סֻכּוֹת בְּנוֹת (H5524) — Hebrew Lexicon

סֻכּוֹת בְּנוֹת

𐤎𐤊𐤅𐤕 𐤁𐤍𐤅𐤕

Benot

H5524 noun

SILEX Entry

Root סכך, בת to cover, to shelter, to weave; daughter, girl

Definition

A compound proper noun referring to a deity or cultic idol associated with foreign religious practice, specifically named as an object of worship by the settlers from Babylonia in Samaria. The phrase translates literally as 'booths of girls/daughters' and likely denotes cultic shelters or shrines tied to female figures, whether goddesses, attendants, or possibly ritual practitioners. In biblical usage, it functions as a singular divine or cultic name, not as a common noun.

Semantic Range

proper name of a foreign idol or cultic entity, booths associated with female figures in cultic or ritual context, possible idol shrine, cultic shelter, term for a Babylonian deity imported into Samaria

Root / Etymology

The term builds from the noun סֻכּוֹת (sukkot, 'booths', from the root סכך meaning 'to cover, shelter, weave') and בְּנוֹת (benot, 'daughters', the feminine plural construct of בַּת, 'daughter'). The combination is not common in Hebrew but follows a naming pattern seen in Northwest Semitic cultic terminology. The phrase most likely refers to a type of shrine or the collective attendants ('daughters') within it. The semantic leap from 'booths of daughters' to the designation of a particular idol or cult is characteristic of ancient West Asian religious vocabulary.

Historical & Contextual Notes

סֻכּוֹת בְּנוֹת appears in the Hebrew Bible only in 2 Kings 17:30 as the name of a Mesopotamian idol or cultic site established by Babylonian settlers in Samaria after the Neo-Assyrian conquest. The context is a polemic against foreign religious practices imported into the land. The literal translation, 'booths of [the] daughters', has spurred speculation about the cultic function—possibly referencing ritual tents, sacred prostitutes, or goddesses; however, direct evidence for these specifics is lacking in the biblical text. Later Jewish sources and Greek/Latin translations (e.g. LXX Succoth Benoth, Vulgate Succothbenoth) simply preserve its status as a proper name, and some traditions interpret the name as a veiled reference to Ishtar or Venus, but this remains conjectural. The phrase is not used elsewhere in the Hebrew Bible and does not denote a generic 'brothel' or non-religious structure. In modern English Bibles, it is typically rendered as the transliterated proper name 'Succoth-benoth', which preserves the foreign and polemical connotation.

Original Strong's Gloss (1890)

from סֻכּוֹת and the (irregular) plural of בַּת; booths of (the) daughters; brothels, i.e. idoalatrous tents forimpure purpose; Succothbenoth.

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Root Family

בנה (b-n-h) — to build, to create, to establish descendants

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
H1009	בֵּית אַרְבֵּאל	house of
H1010	בֵּית בַּעַל מְעוֹן	house-of
H1011	בֵּית בִּרְאִי	and in the house of
H1012	בֵּית בָּרָה	house of
H1013	בֵּית־גָּדֵר	house-of
H1014	בֵּית גָּמוּל	house of
H1015	בֵּית דִּבְלָתַיִם	house-of
H1016	בֵּית־דָּגוֹן	house-of
H1017	בֵּית הָאֱלִי	house of
H1018	בֵּית הָאֵצֶל	house of
H1020	בֵּית הַיְשִׁימוֹת	house-of
H1021	בֵּית הַכֶּרֶם	house-of
H1022	בֵּית הַלַּחְמִי	house of
H1023	בֵּית הַמֶּרְחָק	house-of
H1024	בֵּית הַמַּרְכָּבוֹת	and house of
H1025	בֵּית הָעֵמֶק	house of
H1026	בֵּית הָעֲרָבָה	house-of
H1027	בֵּית הָרָם	house-of
H1028	בֵּית הָרָן	house of
H1029	בֵּית הַשִּׁטָּה	house-of
H1030	בֵּית הַשִּׁמְשִׁי	house-of
H1031	בֵּית חׇגְלָה	house of
H1032	בֵּית חוֹרוֹן	house-of
H1033	בֵּית כַּר	to the built-house of
H1034	בֵּית לְבָאוֹת	and house-of
H1035	בֵּית לֶחֶם	in the house of
H1036	בֵּית לְעַפְרָה	in the built-house of
H1038	בֵּית מַעֲכָה	house of
H1039	בֵּית נִמְרָה	house of
H1041	בֵּית עַזְמָוֶת	house of
H1042	בֵּית עֲנוֹת	and house of
H1043	בֵּית עֲנָת	and house-of
H1044	בֵּית עֵקֶד	house-of
H1046	בֵּית פֶּלֶט	and house of
H1047	בֵּית פְּעוֹר	house of
H1048	בֵּית פַּצֵּץ	and house-of
H1049	בֵּית צוּר	house of
H1050	בֵּית רְחוֹב	house-of
H1051	בֵּית רָפָא	house of
H1052	בֵּית שְׁאָן	in the built-house of
H1053	בֵּית שֶׁמֶשׁ	in the built-house of
H1054	בֵּית תַּפּוּחַ	and house of
H1121	בֵּן	sons
H1122	בֵּן	son
H1123	בֵּן	sons of
H1124	בְּנָא	the ones building
H1125	בֶּן־אֲבִינָדָב	son
H1126	בֶּן־אוֹנִי	son
H1127	בֶּן־גֶּבֶר	son
H1128	בֶּן־דֶּקֶר	son
H1129	בָּנָה	he built
H1130	בֶּן־הֲדַד	son
H1131	בִּנּוּי	Built-Up One
H1132	בֶּן־זוֹחֵת	and son of
H1133	בֶּן־חוּר	son
H1134	בֶּן־חַיִל	to a son of
H1135	בֶּן־חָנָן	son
H1136	בֶּן־חֶסֶד	son
H1137	בָּנִי	Built-one
H1138	בֻּנִּי	Built One
H1139	בְּנֵי־בְּרַק	and sons of
H1140	בִּנְיָה	and the built-structure
H1141	בְּנָיָה	Yahweh has built
H1142	בְּנֵי יַעֲקָן	among sons of
H1145	בֶּן־יְמִינִי	son
H1146	בִּנְיָן	constructed structure
H1147	בִּנְיָן	the built structure
H1151	בֶּן־עַמִּי	son
H1323	בַּת	daughters
H1324	בַּת	daughter of
H1337	בַּת רַבִּים	daughter of
H1339	בַּת־שֶׁבַע	daughter of
H1340	בַּת־שׁוּעַ	to a daughter of
H205	אָוֶן	and building-stone
H2995	יַבְנְאֵל	and God-Builds
H2996	יַבְנֶה	Yabneh, Building-place
H2997	יִבְנְיָה	Yah Has Built
H2998	יִבְנִיָּה	Yah Builds
H358	אֵילוֹן בֵּית חָנָן	house of
H3845	לִבְנִי	to my son
H4011	מִבְנֶה	like the built-structure of
H4012	מְבֻנַּי	Built-Up One
H4996	נֹא	his son
H5854	עַטְרוֹת בֵּית יוֹאָב	house of
H62	אָבֵל בֵּית־מֲעַכָה	house of
H68	אֶבֶן	your building-stones
H69	אֶבֶן	building-stone of
H72	אֶבֶן הָעֵזֶר	building-stone of
H8401	תֶּבֶן	the straw residue
H8403	תַּבְנִית	in building-pattern of
H885	בְּאֵרֹת בְּנֵי־יַעֲקַן	sons of
H935	בּוֹא	daughter of
H956	בּוּת	and daughter of
H995	בִּין	son of
H996	בֵּין	son

Word Forms

2 distinct forms

SIDANCE	Surface	Transliteration	Morphology	Common	SIBI-P1	Occurrences
`H5524-02`	סֻכּ֣וֹת	sukot	`HNp`	Succoth	booths	1
`H5524-01`	בְּנ֔וֹת	benot	`HNp`	benoth	daughters of	1

Occurrences in Scripture

2 total occurrences

SIDANCE	Reference	Word	Transliteration	Morphology	Common	SIBI-P1
`H5524-02`	2 Kings 17:30	סֻכּ֣וֹת	sukot	`HNp`	Succoth	booths
`H5524-01`	2 Kings 17:30	בְּנ֔וֹת	benot	`HNp`	benoth	daughters of

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