Etymology and Meaning:
The name "Luz" is believed to mean "almond tree" or "separation." It is a significant location in biblical history, primarily known for its association with the patriarch Jacob.

Biblical References:
Luz is first mentioned in the Book of Genesis. In Genesis 28:19 , it is recorded that Jacob, after experiencing a divine vision, renamed the place Bethel, which means "House of God": "He called that place Bethel, though previously the city had been named Luz."

Historical and Geographical Context:
Luz was an ancient Canaanite city located in the land of the Hittites. It is traditionally identified with the site of Bethel, situated north of Jerusalem. The city held strategic importance due to its location along key trade routes.

Significant Events:
1. Jacob's Vision: The most notable event associated with Luz is Jacob's dream of a ladder reaching to heaven, with angels ascending and descending on it. This vision, as described in Genesis 28:10-22, marked a pivotal moment in Jacob's life, leading to his covenant with God. Jacob's renaming of Luz to Bethel signified the transformation of the site into a sacred place of worship.

2. Conquest by the Israelites: In the Book of Judges, Luz is mentioned again in the context of the Israelite conquest of Canaan. Judges 1:22-26 recounts how the house of Joseph attacked Bethel, formerly known as Luz. The spies sent by the Israelites encountered a man coming out of the city and promised to spare him and his family if he showed them the entrance to the city. The man complied, and the city was captured: "So the man showed them the entrance to the city, and they put the city to the sword but released that man and all his family."

3. Rebuilding of Luz: The man who helped the Israelites later went to the land of the Hittites and built a city, which he also named Luz. This indicates the continued significance of the name and its legacy beyond the original location.

Theological Significance:
Luz, later Bethel, holds profound theological importance as a place where God reaffirmed His covenant with Jacob, promising him descendants and land. This event underscored God's faithfulness and the continuation of the Abrahamic covenant through Jacob. The transformation of Luz into Bethel symbolizes the sanctification of ordinary places through divine encounter and revelation.

Cultural and Religious Impact:
Bethel became a central site for worship and pilgrimage in Israelite history. It was one of the locations where the patriarchs built altars to God, and it continued to be a place of religious significance throughout the biblical narrative. The account of Luz/Bethel serves as a reminder of God's presence and guidance in the lives of His people, as well as the importance of dedicating places and moments to divine worship and remembrance.Luz

separation; departure; an almond

Luz

(almond tree). It seems impossible to discover with precision whether Luz and Bethel represent one and the same town--the former the Canannite, the latter the Hebrew, name--or whether they were distinct places, though in close proximity. The most probable conclusion is that the two places were, during the times preceding the conquest, distinct, Luz being the city and Bethel the pillar and altar of Jacob that after the destruction of Luz by the tribe of Ephraim the town of Bethel arose. When the original Luz was destroyed, through the treachery of one of its inhabitants, the man who had introduced the Israelites into the town went into the "land of the Hittites" and built a city which he named after the former one. (Judges 1:28) Its situation, as well as that of the land of the Hittites," has never been discovered, and is one of the favorable puzzles of Scripture geographers.

Luz

The ancient name of a part at least of Bethel, Genesis 28:19 John 16:2 18:13; afterwards given to a smaller place founded by a refugee from Bethel, Jude 1:26. See Bethel, Jude 1:26. See BETHEL.

A nut-bearing tree, the almond.

(1.) The ancient name of a royal Canaanitish city near the site of Bethel (Genesis 28:19; 35:6), on the border of Benjamin (Joshua 18:13). Here Jacob halted, and had a prophetic vision. (see BETHEL.)

(2.) A place in the land of the Hittites, founded (Judges 1:26) by "a man who came forth out of the city of Luz." It is identified with Luweiziyeh, 4 miles north-west of Banias.

(n.) A bone of the human body which was supposed by certain Rabbinical writers to be indestructible. Its location was a matter of dispute.LUZ

(luz):The Hebrew word means "almond tree" or "almond wood" (OHL, under the word). It may also mean "bone," particularly a bone of the spine, and might be applied to a rocky height supposed to resemble a backbone (Lagarde, Uebersicht., 157). Winckler explains it by Aramaic laudh, "asylum," which might be suitably applied to a sanctuary (Geschichte Israels). Cheyne (EB, under the word) would derive it by corruption from chalutsah, "strong (city)."

(1) This was the ancient name of Bethel (Genesis 28:19 Judges 1:23; compare Genesis 35:6; Genesis 48:3 Joshua 16:2; Joshua 18:13). It has been thought that Joshua 16:2 contradicts this, and that the two places were distinct. Referring to Genesis 28:19, we find that the name Bethel was given to "the place," ha-maqom, i.e. "the sanctuary," probably "the place" (28:11, Hebrew) associated with the sacrifice of Abraham (12:8), which lay to the East of Bethel. The name of the city as distinguished from "the place" was Luz. As the fame of the sanctuary grew, we may suppose, its name overshadowed, and finally superseded, that of the neighboring town. The memory of the ancient nomenclature persisting among the people sufficiently explains the allusions in the passages cited.

(2) A Bethelite, the man who betrayed the city into the hands of the children of Joseph, went into the land of the Hittites, and there founded a city which he called Luz, after the ancient name of his native place (Judges 1:26). No satisfactory identification has been suggested.

W. Ewing

3870. Luz -- earlier name of Bethel, also a Hittite city
... 3869, 3870. Luz. 3871 . earlier name of Bethel, also a Hittite city.
Transliteration: Luz Phonetic Spelling: (looz) Short Definition: Luz. ...
/hebrew/3870.htm - 6k

3869. luz -- almond tree, almond wood
... 3868, 3869. luz. 3870 . almond tree, almond wood. Transliteration: luz Phonetic
Spelling: (looz) Short Definition: almond. ... 3868, 3869. luz. 3870 . ...
/hebrew/3869.htm - 5k

3868. luz -- to turn aside, depart
... 3867b, 3868. luz. 3869 . to turn aside, depart. Transliteration: luz Phonetic
Spelling: (looz) Short Definition: devious. ... 3867b, 3868. luz. 3869 . ...
/hebrew/3868.htm - 6k

3891. lazuth -- deviation, crookedness
... Word Origin from luz Definition deviation, crookedness NASB Word Usage devious
(1). perverse. From luwz; perverseness -- perverse. see HEBREW luwz. 3890, 3891 ...
/hebrew/3891.htm - 6k

The Same is Proved from the visions which Appeared to Jacob.
... God face to face, and my soul rejoiced.' [2155] And again, in other terms, referring
to the same Jacob, it says the following: And Jacob came to Luz, in the ...
/.../chapter lviii the same is proved.htm

Chapter xlviii
... 3, 4. And Jacob said to Joseph: God Almighty appeared unto me in Luz in the land
of Canaan and he blessed me, and He said to me: Behold, I am about to make ...
/.../leupold/exposition of genesis volume 1/chapter xlviii.htm

Chapter xxxv
... Jacob. And Jacob came to Luz, which is in the land of Canaan"that is
to say, Bethel"he and all the people that were with him. ...
/...//christianbookshelf.org/leupold/exposition of genesis volume 1/chapter xxxv.htm

Ebenezer!
... which had been his pillow, and pouring oil upon it, and calling upon the name of
the Lord, naming the place Bethel, though the name thereof was Luz at the first ...
//christianbookshelf.org/spurgeon/spurgeons sermons volume 9 1863/ebenezer.htm

Names and Titles of the Antichrist
... where it occurred. Abram and Sarai will at once occur to mind. For a place,
take Luz, which was changed to Bethel! " "House of God ...
//christianbookshelf.org/pink/the antichrist/names and titles of the.htm

Beth-El. Beth-Aven.
... Beth-el heretofore was Luz: of which the Rabbins upon Judges 1:23, &c.
do not a little trifle. Sometimes it is called Beth-aven. ...
/.../lightfoot/from the talmud and hebraica/chapter 20 beth-el beth-aven.htm

The Heavenly Pathway and the Earthly Heart
... top of it. And he called the name of that place Beth-el: but the name
of that city was called Luz at the first. And Jacob vowed ...
/.../maclaren/expositions of holy scripture k/the heavenly pathway and the.htm

To the Editors of El Espanol
... in indignation at this omission becomes suddenly argumentative, and puts a case
to the heretics, which he deems in point; 'Si vieran la luz publica las obras ...
/.../christianbookshelf.org/borrow/letters of george borrow/to the editors of el.htm

Chapter xxviii
... be revived. 19. And he called the name of that place Bethel, whereas the
name of the city had formerly been Luz. Beth-'el means ...
/.../leupold/exposition of genesis volume 1/chapter xxviii.htm

Chapter xxxiv
... Jacob. And Jacob came to Luz, which is in the land of Canaan"that is
to say, Bethel"he and all the people that were with him. ...
/.../christianbookshelf.org/leupold/exposition of genesis volume 1/chapter xxxiv.htm

Luz (7 Occurrences)
... (2.) A place in the land of the Hittites, founded (Judges 1:26) by "a man who came
forth out of the city of Luz." It is ... Int. Standard Bible Encyclopedia. LUZ. ...
/l/luz.htm - 11k

Beth-el-luz (1 Occurrence)
Beth-el-luz. Beth-elite, Beth-el-luz. Bethel-sarezer .
Multi-Version Concordance Beth-el-luz (1 Occurrence). Joshua ...
/b/beth-el-luz.htm - 6k

Beth-el (65 Occurrences)
... Genesis 28:19 And he called the name of that place Beth-el. But the name
of the city was Luz at the first. (ASV BBE DBY JPS WBS). ...
/b/beth-el.htm - 27k

Almond (7 Occurrences)
... The Hebrew word luz, translated "hazel" in the Authorized Version (Genesis 30:37),
is rendered in the Revised Version "almond." It is probable that luz denotes ...
/a/almond.htm - 14k

Bethel (67 Occurrences)
... It was originally the royal Canaanite city of Luz (Genesis 28:19). ... 2. The Sanctuary:
The town was originally called Luz (Genesis 28:19, etc.). ...
/b/bethel.htm - 38k

Ataroth (7 Occurrences)
... Joshua 16:2 It went out from Bethel to Luz, and passed along to the border of the
Archites to Ataroth; (WEB KJV JPS ASV BBE DBY WBS YLT NAS NIV). ...
/a/ataroth.htm - 10k

Passes (74 Occurrences)
... sea. (See RSV). Joshua 16:2 And it went out from Beth-el-luz, and passed
along unto the border of the Archites to Ataroth. (See RSV). ...
/p/passes.htm - 28k

Nether (19 Occurrences)
... Joshua 18:13 And the border went over from thence toward Luz, to the side of Luz,
which is Bethel, southward; and the border descended to Atarothadar, near the ...
/n/nether.htm - 12k

Beth-hor'on (12 Occurrences)
... Joshua 18:13 And the border passed along from thence to Luz, to the side of
Luz--the same is Beth-el--southward; and the border went down to Atroth-addar, by ...
/b/beth-hor'on.htm - 9k

Atroth-addar (2 Occurrences)
... Joshua 18:13 And the border passed along from thence to Luz, to the side of Luz (
the same is Beth-el ), southward; and the border went down to Ataroth-addar ...
/a/atroth-addar.htm - 7k

What is the significance of Bethel in the Bible? | GotQuestions.org

Who were the Ephrathites? | GotQuestions.org

Luz: Dictionary and Thesaurus | Clyx.com

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