesis 28:19 (J), Genesis 35:6 (E), Genesis 48:3 (P), Joshua 18:13 (twice in verse) (P), Judges 1:23; apparently distinct from Biblical מִבֵּיתאֵֿל לוּ֫זָה Joshua 16:2 (J E; but ׳ל here perhaps explanatory gloss, see Di); ᵐ5 Λουζα, Genesis 28:19 [Ουλαμ]μαυς

2 city in hands of Hittites Judges 1:26 (on conjectures as to site see GFM); ᵐ5 Λουζα.

לוח (√ of following, meaning unknown; compare perhaps Arabic shine, gleam, flash (of star, lightning, etc.), or Syriac wipe out, efface with reference to smooth surface; but this = לחה).

Topical Lexicon
Overview of Occurrences

Genesis 28:19; Genesis 35:6; Genesis 48:3; Joshua 16:2; Joshua 18:13 (twice within the verse); Judges 1:23; Judges 1:26

Historical Setting

Luz first appears in the patriarchal narratives as the Canaanite name of a settlement later called Bethel by Jacob. By the time of the Conquest the older name still lingered in boundary descriptions (Joshua 16:2; 18:13). During the early settlement period, an unnamed informant spared by the house of Joseph relocated northward and founded a second city named Luz in Hittite territory (Judges 1:26), preserving the designation even after Israelite control of the central hill country was secure.

Geographical Location

Primary Luz/Bethel: Located on the central ridge route, roughly ten miles north of Jerusalem near modern Beitin. Its position made it a strategic lookout over the approach from Ai and the eastern hill country, and a natural tribal border marker between Benjamin and Ephraim.

Secondary Luz: Probably in the northern Lebanon region (land of the Hittites here denoting the Neo-Hittite states), exact location unknown.

Biblical Narrative and Themes

1. Patriarchal Worship (Genesis 28:19; 35:6; 48:3)
• Jacob’s dream of the stairway initiated the renaming: “And he called that place Bethel, though originally the city was named Luz.” (Genesis 28:19).
• Later Jacob returns, builds an altar, and God reaffirms His covenant, underscoring Bethel as a sanctuary and sealing Luz’s identity shift.
2. Tribal Boundaries (Joshua 16:2; 18:13)
• Luz marks the southern border of Ephraim and the northern boundary of Benjamin, highlighting continuity between patriarchal memory and land allotment.
3. Conquest Strategy (Judges 1:23)
• The house of Joseph sends spies who enter Bethel via a secret path shown by a local resident, a tactical echo of Rahab’s role at Jericho.
4. Diaspora Naming (Judges 1:26)
• The spared man “built a city and named it Luz, and it is called Luz to this day.”. This reflects the ancient Near-Eastern practice of transplanting toponyms, and provides a literary foil contrasting covenant inclusion (Rahab) with neutral coexistence.

Theological Significance

Transformation and Identity: The shift from Luz (“almond tree”) to Bethel (“house of God”) illustrates how divine encounter redefines places and people. Jacob’s stone pillow becomes a pillar; a Canaanite town becomes a covenant landmark.

Covenant Continuity: Jacob’s rehearsal in Genesis 48:3 stresses that the God who appeared at Luz is the same who now blesses Joseph’s sons, linking personal revelation with generational promise.

Worship Centrality: Later prophets recall Bethel both positively (as a sacred site) and negatively (as a center of calf worship), reminding believers that a place of encounter must remain aligned with revealed truth or risk corruption.

Archaeology and Extra-Biblical Data

Excavations at Beitin have uncovered Middle Bronze fortifications and an Iron Age cultic complex, consistent with a thriving city in Jacob’s era and a fortified town in the time of the Judges. No definitive remains of the second Luz have yet been identified, corroborating the text’s portrayal of a lesser-known settlement outside Israel’s core.

Prophetic and Typological Implications

The ladder vision at Luz prefigures the mediating work of Jesus Christ (John 1:51), where the true Bethel—God’s dwelling with humanity—is realized in the incarnate Son. The renaming thus anticipates the New Testament doctrine of believers as living stones in a spiritual house.

Lessons for Ministry and Discipleship

• Expectation of Encounter: Ordinary settings may become “Bethel” when God speaks; believers should cultivate responsiveness to divine initiative.
• Stewardship of Heritage: Tribal boundary texts remind the church to pass on both landless promises (spiritual inheritance) and concrete testimonies of God’s faithfulness.
• Mission among the Nations: The transplanted Luz highlights how displaced people carry culture and memory; gospel workers can engage such communities with respect while inviting them into the covenant name.

Key References for Further Study

Genesis 28–35; Joshua 16–18; Judges 1; John 1:51; 1 Peter 2:4-5

Forms and Transliterations
בְּל֖וּז בלוז ל֑וּזָה ל֔וּז ל֗וּזָה ל֙וּזָה֙ ל֥וּז לֽוּז׃ לוז לוז׃ לוזה bə·lūz beLuz bəlūz lū·zāh luz lūz Luzah lūzāh
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Interlinear GreekInterlinear HebrewStrong's NumbersEnglishman's Greek ConcordanceEnglishman's Hebrew ConcordanceParallel Texts
Englishman's Concordance
Genesis 28:19
HEB: אֵ֑ל וְאוּלָ֛ם ל֥וּז שֵׁם־ הָעִ֖יר
NAS: the name of the city had been Luz.
KJV: of that city [was called] Luz at the first.
INT: Bethel however had been Luz the name of the city

Genesis 35:6
HEB: וַיָּבֹ֨א יַעֲקֹ֜ב ל֗וּזָה אֲשֶׁר֙ בְּאֶ֣רֶץ
NAS: came to Luz (that is, Bethel),
KJV: came to Luz, which [is] in the land
INT: came Jacob to Luz who the land

Genesis 48:3
HEB: נִרְאָֽה־ אֵלַ֥י בְּל֖וּז בְּאֶ֣רֶץ כְּנָ֑עַן
NAS: appeared to me at Luz in the land
KJV: appeared unto me at Luz in the land
INT: appeared to me Luz the land of Canaan

Joshua 16:2
HEB: מִבֵּֽית־ אֵ֖ל ל֑וּזָה וְעָבַ֛ר אֶל־
NAS: from Bethel to Luz, and continued
KJV: from Bethel to Luz, and passeth along
INT: went Bethel to Luz and continued to

Joshua 18:13
HEB: מִשָּׁ֨ם הַגְּב֜וּל ל֗וּזָה אֶל־ כֶּ֤תֶף
NAS: continued to Luz, to the side
KJV: went over from thence toward Luz, to the side
INT: there the border to Luz to the side

Joshua 18:13
HEB: אֶל־ כֶּ֤תֶף ל֙וּזָה֙ נֶ֔גְבָּה הִ֖יא
NAS: to the side of Luz (that is, Bethel)
KJV: to the side of Luz, which [is] Bethel,
INT: to the side of Luz the south he

Judges 1:23
HEB: הָעִ֥יר לְפָנִ֖ים לֽוּז׃
NAS: of the city was formerly Luz).
KJV: of the city before [was] Luz.)
INT: of the city was formerly Luz

Judges 1:26
HEB: וַיִּקְרָ֤א שְׁמָהּ֙ ל֔וּז ה֣וּא שְׁמָ֔הּ
NAS: and named it Luz which
KJV: the name thereof Luz: which [is] the name
INT: and called name Luz which name

8 Occurrences

Strong's Hebrew 3870
8 Occurrences


bə·lūz — 1 Occ.
lūz — 3 Occ.
lū·zāh — 4 Occ.

3869
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