Lexical Summary laag: mocked, mocks, mock Original Word: לָעַג Strong's Exhaustive Concordance laugh, scorn, mock A primitive root; to deride; by implication (as if imitating a foreigner) to speak unintelligibly -- have in derision, laugh (to scorn), mock (on), stammering. NAS Exhaustive Concordance Word Origina prim. root Definition to mock, deride, stammer NASB Translation laugh (1), mock (3), mocked (5), mocks (4), scoff (2), scoffs (1), sneer (1), stammering (1). Brown-Driver-Briggs [לָעַג] verb mock, deride; also (Niph`al) stammer, in poetry (Late Hebrew Hiph`il id.; ᵑ7 לְעֵג Aph`el id.;  stutter (compare Late Hebrew לִגְלֵג mock, ᵑ7 לַגְלֵג id.; Syriac  stutter, Arabic  id.)); — Qal Perfect3feminine singular לָֽעֲגָה 2 Kings 19:21; Isaiah 37:22; Imperfect יִלְעַגֿ Job 22:19; Psalm 2:4 יִלְעָ֑ג Job 9:23; 3feminine singular תִּלְעַג Proverbs 30:17; 2masculine singular תִּלְעַג Psalm 59:9, ׳וַתִּל Job 11:3; 1singular אֶלְעַג Proverbs 1:26; 3masculine plural יִלְעֲגוּֿ Psalm 80:7; Participle לֹעֵג Proverbs 17:5; Jeremiah 20:7; — mock, deride, have in derision, of Jerusalem triumphing over enemy (with לְ person or thing) 2 Kings 19:21 = Isaiah 37:22 ("" בזה); of the innocent Job 22:19 ("" שׂמח); of God (with לְ) Job 9:23; Psalm 2:4; Psalm 59:9; absolute of wisdom Proverbs 1:26 ("" שׂחק); of wicked (with לְ) Proverbs 17:5 ("" שׂמח), Proverbs 30:17 ("" בוז), Jeremiah 20:7 ("" שׂחק); so also perhaps Psalm 80:7 (read לָנוּ for לָמוֺ with ᵐ5 ᵑ6 ᵑ9), compare (absolute) Job 11:3. Niph`al Participle עַם ֗֗֗ נִלְעַג לָשׁוֺן Isaiah 33:19 a people stammering of tongue (i.e. barbarians, compare va; but read נעלג [√ עלג] GrMonatsschr. 1884, 45; "" עִמְקֵי שָׂפָה). Hiph`il (late; compare Late Hebrew) Imperfect3masculine singular וַיַּלְעֵג Nehemiah 3:33; 2masculine singular תַּלְעִיג Job 21:3; 3masculine plural יַלְעִגוּ Psalm 22:8, וַיַּלְעִגוּ Nehemiah 2:19; Participle מַלְעִגִים2Chronicles 30:10; — mock, deride, always in bad sense: with לְ person Nehemiah 2:19 ("" בזה), Psalm 22:8; with עַלֿ person Nehemiah 3:33; with בְּ person 2 Chronicles 30:10 ("" השׂחיק); absolute Job 21:3. — So also יִלְעִיג (or יִלְעַג) Proverbs 18:1 for ᵑ0 יִתְגַּלַּע Grl. c (see גלע, p. 166 above). Topical Lexicon Semantic Scope and Nuances לָעַג moves beyond casual laughter to a calculated ridicule that belittles its object. The verb may be directed upward—against the Lord, His covenant, His messengers—or downward—toward the vulnerable. At times Scripture turns the term back upon the arrogant as an act of divine irony. Patterns of Usage across the Canon 1. Human derision of God and His people (2 Kings 19:21; Isaiah 37:22; Nehemiah 2:19; 4:1; 2 Chronicles 30:10). Historical Episodes of Mockery • Assyrian insolence: Sennacherib’s envoys “mocked” Jerusalem (2 Kings 19:21; Isaiah 37:22), prompting the Lord’s decisive intervention. These vignettes frame mockery as a predictable resistance whenever covenant faithfulness revives. The Divine Response to Mockery Psalm 2:4: “He who sits in the heavens laughs; the Lord taunts them.” God’s mockery is never petty; it is judicial. While human derision seeks to wound, divine derision exposes the futility of rebellion and precedes salvation for the oppressed. Proverbs 1:26 announces a similar measure-for-measure justice: wisdom will “laugh at your calamity” when repentance is spurned. Messianic and Redemptive Themes Psalm 22:7–8: “All who see Me mock Me; they sneer and shake their heads: ‘He trusts in the Lord; let the Lord deliver Him.’” The Evangelists cite this scene at Calvary, revealing that the Messiah willingly endures לָעַג. The cross turns scorn into salvation; the jeers become unwitting testimony to the atoning trust of the Son. Wisdom Teaching on the Consequences of Mockery Proverbs 17:5 warns, “Whoever mocks the poor insults his Maker.” To scorn the vulnerable is to challenge the God who fashioned them. Proverbs 30:17 employs vivid imagery—an eye that mocks a father will be picked out by ravens—underscoring that ridicule reaps severe, even irreversible, loss. Pastoral Implications for Contemporary Ministry • Expectation: Faithful proclamation may attract derision; Scripture normalizes this experience and supplies fortitude. Theological Summary לָעַג exposes hearts: the arrogant scoff, the humble suffer, and the Sovereign Lord laughs last. Mockery becomes both a diagnostic of rebellion and a backdrop for redemptive triumph. Forms and Transliterations אֶ֝לְעַ֗ג אלעג וַ֝תִּלְעַ֗ג וַיַּלְעִ֣גוּ וַיַּלְעֵ֖ג וּלְלַ֖עַג וּמַלְעִגִ֖ים וילעג וילעגו וללעג ומלעגים ותלעג יִלְעֲגוּ־ יִלְעַג־ יִלְעָֽג׃ יַלְעִ֣גוּ ילעג־ ילעג׃ ילעגו ילעגו־ לָעֲגָ֣ה לֹעֵ֣ג לֹעֵ֥ג לעג לעגה נִלְעַ֥ג נלעג תִּ֝לְעַ֗ג תִּֽלְעַ֣ג תַלְעִֽיג׃ תלעג תלעיג׃ ’el‘aḡ ’el·‘aḡ elAg lā‘ăḡāh lā·‘ă·ḡāh laaGah lō‘êḡ lō·‘êḡ loEg nil‘aḡ nil·‘aḡ nilAg ṯal‘îḡ ṯal·‘îḡ talIg til‘aḡ til·‘aḡ tilAg ū·lə·la·‘aḡ ū·mal·‘i·ḡîm ūləla‘aḡ uleLaag ūmal‘iḡîm umaliGim vaiyalEg vaiyalIgu vattilAg wat·til·‘aḡ wattil‘aḡ way·yal·‘êḡ way·yal·‘i·ḡū wayyal‘êḡ wayyal‘iḡū yal‘iḡū yal·‘i·ḡū yalIgu yil‘āḡ yil‘aḡ- yil‘ăḡū- yil·‘ă·ḡū- yil·‘āḡ yil·‘aḡ- yilAg yilaguLinks Interlinear Greek • Interlinear Hebrew • Strong's Numbers • Englishman's Greek Concordance • Englishman's Hebrew Concordance • Parallel TextsEnglishman's Concordance 2 Kings 19:21 HEB: בָּזָ֨ה לְךָ֜ לָעֲגָ֣ה לְךָ֗ בְּתוּלַת֙ NAS: him: 'She has despised you and mocked you, The virgin KJV: hath despised thee, [and] laughed thee to scorn; the daughter INT: against has despised and mocked the virgin daughter 2 Chronicles 30:10 Nehemiah 2:19 Nehemiah 4:1 Job 9:23 Job 11:3 Job 21:3 Job 22:19 Psalm 2:4 Psalm 22:7 Psalm 59:8 Psalm 80:6 Proverbs 1:26 Proverbs 17:5 Proverbs 30:17 Isaiah 33:19 Isaiah 37:22 Jeremiah 20:7 Ezekiel 23:32 19 Occurrences |
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