🔼The name Lebanon: Summary
- Meaning
- Place Of Whiteness
- Etymology
- From the verb לבן (laban), to be white.
🔼The name Lebanon in the Bible
Lebanon is basically a district, and the Lebanon is a mountain or mountain range in north Canaan. The sources are a bit in conflict about what Lebanon actually denotes. Jones' Dictionary of Old Testament Proper Names keeps it simple and states that Lebanon is a mountain consisting of two ridges on the border of Syria and Palestine. But, says Jones, really only the permanently glaciated eastern ridge is called Lebanon; the southern ridge is called Hermon (Joshua 11:17).
The Oxford Companion to the Bible, however, reports that Lebanon denotes a range of coastal mountains, stretching from Sidon to Syria.
In the Bible (the) Lebanon is known as the source of building materials; wood for Solomon's temple (1 Kings 5:6), stones for Solomon's temple (1 Kings 5:14-18), and wood for Ezra's temple (Ezra 3:7). Lebanon is also known for its blossoms (Nahum 1:4) and wine (Hosea 14:7).
When Moses pleads with God for his life, he mentions Lebanon as a desirable place (Deuteronomy 3:25, also see Isaiah 35:2), but Joshua is the one who conquers it (Joshua 11:17).
🔼Etymology of the name Lebanon
The name Lebanon comes from the root לבן (lbn), which yields a range of words that have to do with white or whiteness:
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.
The name Lebanon is the name Laban extended with the waw-nun combination, which localizes or personifies the root. Hence, as Laban means White, Lebanon means White One. We may assume that this is because of its perpetual snow.
🔼Lebanon meaning
For a meaning of the name Lebanon, Jones' Dictionary of Old Testament Proper Names reads Very White, or Mountain Of Snow. NOBSE Study Bible Name List does not translate.