Skip to content

shebanq
ubs

לָבָן lābān – white

Semantic Fields: Colours   
Author(s): John E. Hartley
First published: 2024-10-10
Citation: John E. Hartley, לָבָן lābān – white,
               Semantics of Ancient Hebrew Database (sahd-online.com), 2024

Introduction

Grammatical Type: adjective

Occurrences: 29x HB (25/3/1); 1x Sir; 2x Qum; 2x inscr. (Total: 34).

  • Torah: Gen 30:35, 37 (2x); 49:12; Exod 16:31; Lev 13:3, 4 (2x), 10 (2x), 13, 16, 17, 19 (2x), 20, 21, 24 (2x), 25, 26, 38, 39, 42, 43;
  • Nebiim: Zech 1:8; 6:3, 6;
  • Ketubim: Qoh 9:8;
  • Sira: 43:18B,Mas;
  • Qumran: 1Q33 (1QM) V:10; VII:10;
  • Inscr.: 5/6Ḥev 44:12, 15.

7. Conclusion

A.1 לָבָן stands for a colour low in chromaticity, but strong in brightness. Its semantic range encompasses colours from ‘light grey’ to ‘light yellow’. לָבָן describes the colour of human hair and teeth, clothing, linen, female sheep, horses, markings on sheep and goats, seeds, and skin recently healed from an infection. It also describes dust and peeled branches bleached by the sun. Its focal colour is ‘bright white’ in the picture of teeth being ‘whiter’ than milk (Gen 49:12). It also describes snow as blinding (Sir 43:18B,Mas).

For this entry, see further John E. Hartley, The Semantics of Ancient Hebrew Colour Lexemes (2010), 97-106 (Printed publications).

Semantics of Ancient Hebrew Database