🔼The name Lubim: Summary
- Meaning
- Lions, Courageous Ones
- Etymology
- From לב (leb), heart or courage.
🔼The name Lubim in the Bible
The name Lubim refers to a people, possibly the same as the Lehabim, who lived west of Egypt, in the region later known as Libya. The Chronicler mentions the Lubim (spelled לובים, lubim) as among the coalition of Shishak king of Egypt (2 Chronicles 12:3), who attacked king Rehoboam of Judah (whose earlier antics had caused the split of Israel).
During the reign of king Asa of Judah, the Ethiopians attack and are defeated because Asa relied on YHWH. Much later in his reign, king Asa requests the protection of king Ben-hadad of Aram against the attack of king Baasha of Israel. The seer Hanani explains Asa that previously, the Ethiopians and the Lubim (2 Chronicles 16:8) were defeated because of the king's trust in YHWH, not because of the help of foreign kings. But the war was averted, and for his insights, Asa imprisoned Hanani.
Later still, but prior to the exile, the prophet Nahum recalls the (ultimately futile) alliance of Egypt with Ethiopia, Put and the Lubim (Nahum 3:9). And while in Persia, Daniel foresees the rise of Rome and its conquest of Egypt, the Ethiopians and the Lubim (Daniel 11:43, here spelled לבים, lubim).
🔼Etymology of the name Lubim
Like the name Libya itself, the name Lubim may derive from the Egyptian name for the Libu, the Berber tribe to their west. But the name probably stuck (and was adopted as such) because of its similarity to the widely attested root לבב (labab), to have a heart or to be courageous:
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.
🔼Lubim meaning
What the name Libu may have originally meant to whoever thought of it first can no longer be established, but while the Hebrew speaking Phoenicians dominated the Mediterranean (and strongly informed the Greek language), the name Lubim probably sounded like Lions or Courageous Ones to everybody.