וַ/יִּלֹּ֜נוּ

𐤅/𐤉𐤋𐤍𐤅

vayilonu

and they murmured

or לִין; a primitive root; to stop (usually over night); by implication, to stay permanently; hence (in a bad sense) to be obstinate (especially in words, to complain); abide (all night), continue, dwell, endure, grudge, be left, lie all night, (cause to) lodge (all night, in, -ing, this night), (make to) murmur, remain, tarry (all night, that night).

H3885

Numbers 17:6 · Word #1

Lexicon H3885

Lemmaלוּן
Lemma (Paleo)𐤋𐤅𐤍
Transliterationlûwn
Strong'sH3885
In-contextand they murmured

Morphology HC/VNw3mp All morphology codes

Part of Speech V — Verb — An action or state
Binyan N — Niphal — Simple passive or reflexive
Conjugation w — Sequential Imperfect — Imperfect with waw-consecutive, narrating past events
Person 3 — 3rd person — Third person ("he/she/they")
Gender m — Masculine — Masculine
Number p — Plural — Plural

SIBI-P1 H3885-21

and they lingered in complaint

Rootלון (l-w-n)
Core Meaningsto lodge, remain overnight, linger, continue, abide; by extension to persist stubbornly, to murmur, to complain
Semantic Rangeto lodge overnight, to remain, to dwell, to tarry; to persist; to grumble, murmur, complain obstinately
Conceptual SignificanceIn wilderness narratives, this verb describes Israel’s repeated pattern of lingering in discontent against יהוה and His appointed leaders. The shift from physical lodging to verbal obstinacy highlights how settled dissatisfaction can become a spiritual posture of resistance.
Morphological NotesConjunction וַ + Niphal waw-consecutive imperfect, 3rd masculine plural (HC/VNw3mp). The Niphal stem here conveys a reflexive or resultant nuance, commonly expressing persistent murmuring in narrative sequence.
Rendering RationaleThe root לון fundamentally denotes remaining or lodging overnight, conveying the idea of lingering or continuing. In the Niphal stem with waw-consecutive (3rd masculine plural), it often carries the extended sense of persisting in murmuring. "And they lingered in complaint" preserves the core idea of remaining while reflecting the 3mp verbal form and the reflexive/passive nuance of the Niphal stem.

AI-generated (openai/gpt-5.2-chat-latest)

Words from Root לון (to lodge, remain overnight, linger, continue, abide; by extension to persist stubbornly, to murmur, to complain)

SILEX Code Transliteration SIBI-P1
H3885-01 alin I will lodge / lodging-ones (masculine plural)
H4411-01 bamalon in the lodging-place
H3885-02 halinotem you men have lodged complaints

Word Usage (87 occurrences of H3885)

Location Form Transliteration Meaning
Genesis 19:2 וְ/לִ֨ינוּ֙ velinu and spend the night
Genesis 19:2 נָלִֽין nalin we will spend the night
Genesis 24:23 לָ/לִֽין lalin to lodge