H3847 — לָבַשׁ (labash)¶

Core Data¶

Strong's: H3847
Original: לָבַשׁ
Transliteration: labash
Pronunciation: law-bash'
Part of Speech: Verb (primitive root)
Root: Primitive root; properly "wrap around"
Occurrences: 102 unique verses (126 tokens) across 25 books
First Occurrence: Gen 3:21 — "Unto Adam also and to his wife did the LORD God make coats of skins, and clothed them."
Hapax Legomenon: No

Lexicon Definition¶

Or לָבֵשׁ labesh; a primitive root; properly, wrap around, i.e. (by implication) to put on a garment or clothe (oneself, or another), literally or figuratively: — (in) apparel, arm, array (self), clothe (self), come upon, put (on, upon), wear.

Verb Stem Distribution¶

Stem	Count	Typical Meaning
Qal	61	put on (oneself), wear, be clothed
Hiphil	30	clothe (another person), cause to wear
Pual	4	be clothed (passive)
Peal (Aramaic)	2	wear (Dan 5:7, 16)
Haphel (Aramaic)	1	clothe (Dan 5:29)

The Qal/Hiphil distinction is semantically significant: Qal is reflexive ("put on oneself"), while Hiphil is causative ("clothe someone else"). The Hiphil regularly has God or an authority figure as subject, clothing another with garments, honor, or attributes.

Translation Distribution (KJV)¶

Translation	Verses	%
clothed / clothed with	15	14.7%
put on / and put on	11	10.8%
and put / and put upon / and put them upon	8	7.8%
be clothed / is clothed / shall be clothed	7	6.9%
came upon	3	2.9%
armed / also armed	3	2.9%
arrayed / and arrayed	3	2.9%
wear	2	2.0%
Other (various phrases)	50	49.0%

Distribution by Book¶

Book	Count	Per 100 Verses
Esther	6	3.6
Haggai	1	2.6
Jonah	1	2.1
Zechariah	4	1.9
Zephaniah	1	1.9
Ezekiel	15	1.2
Leviticus	9	1.0
Daniel	3	0.8
2 Chronicles	6	0.7
Job	7	0.7
Isaiah	8	0.6
Exodus	6	0.5
Genesis	6	0.4
1 Samuel	3	0.4
2 Samuel	3	0.4
Psalms	9	0.4
Ezra	1	0.4
Numbers	2	0.2
Deuteronomy	2	0.2
Judges	1	0.2
1 Kings	2	0.2
Proverbs	2	0.2
Jeremiah	2	0.1
1 Chronicles	1	0.1
Song of Solomon	1	—

Highest concentration in Ezekiel (15 occurrences, much of it priestly/visionary clothing) and Leviticus (9 occurrences, priestly investiture). The Pentateuch accounts for 25 of 102 verses, reflecting priestly ordination and cultic garment regulations.

Semantic Categories¶

1. Priestly Investiture — Clothing for Sacred Office¶

Exo 28:41 — "And thou shalt put them upon Aaron thy brother, and his sons with him"
Exo 29:5 — "And thou shalt take the garments, and put upon Aaron the coat, and the robe of the ephod"
Lev 8:7 — "And he put upon him the coat, and girded him with the girdle, and clothed him with the robe"
Lev 16:4 — "He shall put on the holy linen coat, and he shall have the linen breeches upon his flesh"

2. Divine Clothing — God or His Agent Clothes Someone¶

Gen 3:21 — "Unto Adam also and to his wife did the LORD God make coats of skins, and clothed them" (Hiphil)
Isa 61:10 — "He hath clothed me with the garments of salvation, he hath covered me with the robe of righteousness" (Hiphil)
Zec 3:4 — "Take away the filthy garments from him... I will clothe thee with change of raiment" (Hiphil)
Zec 3:5 — "So they set a fair mitre upon his head, and clothed him with garments" (Hiphil)
Eze 16:10 — "I clothed thee also with broidered work, and shod thee with badgers' skin" (Hiphil)

3. The Spirit "Clothing" a Person — Empowerment¶

Judg 6:34 — "But the Spirit of the LORD came upon Gideon" (lit. "clothed Gideon")
1 Chr 12:18 — "Then the spirit came upon Amasai" (lit. "clothed Amasai")
2 Chr 24:20 — "And the Spirit of God came upon Zechariah the son of Jehoiada" (lit. "clothed Zechariah")

4. Figurative Clothing — Abstract Qualities as Garments¶

Job 29:14 — "I put on righteousness, and it clothed me: my judgment was as a robe and a diadem"
Psa 93:1 — "The LORD reigneth, he is clothed with majesty; the LORD is clothed with strength"
Psa 104:1 — "O LORD my God, thou art very great; thou art clothed with honour and majesty"
Isa 59:17 — "For he put on righteousness as a breastplate, and an helmet of salvation upon his head"
Psa 132:9 — "Let thy priests be clothed with righteousness"
Psa 132:16 — "I will also clothe her priests with salvation"

5. Negative Clothing — Shame, Desolation, Cursing¶

Psa 35:26 — "Let them be clothed with shame and dishonour that magnify themselves against me"
Psa 109:18 — "As he clothed himself with cursing like as with his garment"
Psa 109:29 — "Let mine adversaries be clothed with shame"
Psa 132:18 — "His enemies will I clothe with shame"
Job 8:22 — "They that hate thee shall be clothed with shame"
Eze 7:27 — "The prince shall be clothed with desolation"

6. Royal/Ceremonial Garbing and Disguise¶

Gen 41:42 — "And Pharaoh... arrayed him in vestures of fine linen" (Hiphil — Pharaoh clothes Joseph)
Est 5:1 — "Esther put on her royal apparel"
Est 6:9, 11 — "That they may array the man... and arrayed Mordecai"
1 Sam 28:8 — "Saul disguised himself, and put on other raiment"
1 Ki 22:30 — "I will disguise myself... but put thou on thy robes"

7. Literal Daily/Military Clothing¶

Gen 28:20 — "And will give me bread to eat, and raiment to put on"
Deut 22:5 — "Neither shall a man put on a woman's garment"
1 Sam 17:38 — "Saul armed David with his armour"
Jer 46:4 — "Put on the brigandines" (armor)
Jon 3:5 — "Put on sackcloth, from the greatest of them even to the least"

Common Collocations¶

Word	Strong's	Co-occurrences	Typical Pattern
בֶּגֶד (beged)	H899	32x	"put on garments" — the generic garment term
עַל (ʻal)	H5921	31x	"put upon" — directional preposition
בַּד (bad)	H906	12x	"put on linen" — priestly linen garments
מֶלֶךְ (melek)	H4428	12x	Royal clothing/investiture contexts
כֹּהֵן (kohen)	H3548	11x	Priestly investiture: "the priest shall put on"
כְּתֹנֶת (kethoneth)	H3801	10x	"put on the coat/tunic" — from Gen 3:21 onward
קֹדֶשׁ (qodesh)	H6944	9x	"holy garments" — sacred vestment contexts

Word Family / Cognates¶

H3848 לְבַשׁ (lebash) — Aramaic cognate; "to clothe" (Dan 5:7, 16, 29)
H3830 לְבוּשׁ (lebuwsh) — noun derivative: "garment, clothing, raiment" (31v)
H4403 מַלְבּוּשׁ (malbuwsh) — noun: "garment, vestment" (8v)
H8516 תִּלְבֹּשֶׁת (tilbosheth) — noun: "clothing" (1v, Isa 59:17)

Easily Confused Words¶

Word	Strong's	Shared Translation	Key Difference
כָּסָה (kasah)	H3680	both "clothed" in some contexts	kasah = to cover/conceal; labash = to put on/wear
כַּרְבֵּל (karbel)	H3736	"clothed" (Dan 3:21)	karbel = Aramaic; only 1 occurrence
עָדָה (ʻadah)	H5710	"array/deck" (Job 40:10, Eze 16:11)	ʻadah = ornamental adorning; labash = wearing garments

Semantic Domain: Dress¶

Other words in domain: אזר (H247, gird), חגר (H2296, gird on), אפד (H640, bind on the ephod), חבשׁ (H2280, wrap/bind)

LXX Mapping¶

Greek Equivalent	Co-occurrences	PMI Score	Notes
ἐνδύω (endyo) G1746	80	33.72	Primary equivalent — "clothe/put on"
στολή (stole) G4749	21	19.39	"robe/vestment" — noun substitution
περιβάλλω (periballo) G4016	13	15.48	"throw around, invest with"
χιτών (chiton) G5509	10	15.17	"tunic/coat" — noun substitution
ἐκδύω (ekdyo) G1562	7	13.09	"strip off" — used for "put off" contexts
ἱμάτιον (himation) G2440	17	12.81	"outer garment" — noun substitution

The dominant bridge is G1746 ἐνδύω with 80 co-occurrences and the highest PMI score (33.72), making it the near-exclusive verbal equivalent.