לוּן
𐤋𐤅𐤍
lûwn
H3885 verb
SILEX Entry
Definition
To lodge, spend the night, or remain temporarily in a place; by extension, to stay, abide, dwell, or continue in a given state or location, sometimes with an emphasis on temporary or overnight residence. In some contexts, especially in Piel or intensive forms, it carries the sense of persisting in speech, often with the nuance of complaining or murmuring. The primary sense remains focused on pausing, halting one’s journey, or residing overnight.
Semantic Range
to spend the night, to lodge temporarily, to halt one’s journey, to abide or remain overnight, to continue, to persist in an attitude (especially of complaint or murmuring), to be obstinate, to grumble, to dwell temporarily, to tarry
Root / Etymology
Root לון (l-w-n), primarily meaning 'to spend the night' or 'to lodge.' The root sense is that of halting or stopping one's journey, usually for the night, and sometimes extends semantically to the sense of abiding or remaining. The connection to murmuring or complaining in certain verb forms (especially intensive stems) likely develops metaphorically from the notion of 'dwelling' or persisting in speech or attitude.
Historical & Contextual Notes
לוּן is used across various periods of biblical Hebrew to denote staying overnight or lodging, most often with temporary or transitory connotation. It occurs in narrative contexts describing travelers (e.g., Genesis 19:2, Judges 19) who lodge in a city or outdoors for the night. In legal contexts, it can refer to the non-removal of items overnight (Exodus 23:18, Leviticus 7:15), implying continuity or non-interruption through the night. In some later texts and poetic or prophetic usages (especially in Piel), it describes 'remaining' in attitudes or actions, particularly negative ones such as complaining (Psalm 77:4, Numbers 14:27), a usage that reflects a shift in the verb’s focus from physical to metaphorical 'abiding.' English translations often render the core sense as 'to lodge,' 'to tarry,' or 'to remain;' however, the nuance of temporary, overnight pause is not always captured. The semantic overlap with שָׁכַב (to lie down) or יָשַׁב (to dwell, often more permanent) is notable: לוּן focuses on transience, שָׁכַב on the act of lying down, and יָשַׁב on settlement. In later Hebrew, לוּן retains the overnight lodging sense, and the associated meaning of complaining persists in Hebrew usage through later periods as well.
Original Strong's Gloss (1890)
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).
Bantu Hebrew
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לון (l-w-n) — to lodge, to spend the night, to halt, to remain temporarily
| Strong's | Lemma | SIBI-P1 |
|---|---|---|
| H3210 | יָלוֹן | and Yalon |
| H4411 | מָלוֹן | in the lodging-place |
| H4412 | מְלוּנָה | like a lodging-hut |
| H8519 | תְּלוּנָה | those lodging complaints |
Word Forms
33 distinct forms
| SIDANCE | Surface | Transliteration | Morphology | Common | SIBI-P1 | Occurrences |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
H3885-31 |
יָלִ֥ין | yalin | HVqi3ms |
shall remain | he will lodge overnight | 14 |
H3885-20 |
וַ/יָּלִ֑ינוּ | vayalinu | HC/Vqw3mp |
and they lodged | and they lodged | 9 |
H3885-15 |
תָלִ֞ין | talin | HVqi3fs |
will lodge | she will lodge overnight | 6 |
H3885-19 |
וַ/יָּ֤לֶן | vayalen | HC/Vqw3ms |
and he lodged | and he lodged overnight | 6 |
H3885-04 |
לָ/לֽוּן | lalun | HR/Vqc |
to lodge | to lodge overnight | 6 |
H3885-21 |
וַ/יִּלֹּ֧נוּ | vayilonu | HC/VNw3mp |
and grumbled | and they lodged overnight | 5 |
H3885-32 |
יָלִ֑ינוּ | yalinu | HVqi3mp |
let-lodge | they lodge overnight | 5 |
H3885-17 |
תַלִּ֖ינוּ | talinu | HVhi2mp |
you will lodge | you will cause to lodge overnight | 4 |
H3885-10 |
מַלִּינִ֖ים | malinim | HVhrmpa |
are grumbling | those causing to lodge | 3 |
H3885-09 |
לִ֤ינוּ | linu | HVqv2mp |
Lodge | Lodge overnight | 3 |
Occurrences in Scripture
87 total occurrences
| SIDANCE | Reference | Word | Transliteration | Morphology | Common | SIBI-P1 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
H3885-26 |
Genesis 19:2 | וְ/לִ֨ינוּ֙ | velinu | HC/Vqv2mp |
and spend the night | and lodge, you (mp) |
H3885-11 |
Genesis 19:2 | נָלִֽין | nalin | HVqi1cp |
we will spend the night | we will lodge overnight |
H3885-03 |
Genesis 24:23 | לָ/לִֽין | lalin | HR/Vqc |
to lodge | to lodge overnight |
H3885-04 |
Genesis 24:25 | לָ/לֽוּן | lalun | HR/Vqc |
to lodge | to lodge overnight |
H3885-20 |
Genesis 24:54 | וַ/יָּלִ֑ינוּ | vayalinu | HC/Vqw3mp |
and they spent the night | and they lodged |
H3885-19 |
Genesis 28:11 | וַ/יָּ֤לֶן | vayalen | HC/Vqw3ms |
and spent the night | and he lodged overnight |
H3885-20 |
Genesis 31:54 | וַ/יָּלִ֖ינוּ | vayalinu | HC/Vqw3mp |
they spent the night | and they lodged |
H3885-19 |
Genesis 32:14 | וַ/יָּ֥לֶן | vayalen | HC/Vqw3ms |
and he lodged | and he lodged overnight |
H3885-05 |
Genesis 32:22 | לָ֥ן | lan | HVqrmsa |
lodged/spent the night | one lodging overnight |
H3885-21 |
Exodus 15:24 | וַ/יִּלֹּ֧נוּ | vayilonu | HC/VNw3mp |
and grumbled | and they lodged overnight |