לוה

לוה¹ to borrow; (hiphil) to lend

Pronunciation

• Tiberian: qal participle lōweh, hiphil participle malweh^[1][2]
• Samaritan reading tradition: talwi, yilwåk^[3]

Forms

לָוָה (lāwâ) verb, in the qal and the hiphil^[1][2] Qal perfect לָוִינוּ, imperfect תִּלְוֶה, participle לֹוֶה; hiphil perfect הִלְוִיתָ, imperfect תַּלְוֶה, יַלְוְךָ, participle מַלְוֶה, construct מַלְוֵה.^[2][4]

Etymology

The verb “to borrow” is compared by HALOT, BDB and Klein with Arabic لَوَى (lawā, “to delay payment of a debt”),^[2][4][5] a sense Lane records alongside “to twist”;^[6] HALOT adds Old South Arabian lwʾ (“person given in pledge”).^[2] Gesenius–Buhl reports that the verb was usually derived from לָוָה (lāwâ, “to join”), the debtor being bound to the creditor, a derivation Barth replaced with the Arabic comparison.^[7]

Earliest recorded meaning

The first use in the canon is in the Covenant Code: ʾim-kesep̄ talweh ʾeṯ-ʿammî ʾeṯ-heʿānî ʿimmāḵ, “if you lend money to my people, to the poor among you”, you shall not charge him interest (Exodus 22:24).^[1][2]

Semantic evolution

The qal is “to borrow” and the hiphil, “to make borrow”, is “to lend”.^[2][4] The two appear together in Deuteronomy's blessing and curse, where Israel will lend to many nations and not borrow (28:12) or the stranger will lend to Israel (28:44), and in the proverb ʿeḇeḏ lōweh lə-ʾîš malweh, “the borrower is slave to the lender” (Proverbs 22:7).^[2][1] The righteous man is ḥônēn û-malweh, “gracious and lending” (Psalm 37:26, 112:5), while the wicked borrows and does not repay (Psalm 37:21); in Nehemiah 5:4 the poor borrow money for the king's tax.^[2] HALOT notes that borrowing was a sign of poverty and want.^[2] The Septuagint uses Ancient Greek δανείζω (daneízō) for both lending and borrowing.^[1] Mishnaic Hebrew keeps the qal “to borrow” and the hiphil “to lend”,^[2] and Modern Hebrew לָוָה (lavá) still means “to borrow”.^[8]

Timeline

• Classical Biblical Hebrew – the loan to the poor in the Covenant Code (Exodus 22:24) and the blessings of Deuteronomy 28.^[1][2]
• Poetry and wisdom – Psalm 37, Psalm 112, Proverbs 19:17 and 22:7.^[2]
• Late Biblical Hebrew – borrowing for the king's tax (Nehemiah 5:4).^[2][1]
• 3rd–2nd century BC – the Septuagint renders it Ancient Greek δανείζω (daneízō).^[9][1]

Meanings

Verb

1. (qal) to borrow; participle: a borrower.^[2][4]
2. (hiphil) to lend to someone; participle: a lender, creditor.^[2]

Descendants

• Modern Hebrew לָוָה (lavá)^[8]

לוה² to join, accompany

Pronunciation

• Tiberian: niphal nilwâ, imperfect yillāweh^[10][11]
• Samaritan reading tradition: yillawwi, nillawwu^[3]

Forms

לָוָה (lāwâ) verb, in the qal and the niphal^[1][10] Qal imperfect with suffix יִלְוֶנּוּ (Qohelet 8:15); niphal perfect נִלְוָה, נִלְווּ, imperfect יִלָּוֶה, יִלָּווּ, participle נִלְוִים.^[10][12]

Etymology

The verb “to accompany, join” has its closest cognates in Aramaic, where it occurs in Egyptian and Jewish Aramaic, Mandaic and Classical Syriac ܠܘܐ (ləwā, “to accompany, follow”).^[10][13][5] HALOT and Gesenius–Buhl connect it with the root “to wind, turn”, seen in Arabic لَوَى (lawā, “to twist, turn”) and Akkadian lawû (“to surround, besiege”);^[10][7][14] BDB and Klein mention instead Barth's comparison with Arabic وَلِيَ (waliya, “to be near”), with the consonants in another order.^[12][5] DULAT tentatively finds the root in Ugaritic lyt (“retinue”).^[15]

Earliest recorded meaning

The first use in the canon explains the name of Levi: Leah says ʿattâ hap-paʿam yillāweh ʾîšî ʾēlay, “now this time my husband will be joined to me”, and calls her son Levi (Genesis 29:34).^[1][10]

Semantic evolution

The niphal “to join oneself to” is used of the Levites joined to Aaron, with a play on their name (Numbers 18:2, 4), of foreigners who join themselves to Israel or to the LORD (Isaiah 14:1, 56:3, 6, Zechariah 2:15), of Israel's return in an everlasting covenant (Jeremiah 50:5) and of Assyria joining Israel's enemies (Psalm 83:9).^[10][12] The qal “to accompany” is late, found only in Qohelet 8:15, where enjoyment goes with a man in his toil, and in Ben Sira.^[10][12] The Septuagint renders the niphal mostly by Ancient Greek προστίθημι (prostíthēmi) and πρόσκειμαι (próskeimai).^[1] Mishnaic Hebrew uses the piel “to accompany, escort”,^[10] and Modern Hebrew לִוָּה (livá) continues that stem.^[8]

Timeline

• Classical Biblical Hebrew – Leah's naming of Levi (Genesis 29:34) and the Levites joined to Aaron (Numbers 18:2, 4).^[1][10]
• Prophets – foreigners join themselves to the LORD (Isaiah 56:3, 6).^[10]
• Late Biblical Hebrew – the qal in Qohelet 8:15 and the niphal in Esther 9:27 and Daniel 11:34.^[10][1]
• 3rd–2nd century BC – the Septuagint renders it Ancient Greek προστίθημι (prostíthēmi).^[9][1]

Meanings

Verb

1. (qal, late) to accompany, go with someone.^[10][12]
2. (niphal) to join oneself to a person, a people or the LORD; to be joined.^[10][12]

Word family

• לִוְיָה (liwyâ)

Descendants

• Modern Hebrew לִוָּה (livá)^[8]