Language Studies

Hebrew Thoughts

lebhâbh - לבב (Strong's #3824)
Heart

This word, לבב lebhâbh (Strong's #3824, pronounced: levav) and also לב lêbh (Strong's #3820, a variant form) means more than just 'heart'. It derives from a root verb lâbhabh לבב (Strong's #3823) meaning 'to be hollow'. לבב Lebhâbh means 'heart', 'soul or life' (as nephesh), the emotions, affections, the mode of thinking and acting, the centre of the will and decision making, 'intellect', 'understanding' and 'wisdom'. It may also be used metaphorically of the middle or midst of something.

A number of other Hebrew words share some interchangeability of meaning with 'heart' and 'mind': רוח Rûach or 'spirit' is rendered 'mind' 6x in the O.T.. נפש Nephesh or 'soul' is rendered 'mind' 15x and 'heart' 15x; on another 201 occasions נפש nephesh is used to describe mental activities, in total over one third of all its uses. לב Lêbh or 'heart' is rendered 'mind' 12x; other mental activities x16. לבב Lebhâbh, normally 'heart', is rendered 'mind' 4x; other mental activities x3.

So the heart is a synonym for man's inner thoughts, which we call the mind. Thus, it is a misnomer to plea for a 'heart-based' faith as opposed to a 'cerebral/head-based' faith, however well intentioned. For, in Hebrew, they are one and the same.

The phrase 'to be double-minded' is fairly well understood, in Hebrew it is rendered by 'double hearted' (Psalm 12:2/3). In the NT in James 1:4 a double-minded man is actually di-psuchos in the Greek, literally - 'double souled'.

"Make the heart of this people dull,
And their ears heavy,
And shut their eyes:
Lest they see with their eyes,
And hear with their ears,
And understand with their heart,
And return and be healed" (Isaiah 6:10)

A 'dull heart' is one without understanding, further confirmed by the chiasmic (inverted like an 'X' or A-B-B-A) parallelism between lines 1 and 6 in the verse above.

We sometimes speak of God being big-hearted! Job 36:5 says exactly that, "He is mighty [in] strength [of] heart", which also means 'strength of understanding'.

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