Lazarus - an abbreviation of Eleazar, whom God helps. (1.) The brother of Mary and Martha of Bethany. He was raised from the dead after he had lain four days in the tomb ( John 11:1-44). This miracle so excited the wrath of the Jews that they sought to put both Jesus and Lazarus to death.

(2.) A beggar named in the parable recorded Luke 16:19-31.

Leaf - of a tree. The olive-leaf mentioned Gen. 8:11. The barren fig-tree had nothing but leaves ( Matt. 21:19; Mark 11:13). The oak-leaf is mentioned Isa. 1:30; Isa 6:13. There are numerous allusions to leaves, their flourishing, their decay, and their restoration ( Lev. 26:36; Isa. 34:4; Jer. 8:13; Dan. 4:12, Dan. 4:14, Dan. 4:21; Mark 11:13; Mark 13:28). The fresh leaf is a symbol of prosperity ( Ps. 1:3; Jer. 17:8; Ezek. 47:12); the faded, of decay ( Job 13:25; Isa. 1:30; Isa 64:6; Jer. 8:13).

Leaf of a door (1 Kings 6:34), the valve of a folding door.

Leaf of a book ( Jer. 36:23), perhaps a fold of a roll.

League - a treaty or confederacy. The Jews were forbidden to enter into an alliance of any kind (1) with the Canaanites ( Ex. 23:32,Ex. 23:33;Ex 34:12-16); (2) with the Amalekites ( Ex. 17:8,Ex. 17:14; Deut. 25:17-19); (3) with the Moabites and Ammonites ( Deut. 2:9,Deut. 2:19). Treaties were permitted to be entered into with all other nations. Thus David maintained friendly intercourse with the kings of Tyre and Hamath, and Solomon with the kings of Tyre and Egypt.

Leah - weary, the eldest daughter of Laban, and sister of Rachel ( Gen. 29:16). Jacob took her to wife through a deceit of her father ( Gen. 29:23). She was "tender-eyed" (17). She bore to Jacob six sons (32-35), also one daughter, Dinah ( Gen 30:21). She accompanied Jacob into Canaan, and died there before the time of the going down into Egypt (Gen. 31), and was buried in the cave of Machpelah ( Gen 49:31).

Leannoth - for answering; i.e., in singing, occurs in the title to Ps. 88. The title "Mahalath (q.v.) Leannoth" may be rendered "concerning sickness, to be sung" i.e., perhaps, to be sung in sickness.

Leasing - ( Ps. 4:2;Ps 5:6) an Old English word meaning lies, or lying, as the Hebrew word kazabh is generally rendered.

Leather - a girdle of, worn by Elijah (2 Kings 1:8) and John the Baptist ( Matt. 3:4). Leather was employed both for clothing ( Num. 31:20; Heb. 11:37) and for writing upon. The trade of a tanner is mentioned ( Acts 9:43;Acts 10:6,Acts 9:32). It was probably learned in Egypt.

Leaven - (1.) Heb. seor ( Ex. 12:15,Ex. 12:19;Ex 13:7; Lev. 2:11), the remnant of dough from the preceding baking which had fermented and become acid.

(2.) Heb. hamets, properly "ferment." In Num. 6:3, "vinegar of wine" is more correctly "fermented wine." In Ex. 13:7, the proper rendering would be, "Unfermented things [Heb. matstsoth] shall be consumed during the seven days; and there shall not be seen with thee fermented things [hamets], and there shall not be seen with thee leavened mass [seor] in all thy borders." The chemical definition of ferment or yeast is "a substance in a state of putrefaction, the atoms of which are in a continual motion."

The use of leaven was strictly forbidden in all offerings made to the Lord by fire ( Lev. 2:11;Lev 7:12;Lev 8:2; Num. 6:15). Its secretly penetrating and diffusive power is referred to in 1 Cor. 5:6. In this respect it is used to illustrate the growth of the kingdom of heaven both in the individual heart and in the world ( Matt. 13:33). It is a figure also of corruptness and of perverseness of heart and life ( Matt. 16:6,Matt. 16:11; Mark 8:15; 1 Cor. 5:7,1 Cor. 5:8).

Lebanon - white, "the white mountain of Syria," is the loftiest and most celebrated mountain range in Syria. It is a branch running southward from the Caucasus, and at its lower end forking into two parallel ranges, the eastern or Anti-Lebanon, and the western or Lebanon proper. They enclose a long valley ( Josh. 11:17) of from 5 to 8 miles in width, called by Roman writers Coele-Syria, now called el-Buka'a, "the valley," a prolongation of the valley of the Jordan.

Lebanon proper, Jebel es-Sharki, commences at its southern extremity in the gorge of the Leontes, the ancient Litany, and extends north-east, parallel to the Mediterranean coast, as far as the river Eleutherus, at the plain of Emesa, "the entering of Hamath" ( Num. 34:8; 1 Kings 8:65), in all about 90 geographical miles in extent. The average height of this range is from 6,000 to 8,000 feet; the peak of Jebel Mukhmel is about 10,200 feet, and the Sannin about 9,000. The highest peaks are covered with perpetual snow and ice. In the recesses of the range wild beasts as of old still abound (2 Kings 14:9; Cant. 4:8). The scenes of the Lebanon are remarkable for their grandeur and beauty, and supplied the sacred writers with many expressive similes ( Ps. 29:5,Ps. 29:6;Ps 72:16;Ps 104:16-18; Cant. 4:15; Isa. 2:13; Isa 35:2; Isa 60:13; Hos. 14:5). It is famous for its cedars ( Cant. 5:15), its wines ( Hos. 14:7), and its cool waters ( Jer. 18:14). The ancient inhabitants were Giblites and Hivites ( Josh. 13:5; Judg. 3:3). It was part of the Phoenician kingdom (1 Kings 5:2-6).

The eastern range, or Anti-Lebanon, or "Lebanon towards the sunrising," runs nearly parallel with the western from the plain of Emesa till it connects with the hills of Galilee in the south. The height of this range is about 5,000 feet. Its highest peak is Hermon (q.v.), from which a number of lesser ranges radiate.

Lebanon is first mentioned in the description of the boundary of Palestine ( Deut. 1:7;Deut 11:24). It was assigned to Israel, but was never conquered ( Josh. 13:2-6; Judg. 3:1-3).

The Lebanon range is now inhabited by a population of about 300,000 Christians, Maronites, and Druses, and is ruled by a Christian governor. The Anti-Lebanon is inhabited by Mohammedans, and is under a Turkish ruler.

Lebbaeus - courageous, a surname of Judas (Jude), one of the twelve ( Matt. 10:3), called also Thaddaeus, not to be confounded with the Judas who was the brother of our Lord.

Lebonah - frankincense, a town near Shiloh, on the north side of Bethel ( Judg. 21:19). It has been identified with el-Lubban, to the south of Nablus.

Leek - (Heb. hatsir; the Allium porrum), rendered "grass" in 1 Kings 18:5, 2 Kings 19:26, Job 40:15, etc.; "herb" in Job 8:12; "hay" in Prov. 27:25, and Isa. 15:6; "leeks" only in Num. 11:5. This Hebrew word seems to denote in this last passage simply herbs, such as lettuce or savoury herbs cooked as kitchen vegetables, and not necessarily what are now called leeks. The leek was a favourite vegetable in Egypt, and is still largely cultivated there and in Palestine.

Lees - (Heb. shemarim), from a word meaning to keep or preserve. It was applied to "lees" from the custom of allowing wine to stand on the lees that it might thereby be better preserved ( Isa. 25:6). "Men settled on their lees" ( Zeph. 1:12) are men "hardened or crusted." The image is derived from the crust formed at the bottom of wines long left undisturbed ( Jer. 48:11). The effect of wealthy undisturbed ease on the ungodly is hardening. They become stupidly secure (comp. Ps. 55:19; Amos 6:1). To drink the lees ( Ps. 75:8) denotes severe suffering.

Left hand - among the Hebrews, denoted the north ( Job 23:9; Gen. 14:15), the face of the person being supposed to be toward the east.

Left-handed - ( Judg. 3:15;Judg 20:16), one unable to use the right hand skilfully, and who therefore uses the left; and also one who uses the left as well as the right, ambidexter. Such a condition of the hands is due to physical causes. This quality was common apparently in the tribe of Benjamin.

Legion - a regiment of the Roman army, the number of men composing which differed at different times. It originally consisted of three thousand men, but in the time of Christ consisted of six thousand, exclusive of horsemen, who were in number a tenth of the foot-men. The word is used ( Matt. 26:53; Mark 5:9) to express simply a great multitude.

Lehi - a jawbone, a place in the tribe of Judah where Samson achieved a victory over the Philistines ( Judg. 15:9,Judg. 15:14,Judg. 15:16), slaying a thousand of them with the jawbone of an ass. The words in 15:19, "a hollow place that was in the jaw" (A.V.), should be, as in Revised Version, "the hollow place that is in Lehi."

Lemuel - dedicated to God, a king whom his mother instructed ( Prov. 31:1-9). Nothing is certainly known concerning him. The rabbis identified him with Solomon.

Lentiles - (Heb. 'adashim), a species of vetch ( Gen. 25:34; 2 Sam. 23:11), common in Syria under the name addas. The red pottage made by Jacob was of lentils ( Gen. 25:29-34). They were among the provisions brought to David when he fled from Absalom (2 Sam. 17:28). It is the Ervum lens of Linnaeus, a leguminous plant which produces a fruit resembling a bean.

Leopard - (Heb. namer, so called because spotted, Cant. 4:8), was that great spotted feline which anciently infested the mountains of Syria, more appropriately called a panther (Felis pardus). Its fierceness ( Isa. 11:6), its watching for its prey ( Jer. 5:6), its swiftness ( Hab. 1:8), and the spots of its skin ( Jer. 13:23), are noticed. This word is used symbolically ( Dan. 7:6; Rev. 13:2).

Leprosy - (Heb. tsara'ath, a "smiting," a "stroke," because the disease was regarded as a direct providential infliction). This name is from the Greek lepra, by which the Greek physicians designated the disease from its scaliness. We have the description of the disease, as well as the regulations connected with it, in Lev. 13; 14; Num. 12:10-15, etc. There were reckoned six different circumstances under which it might develop itself, (1) without any apparent cause ( Lev. 13:2-8); (2) its reappearance (9-17); (3) from an inflammation (18-28); (4) on the head or chin (29-37); (5) in white polished spots (38, 39); (6) at the back or in the front of the head (40-44).

Lepers were required to live outside the camp or city ( Num. 5:1-4;Num 12:10-15, etc.). This disease was regarded as an awful punishment from the Lord (2 Kings 5:7; 2 Chr. 26:20). (See MIRIAM ; GEHAZI ; UZZIH.)

This disease "beins with specks on the eyelids and on the palms, gradually spreading over the body, bleaching the hair white wherever they appear, crusting the affected parts with white scales, and causing terrible sores and swellings. From the skin the disease eats inward to the bones, rotting the whole body piecemeal." "In Christ's day no leper could live in a walled town, though he might in an open village. But wherever he was he was required to have his outer garment rent as a sign of deep grief, to go bareheaded, and to cover his beard with his mantle, as if in lamentation at his own virtual death. He had further to warn passers-by to keep away from him, by calling out, 'Unclean! unclean!' nor could he speak to any one, or receive or return a salutation, since in the East this involves an embrace."

That the disease was not contagious is evident from the regulations regarding it ( Lev. 13:12,Lev. 13:13,Lev. 13:36; 2 Kings 5:1). Leprosy was "the outward and visible sign of the innermost spiritual corruption; a meet emblem in its small beginnings, its gradual spread, its internal disfigurement, its dissolution little by little of the whole body, of that which corrupts, degrades, and defiles man's inner nature, and renders him unmeet to enter the presence of a pure and holy God" (Maclear's Handbook O.T). Our Lord cured lepers ( Matt. 8:2,Matt. 8:3; Mark 1:40-42). This divine power so manifested illustrates his gracious dealings with men in curing the leprosy of the soul, the fatal taint of sin.

Letter - in Rom. 2:27, Rom. 2:29means the outward form. The "oldness of the letter" Rom 7:6) is a phrase which denotes the old way of literal outward obedience to the law as a system of mere external rules of conduct. In 2 Cor. 3:6, "the letter" means the Mosaic law as a written law. (See WRITING.)

Leummim - peoples; nations, the last mentioned of the three sons of Dedan, and head of an Arabian tribe ( Gen. 25:3).

Levi - adhesion. (1.) The third son of Jacob by Leah. The origin of the name is found in Leah's words ( Gen. 29:34), "This time will my husband be joined [Heb. yillaveh] unto me." He is mentioned as taking a prominent part in avenging his sister Dinah ( Gen. 34:25-31). He and his three sons went down with Jacob ( Gen 46:11) into Egypt, where he died at the age of one hundred and thirty-seven years ( Ex. 6:16).

(2.) The father of Matthat, and son of Simeon, of the ancestors of Christ ( Luke 3:29).

(3.) Luke 3:24.

(4.) One of the apostles, the son of Alphaeus ( Mark 2:14; Luke 5:27, Luke 5:29), called also Matthew ( Matt. 9:9).