3909. lat
Lexical Summary
lat: Secret, secrecy, hidden

Original Word: לָט
Part of Speech: Noun Masculine
Transliteration: lat
Pronunciation: laht
Phonetic Spelling: (lawt)
KJV: enchantment, privily, secretly, softly
NASB: secret arts, secretly
Word Origin: [a form of H3814 (לָאטּ - Secret) or else participle from H3874 (לוּט - wrapped)]

1. (properly) covered
2. (generally) secret (also secrecy)
3. (by implication) incantation
4. (as adverb) secretly, covertly

Strong's Exhaustive Concordance
secret, incantation

A form of la't or else participle from luwt; properly, covered, i.e. Secret; by implication, incantation; also secrecy or (adverb) covertly:

see HEBREW la't

see HEBREW luwt

NAS Exhaustive Concordance
Word Origin
from lut
Definition
secrecy, mystery
NASB Translation
secret arts (4), secretly (4).

Topical Lexicon
Overview

The Hebrew expression לָט (Strong’s 3909) gathers in one short syllable the idea of an action carried out beyond the reach of ordinary sight or hearing—quietly, covertly, in secrecy. Scripture applies the term both to the sinister secrecy of pagan sorcery and to the discreet or stealthy movements of those whom God uses for His sovereign purposes.

Contexts of Usage

1. Sorcerers’ “secret arts” in Egypt (Exodus 7:22; 8:7; 8:18).
2. Jael’s silent blow that delivers Israel (Judges 4:21).
3. Ruth’s discreet approach to Boaz at the threshing floor (Ruth 3:7).
4. Saul’s private counsel to his servants regarding David (1 Samuel 18:22).
5. David’s furtive cutting of Saul’s robe in the cave of En-gedi (1 Samuel 24:4).

Reflections on Divine Power versus Occult Arts

In Exodus the term surfaces three times to describe the magicians’ performances: “the magicians of Egypt did the same things by their magic arts” (Exodus 8:7). Their counterfeit wonders are portrayed as shadowy mimicry, restricted to the realm of the clandestine. When “they could not” (Exodus 8:18) reproduce the plague of gnats, the contrast is decisive: human secrecy collapses before manifest divine power. The narrative warns God’s people not to be impressed by hidden arts that claim supernatural authority; Yahweh alone commands creation openly and irresistibly.

Stealth and Deliverance in Salvation History

Judges 4:21 describes how Jael “drove the peg into his temple, and he lapsed into deep sleep and died.” The vocabulary of stealth underscores her courage and God’s surprising means of deliverance. Human instruments move quietly, but the salvation achieved resounds across Israel’s history. Stealth is not celebrated for its own sake; it is the backdrop against which God’s public victory is declared in Deborah’s song (Judges 5).

Privacy, Relationship, and Ethical Communication

Ruth 3:7 depicts a different sort of secrecy—respectful discretion within covenant boundaries. Ruth’s nighttime visit is hidden from public eye, yet bathed in integrity, leading to Boaz’s righteous response. In 1 Samuel 18:22 Saul commands servants, “Speak to David privately,” revealing political manipulation cloaked in friendly words. Scripture thus distinguishes between confidentiality that protects virtue and secrecy that conceals ulterior motives.

Testing the Heart in Hidden Places

David’s act in the cave (1 Samuel 24:4) is the Bible’s most vivid personal test involving לָט. “David crept up secretly and cut off the corner of Saul’s robe.” His conscience is immediately stricken, proving that the God who sees in secret (compare Matthew 6:4) weighs motives as well as deeds. The event teaches that covert opportunity never justifies sin; reverence for the Lord restrains the hand even when no human eye can judge.

Theological Implications for Believers

• God’s supremacy is unthreatened by occult secrecy.
• He sometimes employs quiet means to accomplish loud deliverances.
• Hidden intentions—whether pure like Ruth’s or manipulative like Saul’s—are fully visible to the Lord.
• A believer’s integrity is tested most sharply in moments that seem unseen.

Connections to New Testament Teaching

The pattern established by לָט aligns with New Testament instruction: “Nothing is hidden that will not be revealed” (Luke 8:17); “We have renounced secret and shameful ways” (2 Corinthians 4:2). At the same time, Jesus commends charitable deeds, prayer, and fasting done “in secret” before the Father who sees (Matthew 6). Thus Scripture upholds godly secrecy that protects humility, while exposing secrecy that masks rebellion.

Practical Applications for Ministry

• Discernment: Pastors must warn against fascination with occult practices that still parade as “secret arts.”
• Integrity: Leaders should remember that strategic confidentiality is legitimate only when free of manipulation.
• Spiritual Formation: Encourage believers to cultivate private disciplines, trusting the Father who rewards what is done in secret.
• Counseling: Hidden sin requires gentle confrontation, for concealed transgression corrodes fellowship.
• Mission: God may guide evangelistic or humanitarian efforts that begin quietly yet culminate in open witness, mirroring Ruth’s path to redemption and Jael’s quiet blow for deliverance.

The seven occurrences of לָט form a slender thread, yet they weave through decisive moments in redemptive history, reminding every reader that the God of Scripture is Lord both of what is public and of what moves silently in the night.

Forms and Transliterations
בְּלָטֵיהֶ֑ם בְּלָטֵיהֶ֛ם בַּלָּ֔אט בַּלָּֽט׃ בַּלָּט֙ בַלָּ֔ט בלאט בלט בלט׃ בלטיהם bal·lāṭ ḇal·lāṭ balLat ballāṭ ḇallāṭ bə·lā·ṭê·hem bəlāṭêhem belateiHem valLat
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Englishman's Concordance
Exodus 7:22
HEB: חַרְטֻמֵּ֥י מִצְרַ֖יִם בְּלָטֵיהֶ֑ם וַיֶּחֱזַ֤ק לֵב־
NAS: the same with their secret arts; and Pharaoh's
KJV: did so with their enchantments: and Pharaoh's
INT: the magicians of Egypt their secret was hardened heart

Exodus 8:7
HEB: כֵ֥ן הַֽחֲרְטֻמִּ֖ים בְּלָטֵיהֶ֑ם וַיַּעֲל֥וּ אֶת־
NAS: the same with their secret arts, making frogs
KJV: did so with their enchantments, and brought up
INT: the same the magicians their secret come frogs

Exodus 8:18
HEB: כֵ֨ן הַחַרְטֻמִּ֧ים בְּלָטֵיהֶ֛ם לְהוֹצִ֥יא אֶת־
NAS: tried with their secret arts to bring forth
KJV: did so with their enchantments to bring forth
INT: after that the magicians their secret to bring gnats

Judges 4:21
HEB: וַתָּב֤וֹא אֵלָיו֙ בַּלָּ֔אט וַתִּתְקַ֤ע אֶת־
NAS: and went secretly to him and drove
INT: and went about secretly and drove the peg

Ruth 3:7
HEB: הָעֲרֵמָ֑ה וַתָּבֹ֣א בַלָּ֔ט וַתְּגַ֥ל מַרְגְּלֹתָ֖יו
NAS: and she came secretly, and uncovered
KJV: and she came softly, and uncovered
INT: of the heap came secretly and uncovered his feet

1 Samuel 18:22
HEB: אֶל־ דָּוִ֤ד בַּלָּט֙ לֵאמֹ֔ר הִנֵּ֨ה
NAS: to David secretly, saying,
KJV: with David secretly, and say,
INT: to David secretly saying Behold

1 Samuel 24:4
HEB: אֲשֶׁר־ לְשָׁא֖וּל בַּלָּֽט׃
NAS: of Saul's robe secretly.
KJV: of Saul's robe privily.
INT: of which of Saul's secretly

7 Occurrences

Strong's Hebrew 3909
7 Occurrences


bal·lāṭ — 3 Occ.
bə·lā·ṭê·hem — 3 Occ.
ḇal·lāṭ — 1 Occ.

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