4404. malben

Lexical Summary

malben: Brick, brick mold

Original Word: מַלְבֵּן
Part of Speech: Noun Masculine
Transliteration: malben
Pronunciation: mal-BEN
Phonetic Spelling: (mal-bane')
KJV: brickkiln
NASB: brick, brick mold, brickkiln
Word Origin: [from H3835 (לָבַן - To be white) (denominative)]

1. a brick-kiln

Strong's Exhaustive Concordance

brick kiln

From laban (denominative); a brick-kiln -- brickkiln.

see HEBREW laban

NAS Exhaustive Concordance

Word Origin
from laban
Definition
a brick mold, quadrangle
NASB Translation
brick (1), brick mold (1), brickkiln (1).

Brown-Driver-Briggs

מַלְבֵּן noun [masculine]

1 brick-mould;

2 quadrangle (on meaning brick-mould, and figurative something rectangular, see Hoffm^{ZAW 1882, 53-72} Dr^{2Samuel 12:31}, compare Late Hebrew מַלְבֵּן; Arabic ; Syriac ); —

1 brick-mould, 2 Samuel 12:31 Qr (Kt, by error, מלכן), Nahum 3:14.

2 quadrangle, Jeremiah 43:9 (at Tahpanhes).

Topical Lexicon

Definition and Basic Sense

מַלְבֵּן (malben) denotes the brick-mold, brick-kiln, or brick-pavement—the prepared place in which clay is shaped, dried, or set into a permanent structural form. It speaks to the human labor of construction, the technology of empire building, and the vulnerability of man-made strength before the purposes of the LORD.

Occurrences in Scripture

1. 2 Samuel 12:31 – David subjects the captured Ammonites to forced labor “at the brick kilns.”
2. Jeremiah 43:9 – Jeremiah hides stones “in the mortar of the brick pavement” at the entrance of Pharaoh’s palace in Tahpanhes as a sign of Babylon’s coming domination.
3. Nahum 3:14 – Nineveh is taunted to “repair the brick mold” in a futile attempt to withstand divine judgment.

Historical Background

Bricks were a hallmark of Near-Eastern urbanization. Sun-dried or kiln-baked, they allowed the rapid expansion of city walls, palaces, and temples. Military powers conscripted subjugated peoples to this labor, branding brick production as both a symbol and tool of oppression (compare Exodus 1:14). Malben, therefore, evokes scenes of coerced service under human monarchs contrasted with the covenant freedom intended by Israel’s God.

Symbolism and Theological Themes

1. Human Might vs. Divine Sovereignty – In each text malben is tied to nations boasting in fortifications—Ammon, Egypt, Assyria—yet all three are shown powerless before divine decree.
2. Forced Labor and Judgment – Brick-making imagery recalls Israel’s bondage in Egypt; its reappearance in David’s conquest (2 Samuel 12:31) serves as a sober reminder that even Israel’s king must rule justly or face the prophet’s rebuke (2 Samuel 12:9-12).
3. Prophetic Sign-Acts – Jeremiah’s burial of stones in a brick pavement dramatizes the LORD planting Nebuchadnezzar’s throne on Egyptian soil. The immovable stones within human masonry declare that God’s word stands inside and above political structures.
4. Futility of Self-Strength – Nahum’s satire exposes the absurdity of Assyria’s reliance on brickwork when “the fire will consume you” (Nahum 3:15). Human defenses, no matter how industrious, cannot avert divine retribution.

Practical Ministry Applications

• Warning against Oppressive Leadership – Malben reminds leaders that exploiting others for national or personal projects incurs divine displeasure.
• Call to Dependence on God – Congregations tempted to trust in programs, buildings, or budgets are urged to anchor confidence in Christ, “the tested stone” (Isaiah 28:16), rather than their own brick and mortar.
• Illustrating Discipleship – As clay is pressed into a mold, believers are to be “conformed to the image of His Son” (Romans 8:29), willingly rather than by coercion. The Spirit shapes what human tyranny distorts.

Typological and Prophetic Resonance

The motif anticipates the gospel contrast between Babel’s bricks and Christ’s living temple. Where ancient kings stamped their subjects into uniform blocks, Jesus builds His church of “living stones” (1 Peter 2:5). The malben scenes foreshadow a kingdom not established by forced labor but by sacrificial love.

Related Passages for Study

Exodus 1:11-14; Genesis 11:3-4; Isaiah 19:19; Isaiah 28:16; Matthew 16:18; 1 Peter 2:4-6.

Forms and Transliterations

בַּמַּלְבֵּ֔ן בַּמַּלְבֵּ֔ן במלבן מַלְבֵּֽן׃ מלבן׃ bam·mal·bên bammalBen bammalbên mal·bên malBen malbên

Englishman's Concordance

2 Samuel 12:31
HEB: [בַּמַּלְכֶּן כ] (בַּמַּלְבֵּ֔ן ק) וְכֵ֣ן
NAS: and made them pass through the brickkiln. And thus
KJV: and made them pass through the brickkiln: and thus did
INT: and iron pass brick kiln and thus did

Jeremiah 43:9
HEB: וּטְמַנְתָּ֤ם בַּמֶּ֙לֶט֙ בַּמַּלְבֵּ֔ן אֲשֶׁ֛ר בְּפֶ֥תַח
NAS: them in the mortar in the brick [terrace] which
KJV: them in the clay in the brickkiln, which [is] at the entry
INT: and hide the mortar the brick which the entrance

Nahum 3:14
HEB: בַחֹ֖מֶר הַחֲזִ֥יקִי מַלְבֵּֽן׃
NAS: Take hold of the brick mold!
KJV: the morter, make strong the brickkiln.
INT: the mortar Take of the brick

3 Occurrences

Strong's Hebrew 4404
3 Occurrences

bam·mal·bên — 2 Occ.
mal·bên — 1 Occ.