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.
Every verse where H1121 appears in the Book of Job — 33 distinct verses. 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.
Job
- Job 1:2 בָנִ֖ים n c mp There were born to him seven sons and three daughters.
- Job 1:3 בְּנֵי n c mp cs His possessions also were seven thousand sheep, three thousand camels, five hundred yoke of oxen, five hundred she-donkeys, and a very great household; so that this man was the greatest of all the children of the east.
- Job 1:4 בָנָי/ו֙ n c mp cs + sfx pers 3ms His sons went and held a feast in the house of each one on his birthday; and they sent and called for their three sisters to eat and to drink with them.
- Job 1:5 בָנַ֔/י n c mp cs + sfx pers 1cs It was so, when the days of their feasting had run their course, that Job sent and sanctified them, and rose up early in the morning, and offered burnt offerings according to the number of them all. For Job said, "It may be that my sons have sinned, and renounced God in their hearts." Thus did Job continually.
- Job 1:6 בְּנֵ֣י n c mp cs Now it happened on the day when the sons of God came to present themselves before Yahweh, that Satan also came among them.
- Job 1:13 וּ/בָנָ֨י/ו conj + n c mp cs + sfx pers 3ms It fell on a day when his sons and his daughters were eating and drinking wine in their eldest brother's house,
- Job 1:18 בָּנֶ֨י/ךָ n c mp cs + sfx pers 2ms While he was still speaking, there came also another, and said, "Your sons and your daughters were eating and drinking wine in their eldest brother's house,
- Job 2:1 בְּנֵ֣י n c mp cs Again it happened on the day when the sons of God came to present themselves before Yahweh, that Satan came also among them to present himself before Yahweh.
- Job 4:11 וּ/בְנֵ֥י conj + n c mp cs The old lion perishes for lack of prey, The cubs of the lioness are scattered abroad.
- Job 5:4 בָנָ֣י/ו n c mp cs + sfx pers 3ms His children are far from safety, They are crushed in the gate. Neither is there any to deliver them,
- Job 5:7 וּ/בְנֵי conj + n c mp cs But man is born to trouble, As the sparks fly upward.
- Job 8:4 בָּנֶ֥י/ךָ n c mp cs + sfx pers 2ms If your children have sinned against him, He has delivered them into the hand of their disobedience;
- Job 14:21 בָ֭נָי/ו n c mp cs + sfx pers 3ms His sons come to honor, and he doesn't know it; They are brought low, but he doesn't perceive it of them.
- Job 16:21 וּֽ/בֶן conj + n c ms cs That he would maintain the right of a man with God, Of a son of man with his neighbor!
- Job 17:5 בָנָ֣י/ו n c mp cs + sfx pers 3ms He who denounces his friends for a prey, Even the eyes of his children shall fail.
- Job 19:17 לִ/בְנֵ֥י prep + n c mp cs My breath is offensive to my wife. I am loathsome to the children of my own mother.
- Job 20:10 בָּ֭נָי/ו n c mp cs + sfx pers 3ms His children shall seek the favor of the poor. His hands shall give back his wealth.
- Job 21:19 לְ/בָנָ֥י/ו prep + n c mp cs + sfx pers 3ms You say, 'God lays up his iniquity for his children.' Let him recompense it to himself, that he may know it.
- Job 25:6 וּ/בֶן conj + n c ms cs How much less man, who is a worm! The son of man, who is a worm!"
- Job 27:14 בָנָ֣י/ו n c mp cs + sfx pers 3ms If his children are multiplied, it is for the sword. His offspring shall not be satisfied with bread.
- Job 28:8 בְנֵי n c mp cs The proud animals have not trodden it, Nor has the fierce lion passed by there.
- Job 30:8 בְּֽנֵי בְּנֵ֣י n c mp cs n c mp cs They are children of fools, yes, children of base men. They were flogged out of the land.
- Job 32:2 בֶן n c ms cs Then the wrath of Elihu the son of Barachel, the Buzite, of the family of Ram, was kindled against Job. His wrath was kindled because he justified himself rather than God.
- Job 32:6 בֶן n c ms cs Elihu the son of Barachel the Buzite answered, "I am young, and you are very old; Therefore I held back, and didn't dare show you my opinion.
- Job 35:8 וּ/לְ/בֶן conj + prep + n c ms cs Your wickedness may hurt a man as you are; And your righteousness may profit a son of man.
- Job 38:7 בְּנֵ֥י n c mp cs When the morning stars sang together, And all the sons of God shouted for joy?
- Job 38:32 בָּנֶ֥י/הָ n c mp cs + sfx pers 3fs Can you lead forth the constellations in their season? Or can you guide the Bear with her cubs?
- Job 39:4 בְ֭נֵי/הֶם n c mp cs + sfx pers 3mp Their young ones become strong. They grow up in the open field. They go forth, and don't return again.
- Job 39:16 בָּנֶ֣י/הָ n c mp cs + sfx pers 3fs She deals harshly with her young ones, as if they were not hers. Though her labor is in vain, she is without fear,
- Job 41:28 בֶן n c ms cs The arrow can't make him flee. Sling stones are like chaff to him.
- Job 41:34 בְּנֵי n c mp cs He sees everything that is high: He is king over all the sons of pride."
- Job 42:13 בָנִ֖ים n c mp He had also seven sons and three daughters.
- Job 42:16 בָּנָי/ו֙ בְּנֵ֣י בָנָ֔י/ו n c mp cs + sfx pers 3ms n c mp cs n c mp cs + sfx pers 3ms After this Job lived one hundred forty years, and saw his sons, and his sons' sons, to four generations.
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.
