לְבוּשׁ (le.vush)
le.vush
clothing
H:N-MQuick Reference
- Language
- Biblical Hebrew
- Testament
- Old Testament
- Occurrences
- 27 verses
- Root
- —
- Part of speech
- H:N-M
Word Overview
The Hebrew noun lebus refers to clothing or a garment, appearing twenty-seven times in the Old Testament with notable frequency in Job and Esther. It describes the physical covering worn by people, from the simple raiment of the poor in Job 24:7 to the splendid royal robes King Ahasuerus honors in Esther 6:9. The word captures both the practical necessity of dress and its social function as a marker of status or honor.
One striking usage extends the term beyond fabric to describe the crocodile’s scaly skin in Job 41:5, comparing the creature’s armor to a garment. More significantly, Malachi 2:16 employs lebus metaphorically for a wife, drawing on a cultural image where spouses are seen as one another’s covering or protection. This figurative use highlights intimacy and mutual care rather than mere appearance.
Translators typically render lebus as "garment," "clothing," or "apparel," preserving the concrete reality of the word while allowing its metaphorical weight to shine through in poetic or prophetic contexts like Psalm 104:6, where God’s clothing is described as the heavens themselves.
Based on public-domain lexicons (Strong's, Thayer, Gesenius, Brown-Driver-Briggs and others).
What This Word Means for Your Faith
When we read about clothing in Scripture, it often points to something deeper than fabric. In Job’s suffering, the lack of covering highlights human vulnerability and the need for compassion. Yet God also uses this image to show His care, wrapping the earth like a garment in darkness or light. This reminds us that our worth is not found in what we wear, but in how we treat others who have nothing.
There is also a beautiful side to this word. Proverbs describes dignity and strength as clothing for the wise woman, suggesting that character is what truly adorns us. In Esther, royal robes signify honor and reversal of fortune, showing that God can elevate the humble. We are invited to let our inner life reflect the same integrity and grace that God values most.
How it's translated
How this word is rendered word-by-word in the 27 verses where it appears, by frequency.
- clothing5×
- the/ clothing3×
- clothing/ his3×
- in/ clothing of2×
- clothing/ my2×
- clothing/ her2×
- like <the>/ clothing1×
- in/ clothing/ his1×
- clothing/ your1×
- clothing/ their1×
- clothing/ its1×
- clothing of1×
Forms in the text
The inflected forms of this word as they appear in Scripture, by frequency.
- לְב֑וּשׁ3×
- לִ/לְבוּשֶׁ֑/ךָ2×
- לְבוּשָֽׁ/הּ\׃1×
- לְבוּשָׁ֔/ם1×
- לְבוּשָׁ֑/הּ1×
- לְבוּשִׁ֑/י1×
- לְבוּשְׁ/כֶֽן\׃1×
- לְבוּשׁ֔/וֹ1×
- לְבֽוּשׁ\׃1×
- לְבֻשׁ֗/וּ1×
- לְבֻשׁ֔/וֹ1×
- לְבֻשׁ֑/וֹ1×
Key Verses
-
Job 24:7
They lie all night naked without clothing, and have no covering in the cold.
This verse uses the word to highlight the extreme vulnerability of the poor, urging readers to recognize their shared human fragility.
-
Esther 6:9
Let the clothing and the horse be delivered to the hand of one of the king’s most noble princes, that they may array the man whom the king delights to honor with them, and have him ride on horseback through the city square, and proclaim before him, ‘Thus it shall be done to the man whom the king delights to honor!’”
Here royal clothing becomes a tool for public honor, illustrating how God can reverse shame into dignity through unexpected means.
-
Proverbs 31:25
Strength and dignity are her clothing. She laughs at the time to come.
The text metaphorically wears strength and dignity as garments, linking inner character directly to external appearance.
-
Isaiah 63:2
Why is your clothing red, and your garments like him who treads in the wine vat?
Red clothing symbolizes the act of judgment and salvation, connecting physical appearance to divine action in history.