בֵּן
son
also: grandson, child fuller range ↓
Full lexicon entry — Brown-Driver-Briggs (BDB)
From Brown-Driver-Briggs (BDB)
Where this word appears
See every Construct-state word in the Hebrew Bible →
Grammar key — what these labels mean
Part of speech
- Noun
- A naming word — a person, place, thing, or idea.
Noun type
- Common
- A common noun — a general class of person, place, or thing (“king,” “city,” “water”), not a specific name.
- Proper
- A name of a specific person, place, or people (e.g. Abraham, Zion, Israel).
- Gentilic
- A noun naming a member of a people, tribe, or region of origin (e.g. an Israelite, a Moabite).
State
- Construct
- A noun bound to a following noun in a possessive / “of” relationship (the construct chain).
- Absolute
- The independent form of a noun, not bound to a following word.
Gender
- Masculine
- Grammatically masculine.
Number
- Plural
- More than one (in Hebrew, generally three or more).
- Singular
- One.
60 verses where H1121 appears in the Absolute state in the Book of Genesis. Filtered view — show all forms. Click any verse to open its interlinear word-by-word view. Verse text shown in the World English Bible for context — . Each verse’s Hebrew form is shown with its reference; the English is not keyword-highlighted, since the data carries no word-level English alignment. Use “Compare translations” on any verse to read it across multiple English versions. This concordance covers the Hebrew Bible; Septuagint (Greek Old Testament) occurrences are not indexed here.
Genesis
- Genesis 3:16 בָנִ֑ים n c mp To the woman he said, "I will greatly multiply your pain in childbirth. In pain you will bring forth children. Your desire will be for your husband, and he will rule over you."
- Genesis 4:25 בֵּ֔ן n c ms Adam knew his wife again. She gave birth to a son, and named him Seth. For, she said, "God has appointed me another child instead of Abel, for Cain killed him."
- Genesis 4:26 בֵּ֔ן n c ms There was also born a son to Seth, and he named him Enosh. Then men began to call on Yahweh's name.
- Genesis 5:4 בָּנִ֖ים n c mp The days of Adam after he became the father of Seth were eight hundred years, and he became the father of sons and daughters.
- Genesis 5:7 בָּנִ֖ים n c mp Seth lived after he became the father of Enosh eight hundred seven years, and became the father of sons and daughters.
- Genesis 5:10 בָּנִ֖ים n c mp Enosh lived after he became the father of Kenan, eight hundred fifteen years, and became the father of sons and daughters.
- Genesis 5:13 בָּנִ֖ים n c mp Kenan lived after he became the father of Mahalalel eight hundred forty years, and became the father of sons and daughters
- Genesis 5:16 בָּנִ֖ים n c mp Mahalalel lived after he became the father of Jared eight hundred thirty years, and became the father of sons and daughters.
- Genesis 5:19 בָּנִ֖ים n c mp Jared lived after he became the father of Enoch eight hundred years, and became the father of sons and daughters.
- Genesis 5:22 בָּנִ֖ים n c mp Enoch walked with God after he became the father of Methuselah three hundred years, and became the father of sons and daughters.
- Genesis 5:26 בָּנִ֖ים n c mp Methuselah lived after he became the father of Lamech seven hundred eighty-two years, and became the father of sons and daughters.
- Genesis 5:28 בֵּֽן n c ms Lamech lived one hundred eighty-two years, and became the father of a son,
- Genesis 5:30 בָּנִ֖ים n c mp Lamech lived after he became the father of Noah five hundred ninety-five years, and became the father of sons and daughters.
- Genesis 6:10 בָנִ֑ים n c mp Noah became the father of three sons: Shem, Ham, and Japheth.
- Genesis 10:1 בְּנֵי בָּנִ֖ים n c mp cs n c mp Now this is the history of the generations of the sons of Noah and of Shem, Ham, and Japheth. Sons were born to them after the flood.
- Genesis 10:25 בָנִ֑ים n c mp To Eber were born two sons. The name of the one was Peleg, for in his days was the earth divided. His brother's name was Joktan.
- Genesis 11:11 בָּנִ֖ים n c mp Shem lived after he became the father of Arpachshad five hundred years, and became the father of sons and daughters.
- Genesis 11:13 בָּנִ֖ים n c mp Arpachshad lived after he became the father of Shelah four hundred three years, and became the father of sons and daughters.
- Genesis 11:15 בָּנִ֖ים n c mp and Shelah lived after he became the father of Eber four hundred three years, and became the father of sons and daughters.
- Genesis 11:17 בָּנִ֖ים n c mp Eber lived after he became the father of Peleg four hundred thirty years, and became the father of sons and daughters.
- Genesis 11:19 בָּנִ֖ים n c mp Peleg lived after he became the father of Reu two hundred nine years, and became the father of sons and daughters.
- Genesis 11:21 בָּנִ֖ים n c mp Reu lived after he became the father of Serug two hundred seven years, and became the father of sons and daughters.
- Genesis 11:23 בָּנִ֖ים n c mp Serug lived after he became the father of Nahor two hundred years, and became the father of sons and daughters.
- Genesis 11:25 בָּנִ֖ים n c mp Nahor lived after he became the father of Terah one hundred nineteen years, and became the father of sons and daughters.
- Genesis 16:11 בֵּ֑ן n c ms The angel of Yahweh said to her, "Behold, you are with child, and will bear a son. You shall call his name Ishmael, because Yahweh has heard your affliction.
- Genesis 16:15 בֵּ֑ן בְּנ֛/וֹ n c ms n c ms cs + sfx pers 3ms Hagar bore a son for Abram. Abram called the name of his son, whom Hagar bore, Ishmael.
- Genesis 17:16 בֵּ֑ן n c ms I will bless her, and moreover I will give you a son by her. Yes, I will bless her, and she will be a mother of nations. Kings of peoples will come from her."
- Genesis 17:19 בֵּ֔ן n c ms God said, "No, but Sarah, your wife, will bear you a son. You shall call his name Isaac. I will establish my covenant with him for an everlasting covenant for his seed after him.
- Genesis 18:10 בֵ֖ן n c ms He said, "I will certainly return to you when the season comes round. Behold, Sarah your wife will have a son." Sarah heard in the tent door, which was behind him.
- Genesis 18:14 בֵֽן n c ms Is anything too hard for Yahweh? At the set time I will return to you, when the season comes round, and Sarah will have a son."
- Genesis 19:37 בֵּ֔ן n c ms The firstborn bore a son, and named him Moab. The same is the father of the Moabites to this day.
- Genesis 19:38 בֵּ֔ן בְנֵֽי n c ms n c mp cs The younger also bore a son, and called his name Ben Ammi. The same is the father of the children of Ammon to this day.
- Genesis 21:2 בֵּ֖ן n c ms Sarah conceived, and bore Abraham a son in his old age, at the set time of which God had spoken to him.
- Genesis 21:7 בָנִ֖ים בֵ֖ן n c mp n c ms She said, "Who would have said to Abraham, that Sarah would nurse children? For I have borne him a son in his old age."
- Genesis 22:20 בָּנִ֖ים n c mp It happened after these things, that it was told Abraham, saying, "Behold, Milcah, she also has borne children to your brother Nahor:
- Genesis 24:36 בֵן֙ n c ms Sarah, my master's wife, bore a son to my master when she was old. He has given all that he has to him.
- Genesis 25:22 הַ/בָּנִים֙ ptcl def.art + n c mp The children struggled together within her. She said, "If it be so, why do I live?" She went to inquire of Yahweh.
- Genesis 29:32 בֵּ֔ן n c ms Leah conceived, and bore a son, and she named him Reuben. For she said, "Because Yahweh has looked at my affliction. For now my husband will love me."
- Genesis 29:33 בֵּן֒ n c ms She conceived again, and bare a son, and said, "Because Yahweh has heard that I am hated, he has therefore given me this son also." She named him Simeon.
- Genesis 29:34 בֵּן֒ בָנִ֑ים n c ms n c mp She conceived again, and bare a son. Said, "Now this time will my husband be joined to me, because I have borne him three sons." Therefore was his name called Levi.
- Genesis 29:35 בֵּ֗ן n c ms She conceived again, and bare a son. She said, "This time will I praise Yahweh." Therefore she named him Judah. Then she stopped bearing.
- Genesis 30:1 בָנִ֔ים n c mp When Rachel saw that she bore Jacob no children, Rachel envied her sister. She said to Jacob, "Give me children, or else I will die."
- Genesis 30:5 בֵּֽן n c ms Bilhah conceived, and bore Jacob a son.
- Genesis 30:6 בֵּ֑ן n c ms Rachel said, "God has judged me, and has also heard my voice, and has given me a son." Therefore called she his name Dan.
- Genesis 30:7 בֵּ֥ן n c ms Bilhah, Rachel's handmaid, conceived again, and bore Jacob a second son.
- Genesis 30:10 בֵּֽן n c ms Zilpah, Leah's handmaid, bore Jacob a son.
- Genesis 30:12 בֵּ֥ן n c ms Zilpah, Leah's handmaid, bore Jacob a second son.
- Genesis 30:17 בֵּ֥ן n c ms God listened to Leah, and she conceived, and bore Jacob a fifth son.
- Genesis 30:19 בֵּן n c ms Leah conceived again, and bore a sixth son to Jacob.
- Genesis 30:20 בָנִ֑ים n c mp Leah said, "God has endowed me with a good dowry. Now my husband will live with me, because I have borne him six sons." She named him Zebulun.
- Genesis 30:23 בֵּ֑ן n c ms She conceived, bore a son, and said, "God has taken away my reproach."
- Genesis 30:24 בֵּ֥ן n c ms She named him Joseph, saying, "May Yahweh add another son to me."
- Genesis 31:43 וְ/הַ/בָּנִ֤ים בָּנַ/י֙ לִ/בְנֵי/הֶ֖ן conj + ptcl def.art + n c mp n c mp cs + sfx pers 1cs prep + n c mp cs + sfx pers 3fp Laban answered Jacob, "The daughters are my daughters, the children are my children, the flocks are my flocks, and all that you see is mine: and what can I do this day to these my daughters, or to their children whom they have borne?
- Genesis 32:11 בָּנִֽים n c mp Please deliver me from the hand of my brother, from the hand of Esau: for I fear him, lest he come and strike me, and the mothers with the children.
- Genesis 35:17 בֵּֽן n c ms It happened that, when she was in hard labor, that the midwife said to her, "Don't be afraid, for now you will have another son."
- Genesis 38:3 בֵּ֑ן n c ms She conceived, and bore a son; and he named him Er.
- Genesis 38:4 בֵּ֑ן n c ms She conceived again, and bore a son; and she named him Onan.
- Genesis 38:5 בֵּ֔ן n c ms She yet again bore a son, and named him Shelah: and he was at Chezib, when she bore him.
- Genesis 41:50 בָנִ֔ים n c mp To Joseph were born two sons before the year of famine came, whom Asenath, the daughter of Potiphera priest of On, bore to him.
- Genesis 49:22 בֵּ֤ן בֵּ֥ן n c ms n c ms "Joseph is a fruitful vine, A fruitful vine by a spring; His branches run over the wall.
About this entry
At a glance — auto-summarized from this page’s data, not written by a person. Every figure links to its source below. This summary describes the numbers; it doesn’t interpret them.
“son” is the headline sense of the Hebrew noun בן (bên). Where the King James Version says “son,” newer translations reach for “sons of” (unfoldingWord Literal Text); the renderings breakdown has the detail. The Hebrew Bible uses it across 3,652 verses — among the most common. First canonically at Genesis 3:16, it enters the text early. Not a single-sense word: its full sense range also takes in “grandson” and “child”. The sections below give every sense, occurrence, and version rendering.
Gloss history
Strong's 1890 vs modern scholarship
About this word
Strong's H1121 catalogs a Hebrew word from the Hebrew Old Testament.
These counts are not copied from any lexicon or concordance. They are computed here, from the morphology-tagged Hebrew Old Testament. What Lemma adds →
- 3,652
- distinct verses
- The word appears in 3,652 distinct verses.
- 37 / 39
- OT books
- The word appears in 37 of 39 Old Testament books.
- #9
- by frequency
- Top 10 most frequent Hebrew words (rank 9 of 8,640 Hebrew words by occurrence).
View all 3,652 occurrences in the concordance →
Most concentrated in
- Numbers 436 verses 12%
- 1 Chronicles 430 verses 12%
- Genesis 306 verses 8%
By section of the Old Testament
By traditional corpus
Conventional, traditional groupings — biblical authorship is debated, so this is a traditional corpus grouping, not an authorship claim. Each share is this word’s portion of its verses in that division of the Hebrew canon. Each figure is a share of the word’s 3,652 distinct verses.
- Prophets (Nevi'im) 1,391 verses · 38%
- Torah (Pentateuch) 1,187 verses · 33%
- Writings (Ketuvim) 1,074 verses · 29%
How translations render this word
Counts come from each version’s own published word-to-Strong’s tagging or interlinear alignment — an approximate guide to how each version renders this word, not a word-level alignment the data otherwise carries. Because each total is that version’s own tagged count, the per-version totals vary from one another and need not match the appearance or distinct-verse counts above. These counts may also differ from a printed concordance because Lemma counts each distinctly tagged rendering and does not collapse phrase taggings into a single head-word total. This is a fixed set of word-tagged versions (KJV, ASV, BSB, ULT) and does not change with the reading translation you choose elsewhere. Each version’s license is shown beside its name below (and on Sources).
BDB lists this Strong’s number as 3 distinct words (homographs). Each count above pools all of them and is not split by sense — see the Senses section below. A low-frequency rendering may belong to a different one of those words, not the primary meaning.
- King James Version†: Son 1,757×, Children 1,289×, Sons 826×
- American Standard Version†: Son 1,622×, Children 1,204×, Sons 801×
- Berean Standard Bible†: Son 1,807×, Sons 836×, Israelites 398×
- unfoldingWord Literal Text†: Sons of 1,811×, Son of 1,212×, Son 718×
King James Version Public Domain
Renders H1121 across 4,891† tagged occurrences — most commonly:
Plus other, less common renderings. Plus 334 renderings that appear only once — usually multi-word phrases or single function words the recovered tagging swept in, not distinct renderings. Not rendered by a distinct English word in 15 further occurrences.
American Standard Version Public Domain
Renders H1121 across 4,872† tagged occurrences — most commonly:
Plus other, less common renderings. Plus 421 renderings that appear only once — usually multi-word phrases or single function words the recovered tagging swept in, not distinct renderings.
Berean Standard Bible Public Domain
Renders H1121 across 4,587† tagged occurrences — most commonly:
Plus other, less common renderings. Plus 197 renderings that appear only once — usually multi-word phrases or single function words the recovered tagging swept in, not distinct renderings. Not rendered by a distinct English word in 208 further occurrences.
unfoldingWord Literal Text CC BY-SA 4.0
Renders H1121 across 4,875† tagged occurrences — most commonly:
Plus other, less common renderings. Plus 83 renderings that appear only once — usually multi-word phrases or single function words the recovered tagging swept in, not distinct renderings.
22 senses and sub-senses in the full BDB
What do BDB’s symbols mean?
BDB uses these scholarly abbreviations:
| Symbol | Meaning |
|---|---|
| 𝔊 | the Septuagint (the ancient Greek translation, LXX) |
| 𝔙 | the Vulgate (the Latin translation) |
| 𝔖 | the Syriac version (the Peshitta) |
| 𝔗 | the Targum (the Aramaic translation) |
| ψ | the Psalms |
| √ | root (the underlying root or stem) |
| ‖ | parallel passage (a synonymous or contrasted parallel) |
| † | the dagger: every passage where the word occurs is cited |
The 22 senses and sub-senses the full Brown-Driver-Briggs lexicon distinguishes for this word, in lexicon order (not ranked by frequency), with BDB’s own verbatim wording and sub-sense lettering. Shown in Hebrew script with BDB’s own scholarly abbreviations. The condensed entry is in the Lexicon Entry tab. See also the Forms in the corpus table below.
בן I son (MI Ph. בן
- 1. son, male child, born of a woman Gn 4:25; 16:11, 15; 17:19 cf. v 16 18:10, 14; 19:37, 38 + often, cf. בֶּן־בִּטְנָהּ Is 49:15; begotten by a man Gn 5:4 f. 28; 6:10; 11:11 f. + often; ‖ בַּת (בָּנוֹת) daughter Gn 5:4, 7, 10 f. Ex 20:10 Dt 5:14; 16:11, 14 1 S 30:3, 6 Jb 1:2 42:13 +; of son as desired Gn 30:2 (cf. 15:2; 16:2; 17:17; 18:10 f. 1 S 1:5–11) 2 K 4:14, 28 ψ 127:3 +; rejoiced in Gn 30:6 +; beloved Ex 21:5 2 S 19:1, 3, 5 1 K 3:26; cared for Dt 1:31; spared Mal 3:17; disciplined & trained Dt 8:5 Pr 3:12; 13:24; 19:18; 29:17; owing reverence, obedience, etc. to parents Pr 6:20; 10:1; 13:1; בִּנְךָ בְּכוֹרְךָ thy first-born son Gn 27:32; הַבֵּן הַבְּכֹר Dt 21:15 cf. 1 S 8:2; בְּנָהּ הַגָּדֹל her elder son Gn 27:15, 42; בְּנוֹ הַגָּדֹל 27:1; בְּנָהּ הַקָּטָן her younger son Gn 27:15, 42. In partic. e.g. Genesis 4:25
- a. בֶּן־אִמּוֹ son of his mother, i.e. own (uterine) brother Gn 43:29, cf. 27:29 Ju 8:19 ψ 50:20; 69:9, & v. אֵם; בְּנֵי אָבִיךָ son of thy father = brethren Gn 49:8 (poet.) e.g. Genesis 43:29
- b. בְּנֵי דֹדֵיהֶן = cousins Nu 36:11. e.g. Numbers 36:11
- c. בְּנִי my son, as term of kindliness of endearment, used by Eli to Samuel 1 S 3:6, 16 cf. 4:16; 24:17; 26:17, 21, 25, v. also Pr 1:8, 10 2:1 +; cf. בִּנְךָ, used by Benhaded of himself to Elisha 2 K 8:9; by Ahaz to Tiglath-pileser 16:7; especially to express intimate and gracious relation with God: י׳ calls Israel בְּנִי בְכֹרִי Ex 4:22 cf. v 23 Ho 11:1, v. also ψ 80:16 (but cf. Che); בָּנִים אַתֶּם ליהוה אלהיכם Dt 14:1; בְּנֵי עֶלְיוֹן ψ 82:6 (‖ אלהים); בְּנֵי אֵל־חָ֑י Ho 2:1; cf. further Dt 32:5 (pl.) v 20 (pl.) Is 1:2, 4; 30:1, 9; Je 3:14, 22; 4:22; 31:20; of future Davidic king 2 S 7:14 = 1 Ch 17:13 cf. ψ 2:7; expressly referred to Solomon 1 Ch 22:10; 28:6; also of children (offered in fire) Ez 16:21. e.g. 1 Samuel 3:6
- d. בְּנֵי האלהים applied to supernatural beings Gn 6:2, 4; Jb 1:6; 2:1; בְּנֵי אלהים Jb 38:7; בְּנֵי אֵלִים ψ 29:1 (on which cf. Che’s note) 89:7. e.g. Genesis 6:2
- e. בֶּן־אָדָם son of man, cf. בְּנֵי א׳, v. אָדָם; †בְּנֵי אִישׁ ψ 4:3 & (‖ בני אדם) 49:3; 62:10; La 3:33. e.g. Psalms 4:3
- f. בֶּן־בִּנְךָ = thy grandson Ex 10:2; Dt 6:2; Ju 8:22 cf. Je 27:7; also pl. Ex 34:7; Dt 4:9, 25; Ju 12:14; 2 K 17:41; 1 Ch 8:40; Jb 42:16; ψ 128:6; Pr 13:22; 17:6; Ez 37:25; also בֵּן alone with similar reference Gn 29:5 (Laban son of Nahor); Laban calls his daughters’ children his own sons Gn 31:28, 43 cf. 32:1; son of Naomi Ru 4:17; בְּנֵי רְבִעִים 2 K 10:30 sons of the fourth generation, and, in general, descendants Jos 22:24, 25, 27 +; cf. 2 S 19:25 2 K 9:20; Ez 5:1. e.g. Exodus 10:2
- g. constantly, as more precise designation, added to personal name כָּלֵב בֶּן־יְפֻנֶּה Nu 14:30; 32:12; 34:19 +; יְהוֹשֻׁעַ בִּן־נוּן Nu 11:28; 14:30; 32:12, 28; 34:17 +; יָרָבְעָם בֶּן־נְבָט 1 K 12:2, 15 +, etc.; also without personal name (often with implication of contempt) בֶּן־קִישׁ 1 S 10:11; בֶּן־יִשַׁי 1 S 20:27, 30, 31; 22:7, 8, 9, 13; 25:10 2 S 20:1; בְּנֵי צְרוּיָה 2 S 16:10; בֶּן־רְמַלְיָהוּ Is 7:4, 5, 9; 8:16; בֶּן־טָֽבְאַ֑ל Is 7:6; cf. also בְּנֵי לֵוִי Nu 16:7, 8. e.g. Numbers 14:30
- h. designated as בֶּן־זְקֻנִים i.e. born in old age of father Gn 37:3; opp. בְּנֵי הַנְּעוּרִים sons of one’s youth ψ 127:4; also בֶּן־בֵּיתִי one born in my house Gn 15:3 (i.e. slave) so בְּנֵי בַיִת Ec 2:7. e.g. Genesis 37:3
- i. in various combinations: (α) as expression of contumely, בֶּן־נַעֲוַת הַמַּרְדּוּת 1 S 20:30; בֶּן־הַמְּרַצֵּחַ הַוֶּה 2 K 6:32 this son of a murderer; cf. בְּנֵי־נָבָל Jb 30:8; בְּנֵי בְלִי־שֵׁם ib.; בְּנֵי עֹנֲנָה Is 57:3 (‖ זֶרַע מְנָאֵף); cf. בֶּן־אִשָּׁה אַחֶרֶת Ju 11:2 (cf. v 1); (β) as term of respect, dignity, בֶּן־חוֹרִים son of nobles Ec 10:17 (in Aramaic = free born); בֶּן־חֲכָמִים Is 19:11; בֶּן־מַלְכֵי־קֶדֶם ib.; cf. בֶּן־מֶלֶךְ ψ 72:1 (‖ מֶלֶךְ); בֶּן־אֲמָתֶ֑ךָ ψ 86:16 in addressing י׳ (‖ עַבְדֶּ֑ךָ) & בְּנֵי־עֲבָדֶיךָ ψ 102:29; of noble appearance בְּנֵי הַמֶּלֶךְ Ju 8:18. e.g. 1 Samuel 20:30
- j. often pl. with name of ancestor, people, land, or city, to denote descendants, inhabitants, membership in a nation or family, etc.: (α) e.g. בְּנֵי־עֵבֶר Gn 10:21; בְּנֵי־חֵת Gn 23:3, 5, 7, 10(×2), 11, 16, 18, 20; 25:10; 49:32 (all P); (בְּנֵי־שֵׁת) Nu 24:17 v. sub 8); בְּנֵי־חֲמוֹר Gn 33:19 Jos 24:32; בְּנֵי עֵשָׂו Gn 36:5, 15, 19 Dt 2:4, 8, 12, 22, 29; בְּנֵי שֵׂעִיר Gn 36:20, 21; בֶּן־(בני)הִנֹּם Jos 15:8 + (cf. sub גַּיְא); בְּנֵי לוֹט Dt 2:9, 19 ψ 83:9; בְּנֵי־יוֹסֵף (lit. Gn 46:27; 48:8; 1 Ch 5:1) Nu 1:32; 26:28, 37; 34:23; 36:5 (מַטֵּה ב׳ י׳) + 6 times Jos, cf. ψ 77:16; even בְּנֵי חֲצִי שֵׁבֶט מְנַשֶּׁה 1 Ch 5:23; בְּנֵי דָוִיד (lit. 2 S 8:18 = 1 Ch 18:17, 1 Ch 3:1, 9) 2 Ch 13:8; 23:3; 32:33; בְּנֵי אָסָף 2 Ch 29:13; Ezr 2:41; 3:8 + (v. אָסָף); בְּנֵי קֹרַח in titles of ψ 42–49, 84, 85, 87, 88; especially (β) בְּנֵי־עַמּוֹן (standing designation of people of Ammon) Gn 19:38 + 81 times (cf. עַמּוֹן & NöZMG 1886, 171 DrSm 66); בְּנֵי יַעֲקֹב (lit. Gn 34:7, 13, 25, 27; 35:5, 22, 26; 49:2) 2 K 17:34 ψ 105:6 Mal 3:6 cf. ψ 77:16; & chiefly (γ) בְּנֵי יִשְׂרָאֵל (lit. Gn 42:5; 45:21; 46:5; Ex 1:1) Ex 1:7 + 613 times, incl. Hex 427 (of which 328 P, 49 E, 25 J, 25 D), Ju 6:1, SK Ch 73 (23 in ref. to ancient history, 10 in opp. to Judah); so also Vrss & var. sometimes for בֵּית יִשׂ׳, e.g. Jos 21:43 + v. Di, Ez 3:1 + v. Co; also the reverse Ez 2:3 al.; note especially עַם בּ׳ יִשְׂרָאֵל Ex 1:9; עַמִּי בּ׳ יִשְׂרָאֵל Ex 3:10; 7:4; עֲדַת בְּנֵי יִשְׂרָאֵל Ex 16:1, 2, 9, 10; 17:1 Lv 16:5; 19:2; Nu 1:2, 53; 8:9, 20; 13:26; 15:25, 26 17:6; 19:9; 25:6; 26:2; 31:12 (all P); דֹּרוֹת ב׳ יִשׂ׳ Ju 3:2; כָּל־ב׳ יִשׂ׳ וְכָל־הָעָם 20:26; ב׳ יִשׂ׳ וּבְנֵי הַלֵּוִי Ne 10:40; also (δ) בְּנֵי יְהוּדָה (lit. Gn 46:12; 26:19 1 Ch 2:3, 10; 4:1) Nu 1:26 + 18 times Nu Jos, Ju 1:8, 9, 16 (so read also v 21(×2) cf. Jos 15:53 & v. sub בנימן) 2 S 1:18 1 Ch 4:27 + 8 times Chr, Je 7:30 + 4 times Je; Ho 2:2 Jo 4:6, 8, 19 Ob 12 (not in K, of Judah or of any other tribe, except בְּנֵי לֵוִי 1 K 12:31) incl. מַטֵּה בְּנֵי יְהוּדָה Jos 15:1, 20, 21; 21:1 1 Ch 6:50; for usage with other tribes of Isr., v. the articles;—but note (ε) †בְּנֵי לֵוִי (lit. Gn 46:11 Ex 6:16 Nu 3:17 1 Ch 5:27; 6:1 cf. 23:6) Ex 32:28 Nu 3:15; 16:7, 8; 18:21 Jos 21:10 (as including sons of Aaron etc.); כָּל־בְּנֵי לֵוִי Ex 32:26; כָּל־אַחֶיךָ ב׳ ל׳ Nu 16:10; הַכֹּהֲנִים ב׳ ל׳ Dt 21:5; 31:9 cf. 1 K 12:31 & Mal 3:3; 1 Ch 23:24, 27; 24:20 Ezr 8:15 (distinguished from priests) Ne 12:23 Ez 40:46 (including בְּנֵי צָדוֹק the priests); also מַחֲנוֹת ב׳ ל׳ 1 Ch 9:18; בְּנֵי הַלֵּוִי 1 Ch 12:27 Ne 10:40; בְּנֵי הַלְּוִיִּם 1 Ch 15:15; 24:30 (cf. also לֵוִי); (ζ) בְּנֵי אַהֲרֹן (lit. Ex 28:1, 40 1 Ch 5:29; 24:1; often Aaron and his sons lit. Ex 27:21; 28:1, 4 +) Lv 3:5, 8, 13; 6:7, 11; 7:10, 33 Jos 21:10 1 Ch 6:35, 39, 42; 15:4 (+ Levites) 24:1, 31 Ne 12:47; also בְּנֵי א׳ הַכֹּהֲנִים Lv 1:5, 8, 11; 2:2; 3:2 Nu 3:3; 10:8 & Jos 21:19 2 Ch 31:19 cf. 26:18; 29:21; 35:14(×2); בְּנֵי אַהֲרֹן הַכֹּהֵן Lv 1:7 Jos 21:4 (as subdivision of Levites) v 13 cf. Lv 7:34; אֶת־כֹּהֲנֵי יהוה אֶת־בְּנֵי אַהֲרֹן וְהַלְּוִיִּם 2 Ch 13:9 cf. v 10; once in sing. הַכֹּהֵן בֶּן־אַהֲרֹן Ne 10:39; v. also sub אַהֲרֹן; (η) †בְּנֵי צָדוֹק Ez 40:26, 44:15 הכהנים הלוים בני צדוק; 48:11 הכהנים הַמְֿקֻדָּשׁ מבני צדוק (𝔊 Sm Co join מ of מבני to preceding word, making pl.); (θ) בְּנֵי with names of peoples, lands, and cities, בְּנֵי כֻשִׁיִּים Am 9:7; בְּנֵי מִצְרַיִם Ez 16:26; בְּנֵי אַשּׁוּר Ez 16:28; 23:7, 9, 12, 23; ב׳ אֶרֶץ הַבְּרִית Ez 30:5 (Co del. ארץ); ב׳ בָּבֶל Ez 23:15, 17, 23; ב׳ יְרוּשָׁלִַם Jo 4:6; ב׳ צִיּוֹן Jo 2:23 La 4:2 ψ 149:2 (cf. Zc 9:13). Vid. further (ι) בְּנֵי עַמֶּ֑ךָ Lv 19:18 cf. 20:17 Nu 22:5 Ju 14:16, 17 Ez 3:11; 33:2, 12, 17, 30; 37:18 Dn 12:1; בְּנֵי פָּרִיצֵי עַמֶּךָ Dn 11:14; (κ) קֶבֶר בְּנֵי הָעָם 2 K 23:6 2 Ch 35:5, 7, 12; קִבְרֵי בְנֵי הָעָם Je 26:23; (λ) בְּנֵי־קֶדֶם Gn 29:1 Ju 7:12; 8:10 1 K 5:10 Jb 1:3 Is 11:14 Je 49:28 Ez 25:4, 10; †(μ) בְּנֵי הַמְּדִינָה Ezr 2:1 = Ne 7:6; (ν) of bulls, בְּנֵי בָשָׁן Dt 32:14 (song) cf. KloSK 1872, 254 Di. e.g. Genesis 10:21
- 2. children (male and female) Gn 3:16; 21:7 Ex 21:5; 22:23; hence בְּנֵי מְנַשֶּׁה הַזְּכָרִים Jos 17:2 male children, בֵּן זָכָר Je 20:15. e.g. Genesis 3:16
- 3. youth, young men (pl.) Pr 7:7 Ct 2:3. e.g. Proverbs 7:7
- 4. the young of animals Lv 22:28 (שׁוֹר אוֹ שֶׂה) cf. Dt 22:6, 7 1 S 6:7, 10 Zc 9:9 Jb 4:11; 28:8; 39:4, 16;—בֶּן־בָּקָר etc. v. sub 7 b infr. e.g. Leviticus 22:28
- 5. of plant-shoots בֵּן פֹּרָת Gn 49:22(×2); also בֵּן ψ 80:16? (‖ כַּנָּה; see Che trans. & crit. n.) e.g. Genesis 49:22
- 6. fig. of lifeless things, בְּנֵי רֶשֶׁף sparks Jb 5:7; stars עַיִשׁ עַל־בָּנֶיהָ Jb 38:32; arrows בֶּן־קָ֑שֶׁת Jb 41:2; בְּנֵי אַשְׁפָּתוֹ) La 3:13; cf. בֶּן־גָּרְנִי i.e. corn of my threshing-floor Is 21:10. e.g. Job 5:7
- 7.
- a. member of a guild, order or class, †בְּנֵי הַנְּבִיאִים i.e. those belonging to the prophetic order 1 K 20:35 2 K 2:3, 5, 7, 15; 4:1, 38(×2); 5:22; 6:1; 9:1 (Hoffm RSProph. 85. 388, K 15 f.; ZehnpfundBAS i.355 comp. Assyrian mâr šipri, son of a messenger = messenger, and explains from the son’s succeeding to father’s calling) & בֶּן־נָבִיא Am 7:14; prob. also †בְּנֵי הַכֹּהֲנִים 1 Ch 9:30 Ezr 2:61; 10:18; †בְּנֵי הַשֹּׁעֲרִים Ezr 2:42; cf. בְּנֵי הַגְּדוּד 2 Ch 25:13 men of the troop, v. Palm. בני שירתא men of the caravan VogNo. 4 al.; also בְּנֵי הַגּוֹלָה = exiles †Ezr 4:1; 6:19, 20; 8:35; 10:7, 16; בֶּן־הָרַקָּחִים Ne 3:8; further, in בֶּן־נֵכָר = foreigner (only P, poet., & late) †Gn 17:12, 27 Ex 12:43 Lv 22:25 Ez 44:9(×2); ב׳־הַנּ׳ †Is 56:3; בְּנֵיִ־נֵכָר †2 S 22:45, 46 = ψ 18:45, 46 Ne 9:2 Is 60:10; 61:5; 62:8 Ez 44:7 ψ 144:7, 11, בְּנֵי־הַנּ׳ Is 56:6; also בְּנֵי הַתּוֹשָׁבִים הַגָּרִים עִמָּכֶם Lv 25:45. e.g. 1 Kings 20:35
- b. of animals, בֶּן־בָקָר son of (the) herd, i.e. young one of the herd, בָּקָר וּבְנֵי בָקָר 1 S 14:32 cf. עֵגֶל בֶּן־בָּקָר Lv 9:2 (P); then, in general, one of the herd: fit for food Gn 18:7, 8 (J), for sacrifice Nu 15:8 (P); בן הַבּ׳ Lv 12:6 Nu 15:9 (P); especially פַּר בֶּן־בָּקָר Ex 29:1 Lv 4:3, 14; 16:3; 23:18 Nu 7:15 + 16 times Nu (all P) + 2 Ch 13:9 Ez 43:19, 23, 25; 45:18; 46:6; פָּרִים בְּנֵי בָּקָר Nu 28:11, 19, 27; 29:13, 17 (P); also בְּנִי אֲתֹנוֹ Gn 49:11 (poem, J; ‖עִירֹה); בְּנֵי־צֹאן ψ 114:4, 6; בֶּן־רְאֵמִים ψ 29:6; בְּנֵי הָרַמָּכִים Est 8:10; (הַ)יּוֹנָה בְּנֵי Lv 1:14 + 7 times Lv + Nu 6:10 cf. בֶּן־יוֹנָה Lv 12:6 (all P); בְּנֵי־נָ֑שֶׁר Pr 30:17; בְּנֵי עֹרֵב ψ 147:9. e.g. 1 Samuel 14:32
- 8. ב׳ as n. relat. followed by word of quality, characteristic, etc. especially †(α) בֶּן־(בני)חַיִל = mighty man 1 S 14:52; 18:17 2 S 2:7; 13:28; 17:10(×2) 1 K 1:52 + 7 times Ch; אֲנָשִׁים בני ח׳ Ju 18:2 2 K 2:16; אֶלָף אִישׁ מִבְּנֵי הֶחָ֑יִל Ju 21:10; †(β) בְּנֵי עַוְלָה wicked men 2 S 3:34; 7:10 1 Ch 17:9 Ho 10:9; בֶּן־ע׳ ψ 89:23 (for בני בליעל v. בליעל); †(γ) בְּנֵי מֶ֑רִי rebels Nu 17:25 (cf. בַּיִת); †(δ) בְּנֵי הַתַּעֲרֻבוֹת sons of pledges = hostages 2 K 14:14 = 2 Ch 25:24; †(ε) בְּנֵי מָוֶת i.e. those deserving of death 1 S 26:16; so בֶּן־מות 2 S 12:5; בְּנֵי תְמוּתָה appointed or exposed to death ψ 79:11; 102:21; cf. †(ζ) בִּן הַכּוֹת one worthy of smiting Dt 25:2; †(η) בְּנֵי עֹ֑נִי Pr 31:5; †(θ) בְּנֵי חֲלוֹף Pr 31:8; †(ι) בְּנֵי שָׁאוֹן Je 48:45 = tumultuous ones; so also (= שֵׁאת) בְּנֵי שֵׁת Nu 24:17 cf. RV Di al.; †(κ) בְּנֵי הַיִּצְהָר Zc 4:14 i.e. anointed ones; †(λ) בֶּן־מֶשֶׁק Gn 15:2 son of possession, i.e. heir; †(μ) הֵילֵל בֶּן־שָׁ֑חַר Is 14:12 son of dawn; †(ν) of animals בְּנֵי שָׁ֑חַץ i.e. proud beasts Jb 28:8; 41:26; (ξ) of Jonah’s gourd בִּן־לַיְלָה Jon 4:10(×2); †(ο) of a fertile hill קֶרֶן בֶּן־שֶׁמֶן Is 5:1. e.g. 1 Samuel 14:52
- 9. n. relat. of age:
- a. of men, וַיְהִי נֹחַ בֶּן־חֲמֵשׁ מֵאוֹת שָׁנָה Gn 5:32 cf. 7:6 + 71 times P; Gn 50:26 Jos 14:7, 10; 24:29 (all E); Nu 32:11 (J), Dt 31:2; also Ju 2:8 1 S 4:15 2 S 4:4; 19:33, 36 1 Ch 2:21 23:3, 24, 27; 27:3 2 Ch 24:15; 25:5; 31:16, 17 Ezr 3:8 Is 65:20(×2) Je 52:1; + 41 times SK Ch of kings at accession; note especially (incl. in above) the phrase מִבֶּן עֶשְׂרִים שָׁנָה וָמָ֑עְלָה Ex 30:14; 38:26 Nu 1:3 + 21 times Nu 1–3 + 26:2, 4; 32:11 1 Ch 23:24, 27 2 Ch 25:5 Ezr 3:8; cf. Lv 27:7 Nu 8:24; 26:62 1 Ch 23:3 & without מעלה Nu 8:25; 18:16; also מִבֶּן עשׂרים שׁנה וְעַד בֶּן־שִׁשִּׁים שָׁנָה Lv 27:3 cf. v 5, 6; מִבֶּן שׁלשׁים שׁנה ומעלה ועד בן־חמשׁים שׁנה Nu 4:3(×2) + 12 times Nu 4; מבן שׁלושׁ שׁנים וּלְמַ֫עְלָה 2 Ch 31:16 cf. v 17; & לְמִבֶּן עשׂרים שׁנה וּלְמָ֑טָה 1 Ch 27:23. e.g. Genesis 5:32
- b. of animals, (Hex all P, incl. H) בֶּן־שָׁנָה Ex 12:5; 29:38 Lv 9:3; 23:18, 19 Nu 7:17 + 28 times Nu 7, 28, 29; also Mi 6:6; בֶּן־שְׁנָתוֹ Lv 12:6; 23:12 Nu 6:12, 14 + 12 times Nu 7; also Ez 46:13. Note.—בן appears perhaps abbrev. as בּ in a few cpd. n.pr.; v. בִּדְקַר (= בֶּן־דקר?), בִּלְשָׁן, בִּמְהָל, בַּעֲלִיס, בַּעֲנָה, בִּרְשַׁע, בִּשְׁלָם (so MV after Schol. Hamâsa3 ed. Freytag; Röde libr. hist. interpr. Arabic 20, 21; but this is very uncertain, cf. Ol§227 b, p. 613).—On Lag’s explan. of אבי in some n.pr. as for אבן = בן cf. LagBN 75 & v. אבינר p. 4, etc., but this is dub. e.g. Exodus 12:5
בן II m. a Levite 1 Ch 15
Senses from the full Brown-Driver-Briggs lexicon (Brown, Driver, Briggs; Oxford 1906 — public domain), digitized via Sefaria, supplemented by the OpenScriptures HebrewLexicon (CC BY 4.0). Full attribution on Sources.
Word origin
I. n.m. son (MI Ph. בן; so Sab. CISiv. No. 2, cf. בני DHMSem. Sprachforsch. 6; Arabic اِبْنٌ; Assyrian bin(u), LyonSargon 9, 1. 57; especially in bin-bin, grandson COTGloss., cf. Dl infr.; Aramaic בַּר, ܒܰܪ, pl. בְּנִין, ܒܢܺܝܢ; cf. Palm., especially VogNo. 21. 31. 36 a al.; possibly orig. connected with בנה build, so Thes, cf. Assyrian bânu, begetter (DlPr 104 & cf. BaZMG 1887, 638 ff.); but all traces of this √ lost in Heb. form; √ perhaps orig. bilit. (בִּן, בֵּן) בַּן v. Sta§ 183)—abs. בּ׳ Gn 4:25 +; בֵּֽן־ Ez 18:10; cstr. בֵּן Gn 49:22(×2); בֶּן־ Gn 5:32 +; בֶּן Est 2:5; Ne 6:18, & c. prefix Gn 17:17; Nu 8:25; 1 Ch 27:23; 2 Ch 25:5; 31:16, 17; בְּנוֹ Nu 23:18; 24:3, 15; בְּנִי Gn 49:11; בִּן Dt 25:2; בִּן־ Ex 33:11 + 32 times (29 times in combination בִּן־נוּן (ישׁוע, הושׁע) יהושׁע); sf. בְּנִי Gn 21:10 +; בִּנְךָ Ex 20:10 +; לִבֱנ֑ךָ Dt 7:3; 1 K 11:13; בְּנֵךְ Gn 30:14 +; בְּנוֹ Gn 4:17 +; בְּנָהּ Gn 21:10 +; pl. בָּנִים Gn 3:16 +; cstr. בְּנֵי Gn 6:2 +; sf. בָּנַי Gn 31:43 +; בָּנֵינוּ Jos 22:25 +; בְּנֵיכֶם Ex 3:22 +, etc.;—
II. n.pr.m. a Levite 1 Ch 15:18, but del. 𝔊 Be Öt cf. v 20.
I. 1 Ch 24:26, 27 as n.pr.m. in AV RV, but render: the sons of Jaaziah his son, & the sons of Merari by Jaaziah his son, cf. VB & Be Öt.
— Brown-Driver-Briggs (Oxford 1906, public domain), digitized via Sefaria, supplemented by the OpenScriptures HebrewLexicon (CC BY 4.0). See Sources.
Derived from בנה (bânâh) (H1129) — to build.
Jastrow Dictionary
A second Hebrew/Aramaic lexicon for comparison, covering Aramaic and post-biblical (Talmudic, Targumic, Midrashic) usage that the biblical-Hebrew BDB does not. Matched by lemma rather than by Strong’s number, so a lemma may carry more than one Jastrow headword (shown separately below), and the entries cover usage well beyond the Bible.
בֵּן
- , constr. בֶּן (b. h.; בנה) offspring, son, child. שבוע הב׳ the male child’s week, a disguise for circumcision day, adopted during the Hadrianic persecutions. Snh. 32ᵇ; Y. Keth. I, 25ᶜ; a. e.—ישוע הב׳ a disguise for פִּדְיוֹן הבן. B. Kam. 80ᵃ.—… בְּנוֹ של the son of, v. שֶׁל. בְּנָן של קדושים descendant of holy men. Ab. Zar. 50ᵃ; a. e.—Pl. בָּנִים, constr. בְּנֵי. Ab. III, 14 ב׳ למקום chosen children of God. Gen. R. s. 82 בָּנֶיהָ של תורה children (followers) of the Law.—Trnsf. belonging to, fit for &c.; e.g. בני גולה those belonging to the colony of exiles, Babylonians &c.; בני גליל Galileans; בני אכילה things fit to be eaten &c. [For such compounds as are not self-evident, see the respective determinants.] [בני פיקרין, v. בְּנִיפיקָרִין.]
A Dictionary of the Targumim, the Talmud Babli and Yerushalmi, and the Midrashic Literature (Marcus Jastrow; London, Luzac, 1903) — Public Domain. Digitized via Sefaria. Digitized via Sefaria. Full attribution on Sources.
Forms in the corpus
The 525 distinct written forms H1121 takes in the Hebrew Bible, most frequent first — each parse links to that state’s occurrences in the concordance. Hebrew forms include their vowel points and cantillation, so a single lemma takes many written forms.
The 60 most common forms are shown; 465 rarer forms follow in the full concordance.
Same root — word family
Other BDB entries built from the same root as H1121, grouped by Strong’s listed origin. These share a root / origin per the lexicon — not necessarily a shared meaning. Each links to that word’s own entry.
Derives from
Shares the same root
- אבן ʼeben H68 stone
- בית bayith H1004 house
- בנא bᵉnâʼ H1124 to build
- בניה binyâh H1140 building
- בנין binyân H1146 building
- בת bath H1323 daughter
- מבנה mibneh H4011 building
- תבן teben H8401 stubble
- תבנית tabnîyth H8403 pattern
Derived from this word
Proper names from this root
People and places named from this root — a name, not an additional meaning of the word.
- בנוי Binnûwy H1131 Binnui
- בני Bânîy H1137 Bani
- בני Bunnîy H1138 Bunni
- בניה Bᵉnâyâh H1141 Benaiah
- יבנאל Yabnᵉʼêl H2995 Jabneel
- יבנה Yabneh H2996 Jabneh
- יבניה Yibnᵉyâh H2997 Ibneiah
- יבניה Yibnîyâh H2998 Ibnijah
- מבני Mᵉbunnay H4012 Mebunnai
- בן Bên H1122 Ben
- בןאבינדב Ben-ʼĂbîynâdâb H1125 Ben-Abinadab
- בןאוני Ben-ʼÔwnîy H1126 Ben-oni
- בןגבר Ben-Geber H1127 Ben-geber
- בןדקר Ben-Deqer H1128 Ben-dekar
- בןהדד Ben-Hădad H1130 Ben-hadad
- בןזוחת Ben-Zôwchêth H1132 Ben-zoheth
- בןחור Ben-Chûwr H1133 Ben-hur
- בןחיל Ben-Chayil H1134 Ben-hail
- בןחנן Ben-Chânân H1135 Ben-hanan
- בןחסד Ben-Cheçed H1136 Ben-hesed
- בניברק Bᵉnêy-Bᵉraq H1139 Bene-barak
- בני יעקן Bᵉnêy Yaʻăqân H1142 Bene-jaakan
- בנימין Binyâmîyn H1144 Benjamin
- בנינו Bᵉnîynûw H1148 Beninu
- בןעמי Ben-ʻAmmîy H1151 Ben-ami
Compare all same-root words → Showing 4 of 38 — not the complete family. 25 of the same-root words are proper names (people or places). They share a root, not necessarily a meaning.
Septuagint verse parallels
Most of the 3,652 Hebrew verses this word occurs in also exist in the Greek Old Testament (Septuagint), so the same passages can be read in Greek by switching the Old Testament edition to the Septuagint.
Read these verses in the Septuagint
- Genesis 3:16
- Exodus 1:1
- Leviticus 1:2
- Numbers 1:2
- Deuteronomy 1:3
- Joshua 1:1
- Judges 1:1
- Ruth 1:1
- 1 Samuel 1:1
- 2 Samuel 1:4
- 1 Kings 1:5
- 2 Kings 1:17
This is a verse-level parallel only — the same verses exist in both the Hebrew and Greek Old Testaments. No word-level Hebrew↔Greek correspondence is claimed: the data carries no such alignment, so no Greek word is shown as this Hebrew word’s translation. Coverage is not total — the Septuagint omits the deuterocanon and renumbers the Psalms, so some Hebrew verses have no direct Greek parallel.
