- LEAGUE a treaty or confederacy. The Jews were forbidden to enter into
an alliance of any kind (1) with the Canaanites (Exodus 23:32, 33;
34:12-16); (2) with the Amalekites (Exodus 17:8, 14; Deuteronomy
25:17-19); (3) with the Moabites and Ammonites (Deuteronomy 2:9, 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 (Genesis
29:16). Jacob took her to wife through a deceit of her father (Genesis
29:23). She was “tender-eyed” (17). She bore to Jacob six sons (32-35),
also one daughter, Dinah (30:21). She accompanied Jacob into Canaan, and
died there before the time of the going down into Egypt (Genesis 31), and
was buried in the cave of Machpelah (49:31). - LEANNOTH for answering; i.e., in singing, occurs in the title to Psalm 88.
The title “Mahalath (q.v.) Leannoth” may be rendered “concerning
sickness, to be sung” i.e., perhaps, to be sung in sickness. - LEASING (Psalm 4:2; 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
(Matthew 3:4). Leather was employed both for clothing (Numbers 31:20;
Hebrews 11:37) and for writing upon. The trade of a tanner is mentioned
(Acts 9:43; 10:6, 32). It was probably learned in Egypt. - LEAVEN (1.) Hebrews seor (Exodus 12:15, 19; 13:7; Leviticus 2:11), the
remnant of dough from the preceding baking which had fermented and
become acid.
(2.) Hebrews hamets, properly “ferment.” In Numbers 6:3, “vinegar of
wine” is more correctly “fermented wine.” In Exodus 13:7, the proper
rendering would be, “Unfermented things [Hebrews 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 (Leviticus 2:11; 7:12; 8:2; Numbers 6:15). Its secretly penetrating