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בְּדָן

𐤁𐤃𐤍

Bedan

H917 noun

SILEX Entry

Root עבד to serve, be a servant, be enslaved

Definition

Proper noun: Bedan, a personal name found in the Hebrew Bible. The meaning is uncertain, but may be related to the sense of service or servitude due to its possible connection with the root for 'serve'. Used to refer to two figures regarded as leaders or deliverers within Israelite tradition. The precise lexical meaning of the name is debated and may not have been fully transparent to later transmitters of the text.

Semantic Range

proper name of an Israelite leader, possibly related to themes of serving or servitude; personal name, not used as an appellative or epithet

Root / Etymology

The name בְּדָן (Bedan) is traditionally understood as a contracted form of עַבְדוֹן ('Abdon'), derived from the root עבד (ʿ-b-d, 'to serve'). The initial element בְּ- (be-) could reflect a contraction or abbreviation, but the exact etymology is uncertain and the nature of the contraction is not clear in Hebrew word formation processes. The name is attested as a personal name rather than a common noun.

Historical & Contextual Notes

בְּדָן (Bedan) appears in the Hebrew Bible as the name of one or two Israelite leaders (notably in 1 Samuel 12:11 and possibly 1 Chronicles 7:17), often included in lists of judges or deliverers. Some ancient translations (such as the Septuagint and Syriac) read 'Barak' instead of 'Bedan' in some occurrences, reflecting variant textual traditions or confusion in transmission. The name's meaning is uncertain to later readers and is not transparently an ethnic or occupational designation. English translations often simply transliterate the name as 'Bedan' without conveying an underlying meaning. In biblical usage, the name functions strictly as a proper noun, not as an appellative or descriptive title.

Original Strong's Gloss (1890)

probably shortened for עַבְדוֹן; servile; Bedan, the name of two Israelites; Bedan.

Bantu Hebrew

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Root Family

עבד (ʿ-b-d) — to serve, be a servant, be enslaved

Strong's Lemma SIBI-P1
H4566 מַעְבָּד their deeds
H4567 מַעְבָד his deeds
H5647 עָבַד he served
H5648 עֲבַד you did
H5649 עֲבַד servant

Word Forms

1 distinct form

SIDANCE Surface Transliteration Morphology Common SIBI-P1 Occurrences
H917-01 בְּדָ֔ן bedan HNp Bedan Bedan 2

Occurrences in Scripture

2 total occurrences

SIDANCE Reference Word Transliteration Morphology Common SIBI-P1
H917-01 1 Samuel 12:11 בְּדָ֔ן bedan HNp Bedan Bedan
H917-01 1 Chronicles 7:17 בְּדָ֑ן bedan HNp Bedan Bedan
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