Hebrew · H3915

לַיִל

Properly, a twist (away of the light), i.e. night ; figuratively, adversity

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לַיִל H3915
Pronunciation laylāh

What does לַיִל (laylāh) mean in the Bible?

לַיִל (laylāh): Night as darkness symbolizing adversity and spiritual danger; fundamental biblical metaphor for trial and divine testing.

Full entry for לַיִל (H3915) · Open the biblical lexicon

Questions this entry answers

What does לַיִל (laylāh) mean in the Bible?

לַיִל (laylāh): Night as darkness symbolizing adversity and spiritual danger; fundamental biblical metaphor for trial and divine testing.

How does the BSB render H3915?

The BSB source-word alignment has 233 aligned rows for this entry. Common renderings include night (52), by night (28), and night (20), at night (13), in the night (13).

Where does לַיִל (laylāh) appear in Scripture?

The source-word alignment first shows this entry at Genesis 1:5. Its strongest book concentrations include Psalms (28), Genesis (25), Exodus (18), Isaiah (18).

Source Word Evidence

BSB source-word alignment connects this entry to exact verse rows, English rendering, source form, transliteration, and parsing.

How English Renders It
night 52× Genesis 1:5, Genesis 19:33, Genesis 19:35, Genesis 26:24
by night 28× Genesis 31:40, Exodus 12:31, Exodus 13:21, Exodus 13:22
and night 20× Genesis 8:22, Exodus 10:13, Leviticus 8:35, Numbers 11:32
at night 13× Numbers 11:9, Joshua 8:3, 1 Samuel 28:8, 2 Chronicles 7:12
in the night 13× 2 Kings 7:12, Job 4:13, Job 20:8, Job 24:14
nights 13× Genesis 7:4, Genesis 7:12, Exodus 24:18, Exodus 34:28
the night 13× Genesis 1:14, Genesis 1:16, Exodus 14:20, Numbers 22:8
. . . 11× Genesis 19:5, Exodus 11:4, Exodus 12:29, Judges 16:3
tonight Genesis 19:34, Genesis 30:15, Joshua 2:2, Judges 9:32
of the night 1 Kings 3:20, Job 34:20, Psalms 90:4, Psalms 91:5
or night Genesis 31:39, Exodus 13:21, Isaiah 34:10, Isaiah 60:11
that night Exodus 14:21, Numbers 22:20, 1 Samuel 15:11, 1 Samuel 26:7
During the night Genesis 14:15, Genesis 32:22, Exodus 12:30, 1 Kings 3:19
and the night Genesis 1:18, Job 3:3, Jeremiah 33:25
and at night Numbers 9:16, Psalms 42:8
and by night Psalms 22:2, Isaiah 28:19
in a night Isaiah 15:1
- Judges 16:3
[me] in the night Psalms 17:3
after night Psalms 19:2
and by the night Nehemiah 9:19
And during the night Judges 20:5
and nights Job 7:3
And that night Genesis 46:2
as dark as night Isaiah 16:3
as in the night Job 5:14
as on the night Isaiah 30:29
because of a nocturnal Deuteronomy 23:10
become night Psalms 139:11
But that night Genesis 31:24
but the night Psalms 139:12
fled by night 2 Kings 25:4
into night Amos 5:8
into the night Zechariah 1:8
last night 1 Samuel 15:16
night [is to be a vigil ] Exodus 12:42
night long Exodus 14:20
nightfall 2 Chronicles 35:14
One night 1 Kings 3:5
One night, however Genesis 20:3
or by night Numbers 9:21
or even in the night Ecclesiastes 8:16
overnight Numbers 22:19
So that night 1 Samuel 14:34
through the night Psalms 77:2
to come in the night Jeremiah 49:9
with the night Jeremiah 33:20
Show sample aligned rows
Usage map

A compact distribution from source-word alignment before the full evidence tables.

First aligned row Genesis 1:5
Aligned rows 233
Books represented 30
Genesis 25 Exodus 18 Leviticus 2 Numbers 9 Deuteronomy 9 Joshua 7 Judges 12 Ruth 4 1 Samuel 14 2 Samuel 8 1 Kings 6 2 Kings 5 1 Chronicles 2 2 Chronicles 5 Nehemiah 9 Esther 2 Job 17 Psalms 28 Proverbs 3 Ecclesiastes 2 Song Of Solomon 3 Isaiah 18 Jeremiah 12 Lamentations 3 Hosea 2 Amos 1 Obadiah 1 Jonah 3 Micah 1 Zechariah 2
Source forms
לָ֑יְלָה 21x lā·yə·lāh Genesis 1:5, Genesis 7:4, Exodus 13:22, Numbers 11:9
בַּלַּ֣יְלָה 14x bal·lay·lāh Genesis 19:33, Genesis 26:24, Genesis 32:13, Genesis 32:22
הַלָּ֑יְלָה 12x hal·lā·yə·lāh Genesis 1:14, Genesis 19:5, Genesis 20:3, Genesis 31:24
לַ֗יְלָה 12x lay·lāh Exodus 12:30, Exodus 12:31, Deuteronomy 1:33, 2 Kings 7:12
לַ֔יְלָה 11x lay·lāh Exodus 34:28, Deuteronomy 9:9, Deuteronomy 9:18, Judges 9:32
לָֽיְלָה׃ 11x lā·yə·lāh Genesis 7:12, Genesis 31:39, Numbers 9:16, Numbers 14:14
הַלַּ֔יְלָה 9x hal·lay·lāh Genesis 1:16, Genesis 30:15, Genesis 46:2, Exodus 11:4
הַלַּ֙יְלָה֙ 7x hal·lay·lāh Leviticus 6:9, Judges 16:2, Judges 19:25, Ruth 1:12
Parsing patterns
Noun - masculine singular 83x Genesis 1:5, Genesis 7:4, Genesis 7:12, Genesis 14:15
Article | Noun - masculine singular 57x Genesis 1:14, Genesis 1:16, Genesis 19:5, Genesis 19:34
Preposition-b, Article | Noun - masculine singular 39x Genesis 19:33, Genesis 19:35, Genesis 26:24, Genesis 30:16
Conjunctive waw | Noun - masculine singular 26x Genesis 8:22, Exodus 13:21, Leviticus 8:35, Numbers 9:21
Conjunctive waw, Preposition-b, Article | Noun - masculine singular 5x Genesis 1:18, Job 24:14, Psalms 42:8, Ecclesiastes 8:16
Noun - masculine plural 4x 1 Samuel 30:12, Job 2:13, Psalms 16:7, Jonah 1:17
Preposition-b, Article | Noun - masculine plural 4x Psalms 92:2, Psalms 134:1, Song Of Solomon 3:1, Song Of Solomon 3:8
Preposition-b | Noun - masculine singular 3x Genesis 40:5, Genesis 41:11, Nehemiah 9:19
Sources