English Bible words starting with L
465 meanings beginning with L, in alphabetical order. This is page 3 of 5. Under each one are the Hebrew, Aramaic, and Greek words the Bible actually uses for it.
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let depart1 word
let down1 word
let go3 words
- shalaḥשָׁלַחto send: to make a person or thing go out from you toward a destination, a target, or freedom
- azavעָזַבto leave: to let go of someone or something, whether by simply walking away or by abandoning what one was bound to hold onto
+1 more meaning
- to restore or repair, as in setting a wall or building back in order
- raphahרָפָהto go slack: for a grip, a hand, or strength to loosen and give way, or to make it do so, ranging from losing heart to letting go to leaving alone
let it be1 word
let loose1 word
- paraפָּרַעto let loose or set free from restraint: to unbind, release, or let go of what was being held in check
+1 more meaning
- to lead, to take the lead (a contested sense resting on a single verse)
- paraפָּרַעto let loose or set free from restraint: to unbind, release, or let go of what was being held in check
let out2 words
let slip1 word
lethek1 word
letter7 words
- sepherסֵפֶרa written document: anything committed to writing, from a letter to a legal deed to a book
- epistolēἐπιστολήa letter: a written message sent to a reader who is somewhere else, in the New Testament usually one that carries the sender's authority.
- grammaγράμμαa letter of the alphabet: a single written character or mark
+3 more meanings
- a written document: an account, record, or letter
- the sacred Scriptures: the holy writings of Israel
- the letter: the written law as an outward code, set against the life-giving Spirit
- iggeretאִגֶּרֶתan official letter: a written message sent from one party to another, usually carrying royal or administrative authority
- mikhtavמִכְתָּבa piece of writing: the text that was actually set down, whether cut into stone, engraved on metal, or sent as a letter
Letushim1 word
Leummim1 word
level4 words
- pedinosπεδινόςlevelnot studied yet
- yasharיָשַׁרto be or go straight and level, and so to be right or pleasing; also to make a path straight, smooth, or direct
- shavahשָׁוָהto be or make even: to be equal or comparable to something, worth as much as it, or to level a thing out.
+1 more meaning
- to set, place, or lay something in position, or lay it upon someone.
- mishqeletמִשְׁקֶלֶתa builder's plumb line: a cord with a weight on the end, hung against a wall to test whether it is true.
level ground1 word
level path1 word
- mishorמִישׁוֹרa plain: level, open ground as opposed to hills, and especially the high tableland east of the Jordan
+1 more meaning
- levelness as a way of life: a straight and safe course, and upright, even-handed dealing
- mishorמִישׁוֹרa plain: level, open ground as opposed to hills, and especially the high tableland east of the Jordan
levi3 words
- leviyyiלֵוִיLevite: a man of the tribe of Levi, the family line Israel set apart for the work of its sanctuary instead of giving it land of its own
- LeuiΛευΐLevinot studied yet
- leviלֵוִיLevi: a man's name, borne by Jacob's third son by Leah, the ancestor from whom Israel's sanctuary tribe is reckoned
+1 more meaning
- Levi: the tribe descended from Jacob's third son, Israel's landless tribe set apart to care for the sanctuary
leviathan1 word
levite3 words
- LeuitēsΛευΐτηςLevitenot studied yet
- leviyyiלֵוִיLevite: a man of the tribe of Levi, the family line Israel set apart for the work of its sanctuary instead of giving it land of its own
- leviלֵוִיLevi: a man's name, borne by Jacob's third son by Leah, the ancestor from whom Israel's sanctuary tribe is reckoned
+1 more meaning
- Levi: the tribe descended from Jacob's third son, Israel's landless tribe set apart to care for the sanctuary
levites2 words
- leviyyiלֵוִיLevite: a man of the tribe of Levi, the family line Israel set apart for the work of its sanctuary instead of giving it land of its own
- leviלֵוִיLevi: a man's name, borne by Jacob's third son by Leah, the ancestor from whom Israel's sanctuary tribe is reckoned
+1 more meaning
- Levi: the tribe descended from Jacob's third son, Israel's landless tribe set apart to care for the sanctuary
levitical2 words
levity1 word
levy1 word
lewdness3 words
- zimmahזִמָּהa scheme: a purpose someone deliberately works out, most often an evil plot
+1 more meaning
- depravity: deliberate, shameless wickedness, most often sexual immorality
- aselgeiaἀσέλγειαshameless excess: unrestrained conduct that openly flouts common decency, sin done in the open rather than hidden
- navlutנַבְלוּתlewdnessnot studied yet
- zimmahזִמָּהa scheme: a purpose someone deliberately works out, most often an evil plot
liable1 word
- enochosἔνοχοςheld fast in the wrong so that punishment can follow: answerable to a court, deserving of a sentence, or guilty in relation to what has been violated
+1 more meaning
- held fast by something and unable to get out from under it: in its grip
- enochosἔνοχοςheld fast in the wrong so that punishment can follow: answerable to a court, deserving of a sentence, or guilty in relation to what has been violated
liable for1 word
- enochosἔνοχοςheld fast in the wrong so that punishment can follow: answerable to a court, deserving of a sentence, or guilty in relation to what has been violated
+1 more meaning
- held fast by something and unable to get out from under it: in its grip
- enochosἔνοχοςheld fast in the wrong so that punishment can follow: answerable to a court, deserving of a sentence, or guilty in relation to what has been violated
liar1 word
liars1 word
liberal1 word
- nadivנָדִיבwilling: moved from within to give or act freely, rather than under compulsion or obligation
+1 more meaning
- a noble or prince: a person of high rank, of whom the open-handed generosity the title implies is expected
- nadivנָדִיבwilling: moved from within to give or act freely, rather than under compulsion or obligation
liberality1 word
liberty3 words
- aphesisἄφεσιςrelease: the setting free of captives and the liberty proclaimed for the oppressed
+1 more meaning
- forgiveness: the cancellation of the guilt and penalty of sin, God's pardon that lets the offense go and no longer counts it against the person
- eleutheriaἐλευθερίαfreedom: the state of being held by no master and no claim, and in the New Testament above all the release Christ gives from sin and from the law's hold
- derorדְּרוֹרa proclaimed release: a public announcement that people enslaved for debt go free and that forfeited family land goes back to the households it came from.
+1 more meaning
- free-flowing: of myrrh, the resin that seeps out of the tree on its own.
- aphesisἄφεσιςrelease: the setting free of captives and the liberty proclaimed for the oppressed
Libnah1 word
Libni1 word
Libya2 words
lice1 word
licentiousness1 word
lick3 words
lick up1 word
lidebir1 word
- devirדְּבִירDebir: a place name in the Bible, carried by a Canaanite hill town in Judah that Israel captured and by two lesser border sites.
+1 more meaning
- Debir: the king of Eglon, one of five Canaanite kings who attacked Gibeon and were put to death by Joshua.
- devirדְּבִירDebir: a place name in the Bible, carried by a Canaanite hill town in Judah that Israel captured and by two lesser border sites.
lie8 words
- sheqerשֶׁקֶרfalsehood: that which has no truth or reality behind it, whether a spoken lie, a betrayal in action, or a hope that comes to nothing
- keimaiκεῖμαιto lie in a settled position: to be where someone has put it, and to stay there
- pseudosψεῦδοςa lie: something untrue held out as true, whether a false word, a false life, or a counterfeit that stands in for the truth
- kazavכָּזָבa falsehood: a claim or thing that does not correspond to reality and so betrays those who rely on it
- pseudomaiψεύδομαιto lie: to say what one knows to be untrue
lie awake1 word
lie down3 words
lie in wait3 words
lie prostrate1 word
lie with2 words
lies2 words
lieutenant1 word
life7 words
- psuchēψυχήlife: the individual life that animates a creature, the life a person can keep, lose, risk, or give up.
+3 more meanings
- the inner self: the whole person as the seat of feeling, desire, love, and will.
- person: a human being counted as an individual, a living soul, somebody.
- the self that outlasts the body: the life God can keep through death, save, or destroy.
- nepheshנֶפֶשׁthe living self: a person or creature as a breathing, needy, feeling whole, and so by extension their life, their longing, and their very self.
- ḥayחַיalive, living: having life rather than being dead.
+3 more meanings
- as surely as someone lives: the fixed opening of a sworn oath.
- a living thing: an animal, most often a wild one.
- life: being alive, and the full, flourishing life that God gives.
- zōēζωήlife as opposed to death: the condition of being alive, the span of a person's existence.
+1 more meaning
- the life that comes from God and never ends: real, full, unending life, often called eternal life.
- troposτρόποςthe manner in which something is done or happens, and so also the manner in which a person lives
- psuchēψυχήlife: the individual life that animates a creature, the life a person can keep, lose, risk, or give up.
lifeblood2 words
lifeboat1 word
lifeless1 word
lifestyle1 word
lifetime3 words
- yomיוֹםday: a bounded stretch of time seen as a whole, whether the daylight hours, one date on the calendar, or a whole span of living
- ḥayחַיalive, living: having life rather than being dead.
+3 more meanings
- as surely as someone lives: the fixed opening of a sworn oath.
- a living thing: an animal, most often a wild one.
- life: being alive, and the full, flourishing life that God gives.
- ḥeledחֶלֶדlifetime/worldnot studied yet
lift5 words
- nasaנָשָׂאto lift or raise something up: to take it from where it rests and hold it higher
+3 more meanings
- to carry or bear a load: to hold up what has been lifted and move it
- to bear guilt or its punishment: to carry the weight of a wrong
- to forgive: to lift guilt off a person so it no longer rests on them
- amasעָמַסto load: to pile a weight onto a back, or to take that weight up and carry it
- natalנָטַלto liftnot studied yet
- nesaנְשָׂאto liftnot studied yet
- netalנְטַלto liftnot studied yet
- nasaנָשָׂאto lift or raise something up: to take it from where it rests and hold it higher
lift up4 words
- airōαἴρωto lift something up off the ground or raise it higher
+2 more meanings
- to pick something up and carry it
- to take something away, remove it, or carry it off
- hupsoōὑψόωto lift up: to raise on high, and so to exalt someone to a high position of honor, status, or power
- rumרוּםto be high or rise up, and to lift, raise, or exalt someone or something to a higher place or status
+1 more meaning
- to breed worms and go foul, of food that has rotted
- epairōἐπαίρωto lift up or raise: to move the eyes, head, hands, voice, or an object upward
+1 more meaning
- to exalt oneself: to rise up in pride or opposition
- airōαἴρωto lift something up off the ground or raise it higher
lifted up1 word
lifting1 word
light15 words
- phōsφῶςlight: visible brightness, or a thing that gives it (the sun, daylight, a fire, a lamp, a blaze of glory)
+1 more meaning
- light as God's saving self-disclosure: the rescue, truth, and life he brings into a dark world, and the realm of those who live in it
- orאוֹרphysical light in every form: the brightness of day, dawn, the sun, moon and stars, lightning, and lamplight
+1 more meaning
- light as a picture of life, rescue, favor, and guidance: the brightness that means things are well
- kaiōκαίωto burn: to set something alight, or to be alight, whether as a lamp that gives light or a fire that takes hold of what it touches.
- nerנֵרlamp: a small oil-burning lamp, and by extension the light of a life or a household that can shine or be snuffed out
- haptōἅπτωto reach out and lay hold of a person or thing: purposeful physical contact, not an accidental brush
+1 more meaning
- to kindle: to set a lamp or fire alight
- phōsφῶςlight: visible brightness, or a thing that gives it (the sun, daylight, a fire, a lamp, a blaze of glory)
light-bearing1 word
lighten3 words
- qalalקָלַלto be light in weight, and so to be swift, to die down, or to count for little
+3 more meanings
- to make something lighter: to ease a burden, or to lower a person's standing
- to declare someone worthless: to revile, or to curse
- to shake something to and fro, and so to work an edge onto a blade
- orאוֹרto shine or give light: for light to break out, or for something to send light out onto what was dark
- kouphizōκουφίζωto lightennot studied yet
- qalalקָלַלto be light in weight, and so to be swift, to die down, or to count for little
lightness1 word
lightning7 words
- orאוֹרphysical light in every form: the brightness of day, dawn, the sun, moon and stars, lightning, and lamplight
+1 more meaning
- light as a picture of life, rescue, favor, and guidance: the brightness that means things are well
- astrapēἀστραπήlightning: a sudden burst of brilliant light, seen rather than heard, that lights up everything at once.
- baraqבָּרָקa sudden, dazzling flash of light: lightning, or the gleam of a polished weapon
- lappidלַפִּידa handheld torch: a kindled flame on a shaft, and the bright fiery flash it pictures
- reshephרֶשֶׁףa burning flash: a flame, spark, or fiery bolt that flares up or flies through the air
+1 more meaning
- burning plague: a lethal, fever-like scourge that consumes a person, sent as God's judgment
- orאוֹרphysical light in every form: the brightness of day, dawn, the sun, moon and stars, lightning, and lamplight
like6 words
- hōseiὡσείlike/as/aboutnot studied yet
- kemoכְּמוֹlikenot studied yet
- homoiosὅμοιοςlike: resembling or matching something else, whether in appearance, in kind, or in standing
- phileōφιλέωto love: to feel warm personal affection for someone or to be fond of something
+1 more meaning
- to kiss: to greet or show affection by a kiss
- homoiopathēsὁμοιοπαθήςlikenot studied yet
like an angel1 word
like-minded2 words
liken4 words
- homoioōὁμοιόωto bring into likeness: to set one thing beside another as its like, either by comparing them in words or by actually making one resemble the other.
- damahדָּמָהto be like something, or to treat one thing as like another: to resemble, to liken or compare, and so to picture in the mind, imagine, or plan
- shavahשָׁוָהto be or make even: to be equal or comparable to something, worth as much as it, or to level a thing out.
+1 more meaning
- to set, place, or lay something in position, or lay it upon someone.
- mashalמָשַׁלto be like something, or to set two things side by side as alike: to resemble or to compare
+1 more meaning
- to utter a figurative saying: to quote a proverb, or to compose a parable or taunt
likeness8 words
- eikōnεἰκώνimage: a representation that not only resembles its original but actually brings it to presence
- homoiōmaὁμοίωμαlikeness: the matching form one thing takes toward another, whether an image made to stand for it or a real sharing of the same condition
- demutדְּמוּתa likeness: a copy or resemblance that points back to the original it is patterned on
- tavnitתַּבְנִיתa model or figure of a thing's shape: either a plan to build from or a likeness of something that already exists
- temunahתְּמוּנָהthe visible shape of something: the outline the eye actually takes in, and therefore the thing an image would have to copy
likewise3 words
- ohutō, ohutōsοὕτωςin this way: pointing to a manner, and by extension a degree, just described or about to be described
- hōsautōsὡσαύτωςin this very same way: what comes next matches exactly what was just described, so too, likewise
- homoiōsὁμοίωςin the same way: doing or being like what has just been described, so too, likewise
Likhi1 word
lilies1 word
- shushanשׁוּשַׁןLilies: an old tune name in four Psalm headings, its melody now lost
+1 more meaning
- a lily: a showy, fragrant flower prized for its beauty, used both as a carved ornament and as a poetic image of loveliness and life
- shushanשׁוּשַׁןLilies: an old tune name in four Psalm headings, its melody now lost
lilith1 word
lily3 words
- krinonκρίνονlilynot studied yet
- shushanשׁוּשַׁןa lily: a showy, fragrant flower prized for its beauty, used both as a carved ornament and as a poetic image of loveliness and life
+1 more meaning
- Lilies: an old tune name in four Psalm headings, its melody now lost
- ḥavatstseletחֲבַצֶּלֶתa bright wild flower of the coastal plain, the plant behind the phrase "rose of Sharon," though which flower it names is uncertain
limb1 word
lime1 word
limit2 words
limp2 words
- pasaḥפָּסַחto limp, to move with an uneven, halting gait.
+1 more meaning
- to protect and spare from harm by standing guard over someone, so that a deadly threat cannot reach them.
- tsalaצָלַעto limpnot studied yet
- pasaḥפָּסַחto limp, to move with an uneven, halting gait.
line4 words
- qavקַוa measuring line: the taut cord a builder or surveyor stretches to mark out, size up, or apportion something
+2 more meanings
- mocking nonsense syllables ("qav"): the babble drunken leaders throw at the prophet, which God then throws back as the sound of judgment
- a disputed word in Psalm 19:4: possibly the sound the heavens send out across the earth, though the text may instead mean "line" or be a copying slip for "voice"
- ḥaphahחָפָהto put a covering over a surface: to cover a person's head or face, or to clad a wall or object with a layer of gold, silver, or fine wood
- patilפָּתִילa twisted cord: a thin strand of spun or braided fiber, used to tie, carry, mark, or measure
+1 more meaning
- fastened tight: said of a covering sealed down onto a jar so that nothing can pass in or out
- ḥutחוּטa thread: one thin spun strand of wool or flax, and by extension a light cord or a measuring line
- qavקַוa measuring line: the taut cord a builder or surveyor stretches to mark out, size up, or apportion something
linen7 words
- sheshשֵׁשׁfine linen: a costly, bright white cloth used for sacred and royal garments
+1 more meaning
- alabaster or white marble: a costly pale stone used for columns and paving
- badבַּדlinen: the plain, undyed white cloth of sacred clothing, worn by priests and by heavenly figures
- pishtehפֵּשֶׁתflax: the fiber plant and the raw fiber combed from it, and the linen thread and cloth woven from it
- linonλίνονlinen/wicknot studied yet
- sindōnσινδώνlinennot studied yet
- sheshשֵׁשׁfine linen: a costly, bright white cloth used for sacred and royal garments
linen garments1 word
linen wraps1 word
linger2 words
lintel2 words
Linus1 word
lion7 words
- leōnλέωνthe lion, the large predatory cat, used both for the animal itself and as a vivid image of overpowering strength.
- aryehאַרְיֵהlion: the general word for the great predator of the biblical world, and the Bible's standard picture of overwhelming power, whether admired in a king or feared in an enemy
- kephirכְּפִירa young lion in its prime: past the helpless cub stage, strong enough to hunt and roar on its own.
+1 more meaning
- a village, an unwalled rural settlement (or, read as a name, the place Chephirim).
- laviלָבִיאa lion: the grown animal in its full strength, and in the female form a lioness
- aryehאַרְיֵהlion: the big predatory cat, either a real animal or the picture of one standing for a kingdom's power
lioness1 word
lip3 words
- pehפֶּהthe mouth: the opening in the face used to eat and drink and above all to speak, and so, by a natural step, the speech, words, or command that come out of it
+3 more meanings
- the mouth of a thing: the opening of a well, sack, cave, or pit, the edge of a sword that devours, and the reach from one end of a place to the other
- a fixed relating phrase in which the word stops meaning a body part: in proportion to, or at the command of
- a measured portion or share, above all the double portion that names the firstborn's part of an inheritance
- cheilosχεῖλοςthe lips, and by extension the words that come out of them: what a person actually says out loud
+1 more meaning
- the outer edge or rim of something, used in the New Testament for the shore where the sea meets the land
- saphahשָׂפָהlip: the fleshy rim of the mouth, and by extension the speech and the language it produces
+1 more meaning
- edge: the outer rim, border, bank, or shore where something ends
- pehפֶּהthe mouth: the opening in the face used to eat and drink and above all to speak, and so, by a natural step, the speech, words, or command that come out of it
lips2 words
- cheilosχεῖλοςthe lips, and by extension the words that come out of them: what a person actually says out loud
+1 more meaning
- the outer edge or rim of something, used in the New Testament for the shore where the sea meets the land
- saphahשָׂפָהlip: the fleshy rim of the mouth, and by extension the speech and the language it produces
+1 more meaning
- edge: the outer rim, border, bank, or shore where something ends
- cheilosχεῖλοςthe lips, and by extension the words that come out of them: what a person actually says out loud
liquefy1 word
liquid2 words
- massekhahמַסֵּכָהa cast-metal idol: a god-image made by pouring or overlaying metal
+1 more meaning
- a covering: a woven cloth or veil spread over something
- derorדְּרוֹרa proclaimed release: a public announcement that people enslaved for debt go free and that forfeited family land goes back to the households it came from.
+1 more meaning
- free-flowing: of myrrh, the resin that seeps out of the tree on its own.
- massekhahמַסֵּכָהa cast-metal idol: a god-image made by pouring or overlaying metal
liquor2 words
list1 word
- paqadפָּקַדto turn one's attention to someone and act on it: to step in, whether to help or to harm.
+3 more meanings
- to count people one by one for a purpose: to take a census, or to call up and review fighting men.
- to put someone in charge: to appoint a person over people or things and entrust the responsibility to them.
- to entrust something to someone's keeping: to hand over goods, money, or a charge for safekeeping.
- paqadפָּקַדto turn one's attention to someone and act on it: to step in, whether to help or to harm.
listen4 words
- akouōἀκούωto take in something with the ears: to hear it, and from there to understand it, heed and obey it, or learn of it by report
- shamaשָׁמַעto hear: to take in what reaches the ear, and from there to listen, understand, heed, and answer.
+1 more meaning
- to summon, to muster troops together for war.
- qashavקָשַׁבto pay close attention: to turn the ear toward someone and take in what they say
- azanאָזַןto give ear: to listen closely and attentively to what someone says
listen ro1 word
listen to3 words
litter3 words
- mittahמִטָּהa bed or couch: the framed piece of furniture a body is stretched out on, whether to sleep, recline at a meal, lie ill, be carried, or be laid out in death
- tsavצָבlitternot studied yet
- appiryonאַפִּרְיוֹןa luxurious royal litter or canopied enclosure, framed in fine wood and fitted out with silver, gold, and purple for a king or a wedding
little10 words
- mikrosμικρόςsmall or little: low on any scale, whether in size, in standing, or in amount of time.
- oligosὀλίγοςsmall in quantity: few in number, little in amount, or brief in time or extent
- me'atמְעַטa small quantity: a little of something, a few in number, or a short while.
- qatanקָטָןsmall or lesser in comparison to something else, whether in physical size, age, or social standing
- brachusβραχύςshort: there is only a little of something, whether a stretch of time, a distance, an amount, or a degree
little by little1 word
little chamber1 word
little child1 word
little children2 words
- nēpiosνήπιοςa young child or infant, viewed as immature and not yet grown up; also, figuratively, a person who is immature, untaught, or childlike in simplicity
- teknionτεκνίονa tender way of saying "my dear children," used by a teacher or leader to address the people he loves and cares for as his own family.
little daughter1 word
little dog1 word