Lexical Summary
Luz: Luz
Original Word:לוּז
Part of Speech:Proper Name Location
Transliteration:Luwz
Pronunciation:looz
Phonetic Spelling:(looz)
KJV: Luz
NASB:Luz
Word Origin:[probably fromH3869 (לוּז - almond) (as growing there)]
1. Luz, the name of two places in Israel
Strong's Exhaustive Concordance
Luz
Probably fromluwz (as growing there); Luz, the name of two places in Palestine -- Luz.
see HEBREWluwz
NAS Exhaustive Concordance
Word Originprobably from the same as
luzDefinitionearlier name of Bethel, also a Hittite city
NASB TranslationLuz (8).
Brown-Driver-Briggs
II.
Genesis 28:19 (J),
Genesis 35:6 (E),
Genesis 48:3 (P),
Joshua 18:13 (twice in verse) (P),
Judges 1:23; apparently distinct from Biblical
Joshua 16:2 (J E; but here perhaps explanatory gloss, see Di); ,
Genesis 28:19Judges 1:26 (on conjectures as to site see GFM); .
(√ of following, meaning unknown; compare perhaps Arabic
shine, gleam, flash (of star, lightning, etc.), or Syriac
wipe out, efface with reference to smooth surface; but this = ).
Topical Lexicon
Overview of OccurrencesGenesis 28:19;Genesis 35:6;Genesis 48:3;Joshua 16:2;Joshua 18:13 (twice within the verse);Judges 1:23;Judges 1:26
Historical Setting
Luz first appears in the patriarchal narratives as the Canaanite name of a settlement later called Bethel by Jacob. By the time of the Conquest the older name still lingered in boundary descriptions (Joshua 16:2; 18:13). During the early settlement period, an unnamed informant spared by the house of Joseph relocated northward and founded a second city named Luz in Hittite territory (Judges 1:26), preserving the designation even after Israelite control of the central hill country was secure.
Geographical Location
Primary Luz/Bethel: Located on the central ridge route, roughly ten miles north of Jerusalem near modern Beitin. Its position made it a strategic lookout over the approach from Ai and the eastern hill country, and a natural tribal border marker between Benjamin and Ephraim.
Secondary Luz: Probably in the northern Lebanon region (land of the Hittites here denoting the Neo-Hittite states), exact location unknown.
Biblical Narrative and Themes
1. Patriarchal Worship (Genesis 28:19; 35:6; 48:3)
• Jacob’s dream of the stairway initiated the renaming: “And he called that place Bethel, though originally the city was named Luz.” (Genesis 28:19).
• Later Jacob returns, builds an altar, and God reaffirms His covenant, underscoring Bethel as a sanctuary and sealing Luz’s identity shift.
2. Tribal Boundaries (Joshua 16:2; 18:13)
• Luz marks the southern border of Ephraim and the northern boundary of Benjamin, highlighting continuity between patriarchal memory and land allotment.
3. Conquest Strategy (Judges 1:23)
• The house of Joseph sends spies who enter Bethel via a secret path shown by a local resident, a tactical echo of Rahab’s role at Jericho.
4. Diaspora Naming (Judges 1:26)
• The spared man “built a city and named it Luz, and it is called Luz to this day.”. This reflects the ancient Near-Eastern practice of transplanting toponyms, and provides a literary foil contrasting covenant inclusion (Rahab) with neutral coexistence.
Theological Significance
Transformation and Identity: The shift from Luz (“almond tree”) to Bethel (“house of God”) illustrates how divine encounter redefines places and people. Jacob’s stone pillow becomes a pillar; a Canaanite town becomes a covenant landmark.
Covenant Continuity: Jacob’s rehearsal inGenesis 48:3 stresses that the God who appeared at Luz is the same who now blesses Joseph’s sons, linking personal revelation with generational promise.
Worship Centrality: Later prophets recall Bethel both positively (as a sacred site) and negatively (as a center of calf worship), reminding believers that a place of encounter must remain aligned with revealed truth or risk corruption.
Archaeology and Extra-Biblical Data
Excavations at Beitin have uncovered Middle Bronze fortifications and an Iron Age cultic complex, consistent with a thriving city in Jacob’s era and a fortified town in the time of the Judges. No definitive remains of the second Luz have yet been identified, corroborating the text’s portrayal of a lesser-known settlement outside Israel’s core.
Prophetic and Typological Implications
The ladder vision at Luz prefigures the mediating work of Jesus Christ (John 1:51), where the true Bethel—God’s dwelling with humanity—is realized in the incarnate Son. The renaming thus anticipates the New Testament doctrine of believers as living stones in a spiritual house.
Lessons for Ministry and Discipleship
• Expectation of Encounter: Ordinary settings may become “Bethel” when God speaks; believers should cultivate responsiveness to divine initiative.
• Stewardship of Heritage: Tribal boundary texts remind the church to pass on both landless promises (spiritual inheritance) and concrete testimonies of God’s faithfulness.
• Mission among the Nations: The transplanted Luz highlights how displaced people carry culture and memory; gospel workers can engage such communities with respect while inviting them into the covenant name.
Key References for Further Study
Genesis 28–35;Joshua 16–18;Judges 1;John 1:51;1 Peter 2:4-5
Forms and Transliterations
בְּל֖וּז בלוז ל֑וּזָה ל֔וּז ל֗וּזָה ל֙וּזָה֙ ל֥וּז לֽוּז׃ לוז לוז׃ לוזה bə·lūz beLuz bəlūz lū·zāh luz lūz Luzah lūzāh
Links
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