H3915 — לַיִל (layil)¶

Core Data¶

Strong's: H3915
Original: לַיִל
Transliteration: layil (also laylah, leyl)
Pronunciation: lah'-yil
Part of Speech: Masculine noun
Root: From the same root as H3883 (luwl, "winding stair") — properly "a twist (away of the light)"
Occurrences: 223 unique verses (241 tokens) across 30 books
First Occurrence: Gen 1:5 — "And God called the light Day, and the darkness he called Night."
Hapax Legomenon: No

Lexicon Definition¶

Or (Isa 21:11) leyl; also laylah; from the same as H3883; properly, a twist (away of the light), i.e. night; figuratively, adversity: — (mid-)night (season).

Translation Distribution (KJV)¶

Translation	Verses	%
night	54	24.2%
by night	44	19.7%
in the night	25	11.2%
and night	19	8.5%
nights	15	6.7%
the night	13	5.8%
this night	9	4.0%
of the night	7	3.1%
to night	5	2.2%
at midnight	4	1.8%
Other (22 forms)	28	12.6%

Nearly all renderings (98%) contain "night" — the word's semantic range is narrow and literal.

Distribution by Book¶

Book	Count	Per 100 Verses
Psalms	27	1.1
Genesis	25	1.6
Job	17	1.6
Isaiah	16	1.2
Exodus	15	1.2
1 Samuel	14	1.7
Jeremiah	11	0.8
Judges	10	1.6
Deuteronomy	9	0.9
Nehemiah	9	2.2
Numbers	9	0.7
2 Samuel	8	1.2
Joshua	7	1.1
1 Kings	6	0.7
2 Kings	5	0.7
2 Chronicles	5	0.6
Ruth	4	—
Proverbs	3	0.3
Lamentations	3	1.9
Song of Solomon	3	—
Ecclesiastes	2	0.9
Esther	2	1.2
Hosea	2	1.0
Zechariah	2	0.9
1 Chronicles	2	0.2
Leviticus	2	0.2
Jonah	2	4.2
Amos	1	0.7
Micah	1	1.0
Obadiah	1	4.8

Broadly distributed across narrative, poetry, and prophecy. Highest density in short books (Obadiah 4.8, Jonah 4.2). Narrative books (Genesis, 1 Samuel, Judges) and wisdom (Job, Psalms) have the heaviest use. Absent from Ezekiel, Daniel, and the post-exilic prophets except Zechariah.

Semantic Categories¶

1. Creation Ordinance — Day/Night Cycle¶

God's naming and ordering of the light-darkness cycle. - Gen 1:5 — "And God called the light Day, and the darkness he called Night." - Gen 1:16 — "the lesser light to rule the night" - Gen 8:22 — "day and night shall not cease" - Jer 33:20 — "If ye can break my covenant of the day, and my covenant of the night"

2. Day-and-Night Merism (Totality / Continuity)¶

The "day and night" formula signaling unbroken, continuous action. - Josh 1:8 — "thou shalt meditate therein day and night" - Psalm 1:2 — "in his law doth he meditate day and night" - 1 Kings 8:29 — "thine eyes may be open toward this house night and day" - Isa 34:10 — "It shall not be quenched night nor day" - Neh 1:6 — "I pray before thee now, day and night"

3. Divine Guidance and Theophany at Night¶

God appearing, leading, or communicating during nighttime. - Exo 13:21 — "by night in a pillar of fire, to give them light" - Gen 46:2 — "God spake unto Israel in the visions of the night" - Num 22:20 — "God came unto Balaam at night" - 1 Kings 3:5 — "the LORD appeared to Solomon in a dream by night"

4. Military Action / Covert Activity Under Cover of Night¶

Night as the time for ambush, escape, and secret movement. - Gen 14:15 — "he divided himself against them, he and his servants, by night" - Josh 8:3 — "Joshua chose out thirty thousand mighty men of valour, and sent them away by night" - 2 Kings 25:4 — "all the men of war fled by night" - 1 Sam 26:7 — "David and Abishai came to the people by night" - Neh 2:13 — "I went out by night by the gate of the valley"

5. Suffering, Grief, and Restlessness¶

Night associated with weeping, pain, sleeplessness, and anguish. - Psalm 6:6 — "all the night make I my bed to swim; I water my couch with my tears" - Psalm 77:2 — "my sore ran in the night, and ceased not" - Lam 1:2 — "She weepeth sore in the night, and her tears are on her cheeks" - Eccl 2:23 — "his heart taketh not rest in the night" - Job 7:3 — "wearisome nights are appointed to me" - Job 30:17 — "My bones are pierced in me in the night season"

6. Night Visions and Dreams¶

Night as the setting for revelatory visions and prophetic dreams. - Job 4:13 — "In thoughts from the visions of the night, when deep sleep falleth on men" - Job 33:15 — "In a dream, in a vision of the night" - Gen 20:3 — "God came to Abimelech in a dream by night" - Zech 1:8 — "I saw by night, and behold a man riding upon a red horse"

7. Figurative — Darkness / Adversity / Judgment¶

Night as metaphor for moral darkness, prophetic judgment, or the removal of spiritual light. - Micah 3:6 — "night shall be unto you, that ye shall not have a vision" - Isa 21:11-12 — "Watchman, what of the night? ... The morning cometh, and also the night" - Job 34:25 — "he overturneth them in the night, so that they are destroyed" - Psalm 91:5 — "Thou shalt not be afraid for the terror by night"

Common Collocations¶

Word	Strong's	Co-occurrences	Typical Pattern
יוֹם (yowm)	H3117	56x	"day and night" merism
יוֹמָם (yowmam)	H3119	40x	"by day ... by night" contrast
בּוֹא (bo)	H935	35x	"came by night" — arrival narratives
אִישׁ (iysh)	H376	29x	man acting at night
קוּם (quwm)	H6965	29x	"arose in the night"
אֱלֹהִים (elohiym)	H430	25x	God appearing/acting at night
יָלַךְ (yalak)	H3212	20x	"went by night"
עַם (am)	H5971	20x	the people in night contexts
אֶרֶץ (erets)	H776	18x	land/earth in night settings
עָשָׂה (asah)	H6213	17x	actions done at night

The dominant collocation is H3117 yowm (56x, 25% of all layil verses) — the "day and night" pair functioning as a merism for totality. H3119 yowmam (40x) creates the complementary "by day ... by night" formula. Action verbs (come, arise, go) show night as a time for purposeful movement.

Antonyms¶

H3117 יוֹם (yowm) — day; the primary antonym in day/night merisms

Easily Confused Words¶

Word	Strong's	Shared Translation	Key Difference
לֵילְיָא (leyleya)	H3916	"night"	Aramaic cognate — Dan 2:19, 5:30, 7:2, 7:7 only
חֹשֶׁךְ (choshek)	H2822	"night" (1x)	choshek = darkness as substance/quality; layil = time period
נֶשֶׁף (nesheph)	H5399	"the night" (1x)	nesheph = twilight/dusk (transitional); layil = full night
עֶרֶב (ereb)	H6153	"the night" (1x)	ereb = evening/onset of dusk; layil = the darkness period that follows

Referenced in Existing Studies¶

H6153-ereb.md, H3117-yowm.md, H2822-choshek.md, H8639-tardemah.md, H2472-chalowm.md, H2384-chizzayon.md, H1242-boqer.md

LXX Mapping¶

Greek Equivalent	Strong's	Co-occ	PMI Score	Notes
νύξ (nyx)	G3571	189	34.83	Primary — near one-to-one equivalence
ὅλος (holos)	G3650	21	11.40	"all" — in "all that night" constructions
ἡμέρα (hemera)	G2250	88	11.11	"day" — in "day and night" pairs
ὕπνος (hypnos)	G5258	9	10.86	"sleep" — night associated with sleeping
σκότος (skotos)	G4655	11	9.25	"darkness" — figurative overlap

The G3571 nyx equivalence (189 co-occurrences, PMI 34.83) is exceptionally strong — layil maps to nyx with near-total consistency.