Lexical Summary
lamad: To learn, to teach, to instruct
Original Word:לָמַד
Part of Speech:Verb
Transliteration:lamad
Pronunciation:lah-MAHD
Phonetic Spelling:(law-mad')
KJV: (un-) accustomed, X diligently, expert, instruct, learn, skilful, teach(-er, -ing)
NASB:teach, learn, taught, learned, teaches, trains, trained
Word Origin:[a primitive root]
1. (properly) to goad
2. (by implication) to teach (the rod being an Oriental incentive)
Strong's Exhaustive Concordance
to teach, to goad,
A primitive root; properly, to goad, i.e. (by implication) to teach (the rod being an Oriental incentive):(un-) accustomed, X diligently, expert, instruct, learn, skilful, teach(-er, - ing).
NAS Exhaustive Concordance
Word Origina prim. root
Definitionto exercise in, learn
NASB Translationaccept (1), expert (1), instruct (1), instructors (1), learn (15), learned (5), really learn (1), skillful (1), taught (15), teach (30), teachers (1), teaches (3), teaching (1), teaching and again (1), train (1), trained (2), trains (3), untrained* (1).
Brown-Driver-Briggs
(Late Hebrew
id., be accustomed to, learn; Aramaic (rare)
learn; Syriac
Pa`el
accustom, combine; Ettaph`al
be taught, etc.; Assyrian
lamâdu,
learn, Dl
Prol. 29); —
Perfect3masculine singularIsaiah 26:10; 1singularProverbs 30:3 3t. Perfect;Imperfect3masculine singularDeuteronomy 17:19; 1singularPsalm 119:73; 3pluralDeuteronomy 4:10 12t. Imperfect;ImperativeIsaiah 1:17;Infinitive absoluteJeremiah 12:16;construct suffixPsalm 119:7;Participle pass construct1 Chronicles 5:8; —learn something, with accusativeDeuteronomy 5:1;Psalm 119:7;Psalm 119:71;Psalm 119:73;Psalm 106:35;Proverbs 30:3;Isaiah 2:4;Isaiah 26:9,10;Isaiah 29:24;Jeremiah 12:16 (twice in verse);Micah 4:3; withJeremiah 10:2; withinfinitiveDeuteronomy 18:9;Isaiah 1:17;Ezekiel 19:3,6;Deuteronomy 4:10;Deuteronomy 14:23;Deuteronomy 17:19;Deuteronomy 31:13;Deuteronomy 31:12;trained to war1 Chronicles 5:18.
Perfect3masculine singularEcclesiastes 12:9; 2masculine suffixPsalm 71:17 7t. Perfect; ImperfectPsalm 25:9;Job 21:22; 2masculine singular suffixPsalm 94:12; 1singularPsalm 51:15; 3masculine pluralDeuteronomy 4:10 12t. Imperfect;Imperative suffixPsalm 25:4 12t. Imperative;InfinitiveJeremiah 32:33 9t.;ParticipleDeuteronomy 4:1 7t. Participle; —teach, absolute 2 Chronicles 17:7,9 (twice in verse);Psalm 60:1;teach some one something, with double accusativeDeuteronomy 4:5,14;Deuteronomy 5:28;Deuteronomy 11:19;Deuteronomy 31:19,22;Judges 3:2;2 Samuel 1:18 (?),Psalm 25:4;Psalm 25:9;Psalm 34:12;Psalm 51:15;Psalm 94:10;Psalm 119:12;Psalm 119:26;Psalm 119:64;Psalm 119:66,67,68,108,124,135,171;Psalm 132:12;Ecclesiastes 12:9;Isaiah 40:14;Jeremiah 2:33;Jeremiah 9:13,19;Jeremiah 13:21;Daniel 1:4; with accusative of personDeuteronomy 4:10;Psalm 25:5;Psalm 71:17;Songs 8:2;Isaiah 48:17;Jeremiah 31:34;Jeremiah 32:33 (twice in verse);Ezra 7:10; accusative of thingJob 21:22; accusative of person of thing2 Samuel 22:35 =Psalm 18:35;Psalm 144:1; accusative of thing personJob 21:22; accusative of person of thingPsalm 94:12; accusative of person of thingIsaiah 40:14; accusative of person infinitive of thingDeuteronomy 4:1;Deuteronomy 6:1;Deuteronomy 20:8;Psalm 143:10;Jeremiah 9:4;Jeremiah 12:16;my teachersPsalm 119:99;Proverbs 5:13.
Perfect3masculine singularJeremiah 31:18;Participle plural construct1 Chronicles 25:7;Songs 3:8; feminineIsaiah 29:13;Hosea 10:11; —trained, as soldiersSongs 3:8; singers1 Chronicles 25:7; a bullock to the yokeHosea 10:11;taught, of a human commandIsaiah 29:13.
Topical Lexicon
Overviewלָמַד (lamad) embraces both the receptive side of “learning” and the active side of “teaching,” appearing about eighty-six times across the Old Testament. The root spans covenant instruction, skill training, prophetic admonition, and eschatological promise. It depicts the conveyance of truth that calls the learner into obedient relationship with the LORD and thus undergirds Israel’s faith, worship, and communal life.
Covenant Instruction in the Pentateuch
1. Parental pedagogy. Deuteronomy repeatedly binds the family to the Torah. “Teach them to your children, speaking about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road” (Deuteronomy 11:19). Here lamad secures generational continuity: parents are the primary catechists of the covenant.
2. National assembly. Moses gathers “men, women, children, and foreigners” so that they may “listen and learn to fear the LORD your God” (Deuteronomy 31:12-13). Learning is public, corporate, and aimed at reverent obedience.
3. Moral separation. Israel must not “learn to imitate the detestable practices” of Canaan (Deuteronomy 18:9). Lamad warns that pedagogy can either sanctify or corrupt.
Training for Skill and Warfare
The same verb governs martial competence: “He trains my hands for battle; my arms can bend a bow of bronze” (Psalm 18:34;2 Samuel 22:35).Judges 3:2 explains that the LORD left certain nations “to teach warfare” to the inexperienced generation. Thus spiritual formation and practical skill share a common vocabulary, hinting at the holistic scope of divine instruction.
Wisdom and Personal Piety
Psalm 119 uses lamad twelve times in the pleas, “Teach me Your statutes” (verse 12, etc.). Here the psalmist models ongoing discipleship: revelation is continually sought, treasured, and obeyed. Similar cries arise inPsalm 25:4-5; 27:11; 143:10. InProverbs 5:13 the repentant son laments, “I did not obey my teachers,” illustrating the peril of rejecting godly counsel.
Prophetic Critique and Promise
1. Corruption of pedagogy. Jeremiah exposes societal decay: “They teach their tongues to lie” (Jeremiah 9:5). Isaiah indicts ritual formalism sustained by “rules taught by men” (Isaiah 29:13).
2. Call to righteousness. “When Your judgments come upon the earth, the inhabitants of the world learn righteousness” (Isaiah 26:9). Lamad links divine discipline with ethical transformation.
3. Messianic hope.Isaiah 54:13 heralds restoration: “All your children will be taught by the LORD.”Micah 4:2 andIsaiah 2:3 foresee the nations streaming to Zion, pleading, “He will teach us His ways.”Jeremiah 31:34 climaxes the theme: under the new covenant “they will no longer teach their neighbor…for they will all know Me.”
God as the Ultimate Teacher
The LORD self-identifies as instructor: “I am the LORD your God, who teaches you to profit, who leads you in the way you should go” (Isaiah 48:17). His pedagogy is personal, benevolent, and effectual, contrasting sharply with the futile tutelage of idols (Habakkuk 2:18-19).
Human Mediators of Instruction
1. Priests: “For the lips of a priest should preserve knowledge, and men should seek instruction from his mouth” (Malachi 2:7—verbally echoing lamad’s function).
2. Kings:Deuteronomy 17:18-20 requires the monarch to copy and read the Torah “so that he may learn to fear the LORD.”
3. Prophets and scribes: Ezra “set his heart to study the Law of the LORD and to practice it, and to teach His statutes” (Ezra 7:10), reflecting lamad’s triad of learn–obey–teach.
From External Law to Internalization
The movement from Deuteronomy’s repeated commands to Jeremiah’s promise of innate knowledge underlines Scripture’s unified trajectory: God’s instruction moves from tablets of stone to hearts of flesh, culminating in the Spirit’s indwelling ministry (compareJohn 14:26;1 John 2:27).
Historical Background
In ancient Israel, instruction began at home, was reinforced in festivals, and expanded through Levitical towns and later synagogues. Post-exilic emphasis on scribal teaching (Nehemiah 8) institutionalized lamad as public reading plus explanation, safeguarding orthodoxy amid diaspora pressures.
Ministry Application Today
• Preaching and teaching derive their mandate from lamad. Faithful ministers expound Scripture so hearers “learn and fear” (Deuteronomy 31:12).
• Discipleship mirrors the Deuteronomic pattern: parents, elders, and congregations transmit doctrine and practice.
• Spiritual warfare training (Psalm 144:1) anticipates New Testament calls to put on the armor of God (Ephesians 6:10-18).
• Mission reflects the prophetic vision: the gospel goes forth “that the nations may learn righteousness.”
Key Representative Texts
Deuteronomy 4:10; 6:1; 11:19; 31:12-13
Judges 3:2
2 Samuel 22:35
Psalm 18:34; 25:4-5; 32:8; 119:12, 66, 71, 108, 124, 135
Proverbs 1:5; 5:13
Isaiah 2:3; 26:9-10; 48:17; 54:13
Jeremiah 9:5, 20; 12:16; 31:34
Micah 4:2
Conclusion
לָמַד weaves a unifying thread through Scripture: God teaches, His people learn, and in turn teach others. The verb summons the covenant community—and ultimately the nations—to receive, embody, and transmit the truth that leads to life.
Forms and Transliterations
אֲלַ֫מְּדֵ֥ם אֲלַמְּדָ֣ה אֲלַמֶּדְכֶֽם׃ אֶלְמַ֥ד אלמד אלמדה אלמדכם׃ אלמדם בְּ֝לָמְדִ֗י בלמדי הַֽמְלַמֵּ֖ד הַֽמְלַמֵּ֣ד המלמד וְ֝לִֽמְלַמְּדַ֗י וְ֝לַמְּדֵ֗נִי וְֽלַמְּדֵ֗נִי וְאֶלְמְדָ֥ה וְלִמַּדְתֶּ֥ם וְלַמְּדָ֥הּ וְלַמֵּ֔ד וְלַמֵּ֤ד וְלַמֵּ֤דְנָה וְלָ֣מְד֔וּ וִֽילַמֵּ֖ד וַֽ֝יִּלְמְד֗וּ וַֽיְלַמְּד֖וּ וַֽיְלַמְּדֵ֖הוּ וַֽיְלַמְּדָ֖הּ וַֽיְלַמְּדוּ֙ וַיְלַמְּדֵ֣הוּ וַיִּלְמַ֥ד וּֽלֲלַמְּדָ֥ם וּלְלַמֵּ֥ד וּלְמַדְתֶּ֣ם וּלְמוּדֵ֖י ואלמדה וילמד וילמדה וילמדהו וילמדו וללמד וללמדם ולמד ולמדה ולמדו ולמדנה ולמדני ולמדתם ולמודי ולמלמדי יְלַמְּד֣וּ יְלַמְּד֤וּ יְלַמֵּדֽוּן׃ יְלַמֶּד־ יִלְמְד֗וּ יִלְמְד֜וּן יִלְמְד֥וּ יִלְמְד֥וּן יִלְמְדוּ֩ יִלְמְדוּ־ יִלְמַ֗ד ילמד ילמד־ ילמדו ילמדו־ ילמדון ילמדון׃ לְלַמְּדָ֖ם לְלַמֵּ֖ד לְלַמֵּ֣ד לְלַמֵּ֥ד לְלַמֵּֽד׃ לִמְּד֖וּם לִמְּד֧וּ לִמְּדוּ֙ לִמְד֥וּ לִמַּ֣דְתִּי לִמַּ֨דְתְּ לִמַּדְתַּ֥נִי לִמַּד־ לִמַּ֖דְתְּ לַמְּדֵ֑נִי לַמְּדֵ֤נִי ׀ לַמְּדֵ֥נִי לַמְּדֵֽנִי׃ לָמְד֖וּ לָמַ֣ד לָמַ֥דְתִּי לָמֹ֣ד לֻמָּ֑ד ללמד ללמד׃ ללמדם למד למד־ למדו למדום למדני למדני׃ למדת למדתי למדתני מְלַמְּדַ֥י מְלַמֵּ֣ד מְלַמֵּ֥ד מְלַמֶּדְךָ֣ מְלֻמְּדֵ֖י מְלֻמְּדֵי־ מְלֻמָּדָֽה׃ מְלֻמָּדָה֙ מלמד מלמדה מלמדה׃ מלמדי מלמדי־ מלמדך תְּלַמְּדֵ֑ם תְּלַמְּדֵ֑נִי תְלַמְּדֵ֣נִי תְלַמְּדֶֽנּוּ׃ תִּלְמַ֗ד תִּלְמָ֔דוּ תִלְמַ֣ד תלמד תלמדו תלמדם תלמדנו׃ תלמדני ’ă·lam·mə·ḏāh ’ă·lam·mə·ḏêm ’ă·lam·meḏ·ḵem ’ălamməḏāh ’ălamməḏêm ’ălammeḏḵem ’el·maḏ ’elmaḏ alammeDah alammedChem aLammeDem bə·lā·mə·ḏî belameDi bəlāməḏî elMad ham·lam·mêḏ hamlamMed hamlammêḏ lā·maḏ lā·maḏ·tî lā·mə·ḏū lā·mōḏ lam·mə·ḏê·nî laMad lāmaḏ laMadti lāmaḏtî lameDu lāməḏū lammeDeni lamməḏênî laMod lāmōḏ lə·lam·mə·ḏām lə·lam·mêḏ lelamMed ləlammêḏ lelammeDam ləlamməḏām lim·ḏū lim·maḏ- lim·maḏ·ta·nî lim·maḏ·tî lim·maḏt lim·mə·ḏū lim·mə·ḏūm limDu limḏū limmad limmaḏ- limMadt limmaḏt limmadTani limmaḏtanî limMadti limmaḏtî limmeDu limməḏū limmeDum limməḏūm lum·māḏ lumMad lummāḏ mə·lam·mə·ḏay mə·lam·mêḏ mə·lam·meḏ·ḵā mə·lum·mā·ḏāh mə·lum·mə·ḏê mə·lum·mə·ḏê- melamMed məlammêḏ melammeDai məlamməḏay melammedCha məlammeḏḵā melummaDah məlummāḏāh məlumməḏê məlumməḏê- melummedei tə·lam·mə·ḏê·nî ṯə·lam·mə·ḏê·nî tə·lam·mə·ḏêm ṯə·lam·mə·ḏen·nū telammeDem təlamməḏêm telammeDeni təlamməḏênî ṯəlamməḏênî telammeDennu ṯəlamməḏennū til·mā·ḏū til·maḏ ṯil·maḏ tilMad tilmaḏ ṯilmaḏ tilMadu tilmāḏū ū·lă·lam·mə·ḏām ū·lə·lam·mêḏ ū·lə·maḏ·tem ū·lə·mū·ḏê ulalammeDam ūlălamməḏām ulelamMed ūləlammêḏ ulemadTem ūləmaḏtem ūləmūḏê ulemuDei vaiyilMad vaiyilmeDu vaylammeDah vaylammeDehu vaylammeDu veelmeDah veLameDu velamMed velammeDah velamMedenah velammeDeni velimlammeDai velimmadTem vilamMed way·lam·mə·ḏāh way·lam·mə·ḏê·hū way·lam·mə·ḏū way·yil·maḏ way·yil·mə·ḏū waylamməḏāh waylamməḏêhū waylamməḏū wayyilmaḏ wayyilməḏū wə’elməḏāh wə·’el·mə·ḏāh wə·lā·mə·ḏū wə·lam·mə·ḏāh wə·lam·mê·ḏə·nāh wə·lam·mə·ḏê·nî wə·lam·mêḏ wə·lim·lam·mə·ḏay wə·lim·maḏ·tem wəlāməḏū wəlammêḏ wəlamməḏāh wəlammêḏənāh wəlamməḏênî wəlimlamməḏay wəlimmaḏtem wî·lam·mêḏ wîlammêḏ yə·lam·mə·ḏū yə·lam·mê·ḏūn yə·lam·meḏ- yelammed yəlammeḏ- yelammeDu yəlamməḏū yelammeDun yəlammêḏūn yil·maḏ yil·mə·ḏū yil·mə·ḏū- yil·mə·ḏūn yilMad yilmaḏ yilmeDu yilməḏū yilməḏū- yilmeDun yilməḏūn
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