Un estudio sobre el color: los usos de לָבָן en la Biblia hebrea

Carlos Santos Carretero

doi:10.3989/sefarad.017.002

Authors

Carlos Santos Carretero Israel Institute of Biblical Studies/CEPOAT https://orcid.org/0000-0002-6917-2535

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.3989/sefarad.017.002

Keywords:

Biblical Hebrew, Masoretic Text, White, Chromatism, Semitic Languages, Extraverbal Context, Symbolism

Abstract

The study of color allows us to make assumptions about the correlation (and no correlation) between psychological, social, symbolic elements and language itself. And the Hebrew Bible does not escape from this. With regard to the magnitude of this project, this paper reflects the first stage of my work studying colors in the Masoretic text, specifically on לָבָן, term commonly translated as ‘white.’ In addition, there are various verbal forms containing the verbal root לבן. If we compare לָבָן with the rest of terms of color, we find that this is the most common of them all, which makes it to be considered a primary and widely documented term. But its antiquity is also proof of its opacity. A detailed reading of לָבָן reinforces the idea that the translation of this term as ‘white’ is incomplete. It actually refers to something whose chromatism is low but bright at the same time. Such “vague nature” is what makes לָבָן so present throughout the Hebrew Bible. This paper aims to provide a complete picture of the לָבָן in the Hebrew Bible, establishing the sensory chromatic perception of the term.

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