לוּז
to depart
‘to depart’ is one of 2 main senses fuller range ↓
Full lexicon entry — Brown-Driver-Briggs (BDB)
From Brown-Driver-Briggs (BDB)
Where this word appears
See every Niphal verb in the Hebrew Bible →
Grammar key — what these labels mean
Part of speech
- Verb
- An action or state-of-being word.
Stem
- Niphal
- Usually the simple passive or reflexive of the Qal (“he was written”).
- Hiphil
- The causative active stem (“he caused / brought about”).
- Qal
- The basic, simple active stem — the plain form of the verb (“he wrote”).
Form
- Participle Active
- A verbal adjective expressing ongoing or characteristic action (“writing / one who writes”).
- Jussive
- A third- or second-person volitional form expressing wish or command (“let him write”).
State
- Absolute
- The independent form of a noun, not bound to a following word.
- Construct
- A noun bound to a following noun in a possessive / “of” relationship (the construct chain).
Person
- 3rd Person
- The one spoken about (“he / she / it / they”).
Gender
- Masculine
- Grammatically masculine.
Number
- Plural
- More than one (in Hebrew, generally three or more).
- Singular
- One.
Every verse where H3868 appears in the Book of Proverbs — 5 distinct verses. Click any verse to open its interlinear word-by-word view. Verse text shown in the World English Bible for context — . Each verse’s Hebrew form is shown with its reference; the English is not keyword-highlighted, since the data carries no word-level English alignment. Use “Compare translations” on any verse to read it across multiple English versions. This concordance covers the Hebrew Bible; Septuagint (Greek Old Testament) occurrences are not indexed here.
Proverbs
- Proverbs 2:15 וּ֝/נְלוֹזִ֗ים conj + Niphal ptcp.act mp Who are crooked in their ways, And wayward in their paths:
- Proverbs 3:21 יָלֻ֣זוּ Qal juss 3mp My son, let them not depart from your eyes. Keep sound wisdom and discretion:
- Proverbs 3:32 נָל֑וֹז Niphal ptcp.act ms For the perverse is an abomination to Yahweh, But his friendship is with the upright.
- Proverbs 4:21 יַלִּ֥יזוּ Hiphil juss 3mp Let them not depart from your eyes. Keep them in the midst of your heart.
- Proverbs 14:2 וּ/נְל֖וֹז conj + Niphal ptcp.act ms cs He who walks in his uprightness fears Yahweh, But he who is perverse in his ways despises him.
About this entry
At a glance — auto-summarized from this page’s data, not written by a person. Every figure links to its source below. This summary describes the numbers; it doesn’t interpret them.
לוז (lûwz) is a Hebrew verb most often rendered “to depart.” Proverbs dominates its distribution — 5 of 6 verses. Spanning 6 verses in 2 books, it ranks among the uncommon words of the Hebrew Bible. Scripture first uses it in Proverbs 2:15. The verb spans 3 stems, from Qal to Niphal. For the data behind this summary, explore the sense tree and the renderings breakdown below.
Gloss history
Strong's 1890 vs modern scholarship
About this word
Strong's H3868 catalogs a Hebrew word from the Hebrew Old Testament.
These counts are not copied from any lexicon or concordance. They are computed here, from the morphology-tagged Hebrew Old Testament. What Lemma adds →
- 6
- distinct verses
- The word appears in 6 distinct verses.
- 2 / 39
- OT books
- The word appears in 2 of 39 Old Testament books.
- #3,040
- by frequency
- Top 5000 most frequent Hebrew words (rank 3,040 of 8,640 Hebrew words by occurrence).
View all 6 occurrences in the concordance →
By traditional corpus
Conventional, traditional groupings — biblical authorship is debated, so this is a traditional corpus grouping, not an authorship claim. Each share is this word’s portion of its verses in that division of the Hebrew canon. Each figure is a share of the word’s 6 distinct verses.
- Writings (Ketuvim) 5 verses · 83%
- Prophets (Nevi'im) 1 verse · 17%
How translations render this word
Counts come from each version’s own published word-to-Strong’s tagging or interlinear alignment — an approximate guide to how each version renders this word, not a word-level alignment the data otherwise carries. Because each total is that version’s own tagged count, the per-version totals vary from one another and need not match the appearance or distinct-verse counts above. These counts may also differ from a printed concordance because Lemma counts each distinctly tagged rendering and does not collapse phrase taggings into a single head-word total. This is a fixed set of word-tagged versions (KJV, ASV, BSB, ULT) and does not change with the reading translation you choose elsewhere. Each version’s license is shown beside its name below (and on Sources).
BDB lists this Strong’s number as 3 distinct words (homographs). Each count above pools all of them and is not split by sense — see the Senses section below. A low-frequency rendering may belong to a different one of those words, not the primary meaning.
- King James Version†: Froward 1×, He that is perverse 1×, Let not them depart 1×
- American Standard Version†: Let them not depart 2×
- Berean Standard Bible†: Lose 2×
- unfoldingWord Literal Text†: Do 2×, Let them depart 2×
King James Version Public Domain
Renders H3868 across 6† tagged occurrences — most commonly:
American Standard Version Public Domain
Renders H3868 across 6† tagged occurrences — most commonly:
Plus 4 renderings that appear only once — usually multi-word phrases or single function words the recovered tagging swept in, not distinct renderings.
Berean Standard Bible Public Domain
Renders H3868 across 6† tagged occurrences — most commonly:
Plus 4 renderings that appear only once — usually multi-word phrases or single function words the recovered tagging swept in, not distinct renderings.
unfoldingWord Literal Text CC BY-SA 4.0
Renders H3868 across 8† tagged occurrences — most commonly:
Plus 4 renderings that appear only once — usually multi-word phrases or single function words the recovered tagging swept in, not distinct renderings.
Senses in the full BDB
Hebrew verbs can shift meaning by stem (binyan): Qal is the basic action, Niphal is often passive or reflexive, Piel often intensifies or makes it factitive, and Hiphil is typically causative. The senses below are grouped under the stem BDB assigns to each.
What do BDB’s symbols mean?
BDB uses these scholarly abbreviations:
| Symbol | Meaning |
|---|---|
| 𝔊 | the Septuagint (the ancient Greek translation, LXX) |
| 𝔙 | the Vulgate (the Latin translation) |
| 𝔖 | the Syriac version (the Peshitta) |
| 𝔗 | the Targum (the Aramaic translation) |
| ψ | the Psalms |
| √ | root (the underlying root or stem) |
| ‖ | parallel passage (a synonymous or contrasted parallel) |
| † | the dagger: every passage where the word occurs is cited |
The 5 senses and sub-senses the full Brown-Driver-Briggs lexicon distinguishes for this word, in lexicon order (not ranked by frequency), with BDB’s own verbatim wording and sub-sense lettering. Shown in Hebrew script with BDB’s own scholarly abbreviations. The condensed entry is in the Lexicon Entry tab. See also the Forms in the corpus table below.
לוז I (poet., mostly WsdLt) turn aside, depart (NH Niph., Hiph.
Qal
- Impf. אַל־יָלֻזוּ מֵעֵינֶ֑יךָ Pr 3:21 let them not (i.e. sound wisdom, etc., si vera l., cf. VB) depart from thine eyes (v. Hiph.). e.g. Proverbs 3:21
Niphal
- Pt. נָלוֹז Pr 3:32 Is 30:12; cstr. נְלוֹז Pr 14:2; pl. נְלוֹזִים 2:15;—fig., devious, crooked, נ׳ בְּמַעְגְּלֹתָם Pr 2:15 (‖ עִקְּשִׁים); נ׳ דְּרָכָיו 14:2; as subst. of pers. 3:32; of course of action Is 30:12 (‖ עֹשֶׁק), i.e. crookedness = craftiness, cunning, cf. De Che Di. e.g. Proverbs 3:32
Hiphil
- Impf. אַל־יַלִּיזוּ מֵעֵינֶיךָ Pr 4:21 (subj. דְּבָרַי) let them [my words] not depart (on form v. Ges§ 72 R. 9) from thine eyes (strictly, let them not practise, exhibit, deviation, direct causat., Köi. 205). e.g. Proverbs 4:21
לוז II [m.] almond-tree, almond-wood (NH id.
לוז III loc.
- 1. former name of Bethel Gn 28:19 (J), 35:6 (E), 48:3 (P), Jos 18:13(×2) (P), Ju 1:23; appar. distinct from B. מִבֵּית־אֵל לוּ֫זָה Jos 16:2 (JE; but ל׳ here perhaps explan. gloss, v. Di); 𝔊 Λουζα, Gn 28:19 [Ουλαμ]μαυς. e.g. Genesis 28:19
- 2. city in hands of Hittites Ju 1:26 (on conject. as to site v. GFM); 𝔊 Λουζα. e.g. Judges 1:26
Senses from the full Brown-Driver-Briggs lexicon (Brown, Driver, Briggs; Oxford 1906 — public domain), digitized via Sefaria, supplemented by the OpenScriptures HebrewLexicon (CC BY 4.0). Full attribution on Sources.
Word origin
I. vb. (poet., mostly WsdLt) turn aside, depart (NH Niph., Hiph.; Arabic لَاذَ have recourse to, take refuge in);—
II. n.[m.] almond-tree, almond-wood (NH id.; Aramaic לוּזָא, ܠܘܽܙܳܐ almond (LöwNo. 319), whence Arabic لَوْزٌ as loan-wd. (Frä145 LagBN 157 f.), Ethiopic ለውዝ );—Gn 30:37 (J; + לִבְנֶה, עַרְמוֹן לַח of rods stripped by Jacob.
— Brown-Driver-Briggs (Oxford 1906, public domain), digitized via Sefaria, supplemented by the OpenScriptures HebrewLexicon (CC BY 4.0). See Sources.
Origin: a primitive root
Jastrow Dictionary
A second Hebrew/Aramaic lexicon for comparison, covering Aramaic and post-biblical (Talmudic, Targumic, Midrashic) usage that the biblical-Hebrew BDB does not. Matched by lemma rather than by Strong’s number, so a lemma may carry more than one Jastrow headword (shown separately below), and the entries cover usage well beyond the Bible.
לוּז I
- (b. h.) pr. n. pl.
- 1. Luz, in Palestine, identical with, or near, Bethel., in Palestine, identical with, or near, Bethel. Gen. R. s. 69, v. next w.; a. e.
- 2. Luz, in the land of the Hittites (Jud. I, 26), supposed to be Lizan in Kurdistan (v. Neub. Géogr., p. 394), a place, mentioned in the Talmud as still existing, from which the purple blue (תכלת) was imported. Snh. 12ᵃ (in a secret letter) דברים הנעשים בל׳ (not הנעשה) things manufactured in Luz (תכלת). Sot. 46ᵇ (ref. to Jud. l. c.) היא ל׳ שצובעין וכ׳ it is that Luz where they dye purple blue, which Sennaherib left undisturbed, and Nebucadnezar did not destroy, and where the angel of death has no permission to enter &c.; Gen. R. s. 69 (applied to Gen. XXVIII, 19). e.g. Judges 1:26
לוּז II
- (b. h.) nut, almond, hazel-nut; also nut-tree. Bekh. 8ᵃ וכנגדן באילן ל׳ corresponding to chickens (hatched in twenty one days) is the almond tree among trees; Y. Taan. IV, 68ᶜ bot. (ref. to שקד, Jer. I, 11) מה הל׳ הזה וכ׳ as the almond tree requires twenty one days from blossoming &c.; (Koh. R. to XII, 7 השקד). Gen. R. s. 69 (ref. to לוּז, v. preced.) מה ל׳ אין לו פה וכ׳ (some ed. לה, fem.) as the nut has no opening, so nobody could find the entrance to the town. Ib. ל׳ היה עומד וכ׳ a nut-tree stood before the entrance. Ib.; ib. s. 81 end, v. רָטַב; a. fr.—Pl. לוּזִים, לוּזִין. Y. Kil. I, 27ᵃ bot., v. בּוּטְמָא.—Trnsf. ל׳ של שדרה the nut of the spinal column, a hard vertebra, (Juden-knöchlein, v. Löw Pfl., p. 375 a. quot. ib. from Hyrtl, Das Arabische und Hebr. in der Anat., p. 165). Lev. R. s. 18; Koh. R. to XII, 5; a. e. e.g. Jeremiah 1:11
לוּז
- Targ. Gen. XXX, 37.—Pl. לוּזִין, לוּזַיָּא. Targ. Y. I Num. XVII, 23 (Y. II לוזין בר לוזיא; h. text שקדים). Targ. Y. Gen. XLIII, 11.
לוּז III
- (b. h.) to turn, bend, twist.
- to be perverse, v. infra.
- or הִלִּיז to turn. Kil. IX, 8 (play on נ̇ז̇ in שעטנז, v. נוּז) נָלוֹז ומֵלִיז הוא את אביו שבשמים עליו (or ומַלִּיז) he (who disregards the law of שַׁעטְנֵז) is perverse and turns his Father in heaven against him; [Comment. ‘and turns away (estranges) his Father … on his account’].
לוּז IV
- (v. לָעַז) to talk about, sneer, talk disrespectfully.
- same. Y. Dem. II, 22ᶜ bot. היו הכל מְלִיזִין עליו all people talked against him. Lev. R. s. 6, beg. Cant. R. to IV, 12 ושמע קול הבריות מליזין אחר וכ׳ heard the people talk evil of his daughters. Gen. R. s. 54 מליזין בארון spoke disrespectfully of the ark (v. Sot. 35ᵃ sq.); a. fr.—Y. Shek. V, 49ᵃ bot. מליזין (some Bab. ed. מַלְעִיזִין).
A Dictionary of the Targumim, the Talmud Babli and Yerushalmi, and the Midrashic Literature (Marcus Jastrow; London, Luzac, 1903) — Public Domain. Digitized via Sefaria. Digitized via Sefaria. Full attribution on Sources.
Forms in the corpus
The 6 distinct written forms H3868 takes in the Hebrew Bible, most frequent first — each parse links to that stem’s occurrences in the concordance. Hebrew forms include their vowel points and cantillation, so a single lemma takes many written forms.
| Form | Parsing | Example | Uses |
|---|---|---|---|
| וְ/נָל֔וֹז | Verb, Niphal, Participle Active, Masculine, Singular, Absolute | Isaiah 30:12 | 1 |
| וּ/נְל֖וֹז | Verb, Niphal, Participle Active, Masculine, Singular, Construct | Proverbs 14:2 | 1 |
| וּ֝/נְלוֹזִ֗ים | Verb, Niphal, Participle Active, Masculine, Plural, Absolute | Proverbs 2:15 | 1 |
| יַלִּ֥יזוּ | Verb, Hiphil, Jussive, 3rd Person, Masculine, Plural | Proverbs 4:21 | 1 |
| יָלֻ֣זוּ | Verb, Qal, Jussive, 3rd Person, Masculine, Plural | Proverbs 3:21 | 1 |
| נָל֑וֹז | Verb, Niphal, Participle Active, Masculine, Singular, Absolute | Proverbs 3:32 | 1 |
Same root — word family
Other BDB entries built from the same root as H3868, grouped by Strong’s listed origin. These share a root / origin per the lexicon — not necessarily a shared meaning. Each links to that word’s own entry.
Derived from this word
Compare all same-root words → They share a root, not necessarily a meaning.
Septuagint verse parallels
This word appears in 6 verses that also exist in the Greek Old Testament (Septuagint), out of the 6 Hebrew verses it occurs in. You can read those verses in Greek by switching the Old Testament edition to the Septuagint.
Read these verses in the Septuagint
This is a verse-level parallel only — the same verses exist in both the Hebrew and Greek Old Testaments. No word-level Hebrew↔Greek correspondence is claimed: the data carries no such alignment, so no Greek word is shown as this Hebrew word’s translation. Coverage is not total — the Septuagint omits the deuterocanon and renumbers the Psalms, so some Hebrew verses have no direct Greek parallel.
