בָּנִי
Bani
BDB lists 6 entries for ‘Bani’ fuller range ↓
Full lexicon entry — Brown-Driver-Briggs (BDB)
From Brown-Driver-Briggs (BDB)
Where this word appears
Grammar key — what these labels mean
Part of speech
- Noun
- A naming word — a person, place, thing, or idea.
Noun type
- Proper
- A name of a specific person, place, or people (e.g. Abraham, Zion, Israel).
Every verse where H1137 appears — 14 distinct verses across 4 books. 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.
2 Samuel 1 verse
1 Chronicles 2 verses
Ezra 4 verses
- Ezra 2:10 בָנִ֔י n Proper The children of Bani, six hundred forty-two.
- Ezra 10:29 בָּנִ֑י n Proper Of the sons of Bani: Meshullam, Malluch, and Adaiah, Jashub, and Sheal, Jeremoth.
- Ezra 10:34 בָנִ֔י n Proper Of the sons of Bani: Maadai, Amram, and Uel,
- Ezra 10:38 וּ/בָנִ֥י conj + n Proper and Bani, and Binnui, Shimei,
Nehemiah 7 verses
- Nehemiah 3:17 בָּנִ֑י n Proper After him repaired the Levites, Rehum the son of Bani. Next to him repaired Hashabiah, the ruler of half the district of Keilah, for his district.
- Nehemiah 8:7 וּ/בָנִ֡י conj + n Proper Also Jeshua, and Bani, and Sherebiah, Jamin, Akkub, Shabbethai, Hodiah, Maaseiah, Kelita, Azariah, Jozabad, Hanan, Pelaiah, and the Levites, caused the people to understand the law: and the people [stood] in their place.
- Nehemiah 9:4 וּ/בָנִ֜י בָּנִ֣י conj + n Proper n Proper Then stood up on the stairs of the Levites, Jeshua, and Bani, Kadmiel, Shebaniah, Bunni, Sherebiah, Bani, [and] Chenani, and cried with a loud voice to Yahweh their God.
- Nehemiah 9:5 בָּנִ֨י n Proper Then the Levites, Jeshua, and Kadmiel, Bani, Hashabneiah, Sherebiah, Hodiah, Shebaniah, [and] Pethahiah, said, Stand up and bless Yahweh your God from everlasting to everlasting; and blessed be your glorious name, which is exalted above all blessing and praise.
- Nehemiah 10:13 בָנִ֖י n Proper Hodiah, Bani, Beninu.
- Nehemiah 10:14 בָּנִֽי n Proper The chiefs of the people: Parosh, Pahath-moab, Elam, Zattu, Bani,
- Nehemiah 11:22 בָּנִי֙ n Proper The overseer also of the Levites at Jerusalem was Uzzi the son of Bani, the son of Hashabiah, the son of Mattaniah, the son of Mica, of the sons of Asaph, the singers, over the business of the house of God.
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.
“Bani” is the headline sense of the Hebrew name בני (Bânîy). More than half of its appearances fall in Nehemiah. It appears 14 verses across 4 books of the Hebrew Bible, among its uncommon vocabulary. First canonically at 2 Samuel 23:36, it enters the text early. See 14-verse concordance and the renderings breakdown below.
Gloss history
Strong's 1890 vs modern scholarship
About this word
Strong's H1137 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 →
- 14
- distinct verses
- The word appears in 14 distinct verses.
- 4 / 39
- OT books
- The word appears in 4 of 39 Old Testament books.
- #1,836
- by frequency
- Top 2500 most frequent Hebrew words (rank 1,836 of 8,640 Hebrew words by occurrence).
View all 14 occurrences in the concordance →
Most concentrated in
- Nehemiah 7 verses 50%
- Ezra 4 verses 29%
- 1 Chronicles 2 verses 14%
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 14 distinct verses.
- Writings (Ketuvim) 13 verses · 93%
- Prophets (Nevi'im) 1 verse · 7%
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).
- King James Version: Bani 15×
- American Standard Version: Bani 15×
- Berean Standard Bible: Bani 13×
- unfoldingWord Literal Text: Bani 15×
King James Version Public Domain
Renders H1137 across 15 tagged occurrences — most commonly:
American Standard Version Public Domain
Renders H1137 across 15 tagged occurrences — most commonly:
Berean Standard Bible Public Domain
Renders H1137 across 14 tagged occurrences — most commonly:
Plus 1 rendering that appears only once — usually multi-word phrases or single function words the recovered tagging swept in, not distinct renderings.
unfoldingWord Literal Text CC BY-SA 4.0
Renders H1137 across 15 tagged occurrences — most commonly:
11 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 11 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.
- 1. one of David’s heroes 2 S 23:36 בָּנִי הַגָּדִי (‖ 1 Ch 11:38 has בֶּן־הַגְרִי, but v. DrSm). e.g. 2 Samuel 23:36
- 2. Levites,
- a. 1 Ch 6:31; e.g. 1 Chronicles 6:31
- b. Ne 3:17 cf. 8:7 (= בִּנּוּי 10:10) 9:4(×2) (repeated prob. by error, cf. BeRy) v 5 10:14; 11:22. On Ezr 2:40 = Ne 7:43 cf. GrGesch. ii. 2, 389; he reads קדמיאל בני for קדמיאל לבני, taking בני as n.pr., as 3 Ne 9:5 Καδμιηλου καὶ Βαννου. e.g. Nehemiah 3:17
- 3. a man of Judah 1 Ch 9:4 (מִן) בָּנִי Qr (> Kt בנימן). e.g. 1 Chronicles 9:4
- 4. Ezr 2:10 read בִּנּוּי cf. ‖ Ne 7:15. e.g. Ezra 2:10
- 5. heads of families of Isr.
- a. Ezr 10:29; e.g. Ezra 10:29
- b. Ne 10:15; e.g. Nehemiah 10:15
- c. Ezr 10:34 but perhaps read בִּנּוּי or בִּגְוַי cf. supr. e.g. Ezra 10:34
- 6. an Israelite Ezr 10:38.—(בני as n.pr. Palm. VogNo. 34.) e.g. Ezra 10:38
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
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.
בני
- [to combine,] to build. Sabb. XII, 1 הַבּוֹנֶה he who builds (on the Sabbath). Ib.] 102ᵇ משום בונה (isguilty) because it is one of the labors classified under ‘building’; a. fr.—Metaph. to educate, train. Ber. 64ᵃ (ref. to Is. LIV, 93) א"ת בָּנַיִךְ אלא בוֹנַיִּךְ read not banayikh (thy children), but bonayikh (thy builders, trainers); v. בַּנָּאִים.—Ex. R. s. 23 (play on b’noth, Cant. I, 5) בּוֹנוֹת וכ׳ the authorities directing the building of Jerusalem; v. Pi.—Ḥull. 78ᵇ זה בנה אב, v. אָב, a. בִּנְיָן. [Tosef. Par. VII (VI), 4 בְּנָאוֹ ed. Zuck., v. כָּנַן.] e.g. Isaiah 54:93
- 1. to be built up. Y. B. Bath. III, 14ᵇ, a. fr. לְהִיבָּנוֹת, לִיבָּנוֹת.
- 2. (denom. of בֵּן) to get children. Gen. R. s. 71.
- (denom. of בֵּן) to be adopted, naturalized. Pesik. R. s. 43 נִתְבַּנּוּ בישראל they became full Israelitish citizens.
- to lay out, plan a city, determine its limits. Ex. R. l. c. the Great Sanedrin held sessions ומְבַנָּים אותה (not אותם) and determined the limits of Jerusalem; v. Snh. I, 5.—Part. Pu. מְבוּנֶּה cultivated; built (of human stature), well-proportioned. Keth. 112ᵃ; Sot. 34ᵇ היתה מְבוּנָּה על וכ׳ it (Hebron, in spite of the rocky nature of its soil) was seven times better cultivated than Zoan (one measure of its land yielding as much as did seven measures of the soil of Zoan). Ib. 42ᵇ (play on benayim, I Sam. XVII, 4) מב׳ מכל מום his build was without blemish. e.g. 1 Samuel 17:4
בְּנֵי
- ch. = h. בָּנָה. Targ. Deut. XXV, 9 (Y. יִבְנֶה); a. fr.—Part. בָּנֵי. Targ. Gen. IV, 17.—M. Kat. 10ᵇ מִיבְנֵי to erect; a. e.
- as h. Nif.
- 1. a. 2). Targ. I Kings III, 2; a. fr.—Targ. Gen. XVI, 2; a. e.—Y. Ber. II, 5ᵃ מִתְבַּנְיֵי will be rebuilt; a. e.
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 12 distinct written forms H1137 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.
| Form | Parsing | Example | Uses |
|---|---|---|---|
| בָנִ֔י | Noun, Proper | Ezra 2:10 | 2 |
| בָּנִ֑י | Noun, Proper | Ezra 10:29 | 2 |
| בָּנִ֖י | Noun, Proper | 1 Chronicles 6:46 | 2 |
| בָנִ֖י | Noun, Proper | Nehemiah 10:13 | 1 |
| בָּנִ֔י | Noun, Proper | 1 Chronicles 9:4 | 1 |
| בָּנִ֣י | Noun, Proper | Nehemiah 9:4 | 1 |
| בָּנִ֨י | Noun, Proper | Nehemiah 9:5 | 1 |
| בָּנִֽי | Noun, Proper | Nehemiah 10:14 | 1 |
| בָּנִי֙ | Noun, Proper | Nehemiah 11:22 | 1 |
| וּ/בָנִ֜י | Noun, Proper | Nehemiah 9:4 | 1 |
| וּ/בָנִ֡י | Noun, Proper | Nehemiah 8:7 | 1 |
| וּ/בָנִ֥י | Noun, Proper | Ezra 10:38 | 1 |
Same root — word family
Other BDB entries built from the same root as H1137, 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
- בן bên H1121 son
- 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
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 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
Compare all same-root words → Showing 4 of 20 — not the complete family. 8 of the same-root words are proper names (people or places). They share a root, not necessarily a meaning.
Bible dictionary
Public-domain dictionary articles matched to this entry by name (Bani). A biblical name can be shared by more than one person or place, so an article may treat several.
Easton's Bible Dictionary · M. G. Easton, 1897
Built. (1.) 1 Chr. 6:46. (2.) One of David's thirty-seven warriors, a Gadite (2 Sam. 23:36). (3.) Ezra 2:10; 10:29, 34, 38. (4.) A Levite who was prominent in the reforms on the return from Babylon (Neh. 8:7; 9:4, 5). His son Rehum took part in rebuilding the wall of Jerusalem (Neh. 3:17).
Smith's Bible Dictionary · William Smith, 1863
(built).
+ A Gadite, one of David's mighty men. (2 Samuel 23:36) (B.C. 1046.) + A Levite of the line of Merari, and forefather to Ethan. (1 Chronicles 6:46) + A man of Judah of the line of Pharez. (1 Chronicles 9:4) + "Children of Bani" returned from captivity with Zerubbabel. (Ezra 2:10; 10:29,34; Nehemiah 10:14) 1 Esd. 5:12. [Binnui; MANI] + An Israelite "of the sons of Bani." (Ezra 10:38) + A Levite. (Nehemiah 3:17) + A Levite. (Nehemiah 8:7; 9:4,5; 10:13) + Another Levite, of the sons of Asaph. (Nehemiah 11:22)
Classic public-domain reference works; full attribution on Sources.
Septuagint verse parallels
This word appears in 7 verses that also exist in the Greek Old Testament (Septuagint), out of the 14 Hebrew verses it occurs in. You can read those verses in Greek by switching the Old Testament edition to the Septuagint.
Read these verses in the Septuagint
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.
