🔼The name Lebonah: Summary
- Meaning
- White Stuff, Frankincense
- Etymology
- From the noun לבונה (lebonah), frankincense, from the verb לבן (laben), to be white.
🔼The name Lebonah in the Bible
The name Lebonah occurs only once in the Bible. It's the name of a settlement that was situated north of Shiloh and south of Bethel. The Israelites used it as a marker to show the Benjaminites the way to Shiloh, the site of an annual feast to YHWH, at which the Benjaminites could easily replenish their dwindling supply of fertile women and secure their continuation. This was deemed necessary because Israel had killed almost the entire tribe of Benjamin in retaliation for the gang rape and murder of a certain Levite's concubine by some Benjaminite men from Gibeah (Judges 19:25). This retaliation was carried out by all of Israel, except the city of Jabesh-gilead, so after the battle against Benjamin, a division of Israel's army went up to Jabesh-gilead and murdered everyone except four hundred virgins. Since four hundred wasn't enough, the elders of Israel diverted the attention of the men of Benjamin to the dance at Shiloh, south of Lebonah.
The author of the Book of Judges openly recognizes the degree of depravity displayed in these proceedings, but the preservation of the tribe of Benjamin was then and afterwards reckoned of paramount importance. The reasons for this are probably legion and some of them perhaps even understandable to us moderns. Without the tribe of Benjamin, there would not have been a king Saul to unite the tribes (1 Samuel 9:1), a Mordecai to stave off the Persian holocaust (Esther 2:5), or an apostle Paul to explain and spread the gospel (Philippians 3:5).
🔼Etymology of the name Lebonah
The name Lebonah is the same as the noun לבונה (lebonah), meaning frankincense, from the verb לבן (laben), meaning to be or become 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.
🔼Lebonah meaning
For a meaning of the name Lebonah, NOBSE Study Bible Name List reads Incense and Jones' Dictionary of Old Testament Proper Names has Frankincense. BDB Theological Dictionary does not interpret this name but does confirm that it is identical to the noun לבונה (lebonah), meaning frankincense.