Laban
Laban has
his own page. To read about Laban, click here.
Lamech - There are two:
1. The
son of Methusael (also called Methushael). (4:18) He had two wives: Adah and
Zillah. Adah bore him two sons: Jabal and Jubal. Zillpah bore him a son named
Tubal-Cain and a daughter named Naamah. (4:19-24)
2. The son of Methuselah. (5:25) At age 182, he had a son named Noah (the
Noah, who built the ark). Then he had other sons and daughters. He lived to be
777. (5:28-31)
Lasha
A city in Canaan. (10:19)
Leah
The oldest daughter
of Laban. She became Jacob's first wife, and the mother of six of his sons, and
also of his daughter Dinah.
Jacob came to the city
of Haran in the area of Padanaram in the land of Mesopotamia. He visited his
uncle Laban, and met Laban's daughters. The older daughter was Leah, and the
younger daughter was Rachel. Jacob fell in love with Rachel, and he wanted to
marry her. In order to earn Rachel as a wife, Jacob agreed to work for Laban for
seven years. (29:1-19)
Jacob worked the seven years, and at
the end, Laban agreed to give him Rachel. But that evening, when it was dark, he
secretly he got Leah, and brought her to Jacob to be a wife. In the
darkness of the night, Jacob had sex with the woman whom he thought was Rachel.
(29:20-23)
The next morning, Jacob found that he had been tricked. He had married Leah, not
Rachel. He confronted Laban. Laban said "In our country, it is not right to
marry off the younger sister before the older one. You can still have Rachel if
you work for me for another seven years." Jacob agreed, and worked for
Laban for another seven years.
At the end of the seven years,
he married Rachel. (29:25-28) He was still married to Leah.
(At the time, polygamy was legal.) Jacob preferred Rachel over Leah, and he
didn't really love Leah. The only reason he married Leah in the first place was
because her father tricked him into it. But Jacob really preferred Rachel. She
was his favorite wife, and Leah knew it. (29:30-31)
Leah wanted
to give Jacob a son so that
Jacob would love her too. When God saw that Leah was unloved, he granted Leah children. She
finally gave Jacob his first child, a son. She
figured that now Jacob would love her. She was so happy, that she named him
"Reuben" (Hebrew for "Look! A son!"). (29:32) After Reuben, Leah bore
Jacob three more sons: Simeon, Levi, and Judah. Then she stopped bearing
children. So she gave her slave, Zilpah, to Jacob so that she could have more
children through Zilpah. Zilpah bore Jacob two sons, Gad and Asher. Then Leah
started bearing children again. She bore Jacob two more sons, Issachar and
Zebulun, and a daughter named Dinah.(29:33-30:21)
She went with
Jacob back to Canaan. (chapter 31)
After she died, she was buried in the cave of Machpelah. (49:31)
Lehabim
A child of Mizraim. (10:13)
Letushim
A son of Dedan. (25:3)
Leummin
A son of Dedan. (25:3)
Levi
The third son of Jacob by his
wife Leah. (29:34) He joined with his brother Simeon in killing all the men in
Hamor's city in revenge for the rape of Dinah. (chapter 34) He had three sons:
Gershon, Kohath, and Merari. (46:11)
Lot
Lot has his own page. To
read about Lot, click here.
Lotan
A son of Seir. (36:20)
He was a Horite chief. (36:29) He had two children: Hori and Hemam. (36:22)
Lud
A child of Shem. (10:22)
Ludim
A child of Mizraim. (10:13)
Luz
A city located in the
land of Canaan. The name of the city can get confusing. The city was originally
named Luz. Then in 28:19, Jacob renamed the city Bethel. But there are some
passages that occur before the renaming where the city is called Bethel
even though Jacob has not renamed it yet. In the pre-Jacob era, the city was
still named Luz, but the Bible calls it Bethel even though it has not been given
that name yet. In any case, "Bethel" and "Luz" refer to the
same city.
Abraham built an altar east of Luz (Bethel), and called
on God there. (12:6-9) Then after spending some time in Egypt, Abraham returned
to the altar east of Luz. It was there that Abraham and Lot separated. (13:1-4)
It was at Luz (Bethel) that Jacob had his dream of a
ladder connecting heaven and earth. After Jacob woke from his dream, he renamed
the city Bethel. (28:10-19) Later, Jacob returned to Bethel with his family, and
it was there that God renamed Jacob as "Israel". (35:1-15)
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