Hebrew word · Strong's H3820

לֵב

lêb · labe · noun · “heart, mind, will”

In a sentence

Lev (or levav) means heart — in Hebrew thought the seat of mind, will, and emotion, the inner command center of a person that God searches and shapes.

For the Hebrews the lev was less the seat of feelings than the center of thinking and deciding — closer to what we mean by “mind” and “will.” It is where plans are made and character resides.

God’s great concern is the heart: he gives a “new heart,” asks for love “with all your heart,” and tests the heart. Israel’s creed begins, “these words… shall be on your heart” — true faith is heart-deep, not surface-level.

Strong's reference

Definition: the heart; also used (figuratively) very widely for the feelings, the will and even the intellect; likewise for the centre of anything

KJV usage: [phrase] care for, comfortably, consent, [idiom] considered, courag(-eous), friend(-ly), ((broken-), (hard-), (merry-), (stiff-), (stout-), double) heart(-ed), [idiom] heed, [idiom] I, kindly, midst, mind(-ed), [idiom] regard(-ed), [idiom] themselves, [idiom] unawares, understanding, [idiom] well, willingly, wisdom.

Reference gloss from Strong's Concordance (1890, public domain).

Key verses BSB · Public Domain (CC0)

Deuteronomy 6:5 “And you shall love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength.” Proverbs 4:23 “Guard your heart with all diligence, for from it flow springs of life.” Ezekiel 36:26 “I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit within you; I will remove your heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh.”

Original BibleDawn word study. Original-language data and the public-domain Strong's (1890) gloss are referenced; see sources.