לוּחַ
plank
also: board, slab, tablet fuller range ↓
Full lexicon entry — Brown-Driver-Briggs (BDB)
From Brown-Driver-Briggs (BDB)
Where this word appears
Grammar key — what these labels mean
Part of speech
- Noun
- A naming word — a person, place, thing, or idea.
Noun type
- Common
- A common noun — a general class of person, place, or thing (“king,” “city,” “water”), not a specific name.
State
- Construct
- A noun bound to a following noun in a possessive / “of” relationship (the construct chain).
- Absolute
- The independent form of a noun, not bound to a following word.
Gender
- Masculine
- Grammatically masculine.
Number
- Plural
- More than one (in Hebrew, generally three or more).
- Singular
- One.
- Dual
- Exactly two — for natural pairs and some measures of time.
Every verse where H3871 appears in the Book of Proverbs — 2 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
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.
לוח — transliterated lûwach — is a Hebrew noun carrying the sense “plank.” The King James Version usually renders it “tables,” while modern versions prefer “tablets” (Berean Standard Bible) and “tablets of” (unfoldingWord Literal Text) — see the renderings breakdown. With 33 verses in 10 books, it is a moderately common word in the Hebrew Bible. Its uses concentrate in Deuteronomy (36% of all occurrences). Alongside “plank” the lexicon also lists “board”, “slab”, and “tablet” — part of its full sense range. See the sense tree, 33-verse concordance, and the renderings breakdown below.
Gloss history
Strong's 1890 vs modern scholarship
About this word
Strong's H3871 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 →
- 33
- distinct verses
- The word appears in 33 distinct verses.
- 10 / 39
- OT books
- The word appears in 10 of 39 Old Testament books.
- #837
- by frequency
- Top 1000 most frequent Hebrew words (rank 837 of 8,640 Hebrew words by occurrence).
View all 33 occurrences in the concordance →
Most concentrated in
- Deuteronomy 12 verses 36%
- Exodus 11 verses 33%
- 1 Kings 2 verses 6%
By section of the Old Testament
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 33 distinct verses.
- Torah (Pentateuch) 23 verses · 70%
- Prophets (Nevi'im) 6 verses · 18%
- Writings (Ketuvim) 4 verses · 12%
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).
- King James Version: Tables 33×, Boards 3×, Table 3×
- American Standard Version: Tables 32×, Tablet 3×, Planks 2×
- Berean Standard Bible: Tablets 33×, Tablet 3×, Boards 2×
- unfoldingWord Literal Text: Tablets of 19×, Tablets 15×, The 6×
King James Version Public Domain
Renders H3871 across 43 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.
American Standard Version Public Domain
Renders H3871 across 43 tagged occurrences — most commonly:
Plus 6 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 H3871 across 42 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. Not rendered by a distinct English word in 1 further occurrence.
unfoldingWord Literal Text CC BY-SA 4.0
Renders H3871 across 49 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
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 3 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.
- 1. chiefly of stone tablets on which ten words were written Ex 24:12; 31:18b; 32:16(×2), 19 (all E), 34:1(×3), 4(×2), 28 (all J), Dt 4:13; 5:19; 9:9, 10, 11, 17; 10:1, 2(×2), 3(×2), 4, 5 1 K 8:9 2 Ch 5:10; ל׳ הָעֵדֻת Ex 31:18a; 32:15 cf. v 15, 34:29 (all P); ל׳ הַבְּרִית Dt 9:9, 11, 15; tablet for writing prophecy Is 30:8 (‖ סֵפֶר), Hb 2:2, and fig., לוּחַ לִבְּךָ Pr 3:3; 7:3 (for writing wise counsel), cf. Je 17:1 (inscribing sin of Judah); (vb. mostly כָּתַב Ex 31:18b; 32:15; Dt 9:10; כ׳ עַל Ex 34:1, 28; Dt 4:13; 5:19; 10:2, 4 Pr 3:3; 7:3; Is 30:8; חָרַשׁ עַל Je 17:1; כָּרַת sq. acc. Dt 9:9 cf. 1 K 8:9 = 2 Ch 5:10; חָרַת עַל Ex 32:16; בֵּאֵר עַל Hb 2:2). e.g. Exodus 24:12
- 2. wooden boards, composing altar of tabern. Ex 27:8; 38:7; planks composing ship (fig. of Tyre) Ez 27:5; cf. נָצוּר עָלֶיהָ לוּחַ אָ֑רֶז Ct 8:9, of door. e.g. Exodus 27:8
- 3. (metal) plates on bases of lavers in Solomon’s temple 1 K 7:36. e.g. 1 Kings 7:36
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
n.m. tablet, board or plank, plate (NH id., Aramaic לוּחָא, ܠܘܽܚܳܐ; Arabic لَوْحٌ (mod. pron. lûḥ, lôḥ, cf. e.g. SpiroArabic-Eng. Vocab. Buhl), Ethiopic ለውሕ, but Assyrian lêʾu (as if from לחה in DlHWB 366; see, however, lêjum (lêyum) JägerBAS i, 486);—ל׳ abs. Is 30:8; cstr. Pr 3:3 + 4 times; du. לֻחֹתָ֑יִם Ez 27:5; pl. לוּחֹת (לֻחוֹת), לֻחֹת) abs. Ex 32:16 + 17 times; cstr. Dt 4:13 + 16 times;—
— Brown-Driver-Briggs (Oxford 1906, public domain), digitized via Sefaria, supplemented by the OpenScriptures HebrewLexicon (CC BY 4.0). See Sources.
Origin: from 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.
לוּחַ I
- (or לָוַח) (cmp. לָוָה) to join.
- (denom. of next w.) to place straps close together so as to form a boardlike surface. Part. pass. מְלֻוָּוח, pl. מְלֻוָּוחִין. Tosef. Kel. B. Mets. VIII, 6 (R. S. to Kel. XVIII, 5 reads מְרֻוָּוחִים, v. רָוַח).
לוּחַ II
- tablet, board. Y. Shek. VI, 49ᵈ bot.; Ex. R. s. 47, a. e. חמשה על ל׳ זה וכ׳ five commandments on one tablet &c.; a. fr.—Pl. לוּחוֹת (mostly of the tablets containing the ten commandments); לְוָוחִים, לְוָוחִין, constr. לְוָוחֵי. Ib. Ber. 8ᵇ ל׳ ושברי ל׳ וכ׳ the (second) tablets and the broken tablets were both preserved in the ark, (therefore despise not an old scholar when his memory forsakes him); B. Bath. 14ᵃ; Men. 99ᵃ.—Y. Kil. IX, 32ᵇ top ל׳ הברית; Y. Keth. XII, 35ᵃ top ל׳ (metaphorically for R. Jehudah han-Nasi; (Keth. 104ᵃ ארון הקודש, v. אֶרְאֵל); a. fr.—Meg. 32ᵃ, v. בִּימָה.—Tosef. Kel. B. Mets. VIII, 4 לווחין וכ׳; Sabb. 47ᵃ לווחים (Ar. ed. Koh. לוחים, oth. ed. לוחיים); Tosef. ib. XIII (XIV), 15; Y. ib. XII, beg. 13ᶜ, v. סְטִיבֵס. Sabb. XII, 4 על שני לִוְחֵי פנקס (Bab. ed. 104ᵇ לווחי; Y. ed. דפי as in Mish. ib. XII, 5) on (the rims of) two boards of a writing tablet (pinax). B. Mets. 117ᵃ (expl. תקרה) לווחים boards of the ceiling; a. e.
לוּחַ
- Targ. Y. Ex. XXXVI, 19, a. e. (O. דפא, h. text קרש). Targ. Prov. III, 3. Targ. Is. VIII, 1 (h. text גִּלָּיוֹן); a. fr.—Pl. לוּחִין, לוּחַיָּא, לוּחֵי, לְוָו׳. Targ. Y. I Ex. XXVI, 15 (Y. II לְוָוחֵי). Ib. 20. Targ. Ex. XXXI, 18; a. fr.—[Sabb. 18ᵃ; Gitt. 61ᵃ top, v. next w.].
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 25 distinct written forms H3871 takes in the Hebrew Bible, most frequent first — each parse links to that state’s occurrences in the concordance. Hebrew forms include their vowel points and cantillation, so a single lemma takes many written forms.
Same root — word family
Other BDB entries built from the same root as H3871, 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.
Proper names from this root
People and places named from this root — a name, not an additional meaning of the word.
Compare all same-root words → 1 of the same-root words is a proper name (a person or place). They share a root, not necessarily a meaning.
Septuagint verse parallels
This word appears in 32 verses that also exist in the Greek Old Testament (Septuagint), out of the 33 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
- Exodus 24:12
- Deuteronomy 4:13
- 1 Kings 7:36
- 2 Chronicles 5:10
- Proverbs 3:3
- Song of Solomon 8:9
- Isaiah 30:8
- Ezekiel 27:5
- Habakkuk 2:2
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.
