בֶּן־חֶסֶד

𐤁𐤍־𐤇𐤎𐤃

Ben-Cheçed

H1136 noun

SILEX Entry

Root בּן-, חסד to be a son (descendant), to show kindness or loyalty

Definition

Proper name designating an individual in the united monarchy period; literally, 'son of Hesed,' indicating lineage or descent from a person named Hesed. Used specifically as a personal designation, not as a descriptive phrase.

Semantic Range

personal proper name, designation of lineage, son of the one named Hesed

Root / Etymology

Formed from the Hebrew noun בֵּן (ben, 'son') and the personal name חֶסֶד (ḥesed, likely meaning 'kindness' or related to the root חסד), forming a compound patronymic meaning 'son of Ḥesed.' The structure follows a common biblical Hebrew pattern for names indicating paternal ancestry. Both elements are well-attested as independent lexemes in Hebrew.

Historical & Contextual Notes

בֶּן־חֶסֶד appears as a personal name in the narrative of Solomon's administrative officials (1 Kings 4:10), where Ben-Hesed governs the region of Arubboth in the united monarchy period. The usage exemplifies a standard Israelite naming pattern in which 'ben' (son of) identifies an individual by patrilineal descent. The accompanying personal name 'Ḥesed' was presumably borne by Ben-Hesed's father or ancestor and is not being used here in its lexical sense ('kindness'). The rendering 'son of kindness' in older translations is etymologically accurate but misleading as a definition—the name is not characterizing Ben-Hesed as 'kind' but rather marking his descent from someone so named. There is no evidence of broader usage for this term beyond this proper-naming function in the Hebrew Bible. Later translation traditions sometimes obscure the patronymic structure, and although 'Jew' or 'Jewish' may appear in English translations, the text at this period is strictly referring to an Israelite individual and official.

Original Strong's Gloss (1890)

from בֵּן and חֵסֵד; son of kindness; Ben-Chesed, an Israelite; the son of Hesed.

Bantu Hebrew

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Root Family

בנה (b-n-h) — to build, construct, establish family

Strong's Lemma SIBI-P1
H1004 בַּיִת in the houses
H1005 בַּיִת the built-house
H1006 בַּיִת the house
H1007 בֵּית אָוֶן house-of
H1008 בֵּית־אֵל in house of

Word Forms

2 distinct forms

SIDANCE Surface Transliteration Morphology Common SIBI-P1 Occurrences
H1136-01 בֶּן ben HNcmsc son of son 1
H1136-02 חֶ֖סֶד chesed HNp Hesed steadfast covenantal loyalty 1

Occurrences in Scripture

2 total occurrences

SIDANCE Reference Word Transliteration Morphology Common SIBI-P1
H1136-01 1 Kings 4:10 בֶּן ben HNcmsc son of son
H1136-02 1 Kings 4:10 חֶ֖סֶד chesed HNp Hesed steadfast covenantal loyalty