בַּיִת
𐤁𐤉𐤕
Bayit
H1004 noun
SILEX Entry
Definition
A physical structure used for human habitation (house, dwelling), an architectural building, or a shelter. By extension, designates a household (the people living together in a house), a lineage or family group (often used in genealogical or dynastic contexts: 'house of X'), a clan, a dynastic entity (especially of rulers: 'house of David'), or a temple (especially the sanctuary for the national deity; e.g., 'House of YHWH' for the Jerusalem temple). In rarer uses, refers to a prison or dungeon, a palace, or other large buildings. The semantic range can include interior rooms or compartmentalized spaces within other structures.
Semantic Range
house, dwelling, household, family, clan, dynasty, temple, palace, interior room, prison, building, place, lineage, court, group, home
Root / Etymology
Root בנה (“to build, construct, establish family”). בַּיִת is a primary noun form rooted in the idea of constructed space or structure. While בנה emphasizes the action of building or establishing, בַּיִת refers to both the result (a built dwelling) and associated social units (those belonging to or arising from that house).
Historical & Contextual Notes
In the earliest biblical texts, בַּיִת most commonly refers to a physical dwelling, but already in patriarchal and monarchic contexts, the term is used metonymically for the household, extended family, or even tribe (e.g., 'house of Jacob'). From the monarchy onward, especially in royal or priestly texts, בַּיִת is frequently used for ruling dynasties ('house of David') and temple buildings ('house of YHWH'). The term differentiates from מִשְׁכָּן (mishkan, 'tabernacle')—which emphasizes impermanence or mobility—whereas בַּיִת connotes permanence, established presence, and sometimes institutional or dynastic continuity. In later periods (post-exilic), בַּיִת takes on even greater abstractness in second temple and Persian period literature, further developing its institutional or communal sense (e.g., 'house of Israel'). Standard English translations as 'house' or 'household' sometimes obscure these collective, dynastic, and metaphorical nuances; 'temple' or 'dynasty' is contextually more accurate in various passages. The later English term 'Jewish' house or 'Jewish' people in translation does not match biblical usage where ethnic, geographic, or dynastic meanings of 'bayith' are present, and should be avoided for earlier periods.
Original Strong's Gloss (1890)
probably from בָּנָה abbreviated; a house (in the greatest variation of applications, especially family, etc.); court, daughter, door, [phrase] dungeon, family, [phrase] forth of, [idiom] great as would contain, hangings, home(born), (winter) house(-hold), inside(-ward), palace, place, [phrase] prison, [phrase] steward, [phrase] tablet, temple, web, [phrase] within(-out).
Bantu Hebrew
No Bantu Hebrew comparisons have been recorded for this word yet.
Root Family
בנה (Bayit) — to build, construct, establish
| Strong's | Lemma | SIBI-P1 |
|---|---|---|
| H1005 | בַּיִת | the built-house |
| H1121 | בֵּן | sons |
| H1122 | בֵּן | son |
| H1123 | בֵּן | sons of |
| H1124 | בְּנָא | the ones building |
Word Forms
95 distinct forms
| SIDANCE | Surface | Transliteration | Morphology | Common | SIBI-P1 | SIBI-P2 | Occurrences |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
H1004-20 |
בֵּית | beyt | HNcmsc |
house | house-of | house of | 724 |
H1004-28 |
הַ/בַּ֖יִת | habayit | HTd/Ncmsa |
the house | the built-house | the house | 226 |
H1004-33 |
לְ/בֵ֥ית | leveyt | HR/Ncmsc |
of the house | to a house of | to the house of | 150 |
H1004-15 |
בְּ/בֵ֣ית | beveyt | HR/Ncmsc |
in the house | in the house of | in the house of | 100 |
H1004-25 |
בֵּית֖/וֹ | beyto | HNcmsc/Sp3ms |
his house | his built-house | his house | 97 |
H1004-45 |
מִ/בֵּ֖ית | mibeyt | HR/Ncmsc |
from the house | from the built-house | from the house | 74 |
H1004-87 |
בֵית | veyt | HNcmsc |
house | house-of | house of | 61 |
H1004-02 |
בַּ/בַּ֕יִת | babayit | HRd/Ncmsa |
in the house | in the built-house | in the house | 42 |
H1004-69 |
וּ/בֵית֙ | uveyt | HC/Ncmsc |
and house | and house of | and house of | 42 |
H1004-11 |
בָּֽיִת | bayit | HNcmsa |
a house | built house | a house | 38 |
Occurrences in Scripture
2056 occurrences
| SIDANCE | Reference | Word | Transliteration | Morphology | Common | SIBI-P1 | SIBI-P2 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
H1004-44 |
Genesis 6:14 | מִ/בַּ֥יִת | mibayit | HR/Ncmsa |
inside | from a house | from the inside |
H1004-23 |
Genesis 7:1 | בֵּיתְ/ךָ֖ | beytekha | HNcmsc/Sp2ms |
your household | your house | your household |
H1004-55 |
Genesis 12:1 | וּ/מִ/בֵּ֣ית | umibeyt | HC/R/Ncmsc |
and from | and from the built-house of | and from the house of |
H1004-20 |
Genesis 12:15 | בֵּ֥ית | beyt | HNcmsc |
house | house-of | house of |
H1004-25 |
Genesis 12:17 | בֵּית֑/וֹ | beyto | HNcmsc/Sp3ms |
his household | his built-house | his house |
H1004-92 |
Genesis 14:14 | בֵית֗/וֹ | veyto | HNcmsc/Sp3ms |
in his house | his built-house | his house |
H1004-24 |
Genesis 15:2 | בֵּיתִ֔/י | beyti | HNcmsc/Sp1cs |
born in my house | my house | my house |
H1004-24 |
Genesis 15:3 | בֵּיתִ֖/י | beyti | HNcmsc/Sp1cs |
of my household | my house | my house |
H1004-11 |
Genesis 17:12 | בָּ֔יִת | bayit | HNcmsa |
in the house | built house | house |
H1004-23 |
Genesis 17:13 | בֵּֽיתְ/ךָ֖ | beytekha | HNcmsc/Sp2ms |
in your house | your house | your house |
H1004-92 |
Genesis 17:23 | בֵית/וֹ֙ | veyto | HNcmsc/Sp3ms |
in his house | his built-house | his house |
H1004-20 |
Genesis 17:23 | בֵּ֣ית | beyt | HNcmsc |
of [Abraham's] house | house-of | house of |
H1004-92 |
Genesis 17:27 | בֵית/וֹ֙ | veyto | HNcmsc/Sp3ms |
his house | his built-house | his household |
H1004-11 |
Genesis 17:27 | בָּ֔יִת | bayit | HNcmsa |
in the house | built house | household |
H1004-25 |
Genesis 18:19 | בֵּית/וֹ֙ | beyto | HNcmsc/Sp3ms |
his household | his built-house | his household |
H1004-20 |
Genesis 19:2 | בֵּ֨ית | beyt | HNcmsc |
house | house-of | house of |
H1004-25 |
Genesis 19:3 | בֵּית֑/וֹ | beyto | HNcmsc/Sp3ms |
his house | his built-house | his house |
H1004-28 |
Genesis 19:4 | הַ/בַּ֔יִת | habayit | HTd/Ncmsa |
the house | the built-house | the house |
H1004-27 |
Genesis 19:10 | הַ/בָּ֑יְתָ/ה | habayetah | HTd/Ncmsa/Sd |
into the house | to the built-house | into the house |
H1004-28 |
Genesis 19:11 | הַ/בַּ֗יִת | habayit | HTd/Ncmsa |
of the house | the built-house | the house |
H1004-45 |
Genesis 20:13 | מִ/בֵּ֣ית | mibeyt | HR/Ncmsc |
from the house | from the built-house | from the house |
H1004-33 |
Genesis 20:18 | לְ/בֵ֣ית | leveyt | HR/Ncmsc |
of the house | to a house of | to a house of |
H1004-25 |
Genesis 24:2 | בֵּית֔/וֹ | beyto | HNcmsc/Sp3ms |
of his house | his built-house | his house |
H1004-45 |
Genesis 24:7 | מִ/בֵּ֣ית | mibeyt | HR/Ncmsc |
from the house | from the built-house | from the house |
H1004-20 |
Genesis 24:23 | בֵּית | beyt | HNcmsc |
house | house-of | house of |
H1004-20 |
Genesis 24:27 | בֵּ֖ית | beyt | HNcmsc |
to the house | house-of | house of |
H1004-33 |
Genesis 24:28 | לְ/בֵ֣ית | leveyt | HR/Ncmsc |
to the house of | to a house of | to the house of |
H1004-28 |
Genesis 24:31 | הַ/בַּ֔יִת | habayit | HTd/Ncmsa |
the house | the built-house | the house |
H1004-27 |
Genesis 24:32 | הַ/בַּ֔יְתָ/ה | habayetah | HTd/Ncmsa/Sd |
into the house | to the built-house | into the house |
H1004-20 |
Genesis 24:38 | בֵּית | beyt | HNcmsc |
house | house-of | the house of |
H1004-55 |
Genesis 24:40 | וּ/מִ/בֵּ֥ית | umibeyt | HC/R/Ncmsc |
and from the house | and from the built-house of | and from the house of |
H1004-02 |
Genesis 27:15 | בַּ/בָּ֑יִת | babayit | HRd/Ncmsa |
in the house | in the built-house | in the house |
H1004-21 |
Genesis 28:2 | בֵּ֥יתָ/ה | beytah | HNcmsc/Sd |
to the house | her house | her house |
H1004-20 |
Genesis 28:17 | בֵּ֣ית | beyt | HNcmsc |
house | house-of | house of |
H1004-20 |
Genesis 28:21 | בֵּ֣ית | beyt | HNcmsc |
house | house-of | house of |
H1004-20 |
Genesis 28:22 | בֵּ֣ית | beyt | HNcmsc |
house | house-of | house of |
H1004-25 |
Genesis 29:13 | בֵּית֑/וֹ | beyto | HNcmsc/Sp3ms |
his house | his built-house | his house |
H1004-37 |
Genesis 30:30 | לְ/בֵיתִֽ/י | leveyti | HR/Ncmsc/Sp1cs |
for my own household | to my house | to my house |
H1004-15 |
Genesis 31:14 | בְּ/בֵ֥ית | beveyt | HR/Ncmsc |
in the house | in the house of | in the house of |
H1004-33 |
Genesis 31:30 | לְ/בֵ֣ית | leveyt | HR/Ncmsc |
for the house | to a house of | to the house of |
H1004-89 |
Genesis 31:37 | בֵיתֶ֔/ךָ | veytekha | HNcmsc/Sp2ms |
of your house | your built-house | your house |
H1004-17 |
Genesis 31:41 | בְּ/בֵיתֶ/ךָ֒ | beveytekha | HR/Ncmsc/Sp2ms |
in your house | in your house | in your house |
H1004-11 |
Genesis 33:17 | בָּ֑יִת | bayit | HNcmsa |
a house | built house | a house |
H1004-20 |
Genesis 34:19 | בֵּ֥ית | beyt | HNcmsc |
the house | house-of | the house of |
H1004-45 |
Genesis 34:26 | מִ/בֵּ֥ית | mibeyt | HR/Ncmsc |
from the house of | from the built-house | from the house of |
H1004-02 |
Genesis 34:29 | בַּ/בָּֽיִת | babayit | HRd/Ncmsa |
in the house | in the built-house | in the built-house |
H1004-74 |
Genesis 34:30 | וּ/בֵיתִֽ/י | uveyti | HC/Ncmsc/Sp1cs |
and my household | and my house | and my household |
H1004-25 |
Genesis 35:2 | בֵּית֔/וֹ | beyto | HNcmsc/Sp3ms |
his household | his built-house | his household |
H1004-25 |
Genesis 36:6 | בֵּית/וֹ֒ | beyto | HNcmsc/Sp3ms |
of his household | his built-house | his household |
H1004-87 |
Genesis 38:11 | בֵית | veyt | HNcmsc |
in the house | house-of | in the house of |