לַ֫יְלָה, H3915
Night; the dark period from sunset to sunrise, opposite of day; also the named cosmic entity 'Night' in creation.
One of the most elemental words in Hebrew, layil denotes the period of darkness between sunset and sunrise. It appears over 230 times, structuring everything from narrative timing ('that night,' Gen 19:33) to covenantal vigils (Exod 12:42) and poetic lament (Ps 6:7). In Genesis 1:5, God names the darkness 'Night,' elevating it from mere absence of light to a named cosmic category. Across translations — Spanish noche, French nuit, German Nacht — the word carries the same primal resonance of rest, vulnerability, and divine encounter.
Senses
1. night, period of darkness — The dark interval from sunset to sunrise, used as a temporal marker for events, durations, and recurring cycles. Translations uniformly render it as 'night' (noche, nuit, Nacht), and it appears in every genre — law ('that same night,' Exod 12:42), narrative ('by night,' Gen 14:15), wisdom ('her lamp does not go out at night,' Prov 31:18), and lament ('every night I drench my bed,' Ps 6:7). The 234 occurrences testify to night as the primary structuring opposite of day in biblical temporality. 234×
AR["لَيلاً","لَيلَةً","لَيْلًا","لَيْلٍ","لَيْلَةً"]·ben["রাত","রাতে","রাতে।","রাতের","রাত্রি"]·DE["Nacht","Nächte","bei-Nacht","durch-Nacht","in-der-Nacht"]·EN["by-night","night"]·FR["nuit","par-nuit"]·heb["לילה"]·HI["रअत-को","रात","रात-की","रात-को","रात-में"]·ID["malam","pada-malam-hari"]·IT["da-notte","notte","per-notte"]·jav["dalu","dalu.","dalu;","ing-dalu","ing-dalu.","ing-wengi"]·KO["밤","밤-에","밤에","밤의"]·PT["de-noite","de-noite,","noite","noites","à-noite"]·RU["ночей","ночного","ночь","ночью"]·ES["de-noche","noche","noches"]·SW["la-usiku","usiku"]·TR["gece","geceleyin","gecenin"]·urd["رات","رات-کو","رات-کے"]
Gen 1:5, Gen 7:4, Gen 7:12, Gen 14:15, Gen 31:39, Exod 12:30, Exod 12:31, Exod 13:22, Exod 24:18, Exod 34:28, Exod 40:38, Num 9:16 (+38 more)
2. Night, named cosmic entity — A single occurrence in the creation narrative where God names the darkness 'Night' (Gen 1:5), treating it not merely as a time period but as a designated cosmic entity. Spanish capitalizes it as Noche, and the naming act parallels God calling the light 'Day,' establishing the fundamental binary of the created order. Isaiah 34:10 echoes this cosmic sense with perpetual night as a sign of divine judgment. 1×
AR["لَيْلًا"]·ben["রাতে"]·DE["Nacht"]·EN["Night"]·FR["nuit"]·heb["לילה"]·HI["रात"]·ID["Malam"]·IT["notte"]·jav["wengi"]·KO["밤에"]·PT["noite"]·RU["Ночью"]·ES["Noche"]·SW["Usiku"]·TR["Gece"]·urd["رات"]
Related Senses
H3117 1. day, specific time (2231×)H5704 1. until, unto, as far as (1238×)H8141 1. year, unit of time (880×)H6258 1. and now (421×)G2250 1. day (388×)H5750 1. again, more, further (288×)H5769 1. forever, to eternity (280×)H6256 1. time, period (264×)H2320 1. month, calendar period (260×)H0310a 2. after (temporal) (258×)H1242 1. morning (214×)H5750 2. still, yet (continuative) (166×)G5119 1. then (160×)G3568 1. now (147×)G2193 1. until (143×)G3825 1. (141×)G3752 1. (123×)H6153 1. evening, time of day (123×)H0227a 1. then (122×)G5610 1. hour / time / moment (106×)
BDB / Lexicon Reference
לַ֫יְלָה, לַ֫יִל, n.m. Gn 40:5 night (NH id.; MI15 (ב)ללה; Aramaic לֵילָא, ܠܻܠܝܳܐ, ܠܶܠܝܳܐ; Arabic لَيْلٌ, لَيْلَةٌ; Ethiopic ሌሊት all = night; Assyrian lîlâtu, evening DlHWB; meaning of √ dubious; form probably לילי, and ending ָה radical, and not ה loc., NöM 127 DlProl. 128 Ges§ 90, 2. c. R. Köi. p. 57, R. 1);—abs. לַ֫יְלָה Gn 19:33 + 214 times + 2 times Qr (v. infr.); לָ֑יְלָה Gn 1:5 + 3 times;…