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לוּחַ lūaḥ – board, tablet

Semantic Fields: Utensils   Writing   
Author(s): Archibald L.H.M. van Wieringen
First published: 2011-11-01
Last update: May 2025 (Marten van Dam)
Citation: Archibald L.H.M. van Wieringen, לוּחַ lūaḥ – board, tablet,
               Semantics of Ancient Hebrew Database (sahd-online.com), 2011 (update: May 2025 (Marten van Dam)) (WORK IN PROGRESS)

Introduction

Grammatical type: noun masc.
Occurrences: 43x HB (33/6/4); 0x Sir; 0x Qum; 0x Inscr. (Total: 43)

  • Torah: Exod 24:12; 27:8, 31:18 (2x); 32:15 (2x), 16 (2x), 19; 34:1 (3x), 4 (2x), 28, 29; 38:7; Deut 4:13; 5:22; 9:9 (2x), 10, 11 (2x), 15, 17; 10:1, 2 (2x), 3 (2x), 4, 5.
  • Nebiim: 1 Kgs 7:36; 8:9; Isa 30:8; Jer 17:1; Ezek 27:5; Hab 2:2.
  • Ketubim: Prov 3:3; Prov 7:3; Song 8:9; 2 Chron 5:10.

1. Root and Comparative Material

A.1 Root. It is difficult to say what came first, the meaning ‘board (of wood)’, or the meaning ‘tablet’.1 In the oldest Semitic language we know, Akkadian, the etymologically related word lēʾu means ‘wooden board, writing board’ (see below). However, this may be due to a narrowing of meaning because in mainstream Akkadian the Sumerian loanword ṭuppu < DUB became the normal designation of a writing tablet of (moist) clay.2 Derivatives of the √lḥḥ designate moisture and moisturing in several Northwest Semitic languages. Whatever the etymological origin of the word לוּחַ, the noun became ‘table, tablet, board’ in almost all Semitic languages.3

A.2 Akkadian. lēʾu (var. lēḫu [Amarna], lû) primarily means ‘wooden board’, then also ‘writing board, document, list’. Only rarely different materials like stone or metal are mentioned and also the determinative gīš of the various pseudo-ideographic writings points in the direction of wood as the normal material.4

A.3 Ugaritic. According to Del Olmo Lete & Sanmartín ‘missive, message’ < ‘(letter-)tablets’.5 According to others simply ‘writing tablet’ used metonymically.6

A.4 Phoenician, Punic. lḥ ‘tablet’, also used metonymically.7

A.5 Old and Imperial Aramaic. Possibly lwḥʾ ‘board, tablet’ (?).8

A.6 Postbiblical Hebrew. לוּחַ, ‘board, tablet’.9 For the texts from the Judean Desert see A.15 below.

A.7 Jewish Aramaic. For the texts from the Judean Desert see A.15 below.

A.8 Samaritan Aramaic. lwḫʾ ‘board, plank, tablet’ (of the Covenant).10

A.9 Nabatean. Possibly lwḥʾ ‘board, tablet’ (?).11

A.10 Syriac. lwḥʾ ‘tablet, writing-tablet’.12

A.11 Mandaic. luha ‘tablet’.13

A.12 Classical Arabic. lawḥ ‘board, plank, writing-tablet’.14

A.13 Modern South Arabic. Mehri lawḥ ‘board’.15

A.14 Ethiopic. Geez lawḥ ‘board, table, parchment’;16 Amharic luk ‘legal size paper’, lakä ‘to send’.17

A.15 Rabbinical literature. In the texts from the Judean Desert the Hebrew noun לוּחַ occurs several times with various meanings: 1) ‘board, plank’ of wood;18 2) ‘writing tablet’;19 3) ‘tablet (of bronze)’;20 4) ‘tablets (of the Law)’;21 5) ‘tablet (listing names)’.22 The Aramaic word לוחא occurs several times in the meaning of ‘tablet’.23 In later rabbinic writings the word almost always refers to the Tablets of the Law, a tendency already visible in the Hebrew Bible itself.

2. Formal Characteristics

[Discussion will be added later.]

3. Syntagmatics

[Discussion will be added later.]

4. Ancient Versions

a. Septuagint (LXX) and other Greek versions (αʹ, σʹ, θʹ):

  • LXX πλάξ, ‘flat stone’: Exod 31:18 (2x); 32:15 (2x), 16 (2x), 19; 34:1 (3x), 4 (2x), 28, 29; 38:7; Deut 4:13; 5:22; 9:9 (2x), 10, 11 (2x), 15, 17; 10:1, 2 (2x), 3 (2x), 4, 5; 1 Kgs 8:9; 2 Chron 5:10.
  • πυξίον ‘tablet’ (in Classical Greek always of wood): Isa 30:8; Hab 2:2 and Exod 24:12.
  • πλάτος ‘width, plane surface’ for the metaphorical use: Prov 3:4(3); 7:3, and in the plus as compared to MT of 1 Kgs 3:35 (πλάτος καρδίας).
  • α´, σ´ and θ´ also πλάξ in Exod 24:12.
  • θ´ also in Prov 3:3.
  • LXX σανίς ‘board, plank’: Ezek 27:5 and Song 8:9. This may have been the source of the hapax legomenon σανιδωτος, probably a neologism, in Exod 27:8.
  • In 1 Kgs 7:35 (36) יְדֹתֶיהָ עַל ־הַלֻּחֹת is rendered freely as ἐπὶ τὰς ἀρχὰς τῶν χειρῶν αὐτῆς.

b. Peshitta (Pesh):

  • Mostly lūḥā ‘writing tablet’.
  • dafā ‘board, tablet’: Exod 27:8; 38:7; Ezek 27:5.24

c. Targum (Tg):

  • לוחא (Aramaic transition of לוּחַ): All instances except for Hab 2:2 and Ezek 27:5.
  • סִפרָא ‘document’: Hab 2:2.
  • גשרא ‘board, joist, bridge’: Ezek 27:5.

d. Samaritan Targum (TgSmr):

e. Vulgate (Vg):

  • Normally tabula, ‘board, plank’ (basic meaning) but also ‘writing-tablet’, ‘record’, ‘document’.25
  • buxum ‘wood of the boxtree’, but in later Latin also ‘writing-tablet’: Isa 30:8.26

5. Lexical/Semantic Fields

[Discussion will be added later.]

6. Exegesis

6.1 Literal Use

A.1 The basic meaning of לוּחַ is ‘board, plank’. Wooden planks were used to build a temporary altar (Exod 27:8; 38:7) or the hull of a ship (Ezek 27:5), or to board up a door (Song 8:9). In Isa 30:8 and Hab 2:2 a wooden writing board,27 perhaps provided with a layer of wax (→ דֶּלֶת, section 328), may have been meant, or even a papyrus scroll.29 Others argue in favour of a tablet of stone or clay30 which accords better with the verbs √חקק (Isa 30:8) and חרת (see below), both ‘to engrave’, and with the durable nature of the document.31 These considerations also argue against the proposal to interpret לוּחַ as ‘ostracon’ here.32 Alphabetic and syllabic clay tablets have been found in many sites in Israel and the countries surrounding it.33

A.2 In a specific sense לוּחַ is used of the two ‘tablets of the testimony (treaty)’ (הָעֵדֻת לֻחֹת) which occur in Exod 31:18; 32:15; 34:29. According to Exod 24:12; 31:18; 34:1, 4; Deut 4:13; 5:22; 9:9, 10, 11; 10:1; 1 Kgs 8:9 these tablets were made of natural stone (אֶבֶן). It has been suggested that this is a later development and that originally clay tablets were used,34 as was the case with Hittite and Assyrian vassal treaties. Indeed Exod 24:12 (J) seems to presuppose a longer text than that of the Decalogue.35 The present context of Exod 32:19; Deut 9:17; 10:2, 3, however, indicates stone. Whereas the verb שׁבר, ‘to shatter’, might also be used of clay tablets, פסל definitely suggests hewn stones. On the other hand it is remarkable that 2 Chron 5:10 does not have the אֶבֶן of its parallel 1 Kgs 8:9. In Exod 32:15 it is related that the text was written on both sides of these tablets. To emphasise the supernatural origin of the script it is stated that it was the אֱלֹהִים אֶצְבַּע, ‘finger of God’, that by way of stylus inscribed the first set of tablets (Exod 31:18; Deut 9:10). The writing is described as ‘engraving’ (חרת, Exod 32:16). The same verb is used in Sir 45:11 for the incising of letters in the precious stones of the breastpiece of Aaron.

A.3 In the difficult verse 1 Kgs 7:36 הַלֻּחֹת seems to refer to the flat surfaces of the wheeled laver stand in the Salomonic temple.36 These surfaces were adorned with reliefs of sphinxes, lions and palms, surrounded by wreaths.37

6.2 Figurative Use

A.1 In a metaphorical sense לוּחַ becomes the writing tablet of the heart (לֵב) on which the sins of Judah are engraved with an iron stylus (→ עֵט, Jer 17:1). The image is used in a positive sense in Prov 3:3 and 7:3 where a son is encouraged to write the teachings of his wise father on his heart.

6.3 Archaeology

A.1 Although many writing tablets have been found, none bears the designation lwḫ in Hebrew characters.

7. Conclusion

A.1 The meaning ‘writing-tablet’, attested in many Semitic languages and supported by the ancient versions and as well by early Judaic sources, is undisputed. Originally it may have been a wooden board or plank. This basic meaning occurs a few times in the Hebrew Bible, but ‘tablet’ became the dominant designation of the two ‘Tablets of the Law’. According to the canonical text these tablets were hewn from natural stone in which the lettering of the Ten Commandments was incised, at first by the finger of God himself. In an older version of the tradition the tablets may have been of clay and may have contained a longer text stipulating the rules of the covenant between God and his people.

Bibliography

For the abbreviations see the List of Abbreviations.

BDB, 531: ‘tablet, board’

G. Fohrer, BHH, Bd. 2, 944

Blenkinsopp 2000
J. Blenkinsopp, Isaiah 1-39 (AncB, 19), New York 2000
Bordreuil & Pardee 2004
P. Bordreuil & D. Pardee, Manuel d’Ougaritique, vol. 2, Paris 2004, 178

Alonso Schökel, DBHE. 362: ‘Tabla, tablilla, losa, plancha, lápida, lastra, laja, lancha’

DCH, vol. 4, 524-5: ‘1. wooden or stone tablet for writing ... 2. wooden board, plank ... 3. bronze plate’

De Moor 1997
J.C. de Moor, The Rise of Yahwism: The Roots of Israelite Monotheism (BEThL, 91A), Leuven 1997
Galling 1971
K. Galling, ‘Tafel, Buch und Blatt’, in: H. Goedicke (ed.), Near Eastern Studies in Honor of William Foxwell Albright, Baltimore 1971, 207-23

GB, 381: ‘Tafel, worauf geschrieben wird, bes. die steinernen Tafeln des Gesetzes’

HAHAT, 600-1: ‘1. Tafel (aus Stein) ... 2. Brett, Planke, Platte’

HALAT, 497: ‘Tafel’, ‘Planke’

HAWAT, 196: ‘1) Tafel als Schreibfläche ... 2) synekd. verallgemeinert; a) Planke ... b) Platte’

HCHAT, Bd. 1, ‘1) Tafel, Platte ... a) steinerne ... metallene ... c) holzerne Platte, Brett, Planke’

Himbaza 2004
I. Himbaza, Le Décalogue et l’histoire du texte (OBO, 207), Fribourg 2004
Horowitz & Oshima 2006
W. Horowitz & T. Oshima, Cuneiform in Canaan: Cuneiform Sources from the Land of Israel in Ancient Times, Jerusalem 2006
Houtman 2000
C. Houtman, Exodus, vol. 3, Leuven 2000

HWAT, 310: ‘Tafel zum Schreiben ... Brett, Getäfel ... Schiffsplanken, Steintafeln’

ISBE, vol. 4, 706-7

Korpel 1990
M.C.A. Korpel, A Rift in the Clouds: Ugaritic and Hebrew Descriptions of the Divine (UBL, 8), Münster 1990, 471-3

LHA, 392-3: ‘tabula, tabella, 1) assis ligneus laevigatus, quo ianua firmatur et ornatur ... 2) tabula cui alqd inscribitur’

Maraqten 1998
M. Maraqten, ‘Writing-Materials in Pre-Islamic Arabia’, JSS (43) 1998, 287-310

NIDOT, vol. 4, 1290-1

Smelik 1990
K.A.D. Smelik, ‘Ostracon, schrijftafel of boekrol? Jer. 36, Jes. 30:8 en twee ostraca uit Saqqara’, NedThT 44 (1990), 198-207

M. Stol, ‘Wastafeltjes uit het Nabije Oosten’, Phoenix 24 (1978), 11-14

Gesenius & Roediger, TPC, 748: ‘tabula ... a) lapidea, cui aliquid inciditur vel inscribitur ... b) lignea’

TWAT, Bd. 4, 495-9

Watson 2007
W.G.E. Watson, Lexical Studies in Ugaritic (AuOr.S, 19), Barcelona 2007, 49
Young 1969
E.J. Young, The Book of Isaiah, vol. 2, Grand Rapids 1969.

  1. For the latter, cf. König, HAWAT, 196. ↩

  2. CAD (Ṭ), 129. ↩

  3. Cf. Leslau, CDG, 320; Klein, CEDHL. 296; HAHAT, 600-1. ↩

  4. Von Soden, AHw, 546; CAD (L), 156-9; Tawil, ALCBH, 187. ↩

  5. Del Olmo Lete & Sanmartín, DULAT, 494-5 s.v. lḥ (II). ↩

  6. E.g. Bordreuil & Pardee 2004, 178. ↩

  7. Hoftijzer & Jongeling, DNSI, 570; Krahmalkov, PPD, 254. ↩

  8. Hoftijzer & Jongeling, DNSI, 569; Porten & Lund, ADE, 206. ↩

  9. Levy, WTM, Bd. 2, 481-2; Jastrow, DTT, 696. ↩

  10. Tal, DSA, 428. ↩

  11. Hoftijzer & Jongeling, DNSI, 569. ↩

  12. Payne Smith (Margoliouth), CSD, 237. ↩

  13. Macuch, MD, 232. ↩

  14. Lane, AEL, 2679-80; Maraqten 1998. ↩

  15. Johnstone, ML, 258. ↩

  16. Leslau, CDG, 320. ↩

  17. Leslau,
    CAmhD, 10. ↩

  18. 11Q19 (11QTa) VII.1; VII.3; partially reconstructed in 11Q19 (11QTa) VII.5. ↩

  19. 1QpHab VI.15 on Hab. 2:2. ↩

  20. Reconstructed in 11QTa VII.2 and XXXIV.1. ↩

  21. Reconstructed in 4Q364 (4QRPb) Frag., 26b, e II.5 (elaboration of Deut. 10:2b); II.8 (elaboration of Deut. 10:4); 4Q216 (4QJuba) I, 3, 6 (= Jub. 1:3, 6); 4Q364 (4QRPb) Frag. 14, 3 (elaboration of Exod. 24:12), and more often. ↩

  22. A kind of Book of Life mentioned in 4Q177 (4QCatenaa = 4QMidrEschatb) III.12 which is possibly identical to the עולם לוחות, ‘eternal tablets’, that occur in 4Q512 Frags. 1-3, 4 (others: Frags. 1-6, XII.4). ↩

  23. In 2Q26 (= 2QEnGiants ar) Frag.1; furthermore in 4Q203 (= 4QEnGiantsa ar) Frag. 7:II.6; Frag. 8:3; 4Q537 (= 4QAJa or 4QTJacob ar) and probably also in 1Q23 (= 1QEnGiantsa ar) Frag. 31:2. ↩

  24. Payne Smith (Margoliouth), CSD, 96. ↩

  25. Lewis & Short, LD, 1833. ↩

  26. Lewis & Short, LD, 256. ↩

  27. So e.g. Galling 1971, 209. ↩

  28. Stol 1978; Watson 2007, 49. ↩

  29. Blenkinsopp 2000, 415. ↩

  30. E.g. Young 1969, 343; De Moor 1997, 158, the latter also for spr as designation of a clay tablet. ↩

  31. עַד ־עֹולָם לָעַד, ‘as a witness for ever’, Isa. 30:8; see also 1QHa IX. 24. ↩

  32. Smelik 1990. ↩

  33. See e.g. Dietrich, Loretz & Sanmartín,KTU; Horowitz & Oshima 2006. ↩

  34. Korpel 1990, 471-3. ↩

  35. Himbaza 2004, 16; for other suggestions see Houtman 2000, 300-1. ↩

  36. Compare the use of Akkad. lēʾu, ‘board’, as part of a wagon,CAD [L], 156-7. ↩

  37. For a picture of a similar object from Cyprus, see Fohrer, BHH, Bd. 2, 945. ↩

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