🔼The name Beth-lebaoth: Summary
- Meaning
- House Of Lionesses
- Etymology
- From (1) the noun בית (beth), house, and (2) the noun לבי (lebi), lioness.
🔼The name Beth-lebaoth in the Bible
The name Beth-lebaoth occurs only once in the Bible. It's listed as one of the cities that became occupied by the tribe of Simeon (Joshua 19:6). Simeon received cities in Judah, but in the list of cities of Judah no Beth-lebaoth is mentioned, only a Lebaoth, which most scholars appear to equate with Beth-lebaoth (Joshua 15:32).
And to add even more to the confusion, the Chronicler, who habitually changes and garbles names for reasons that are not always immediately clear, lists the "same" list of Simeonite towns but changes Beth-lebaoth into Beth-biri (1 Chronicles 4:31).
🔼Etymology of the name Beth-lebaoth
The name Beth-lebaoth consists of two elements. The first part is identical to the common Hebrew word בית (bayit) meaning house:
בית
The noun בית (bayit) means house. It sometimes merely denotes a domestic building, but mostly it denotes the realm of authority of the house-father, or אב (ab). This ab is commonly the living alpha male of a household, but may very well be a founding ancestor (as in the familiar term the "house of Israel"). The אב (ab) may also be a deity, in which case the בית (bayit) is that which we know as a temple.
In the larger economy, a house interacts with other houses. These interactions are governed by the אב (ab), or "father" and executed by the בנים (benim), or "sons": those people living in the house, irrespective of any biological relation with the אב (ab). The "sons" combined add up to אם ('em), which means both "mother" and "tribe".
The second part of our name appears to be a feminine plural form of the noun לבי (lebi), meaning lioness:
לב לבי כלב לבן להב
The unused verb לבב (labab) probably had to do with having, forming or using the emotional (animal) part of consciousness, in contrast to the rational and word-filled mind that is unique to humans. Nouns לבב (lebab) and לב (leb) both mean heart: the seat of one's sentiments, courage and resolve. The opposite of having a heart is being either ignorant, indifferent or cowardly, but a big heart that's not properly governed by a strong mind may cause more damage than good, and be the source of all sorts of foolish bravery, massive fear or whole-hearted zeal.
One of the few words for lion, namely לבי (lebi), strongly resembles an adjective that would mean "courageous". The Hebrew word for dog, namely כלב (keleb), could be construed as a compound of כל (kal), meaning all, plus the word לב (leb), heart or courage: all-heart, entirely courageous (but not very clever). Noun כלוב (kelub) describes a cage with birds or a basket with fruits, and is perhaps illustrative of the limited rational capacities of a dog who is otherwise "all heart".
Verb לבן (laben) means to be or become white in the sense of a blank slate, meaning that "all-heart" also implies "little rational wisdom" or even "little record of wrong doings". Noun לבנה (lebanah) describes the moon, which in turn signifies roused feelings and very little rational (or solar) enlightenment. Adjective לבן (laban) means white (i.e. blank, un-written upon: stupid). Nouns לבנה (lebonah) and לבונה (lebonah) describe frankincense. Noun לבנה (lebneh) describes the poplar. Noun לבנה (lebenah) means brick, and the denominative verb לבן (laban) means to make bricks.
The unused verb להב (lahab) probably meant to flame or burn. Nouns להב (lahab) and להבה (lehaba) mean flame, but also denoted the blade or a sword or tip of a spear.
🔼Beth-lebaoth meaning
For a meaning of the name Beth-lebaoth, NOBSE Study Bible Name List reads House Of Lionesses. Both Jones' Dictionary of Old Testament Proper Names and BDB Theological Dictionary propose Place Of Lionesses.