Topical Encyclopedia
In biblical terms, the concept of the "lap" is often associated with the idea of closeness, intimacy, and nurturing. The lap is a place where one might hold a child or a loved one, symbolizing care and protection. While the term "lap" itself is not frequently used in the Bible, the imagery and symbolism associated with it can be found throughout the Scriptures.
Symbolism and Usage1.
Intimacy and Care: The lap is often seen as a place of comfort and security. In the context of family, it represents the nurturing relationship between a parent and a child. This imagery is reflected in various biblical passages that emphasize God's care and protection for His people, akin to a parent holding a child in their lap.
2.
Authority and Judgment: In some instances, the lap can symbolize authority and the dispensing of judgment. For example, the act of casting lots into the lap is mentioned in
Proverbs 16:33: "The lot is cast into the lap, but its every decision is from the LORD." This suggests that while humans may seek to determine outcomes through their own means, ultimately, it is God who holds authority over all decisions.
3.
Blessings and Abundance: The lap can also be a metaphor for receiving blessings. In
Luke 6:38, Jesus speaks of giving and receiving: "Give, and it will be given to you. A good measure, pressed down, shaken together, and running over, will be poured into your lap. For with the measure you use, it will be measured back to you." Here, the lap is depicted as a place where blessings overflow, emphasizing the abundance that comes from generosity.
4.
Intimacy with God: The lap can also be seen as a metaphor for the intimate relationship between God and His people. Just as a child finds comfort and safety in a parent's lap, believers are invited to find rest and solace in God's presence. This is reflected in passages that speak of God's tender care and the peace found in His presence.
Cultural ContextIn ancient Near Eastern cultures, the lap was a significant part of daily life, especially in familial settings. It was common for children to sit on their parents' laps, and this practice was a symbol of love and familial bonds. The biblical use of the lap as a metaphor draws on this cultural understanding to convey deeper spiritual truths.
ConclusionWhile the term "lap" may not be explicitly mentioned frequently in the Bible, its symbolic meanings are woven throughout the Scriptures. The lap represents a place of intimacy, care, authority, and blessing, reflecting the nature of God's relationship with His people. Through this imagery, believers are reminded of the comfort and security found in God's presence and the abundant blessings that flow from a life of faith and generosity.
Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary
1. (
n.) The loose part of a coat; the lower part of a garment that plays loosely; a skirt; an apron.
2. (n.) An edge; a border; a hem, as of cloth.
3. (n.) The part of the clothing that lies on the knees or thighs when one sits down; that part of the person thus covered; figuratively, a place of rearing and fostering; as, to be reared in the lap of luxury.
4. (n.) That part of any substance or fixture which extends over, or lies upon, or by the side of, a part of another; as, the lap of a board; also, the measure of such extension over or upon another thing.
5. (n.) The amount by which a slide valve at its half stroke overlaps a port in the seat, being equal to the distance the valve must move from its mid stroke position in order to begin to open the port. Used alone, lap refers to outside lap. See Outside lap (below).
6. (n.) The state or condition of being in part extended over or by the side of something else; or the extent of the overlapping; as, the second boat got a lap of half its length on the leader.
7. (n.) One circuit around a race track, esp. when the distance is a small fraction of a mile; as, to run twenty laps; to win by three laps. See Lap, to fold, 2.
8. (n.) In card playing and other games, the points won in excess of the number necessary to complete a game; -- so called when they are counted in the score of the following game.
9. (n.) A sheet, layer, or bat, of cotton fiber prepared for the carding machine.
10. (n.) A piece of brass, lead, or other soft metal, used to hold a cutting or polishing powder in cutting glass, gems, and the like, or in polishing cutlery, etc. It is usually in the form of wheel or disk, which revolves on a vertical axis.
11. (v. t.) To rest or recline in a lap, or as in a lap.
12. (v. t.) To cut or polish with a lap, as glass, gems, cutlery, etc. See 1st Lap, 10.
13. (n.) To fold; to bend and lay over or on something; as, to lap a piece of cloth.
14. (n.) To wrap or wind around something.
15. (n.) To enfold; to hold as in one's lap; to cherish.
16. (n.) To lay or place over anything so as to partly or wholly cover it; as, to lap one shingle over another; to lay together one partly over another; as, to lap weather-boards; also, to be partly over, or by the side of (something); as, the hinder boat lapped the foremost one.
17. (n.) To lay together one over another, as fleeces or slivers for further working.
18. (v. i.) To be turned or folded; to lie partly upon or by the side of something, or of one another; as, the cloth laps back; the boats lap; the edges lap.
19. (v. i.) To take up drink or food with the tongue; to drink or feed by licking up something.
20. (v. i.) To make a sound like that produced by taking up drink with the tongue.
21. (v. t.) To take into the mouth with the tongue; to lick up with a quick motion of the tongue.
22. (n.) The act of lapping with, or as with, the tongue; as, to take anything into the mouth with a lap.
23. (n.) The sound of lapping.
International Standard Bible Encyclopedia
LAPThe word is the translation of three different Hebrew expressions: cheq (Proverbs 16:33), beghedh (2 Kings 4:39), and chotsen (Nehemiah 5:13, besides chatsen,Psalm 129:7). In all these passages the meaning is that of a part of oriental clothing, probably the folds of the garment covering the bosom or lap of a person. The flowing garments of Orientals invite the use of the same, on the part of speakers, in driving home certain truths enunciated by impressive gesticulation. Every reader of Roman history recalls the impressive incident of Quintus Fabius Maximus (Cunctator), who, in 219 B.C., was ambassador of Rome to Carthage, and who, before the city council, holding the folds of his toga in the shape of a closed pouch, declared that he held enclosed in the same both peace and war, whichever the Carthaginians should desire to choose. When the Carthaginians clamored for war, he opened the folds of his garment and said: "Then you shall have war!" Very much like it, Nehemiah, when pleading for united efforts for the improvement of social order, addressed the priests of Jerusalem to get a pledge of their cooperation: "Also I shook out my lap (chotsen), and said, So God shake out every man from his house, and from his labor, that performeth not this promise; even thus be he shaken out, and emptied" (Nehemiah 5:13).
In English Versions of the Bible the verb "to lap" is found, which has no etymological connection with the above-mentioned nouns. It is in Hebrew laqaq and refers to the loud licking up of water by dogs (1 Kings 21:19;1 Kings 22:38 the King James Version), and in the story of Gideon's battle against the Midianites, of his 300 warriors (Judges 7:5).
H. L. E. Luering
Greek
2859. kolpos -- the bosom... union). Word Origin a prim. word Definition the bosom NASB Word Usage bay
(1), bosom (4),
lap (1). bosom, breast, bay. Apparently
...2978. lailaps -- a hurricane
... intens. prefix lai- and a prim. rootlap- Definition a hurricane NASB Word
Usage fierce gale (1), gale (1), storm (1). storm, tempest....
4179. pollaplasion -- many times more
... many times more. Part of Speech: Adjective Transliteration: pollaplasion Phonetic
Spelling: (pol-lap-las-ee'-ohn) Short Definition: many times more, manifold...
Strong's Hebrew
3952. laqaq -- tolap, lick... 3951, 3952. laqaq. 3953 . to
lap, lick. Transliteration: laqaq Phonetic Spelling:
(law-kak') Short Definition: lapped. Word Origin a prim.
...lap, lick.
...2436. cheq -- bosom
... Origin from an unused word Definition bosom NASB Word Usage arms (1), base (3),
bosom (26), bottom (1), care (1), cherish (1), cherishes (2),lap (2), within (1...
899. beged -- treachery
... Definition: apparel. apparel, clothes, garment,lap, rag, raiment, robe, very
treacherously, From bagad; a covering, ie Clothing; also...
2684. chotsen -- bosom
... arm,lap. A collateral form of chetsen, and meaning the same -- arm,lap. see HEBREW
chetsen. 2683, 2684. chotsen. 2685 . Strong's Numbers.
3940. lappid -- a torch
lappid or lappid. 3939, 3940. lappid or lappid. 3941 . a torch. Transliteration:
lappid or lappid Phonetic Spelling: (lap-peed') Short Definition: torches....
5628. sarach -- to go free, be unrestrained, overrun, exceed
... sarach. 5629 . to go free, be unrestrained, overrun, exceed. Transliteration:
sarach Phonetic Spelling: (saw-rakh') Short Definition:lap. Word Origin a prim....
899b. beged -- a garment, covering
... Word Origin from bagad Definition a garment, covering NASB Word Usage cloth (8),
clothes (81), clothing (6), garment (39), garments (72),lap (1), robes (5...
3941. Lappidoth -- husband of Deborah
... 3940, 3941. Lappidoth. 3942 . husband of Deborah. Transliteration: Lappidoth
Phonetic Spelling: (lap-pee-doth') Short Definition: Lappidoth....
1290. berek -- the knee
... Word Origin from barak Definition the knee NASB Word Usage feeble* (1), knee
(1), kneeled* (1), kneels* (1), knees (20),lap (1). knee....
Library
The Testament of Naphtali Concerning Natural Goodness.
... I was born from Bilhah; and because Rachel dealt craftily, and gave Bilhah in place
of herself to Jacob, and she bore me upon Rachel'slap, therefore was I...
The Purification of Mary
... equipped for the journey. Joseph held the Child while she settled herself
comfortably; then he laid Him in herlap. She sat sideways...
On the Taking Down from the Cross.
... sufficiently contemplate. Then did I take my tender Child on to mylap,
and look at Him. I looked at Him, and He was dead! I looked...
John Mark
... Many begin to run, but one after another, as 'lap' after 'lap' of the racecourse
is got over, has had enough of it, and drops on one side; a hundred started...
But Woe is Thee, Thou Torrent of Human Custom! who Shall Stand...
... eloquence; most necessary to gain your ends, or maintain opinions." As if we should
have never known such words as "golden shower," "lap," "beguile," "temples...
Fifth Tractate. Happiness and Extension of Time.
... This would be no more than taking itlap bylap to correspond with time-laps instead
of choosing to consider it as an indivisible, measurable only by the...
My Readers Will not Wonder That, after This, I did My Very Best to...
... There she placed him on herlap and began to hush him as if he were her own baby,
and Diamond was so entirely happy that he did not care to speak a word....
The Long, Rough Road He Trod
... And no measuring stick has yet been whittled out that can tell that distance. We
want to look a bit at the lastlap of the road, the earth-lap....
The Holy Spirit in the Mediator.
... When He lay in Mary'slap, or as a boy looked around in his stepfather's shop, He
was a child not only in appearance with the wisdom of a venerable, hoary head...
While Vergilius, Going Slowly, was Thinking of These Things...
... "Here, take these and bring me two violet ones, and that cushion of gauze filled
with rose leaves. I will have that in mylap when we are sitting here....
Thesaurus
Lap (12 Occurrences)... knees or thighs when one sits down; that part of the person thus covered; figuratively,
a place of rearing and fostering; as, to be reared in the
lap of luxury
...Knee (12 Occurrences)
... of leprosy. In Job 3:12 the "knees" seem to be used for thelap, as the
place where a child receives its first care. Three times...
Kneel (10 Occurrences)
... of leprosy. In Job 3:12 the "knees" seem to be used for thelap, as the
place where a child receives its first care. Three times...
Land (19790 Occurrences)
... estate. 10. (n.) Thelap of the strakes in a clinker-built boat; thelap
of plates in an iron vessel; -- called also landing. 11....
La-odice'ans (1 Occurrence)
La-odice'ans. Laodiceans, La-odice'ans.Lap . Multi-Version Concordance...
(See RSV). Laodiceans, La-odice'ans.Lap . Reference Bible.
Lick (8 Occurrences)
... 1. (vt) To draw or pass the tongue over; as, a dog licks his master's hand. 2.
(vt) Tolap; to take in with the tongue; as, a dog or cat licks milk....
Lapidoth (1 Occurrence)
Lapwing (2 Occurrences)
... Int. Standard Bible Encyclopedia. LAPWING.lap'-wing (dukhiphath; epops): A translation
used in early VSS, now universally admitted to be incorrect....
Lappidoth (1 Occurrence)
...lap'-i-doth, -doth (lappidhoth, "flames," "torches"; the King James Version, Lapidoth):
Deborah's husband (Judges 4:4). The Hebrew name is a feminine plural...
Gourds (4 Occurrences)
... 2 Kings 4:39 One went out into the field to gather herbs, and found a wild vine,
and gathered of it wild gourds hislap full, and came and shred them into the...
Resources
What is Carnival? | GotQuestions.orgWhat is the insider movement? | GotQuestions.orgWhat is seed faith? What is a seed faith offering? | GotQuestions.orgLap: Dictionary and Thesaurus | Clyx.comBible Concordance •
Bible Dictionary •
Bible Encyclopedia •
Topical Bible •
Bible Thesuarus
