H3820 — לֵב (lêb)¶

Core Data¶

Strong's: H3820
Original: לֵב
Transliteration: lêb
Pronunciation: labe
Part of Speech: Masculine noun
Root: Uncertain — see H3824 לֵבָב (lebab), the fuller form
Occurrences: 550 unique verses (654 tokens) in OT
Books: 33
First Occurrence: Gen 6:5 — "every imagination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually"
Hapax Legomenon: No

Lexicon Definition¶

A form of H3824; the heart; also used (figuratively) very widely for the feelings, the will and even the intellect; likewise for the centre of anything:—care for, comfortably, consent, considered, courag(-eous), friend(-ly), ((broken-), (hard-), (merry-), (stiff-), (stout-), double) heart(-ed), heed, I, kindly, midst, mind(-ed), regard(-ed), themselves, unawares, understanding, well, willingly, wisdom.

Translation Distribution (KJV)¶

The vast majority render as "heart" (with various pronouns/phrases):

Translation Group	Verses	%
heart / hearts (all inflected forms)	~470	~85%
in the midst / into the midst	11	2%
understanding / of understanding	10	2%
mind / my mind / minded	6	1%
comfortably (speak to the heart)	4	1%
Other (consent, considered, heed, etc.)	~49	~9%

Distribution by Book¶

Book	Count	Per 100 Verses
Ecclesiastes	34	15.3
Proverbs	91	9.9
Lamentations	9	5.8
Hosea	9	4.6
Psalms	97	3.9
Jeremiah	51	3.7
Malachi	2	3.6
Exodus	41	3.4
Ezekiel	32	2.5
Esther	4	2.4
Isaiah	30	2.3
2 Samuel	15	2.2
Judges	13	2.1
2 Chronicles	16	1.9
1 Samuel	15	1.9
Job	20	1.9
1 Kings	14	1.7
Nehemiah	6	1.5
Zechariah	3	1.4
Genesis	12	0.8
Daniel	2	0.6
Deuteronomy	4	0.4
Numbers	4	0.3
Joshua	2	0.3

Notable patterns: Highest density in Wisdom literature (Ecclesiastes, Proverbs) where leb = the reflecting/seeking mind. Psalms has the most raw occurrences (97x). Very low in Deuteronomy (4x, 0.4/100) despite its covenantal heart-theology — most of those instances use H3824 לֵבָב (lebab) instead. Absent from Leviticus, Ruth, Ezra uses only 2x.

Semantic Categories¶

1. Seat of Emotion / Inner Experience¶

The leb experiences grief, joy, fear, gladness, and sorrow — the full range of affective states. - Gen 6:6 — "it grieved him at his heart" (God's grief over human evil) - 1 Sam 2:1 — "My heart rejoiceth in the LORD, mine horn is exalted" - 1 Sam 4:13 — "his heart trembled for the ark of God" - Esther 1:10 — "when the heart of the king was merry with wine"

2. Seat of Will / Intention / Purpose¶

Leb is the deciding faculty — where plans are formed and purposes set. - Gen 8:21 — "the LORD said in his heart, I will not again curse the ground" - 1 Sam 1:13 — "Hannah, she spake in her heart; only her lips moved" - Dan 1:8 — "Daniel purposed in his heart that he would not defile himself" - Neh 4:6 — "the people had a mind to work"

3. Seat of Intellect / Understanding / Wisdom¶

Leb functions as the cognitive center — the place of reflection, reason, and wisdom. - 1 Kgs 3:9 — "Give therefore thy servant an understanding heart to judge thy people" - 1 Kgs 4:29 — "God gave Solomon wisdom and…largeness of heart, even as the sand" - Prov 2:2 — "apply thine heart to understanding" - Ecc 1:13 — "I gave my heart to seek and search out by wisdom" - Dan 10:12 — "from the first day that thou didst set thine heart to understand"

4. Moral / Spiritual Condition¶

The leb is the seat of moral character — it can be evil, hardened, pure, or perfect. - Gen 6:5 — "every imagination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually" - Exo 4:21 — "I will harden Pharaoh's heart, and multiply my signs" - Obad 1:3 — "The pride of thine heart hath deceived thee" - Ezek 2:4 — "impudent children and stiffhearted"

5. Devotion / Religious Orientation¶

The heart as the organ of covenant relationship — turning toward or away from God. - Jer 3:10 — "hath not turned unto me with her whole heart, but feignedly" - Jer 3:15 — "I will give you pastors according to mine heart" - 2 Chr 6:38 — "return to thee with all their heart and with all their soul" - Mal 4:6 — "he shall turn the heart of the fathers to the children" - Hos 2:14 — "I will…speak comfortably unto her" (lit. to her heart)

6. Center / Midst (Spatial)¶

Occasionally leb denotes the physical center of something (fire to the midst of heaven, heart of the sea). - Deut 4:11 — "the mountain burned with fire unto the midst of heaven" - Deut 28:65 — "LORD shall give thee there a trembling heart"

Common Collocations¶

Word	Strong's	Co-occurrences	Typical Pattern
יְהֹוָה (Yahweh)	H3068	137x (25%)	heart toward / against / before the LORD
כֹּל (kol, all)	H3605	121x (22%)	"with all the heart" — whole-hearted devotion
עָשָׂה (asah, do)	H6213	65x (12%)	what proceeds from the heart (planned action)
נָתַן (nathan, give)	H5414	52x (9%)	"give a heart" — God gives understanding/new heart
פָּנִים (panim, face)	H6440	47x (9%)	heart before God's face / heart's intention shown in countenance
רַע (ra, evil)	H7451	45x (8%)	"evil of heart," "thought of the heart is evil"
שָׁמַע (shama, hear)	H8085	39x (7%)	heart that hears (obedience) or refuses to hear
יִשְׂרָאֵל (Israel)	H3478	41x (7%)	heart of Israel / Israel's corporate heart

Word Family / Cognates¶

H3824 לֵבָב (lebab) — the fuller, emphatic form of leb (230 unique verses); identical meaning; tends to appear in more emphatic or poetic contexts; most Deuteronomic "with all your heart" uses favor lebab
H3826 לִבָּה (libbah) — rare feminine form (7 verses); same meaning
H3821 לֵב (leb, Aramaic) — Aramaic cognate; identical form, used in Aramaic sections of Daniel and Ezra

Synonyms¶

H995 בִּין (biyn) — understand, discern; overlaps with leb when the heart functions as the seat of understanding and judgment.
H6195 עׇרְמָה (ʻormâh) — prudence, discretion; overlaps with leb in contexts of inward shrewdness or practical wisdom.
H8394 תְּבוּנָה (tᵉbûwnâh) — understanding; the noun counterpart to the discerning capacity often located in the heart.

Antonyms¶

H1320 בָּשָׂר (bâsâr) — flesh; contrasts outward fleshly life with the inward center denoted by leb.
H5530 סָכָל (çâkâl) — fool, silly person; opposes the wise and understanding heart.
H6601 פָּתָה (pâthâh) — entice, deceive, make simple; names the process by which the heart is led astray.
H6612 פְּתִי (pᵉthîy) — simple, naive one; the opposite of a prudent or discerning heart.

Easily Confused Words¶

Word	Strong's	Shared KJV Translation	Key Difference
לֵבָב (lebab)	H3824	heart (all forms)	Near-identical; lebab is the emphatic/fuller form; Deuteronomy and Chronicles favor lebab for "with all your heart" covenantal language
נֶפֶשׁ (nephesh)	H5315	heart, soul, mind	Nephesh = the whole living being/person or life-force; leb = specifically the directing inner center (will, intellect, emotion)
רוּחַ (ruach)	H7307	spirit, heart (occasional)	Ruach = wind/breath/spirit (dynamic power); leb = the stable inner seat of thought and will
מֵעֶה (meeh)	H4578	heart, bowels	Meeh = the physical viscera (belly, bowels), used for deep compassion; leb = inner directing center

UBS Semantic Domains¶

Code	Domain Label	Notes
001002007	People	Secondary domain from places where leb stands for the inner person rather than the physical organ.
002004002013	Think	Primary cognitive field for leb as the seat of reflection and thought.
002001002029	Wise	Fits the wisdom/understanding sense prominent in Proverbs, Kings, and Daniel.
003002005	Spatial Referents	Matches the minority uses where leb means the center or midst of something.
003001006	Names of Groups	Secondary output from grouped or collective-reference usage, not the dominant sense.

LXX Mapping¶

Greek Equivalent	Co-occurrences	PMI Score	Notes
καρδία (kardia) G2588	436x	29.17	Dominant — ~79% of LXX renderings; continues virtually unchanged into NT
διάνοια (dianoia) G1271	20x	13.58	Used when leb emphasizes the intellectual/cognitive faculty
σκληρύνω (skleryno) G4645	14x	11.34	Used in "hardening the heart" contexts (Pharaoh, etc.)
φρήν (phren) G5424	8x	11.21	Mind/understanding sense of leb
σοφία (sophia) G4678	21x	8.44	When leb = wisdom (Proverbs/Ecclesiastes contexts)
εὐφραίνω (euphraino) G2165	24x	8.10	When leb is glad/rejoicing

The kardia bridge (PMI 29.17) is dominant and extremely strong. The LXX essentially maps leb → kardia with high consistency, bequeathing this full semantic range to the NT κardia.