3935. Ladah
Lexical Summary
Ladah: Ladah

Original Word: לַעְדָּה
Part of Speech: Proper Name Masculine
Transliteration: La`dah
Pronunciation: lah-DAH
Phonetic Spelling: (lah-daw')
KJV: Laadah
NASB: Laadah
Word Origin: [from an unused root of uncertain meaning]

1. Ladah, an Israelite

Strong's Exhaustive Concordance
Laadah

From an unused root of uncertain meaning; Ladah, an Israelite -- Laadah.

NAS Exhaustive Concordance
Word Origin
of uncertain derivation
Definition
a man of Judah
NASB Translation
Laadah (1).

Brown-Driver-Briggs
לַעְדָּה proper name, masculine a man of Judah 1 Chronicles 4:21, ᵐ5 Μαδαθ, A Ααδα, ᵐ5L Λαδηι.

Topical Lexicon
Biblical Context

Laadah is mentioned once in Scripture, within the genealogical record of Judah in 1 Chronicles 4 (verse 21). The verse reads, “The sons of Shelah son of Judah: Er the father of Lecah, Laadah the father of Mareshah, and the clans of the linen workers at Beth-ashbea” (Berean Standard Bible). By locating him among the descendants of Shelah—Judah’s third son—Chronicles highlights Laadah as a legitimate member of the covenant people and participant in Judah’s territorial and occupational heritage.

Genealogical Setting

1 Chronicles 4 traces several sub-families of Judah that settled in the Shephelah (lowland) region. Laadah is identified as “the father of Mareshah,” probably meaning the founder or patriarch of the clan that occupied the town of Mareshah. His immediate relatives are artisans: “the clans of the linen workers.” The inspired chronicler therefore preserves Laadah’s name not simply to maintain an ancestral roll but to connect this Judahite branch with its God-given vocation in Israel’s economy.

Mareshah and the Shephelah

Mareshah lay in the Judean foothills, south-west of modern Bethlehem and near Lachish. It controlled key trade routes between the coastal plain and the Judean highlands. Archaeological work at Tel Maresha shows continuous occupation from the Iron Age through the Hellenistic period, confirming the site’s longevity and strategic value. By referring to Laadah as the progenitor of Mareshah, Scripture roots the town’s origins in Judahite settlement and underscores the tribe’s expansion into productive borderlands.

Occupational Significance

The passage ties Laadah’s line to “the linen workers” (Hebrew: *beged shesh* craftsmen). Linen was prized for priestly garments (Exodus 28 39-42), royal dress (Proverbs 31 22), and high-quality trade goods (Ezekiel 27 7). Chronicles therefore records that a Judahite clan, stemming from Laadah, supplied skilled artisans whose labor supported both worship and commerce. Their identity as workmen “in the service of the king” (1 Chronicles 4 23) shows that vocational excellence and covenant faithfulness were intertwined in Judah’s society.

Theological Themes

1. Covenant Continuity: Laadah’s solitary mention serves the chronicler’s larger purpose—demonstrating the preservation of Judah’s tribal lines after the exile. Even obscure names witness to God’s faithfulness to Abrahamic promises (Genesis 17 7).
2. Vocation under God’s Reign: By recording trades (linen production, pottery), Scripture affirms the sacred value of ordinary labor. Laadah’s descendants illustrate that craftsmanship, when pursued in covenant loyalty, advances God’s kingdom purposes alongside prophetic and royal offices.
3. Expectation of the Messiah: Judah’s genealogies culminate in the birth of Jesus Christ (Matthew 1 2-16). Though Laadah stands far back in that ancestry, his inclusion underscores that every generation mattered in preparing the way for the promised Seed (Genesis 49 10).

Practical Ministry Applications

• Every member counts: Pastors and teachers can point to Laadah to show that God records and honors even the least-known saints.
• Dignity of work: Christian discipleship should embrace skilled trades as avenues for glorifying God, echoing Laadah’s lineage of linen artisans.
• Historical grounding: Knowing figures like Laadah helps believers appreciate the real places and people through whom God unfolded redemption, strengthening confidence in the reliability of Scripture.

Summary

Laadah, though mentioned only once, anchors a Judahite clan to a specific town, vocation, and role within Israel’s history. His brief appearance in 1 Chronicles 4 points to divine faithfulness, the sanctity of labor, and the intricate tapestry of lives God wove together to bring forth the Messiah.

Forms and Transliterations
וְלַעְדָּ֖ה ולעדה velaDah wə·la‘·dāh wəla‘dāh
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Englishman's Concordance
1 Chronicles 4:21
HEB: אֲבִ֣י לֵכָ֔ה וְלַעְדָּ֖ה אֲבִ֣י מָרֵשָׁ֑ה
NAS: of Lecah and Laadah the father
KJV: of Lecah, and Laadah the father
INT: the father of Lecah and Laadah the father of Mareshah

1 Occurrence

Strong's Hebrew 3935
1 Occurrence


wə·la‘·dāh — 1 Occ.

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