Abarim Publications' online Biblical Hebrew Dictionary
לחח
The root לחח (lhh) does not occur as verb in the Bible, but in cognate languages it exists with meanings that have to do with being moist. The Biblical occurrences of this root's derivatives are:
- The adjective לח (lah), meaning moist or fresh (Genesis 30:37, Ezekiel 17:24), or secondarily: new (Judges 16:7). This latter application refers to cords possibly made from fresh animal sinew, as BDB Theological Dictionary proposes. But as the next word will show, this root also contains the notion of strength, and the cords of Judges 16:7 may rather be noted for their strength than for their newness.
- The masculine noun לח (leah), is said to mean moisture or freshness, but in the only obvious occurrence it denotes the vigor (and probably not the moisture level) of 120 year old Moses (Deuteronomy 34:7).
The connection between vigor and moisture may lie in what we now call turgor: the rigidity of plants through the absorption and retention of water.