LA'ADAH, [h] (for ornament), the
chief
of a family in Judah, 1 Chron. 4:21.
LA'ADAN, [h] (for pleasure or for
wit-
ness), called also Libni, the chief of a
family of Levi, 1 Chron. 6:17; 23:
7, 8.
LA'BAN, לבן (white,
or a brick), the father
of Leah and Rachel, the
wives of Jacob.
Laban was the brother of Rebekah,
Jacob's mother, and grandson of Nahor
the brother of Abraham: but he was a
wretched idolator; and though indus-
trious, we perceive him to have been
covetous and deceitful, by his conduct
to his nephew and son-in-law Jacob,
Gen. 24:15-29; 28.-31.
LAMENTATIONS, THE BOOK
OF: this
contains the mournful elegies which Jeremiah wrote to commemorate the
destruction of the city and temple of
Jerusalem by the Chaldeans, 2 Kings
25:9, 10; 2 Chron. 36:17-19. These
fine poems are each in twenty-two
stanzas, beginning with the several let-
ters of the Hebrew alphabet in
order:
they describe the sufferings of the Jews
from the Babylonians, while they are
believed to foreshow their greater mise-
ries from the Romans, who utterly de-
stroyed Jerusalem after the rejection
and murder of Messiah, Luke 21:6-24.
List: Commentary.
LAMP, a light with a wick in a vessel
of oil, Exod. 35:14: a son or suc-
cessor in a family, 1 Kings 15:4: the
light of divine light, Prov. 6:23: reli-
gious profession, Matt. 25:1: prospe-
rity, Prov. 13:9. Lamps were made
of various kinds of metal and of differ-
ent forms, and those of the Israelites
probably resembled the Grecian and
Egyptian.
LANCE, a long spear, Jer. 50:42.
LANCETS, short spears or javelins, 1
Kings 18:28.
LAND, the surface of a country, Gen.
2:12; Exod. 8:24: a whole continent,
Matt. 23:15: a province, Matt. 9:26:
an estate, 2 Sam. 19:29; Acts 4:37:
the inhabitants of a country, Isa. 37:
11. Canaan is called "Immanuel's land,"
Isa 8:8.
LANDED, got on shore from a ship,
Acts 18:22; 21:3.
LATTER, happening after something
else, Exod. 4:8.
LATTICE, a window formed of grate-
work, Judg. 5:28; 2 Kings 1:2.
LAUD, to praise or extol with songs,
Rom. 15:11.
LAUGH, to rejoice with an expression
of gladness, Gen. 18:13; 21:6: to
mock or ridicule, Job 22:19. God is
said to mock or contemn thus the wicked
in their pride, Psal. 2:4; or misery, Prov.
1:24.
LAUGHED, did laugh or rejoice, Gen.
17:17: did mock, Neh. 2:4.
LAUGHING, the expression of joy, Job
8:21.
LAUGHTER, merriment, Eccles. 2:2;
7:3.
LAUNCH, to push upon the sea in a
boat or ship, Luke 5:4; Acts 21:1.
LAWYER, an explainer of the Jewish
laws, Matt. 22:35; 11:45, 46.
LAY, to put or place a thing, Lev. 1:7,
8: to strike, Gen. 22:12: to impose,
Exod. 5:8: to rest in sleep, 2 Sam. 4:5:
to impute, Acts 7:6: to desolate, Ezek.
35:4: to consider, Eccles. 7:2; Mal.
2:2.
LAYING, placing, 1 Tim. 4:14: con-
triving, Psal. 64:5: watching, Luke 11:
54: providing, 1 Tim. 6:19: disregard-
ing, Mark 7:8. "Laying on of hands,"
was the custom of the apostles in ordain-
ing men to any ministry in the church
of Christ; and in answer to prayer, such
in many cases were endowed with the miraculous gifts of the Spirit, Acts 7:6;
8:18. The elders of the churches
followed the example of the apostles,
1 Tim. 4:14.
LAZARUS, a diseased beggar described
by Christ, Luke 16:19-31. Beggars are
hence called lazaroni, in Italy; and a
hospital for the sick poor a lazaretto.
LEB'ANON, [h] (white, or
incense), a
chain of limestone mountains on the
north of Canaan, separating Palestine
from the south of Syria, Deut. 3:25;
1 Kings 5:14. Lebanon, or Libanus
proper, is the western ridge, reaching
within a few miles of the Mediterranean.
Anti-Libanus, the eastern ridge, curves
towards Damascus; and an extensive
district between these ridges is the val-
ley of Lebanon, Josh. 11:17, called Cœle-
Syria. This range of mountains, whose
circuit is about 300 miles, has four en-
closures: the first rich in grain; the
second barren; the third abounding in
orchards and vines, as a paradise; but
the fourth, whose summit exceeds 9000
feet in height, is covered with snow, Jer.
18:14. The highest elevation is called
Sannin, and the Arabian poets say, "The
Sannin bears winter on his head, spring
upon his shoulders, and autumn in his
bosom, while summer lies sleeping at
his feet." Lebanon is famous for its
majestic cedars and various timber in
the days of Solomon, 1 Kings 5:6-14.
This province is supposed to contain a
population of nearly 150,000, consisting of
Syrian and Armenian Catholics, Greeks,
and Greek Catholics, Druses, and Ma-
ronites.
LEBANON, the trees or forests of Leba-
non, Isa. 40:16: the temple of Jeru-
salem, built chiefly of the cedars of
Lebanon, Zech. 11:1.
LE'CAH, [h] (who walks out), a son
of
Er, and grandson of Judah, 1 Chron. 4:
21.
LED, guided, as by a special provi-
dence, Gen. 24:27; Exod. 13:17: in-
fluenced, as by the Holy
Spirit, Rom.
8:14: seduced, as by false doctrine,
2 Pet. 3:17; or by unholy passions, 2
Tim. 3:16; to idolatry and sin, 1 Cor.
12:2: driven, as captives, Ezek. 17:12.
LEDGES, ridges or borders, 1 Kings
7:28.
LEEK, a plant, a kind of onion, Num.
11:5.
LEES, dregs or sediment, Isa. 25:6:
prosperity abused to slothfulness, Zeph.
1:12.
LEFT, opposite to the right, 1 Kings
7:39, 49. See LEAVE.
LEGION, a band of 6000 Roman
soldiers, Matt. 26:5.
LEGION, the name of the poor demo-
niac, Mark 5:9.
LEGS, the lower limbs of an animal,
Lev. 4:11: human strength, Psal. 117:
10.
LE'HABIM, [h] (flames, or points
of
swords), a son of Misraim, probably an-
cestor of the Libyans, Gen. 10:13.
LE'HI (jaw-bone), a place in
Philistia,
famous for the exploit of Samson, Judg.
15:9-17.
LEVITES, the descendants of Levi:
in the ecclesiastical economy established
by Moses, God chose the Levites as his
lot, or clergy; the sons of Aaron to offi-
ciate in the priesthood, and the rest to
serve the people in the various sacred
offices, and those of civil importance in
the nation. See Numbers 8:6, 26.
The Levites constituted the ordinary
teachers, magistrates, and judges of
Israel, placed among the people in forty-
eight cities. As God's inheritance, or
clergy, they were not suffered to possess
any landed property, which was all divided
among the other tribes, and they were
made to depend for their support on the
tithes of the produce of the soil as a
remuneration for the services among
the people, Num. 18:20, 32; 35:
18.
LEVITICAL, relating to the Levites as
the priests of the Lord, Heb. 7:16.
LEVIT'ICUS, the third book of Moses,
so called as containing the laws relating
to the ceremonies and offices of divine
worship, to be observed by the Israelites,
whose ministers were the Levites. This
book bears the evident impress of its
divine inspiration in the wisdom, purity,
justice, and benevolence of its ceremo-
nial, civil, and judicial laws; and its
merciful design, as prefiguring the priest-
hood, sacrifice, and religion of Christ,
Num. 16:15, 21, is evident from that
inspired commentary on it, the Epistle
to the Hebrews.
List: Commentary.
LEVY, a tribute, as of men for the
service of the public, 1 Kings 5:13, 14.
LEVY, to impose or collect the tribute
for service, 1 Kings 9:15, 21; Num.
31:28.
LIAR, one who speaks falsely, a violater
of truth, John 8:44: a false prophet,
pretending to a knowledge of futurity,
Isa. 44:25: a propagator of false doc-
trine, or a contradictor of pure doctrine
by disobedience, 1 John 2:4-22.
LIARS: e.g. Charles T. Russell, Joseph Smith,
Ellen G. White, Moh_mm_d & the Pope.
LIBERTY, freedom from bondage, ser-
vitude, or prison, Lev. 25:10, 47, 55:
Isa. 61:1: a legal right to marry, as a
widow, 1 Cor. 7:39: exemption from
ceremonial obligation, 1 Cor. 8:9: re-
covery from blindness of heart and
bondage of mind by the grace of the Holy Spirit, 2 Cor. 3:17:
freedom from
all sin and misery
in the possession of
perfect holiness and glorious immortality
at the resurrection, Rom. 8:21.
LIB'NAH, [h] (white or
whiteness), a
place in Arabia, Num. 33:20, 21.
LIBNAH, a city of the Levites in
Judah, Josh. 21:13.
LIE, to repose, as for sleep, Amos 6:
4; Eccles. 4:4: to be placed, as in the
grave, Gen. 47:30: to watch as a
robber, Exod. 21:13.
LIEN, been laid or placed, Psal. 68:
13; John 11:17.
LIERS, those who lie in wait, Josh.
14; Judg. 9:23.
LIEUTENANTS, persons holding places
of trust in a government or an army
under superior officers, Ezra 8:36;
Est. 3:12.
LIFE, power to act agreeably to our
creation, Gen. 1:20-30. Men are said to
possess vegetable life, by which they grow in common with plants; animal
life, in common with brutes, by which
they move; and rational life, in common
with angels, by which they reason, and
are accountable to their Creator.
Ratio-
nal life, especially as at first created in
holiness, constitutes the image of God,
Gen. 1:26; 2:7. Life is a word variously
used in Scripture, as denoting natural
existence, Gen. 1:20; Job 33:4:
power to act, Job 3:20: the blood,
Gen. 9:4, 5: means of nourishment,
Deut. 8:19: appetite, Job 33:20:
the course of existence, Psal. 17:14:
blessings of time, 1 Tim. 4:8: spiritu-
ality of mind, to which a person is re-
generated, and by which he serves God
in holiness, John 5:24; Rom. 8:2-6:
influences of the Holy Spirit, 2 Cor.
4:
12: Christ, as the author
of natural, spiritual, and immortal life, John 1:4;
Col. 3:3; 1 John 5:12: the glorious
state of Heaven, as the consummation
of holiness, happiness, and immortality,
John 3:36; Rom. 5:17.
LIFT, to raise or heave up, Gen.
37:28: to use a tool or weapon,
Exod. 20:25; 2 Sam. 23:8, 18: to
elevate to honour, Gen. 40:13: to inflate
with pride, Isa. 2:12; Dan. 5:20.
LIFTER, a supporter or defender, Psal.
3:3.
LIFTING, elevating, as a weapon to
kill, 1 Chron. 11:20; or the hands to pray, Neh. 8:6.
LIFT UP, is a phrase variously used,
as with the eyes, Gen. 13:10; the hands,
14:22; the voice, 21:16, &c.
LIGHTS, the luminaries of heaven,
Gen. 1:14-16: windows, 1 Kings 6:4:
lamps, Acts 20:8: Christian graces,
Luke 12:35. God, as the fountain of
wisdom, holiness, and happiness, is the
"Father of lights," Jam. 1:17.
LIGN-ALOES, an odoriferous plant or
tree, Num. 24:6. See ALOES.
LIGURE, a precious stone, semi-trans-
parent, of various colours, Exod. 28:
19: some think it was a kind of jacinth.
See JACINTH.
LIKE, equal to, Exod. 15:11: resem-
bling, 16:31.
LIKE, to regard with affection, as a
wife, Deut. 25:7: wicked men do not
thus regard the authority and holiness
of God, Rom. 1:28.
LIKED, did like or regard with favour,
1 Chron. 28:4.
LIPS, the external parts of the mouth,
as the instruments of speech, 1 Sam. 1:
13; hence "joyful lips," Psal. 65:5;
and "lying lips," Prov. 12:22: "the
fruit of the lips" is praise, Heb. 13:15.
LIVE, to be naturally alive, Gen. 65:
3: to be in health, John 4:50: to have
a maintenance, 1 Cor. 9:13: to serve
God, enjoying his favour, Gen. 17:13:
to enjoy communion with God, Psal.
49:32: to experience the gracious
influence of the Holy Spirit,
through
faith in Christ, Gal. 2:19, 20: to inherit
immortal blessedness with God, Deut. 8:
3; Matt. 4:4. To "live after the
flesh,"
is to be influenced by sensual or worldly
motives, Rom. 8:13: to "live in the
Spirit," is to be influenced and governed
by the grace and Spirit of God, Gal. 5:25.
LIVE, being alive, Exod. 21:35: burn-
ing, Isa. 6:6.
LIVED, did live, Gen. 25:1: did re-
cover health, Num. 21:9.
LIVED, continued alive, 2 Sam. 19:6:
passed the time of life, Luke 2:36; Jam.
5:5.
LIVELY, full of life, Psal. 38:19:
divinely influential, Acts 7:38: piously
zealous, 1 Pet. 2:5.
LIVER, an internal part of an animal,
Exod. 29:13-22. "[L]ook[ing] in the
liver[,]" was a cruel practice of divination
among the heathen, by killing animals
to examine the tremulous entrails, Ezek.
21:21.