בֵּן
𐤁𐤍
Ben
H1121 noun
SILEX Entry
Definition
Male child, son; by extension, a male descendant, member of a group, or bearer of a particular quality. The primary lexical meaning is 'son,' but in broader usage, it encompasses: (1) a son as a direct male offspring; (2) a male descendant more generally (i.e., grandson); (3) a member or representative of a group (e.g., b'nei Israel, 'children of Israel'); (4) a person characterized by a certain quality or situation (e.g., 'son of valor' for a brave man, 'sons of light'); and (5) used in various construct phrases to mean people of a category, community, or geographical/national origin.
Semantic Range
son, male child, male descendant, grandson, member of a group, tribe member, ethnonym (e.g., 'Israelite'), figurative bearer of a quality (e.g., 'son of peace'), person characterized by a state or quality; in construct: people, children, inhabitants, representatives
Root / Etymology
From the root בנה (b-n-h), which means 'to build.' The noun בן derives from the concept of 'one who is built,' i.e., a child as the result of building a household or lineage. The root conveys the idea of constructing, particularly in the metaphorical sense of consolidating or continuing a family or group.
Historical & Contextual Notes
In early Israelite and monarchic periods, בן refers primarily to a direct male descendant, but usage quickly broadened: collective expressions like 'sons of Israel' encompassed all members of the community, not just literal males. By extension, it could designate subgroups (tribes: e.g., 'sons of Levi' for Levites), members of nationalities (e.g., 'sons of Babylon' for Babylonians), bearers of specific qualities ('sons of strength'), or even abstract categories ('sons of wickedness'). In genealogical lists, בן marks generational succession, but poetic and prophetic literature often use it metonymically or figuratively. Although בן most often refers strictly to sons, it can be used generically for children, especially in construct phrases, and occasionally—contextually—for descendants irrespective of gender, though בת (bat, 'daughter') is the usual feminine counterpart. In some cases, English translations (e.g., KJV and later versions) have rendered as 'sons,' 'children,' or even national/ethnic identifiers. The usage as a marker of group identity or quality is a regular idiom in Biblical Hebrew.
Original Strong's Gloss (1890)
from בָּנָה; a son (as a builder of the family name), in the widest sense (of literal and figurative relationship, including grandson, subject, nation, quality or condition, etc., (like father or brother), etc.); [phrase] afflicted, age, (Ahoh-) (Ammon-) (Hachmon-) (Lev-) ite, (anoint-) ed one, appointed to, ([phrase]) arrow, (Assyr-) (Babylon-) (Egypt-) (Grec-) ian, one born, bough, branch, breed, [phrase] (young) bullock, [phrase] (young) calf, [idiom] came up in, child, colt, [idiom] common, [idiom] corn, daughter, [idiom] of first, [phrase] firstborn, foal, [phrase] very fruitful, [phrase] postage, [idiom] in, [phrase] kid, [phrase] lamb, ([phrase]) man, meet, [phrase] mighty, [phrase] nephew, old, ([phrase]) people, [phrase] rebel, [phrase] robber, [idiom] servant born, [idiom] soldier, son, [phrase] spark, [phrase] steward, [phrase] stranger, [idiom] surely, them of, [phrase] tumultuous one, [phrase] valiant(-est), whelp, worthy, young (one), youth.
Bantu Hebrew
| Language | Bantu Word | Transliteration | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bemba | Bana | Children | |
| Bemba | Bene | sons of, children of, belonging to | |
| Kinyarwanda | Bana bange | my children | |
| Kinyarwanda | Bene nyina | those who have blood relationship with their son's mother | |
| Kirundi | bana | children |
Root Family
בנה (Bayit) — to build, construct, establish
| Strong's | Lemma | SIBI-P1 |
|---|---|---|
| H1004 | בַּיִת | in the houses |
| H1005 | בַּיִת | the built-house |
| H1122 | בֵּן | son |
| H1123 | בֵּן | sons of |
| H1124 | בְּנָא | the ones building |
Word Forms
120 distinct forms
| SIDANCE | Surface | Transliteration | Morphology | Common | SIBI-P1 | SIBI-P2 | Occurrences |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
H1121-14 |
בְּנֵ֣י | beney | HNcmpc |
sons of | sons of | sons of | 1283 |
H1121-09 |
בֶּן | ben | HNcmsc |
son of | son | son | 1282 |
H1121-107 |
בֶן | ven | HNcmsc |
son of | son of | son of | 284 |
H1121-109 |
בְנֵי | veney | HNcmpc |
sons of | sons of | sons of | 283 |
H1121-81 |
וּ/בְנֵ֖י | uveney | HC/Ncmpc |
and the sons of | and sons of | and sons of | 209 |
H1121-47 |
לִ/בְנֵ֣י | liveney | HR/Ncmpc |
to the sons of | to sons of | to the sons of | 188 |
H1121-19 |
בְּנֽ/וֹ | beno | HNcmsc/Sp3ms |
his son | his son | his son | 156 |
H1121-04 |
בָּנָ֔י/ו | banayv | HNcmpc/Sp3ms |
his sons | his sons | his sons | 117 |
H1121-08 |
בָּנִ֖ים | banim | HNcmpa |
sons | sons | sons | 96 |
H1121-18 |
בְּנִ֕/י | beni | HNcmsc/Sp1cs |
my son | my son | my son | 80 |
Occurrences in Scripture
4942 occurrences
| SIDANCE | Reference | Word | Transliteration | Morphology | Common | SIBI-P1 | SIBI-P2 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
H1121-99 |
Genesis 3:16 | בָנִ֑ים | vanim | HNcmpa |
children | sons | sons |
H1121-19 |
Genesis 4:17 | בְּנ֥/וֹ | beno | HNcmsc/Sp3ms |
of his son | his son | his son |
H1121-09 |
Genesis 4:25 | בֵּ֔ן | ben | HNcmsa |
a son | son | a son |
H1121-09 |
Genesis 4:26 | בֵּ֔ן | ben | HNcmsa |
a son | son | a son |
H1121-08 |
Genesis 5:4 | בָּנִ֖ים | banim | HNcmpa |
sons | sons | sons |
H1121-08 |
Genesis 5:7 | בָּנִ֖ים | banim | HNcmpa |
sons | sons | sons |
H1121-08 |
Genesis 5:10 | בָּנִ֖ים | banim | HNcmpa |
sons | sons | sons |
H1121-08 |
Genesis 5:13 | בָּנִ֖ים | banim | HNcmpa |
sons | sons | sons |
H1121-08 |
Genesis 5:16 | בָּנִ֖ים | banim | HNcmpa |
sons | sons | sons |
H1121-08 |
Genesis 5:19 | בָּנִ֖ים | banim | HNcmpa |
sons | sons | sons |
H1121-08 |
Genesis 5:22 | בָּנִ֖ים | banim | HNcmpa |
sons | sons | sons |
H1121-08 |
Genesis 5:26 | בָּנִ֖ים | banim | HNcmpa |
sons | sons | sons |
H1121-09 |
Genesis 5:28 | בֵּֽן | ben | HNcmsa |
a son | son | a son |
H1121-08 |
Genesis 5:30 | בָּנִ֖ים | banim | HNcmpa |
sons | sons | sons |
H1121-09 |
Genesis 5:32 | בֶּן | ben | HNcmsc |
a son of | son | son |
H1121-109 |
Genesis 6:2 | בְנֵי | veney | HNcmpc |
sons | sons of | sons of |
H1121-14 |
Genesis 6:4 | בְּנֵ֤י | beney | HNcmpc |
sons | sons of | sons of |
H1121-99 |
Genesis 6:10 | בָנִ֑ים | vanim | HNcmpa |
sons | sons | sons |
H1121-75 |
Genesis 6:18 | וּ/בָנֶ֛י/ךָ | uvaneykha | HC/Ncmpc/Sp2ms |
and your sons | and your sons | and your sons |
H1121-98 |
Genesis 6:18 | בָנֶ֖י/ךָ | vaneykha | HNcmpc/Sp2ms |
of your sons | your sons | your sons |
H1121-09 |
Genesis 7:6 | בֶּן | ben | HNcmsc |
was | son | son |
H1121-73 |
Genesis 7:7 | וּ֠/בָנָי/ו | uvanayv | HC/Ncmpc/Sp3ms |
and his sons | his sons | and his sons |
H1121-96 |
Genesis 7:7 | בָנָ֛י/ו | vanayv | HNcmpc/Sp3ms |
of his sons | his sons | his sons |
H1121-14 |
Genesis 7:13 | בְּנֵי | beney | HNcmpc |
the sons | sons of | sons of |
H1121-96 |
Genesis 7:13 | בָנָ֛י/ו | vanayv | HNcmpc/Sp3ms |
of his sons | his sons | his sons |
H1121-75 |
Genesis 8:16 | וּ/בָנֶ֥י/ךָ | uvaneykha | HC/Ncmpc/Sp2ms |
and your sons | and your sons | and your sons |
H1121-98 |
Genesis 8:16 | בָנֶ֖י/ךָ | vaneykha | HNcmpc/Sp2ms |
of your sons | your sons | your sons |
H1121-73 |
Genesis 8:18 | וּ/בָנָ֛י/ו | uvanayv | HC/Ncmpc/Sp3ms |
and his sons | his sons | and his sons |
H1121-96 |
Genesis 8:18 | בָנָ֖י/ו | vanayv | HNcmpc/Sp3ms |
of his sons | his sons | his sons |
H1121-04 |
Genesis 9:1 | בָּנָ֑י/ו | banayv | HNcmpc/Sp3ms |
his sons | his sons | his sons |
H1121-04 |
Genesis 9:8 | בָּנָ֥י/ו | banayv | HNcmpc/Sp3ms |
his sons | his sons | his sons |
H1121-109 |
Genesis 9:18 | בְנֵי | veney | HNcmpc |
sons of | sons of | sons of |
H1121-14 |
Genesis 9:19 | בְּנֵי | beney | HNcmpc |
sons | sons of | sons of |
H1121-19 |
Genesis 9:24 | בְּנ֥/וֹ | beno | HNcmsc/Sp3ms |
his son | his son | his son |
H1121-14 |
Genesis 10:1 | בְּנֵי | beney | HNcmpc |
of the sons | sons of | sons of |
H1121-08 |
Genesis 10:1 | בָּנִ֖ים | banim | HNcmpa |
sons | sons | sons |
H1121-14 |
Genesis 10:2 | בְּנֵ֣י | beney | HNcmpc |
sons of | sons of | sons of |
H1121-81 |
Genesis 10:3 | וּ/בְנֵ֖י | uveney | HC/Ncmpc |
And the sons of | and sons of | and sons of |
H1121-81 |
Genesis 10:4 | וּ/בְנֵ֥י | uveney | HC/Ncmpc |
And the sons of | and sons of | and sons of |
H1121-81 |
Genesis 10:6 | וּ/בְנֵ֖י | uveney | HC/Ncmpc |
the sons | and sons of | and sons of |
H1121-81 |
Genesis 10:7 | וּ/בְנֵ֣י | uveney | HC/Ncmpc |
and the sons of | and sons of | and sons of |
H1121-81 |
Genesis 10:7 | וּ/בְנֵ֥י | uveney-2 | HC/Ncmpc |
and the sons of | and sons of | and sons of |
H1121-109 |
Genesis 10:20 | בְנֵי | veney | HNcmpc |
the sons of | sons of | sons of |
H1121-14 |
Genesis 10:21 | בְּנֵי | beney | HNcmpc |
the children/sons | sons of | sons of |
H1121-14 |
Genesis 10:22 | בְּנֵ֥י | beney | HNcmpc |
sons | sons of | sons of |
H1121-81 |
Genesis 10:23 | וּ/בְנֵ֖י | uveney | HC/Ncmpc |
and the sons | and sons of | and sons of |
H1121-99 |
Genesis 10:25 | בָנִ֑ים | vanim | HNcmpa |
sons | sons | sons |
H1121-14 |
Genesis 10:29 | בְּנֵ֥י | beney | HNcmpc |
sons of | sons of | sons of |
H1121-109 |
Genesis 10:31 | בְנֵי | veney | HNcmpc |
[are] the sons of | sons of | sons of |
H1121-14 |
Genesis 10:32 | בְּנֵי | beney | HNcmpc |
of the sons | sons of | sons of |