Lexicon
לָבֵשׁ
la.vash
H3847
H:V Hebrew

to clothe

111
Occurrences
25
Books
Hebrew
Language

la.vash denotes putting on, wearing, or placing clothing or a covering on someone, including figurative coverings.

The predominant usage describes a person wearing or putting on garments, from ordinary clothing and armor to required priestly dress. In causative forms it describes clothing another person, while several passages extend the imagery to coverings such as darkness, righteousness, salvation, splendor, or a bride-like adornment.

Senses in use

  1. Wearing or putting on clothing · dominant

    Qal forms depict persons putting on or being described by what they wear: in Deuteronomy 22:11 the APB renders the command, "You shall not wear cloth of wool and linen together," and in Jeremiah 46:4 it renders the command to "put on the armor." Passive participles likewise describe persons already clothed, as the man "clothed in linen" in Daniel 10:5 and the kings "clothed in garments" in 1 Kings 22:10.

  2. Clothing another person · common

    Hiphil forms place garments on another person. In Exodus 29:5 the APB renders the instruction to "clothe Aaron with the tunic," while 1 Samuel 17:38 recounts Saul clothing David with his garment and armor. Esther 6:11 similarly has Haman clothe Mordecai with the garments in the public honor procession.

  3. Figurative or extended covering · occasional

    The clothing action is applied beyond ordinary garments. In Isaiah 50:3 the APB renders, "I clothe the heavens with darkness," and in Isaiah 61:10 it speaks of being "clothed... with garments of salvation." Job 29:14 presents righteousness and justice as clothing, while Isaiah 49:18 compares gathering people to putting on an ornament.

In the Anselm Project Bible: Across these verses, the APB commonly uses "clothed," "clothe," "wear," and "put on," and it also presents extended images such as darkness, salvation, and righteousness as coverings. Because the APB is a whole-verse translation, these renderings indicate the clauses' presentation rather than a fixed English equivalent.

Passages featuring this word

Across Scripture