🔼The name Laban: Summary
- Meaning
- White
- Etymology
- From the adjective לבן (laban), white.
🔼The name Laban in the Bible
There are one man and one settlement named Laban in the Bible; Laban the town is mentioned in Deuteronomy 1:1 as one of the markers between which Moses conveyed the words of YHWH to Israel.
Laban the man was an Aramean, living in Paddan-aram. He was the son of Bethuel, son of Nahor with Milcah, the brother and niece of Abraham (Genesis 24:29). Laban was also the brother of Rebekah and father of Leah and Rachel, the wives of Jacob.
Laban was obviously the leader of his family when Eliezer, Abraham's chief of staff, came calling about a wife for Isaac and went home with Rebekah (Genesis 24). He was still in control when, years later, Isaac and Rebekah sent their son Jacob over to see about a wife for him (Genesis 28:2). Jacob fell in love with Laban's youngest daughter Rachel and vowed to work for Laban for seven years to pay her off (Genesis 29:18). When the seven years had passed, Laban threw Jacob a wedding feast that was so stimulating that Jacob didn't realize he had married and copulated with Laban's oldest daughter Leah until well after the wedding night (Genesis 29:25). Jacob was understandably disgruntled and Laban generously offered his younger daughter Rachel as well, for the bargain price of an additional seven years of labor (Genesis 29:27).
The relationship between Laban and Jacob remained strained, until Jacob finally exploded and lashed out against his father in law about his propensity for trickery and deceit (Genesis 31:36). Laban finally realized he's been quite a pain all those years, and the two men sealed their covenant of peace with a megalithic monument that Laban called Jegar-sahadutha in Aramaic, and Jacob Galeed (also known as Mizpah) in Hebrew (Genesis 31:47).
🔼Etymology of the name Laban
The name Laban is identical to the word לבן (laban), meaning white:
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.
🔼Laban meaning
For a meaning of the name Laban, both NOBSE Study Bible Name List and Jones' Dictionary of Old Testament Proper Names read White.