אַרְדְּ
𐤀𐤓𐤃
Arede
H714 noun
SILEX Entry
Definition
A personal name, Ard; in the Hebrew Bible, the name of a descendant of Benjamin and ancestor of an eponymous family group within the tribe of Benjamin. The lexical meaning is uncertain, as the root is not attested elsewhere in Hebrew, and the sense is primarily proper-nominal rather than descriptive. The name may relate contextually to the idea of wandering, movement, or fugitiveness, but this is conjectural.
Semantic Range
personal name, eponymous ancestor, name of a Benjaminite individual; possibly associated with wandering or fugitiveness (conjectural, not certain)
Root / Etymology
The word אַרְדְּ (ʼArd) is traditionally derived from an unused root, possibly linked to the notion of 'wandering' or 'moving restlessly,' but no such root occurs elsewhere in Biblical Hebrew. Thus, the etymology remains uncertain.
Historical & Contextual Notes
אַרְדְּ appears as a personal name in Genesis 46:21 and Numbers 26:38-40, designating a descendant of Benjamin and also marking the progenitor of a clan within that tribe. The term is not used as a common noun, nor does it carry a descriptive meaning beyond its function as a name. No evidence links it directly to the later English term 'fugitive,' a gloss shaped by uncertain root speculation. In the genealogical lists of the Hebrew Bible, Ard is one of several eponymous ancestors who represent subgroups or lineages within the broader clan structure. Translations sometimes render the name meaningfully (e.g., 'fugitive'), but more recent scholarship recognizes it as a non-translatable proper name, preserving its function as an ethnic or familial marker within Israelite tradition. The spelling and preservation of the form show no significant shift across periods or contexts in the biblical text, and its mention is limited to Benjaminite ancestry. There is no evidence that the meaning of the name developed or shifted over time within the textual tradition.
Original Strong's Gloss (1890)
from an unused root probably meaning to wander; fugitive; Ard, the name of two Israelites; Ard.
Bantu Hebrew
No Bantu Hebrew comparisons have been submitted for this word yet.
+ Add Bantu Hebrew WordRoot Family
ארד (ʾ-r-d) — uncertain; possibly wandering, restless movement (conjectural)
| Strong's | Lemma | SIBI-P1 |
|---|---|---|
| H715 | אַרְדּוֹן | Ardon |
| H716 | אַרְדִּי | the Ard-clansman |
| H720 | אֲרוֹד | to Arod |
| H721 | אַרְוָדִי | the Arvadite |
| H722 | אֲרוֹדִי | the Arodite |
Word Forms
2 distinct forms
| SIDANCE | Surface | Transliteration | Morphology | Common | SIBI-P1 | Occurrences |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
H714-01 |
אַ֣רְדְּ | arede | HNp |
Ard | Ard | 1 |
H714-02 |
וָ/אָֽרְדְּ | vaarede | HC/Np |
and Ard | and Ard | 1 |
Occurrences in Scripture
2 total occurrences
| SIDANCE | Reference | Word | Transliteration | Morphology | Common | SIBI-P1 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
H714-02 |
Genesis 46:21 | וָ/אָֽרְדְּ | vaarede | HC/Np |
and Ard | and Ard |
H714-01 |
Numbers 26:40 | אַ֣רְדְּ | arede | HNp |
Ard | Ard |