אֶ֫בֶן
stone
‘stone’ is one of 3 main senses fuller range ↓
Full lexicon entry — Brown-Driver-Briggs (BDB)
From Brown-Driver-Briggs (BDB)
Where this word appears
See every Absolute-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.
State
- Absolute
- The independent form of a noun, not bound to a following word.
- Construct
- A noun bound to a following noun in a possessive / “of” relationship (the construct chain).
Gender
- Feminine
- Grammatically feminine.
Number
- Singular
- One.
Grammatical forms
- Particle, Definite Article 3 times (38%)
- Noun, Common, Feminine, Singular, Absolute 3 times (38%)
- Noun, Common, Feminine, Singular, Construct 2 times (25%)
Parsed forms decoded from the imported morphology (morphhb / Westminster Leningrad Codex — WLC text public domain, morphhb tagging CC BY 4.0), counted across 8 parsed occurrences — not distinct verses.
Every verse where H69 appears — 8 distinct verses across 2 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.
Ezra 2 verses
- Ezra 5:8 אֶ֣בֶן n c fs cs Be it known to the king, that we went into the province of Judah, to the house of the great God, which is built with great stones, and timber is laid in the walls; and this work goes on with diligence and prospers in their hands.
- Ezra 6:4 אֶ֤בֶן n c fs cs with three courses of great stones, and a course of new timber: and let the expenses be given out of the king's house.
Daniel 6 verses
- Daniel 2:34 אֶ֨בֶן֙ n c fs You saw until a stone was cut out without hands, which struck the image on its feet that were of iron and clay, and broke them in pieces.
- Daniel 2:35 וְ/אַבְנָ֣/א conj + n c fs det + ptcl def.art Then was the iron, the clay, the brass, the silver, and the gold, broken in pieces together, and became like the chaff of the summer threshing floors; and the wind carried them away, so that no place was found for them: and the stone that struck the image became a great mountain, and filled the whole earth.
- Daniel 2:45 אֶ֜בֶן n c fs Because you saw that a stone was cut out of the mountain without hands, and that it broke in pieces the iron, the brass, the clay, the silver, and the gold; the great God has made known to the king what shall happen hereafter: and the dream is certain, and the interpretation of it sure.
- Daniel 5:4 וְ/אַבְנָֽ/א conj + n c fs det + ptcl def.art They drank wine, and praised the gods of gold, and of silver, of brass, of iron, of wood, and of stone.
- Daniel 5:23 וְ/אַבְנָ֗/א conj + n c fs det + ptcl def.art but have lifted up yourself against the Lord of heaven; and they have brought the vessels of his house before you, and you and your lords, your wives and your concubines, have drunk wine from them; and you have praised the gods of silver and gold, of brass, iron, wood, and stone, which don't see, nor hear, nor know; and the God in whose hand your breath is, and whose are all your ways, you have not glorified.
- Daniel 6:17 אֶ֣בֶן n c fs A stone was brought, and laid on the mouth of the den; and the king sealed it with his own signet, and with the signet of his lords; that nothing might be changed concerning Daniel.
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.
אבן — transliterated ʼeben — is a Hebrew noun carrying the sense “stone.” Its uses cluster heavily in Daniel (75% of all occurrences). With 8 verses in 2 books, it is an uncommon word in the Hebrew Bible. Debuting at Ezra 5:8, it then recurs through the corpus. The lexicon spreads it across several senses; see its full sense range. See the sense tree, 8-verse concordance, and the renderings breakdown below.
Gloss history
Strong's 1890 vs modern scholarship
About this word
Strong's H69 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 →
- 8
- distinct verses
- The word appears in 8 distinct verses.
- 2 / 39
- OT books
- The word appears in 2 of 39 Old Testament books.
- #2,625
- by frequency
- Top 5000 most frequent Hebrew words (rank 2,625 of 8,640 Hebrew words by occurrence).
View all 8 occurrences in the concordance →
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 8 distinct verses.
- Writings (Ketuvim) 8 verses · 100%
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: Stone 6×, Stones 2×
- American Standard Version: Stone 5×, Stones 2×
- Berean Standard Bible: Stone 6×
- unfoldingWord Literal Text: Stone 7×
King James Version Public Domain
Renders H69 across 8 tagged occurrences — most commonly:
American Standard Version Public Domain
Renders H69 across 8 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.
Berean Standard Bible Public Domain
Renders H69 across 8 tagged occurrences — most commonly:
Plus 2 renderings that appear 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 H69 across 8 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.
9 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 9 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. in natural state, used as pillow Gn 28:11, 18 (E); seat Ex 17:12 (E); cover of well Gn 29:3(×2), 8, 10 (J) causing one to stumble Is 8:14; marring good ground 2 K 3:19, 25; hand-missile Ex 21:18 (JE) Nu 35:17, 23 (P) 2 S 16:6, 13, especially in judicial stoning, with vb. רָגַם Lv 20:2, 27; 24:23 Nu 14:10; 15:35, 36 Jos 7:25a (all P), so also Dt 21:21 2 Ch 24:21 Ez 16:40; 23:47; cf. 1 K 12:18 = 2 Ch 10:18; with vb. סָקַל Dt 13:11; 17:5; 22:21, 24 1 K 21:13; also Jos 7:25b (JE or D); sling-stones Ju 20:16 1 S 17:40, 49(×2), 50 2 Ch 26:14; hurled by engines 2 Ch 26:15; set up for inscribing law Dt 27:2, 4, 8 Jos 8:32 (all D); as memorial Jos 4:3, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 20, 21 (JED) 1 S 7:12; as sacred pillar (מַצֵּבָה) Gn 28:18; 35:14 (anointed with oil), 28:22 (= בֵּיתאֵל) cf. יִשְׂרָאֵל (רֹעֶה)א׳ Gn 49:24 (v. Di); as witness 31:45 cf. Jos 24:26, 27 (all JE); pl. gathered into heap (גַּל) over dead, Jos 7:26 (v. Di) 8:29 cf. 10:18, 27 (JE) 2 S 18:17; גַּל on which meal was eaten, in a compact Gn 31:46(×2) (JE); built into altar Ex 20:25 Dt 27:5, 6 (JED) Jos 8:31 1 K 18:31, 32, 38; cf. 2 K 23:15 𝔊 Klo (for הבמה); of figured stone (forbidden) א׳ מַשְׂכִּית Lv 26:1 (H); א׳ גדולה where ark rested 1 S 6:14, 15 also v 18 (MT אבל q.v.); (v. for other noteworthy stones 9. infr.) e.g. Genesis 28:11
- 2. stone, as material, of tablets Ex 24:12; 31:18; 34:1 (pl.) v 4(×2) (JE) Dt 4:13; 5:19; 9:9, 10, 11; 10:1, 3; of vessels, hence prob. Ex 7:19 (P; א׳ = vessels of stone ‖ עצים) v. Di; idols (‖ עץ) Dt 4:28; 28:36, 64; 29:16 2 K 19:18 = Is 37:19; also Je 3:9 Ez 20:32; pavement 2 K 16:17; edifice 1 K 6:7 cf. Gn 11:3; also 2 S 5:11 2 K 12:13 1 Ch 22:15; often pl. of (worked) stones Lv 14:40, 42(×2), 43, 45 (P; in wall of house) 2 K 22:6 +, cf. of city-wall Ne 3:35; of (ruined) city 1 K 15:22 Ne 3:34; tomb Is 14:19; אֲבָנִים יְקָרוֹת (costly building-stones) 1 K 5:31; 7:9, 10, 11 (v. also sub 3); אַבְנֵי־שַׁיִשׁ = marble (v. 𝔊) 1 Ch 29:2; אַבְנֵי גָזִית = hewn stones 1 K 5:31 1 Ch 22:2 Ez 40:42 (for altar-tables),—cf. גָּזִית; א׳ מַחְצֵב 2 K 12:13; 22:6 2 Ch 34:11; foundation-stone, corner-stone Is 28:16 Je 51:26 Jb 38:6 ψ 118:22; cap-stone, completing the building, הָא׳ הָרִאשֹׁנָה Zc 4:7 (but v. רֹאשׁ פִּנָּה ψ 118:22 as above), Zc 3:9 upon one stone seven eyes, prob. refers to this cap- or head-stone; the eyes are symbol of God’s watchfulness; perhaps explaining cup-stones found in Orient, v. GutheZPV 1890, 129; stone-cutters חָרָשֵׁי א׳ 2 S 5:11 1 Ch 22:15; חֹצְבֵי הָא׳ 2 K 12:13 cf. 1 Ch 22:2. e.g. Exodus 24:12
- 3. precious stone, gen. with modifying word א׳ יְקָרָה coll. 2 S 12:30 1 K 10:2 + often (v. 2); א׳ הַשֹׁהַם Gn 2:12 (J) cf. Ex 25:7; 28:9; 35:9, 27; 39:6 (P) 1 Ch 29:2; א׳ מִלֻּאִים Ex 25:7; 35:9, 27 cf. 1 Ch 29:2; א׳ סַפִּיר Ez 1:26; 10:1; אַבְנֵי אֶקְדָּח Is 54:12; א׳ חֵפֶץ ib.; אַבְנֵי פוּךְ וְרִקְמָה 1 Ch 29:2; א׳ חֵן Pr 17:8; on אַבְנֵי אֵשׁ (stones of fire) Ez 28:14, 16 as precious stones = Assyrian aban išâti (?) v. DlPa 118 & W 40; but Sm al. thunderbolts; also without distinctive modifier Ex 25:7; 35:9; חָרַשׁ א׳ engraver in stone Ex 28:11 cf. 31:5; 35:33 (P). e.g. 2 Samuel 12:30
- 4. stones containing metal, = ore, Dt 8:9 (v. Di) Jb 28:2 cf. v. 3. e.g. Deuteronomy 8:9
- 5. a weight, as orig. stone (v. Pr 27:3 cf. Eng. weight stone = 14 lb) אַבְנֵי־כִיס Pr 16:11 (cf. Assyrian DlW 38); א׳ הַמֶּלֶךְ 2 S 14:26 (i.e. according to royal standard; cf. COT Gn 23:16); א׳ וָא׳ Dt 25:13 Pr 20:10, 23 (i.e. different weights, for dishonest use); כִּיס אַבְנֵי מִרְמָה Mi 6:11; just weights אַבְנֵי־צֶדֶק Lv 19:36; א׳ שְׁלֵמָה Pr 11:1; hence also heavy mass of metal (lead) Zc 5:8. e.g. Proverbs 27:3
- 6. plummet Is 34:11 (stones of devastation, or emptiness, cf. on sense 2 K 21:13 Am 7:7, 8); also made of metal הא׳ הַבְּדִּיל Zc 4:10 (conversely plummet from plumbum). e.g. Isaiah 34:11
- 7. objectslike stones; partic. hail, explicitly, אַבְנֵי הַבָּרָד Jos 10:11 cf. Is 30:30; א׳ אֶלְגָּבִישׁ Ez 13:11, 13; 38:22; but also גְּדֹלוֹת אֲבָנִים Jos 10:11 (E) (cf. Assyrian DlW 38); lime-stones אַבְנֵי־גִד Is 27:9. e.g. Joshua 10:11
- 8. in sim. (mostly poet.) of sinking in water Ex 15:5 = Ne 9:11; motionlessness Ex 15:16; strength Jb 6:12; firmness 41:16; solidity (of ice) 38:30; in prose, of commonness 1 K 10:27 2 Ch 1:15; also metaph. of one in fear 1 S 25:37 (i.e. petrified with terror, cf. Ex 15:16 supr.); לֵב הָא׳ = perverse, hard heart Ez 11:19; 36:26; אַבְנֵי־נֵזֶר Zc 9:16 (of ransomed Isr.)—א׳ personif. Hb 2:11 cf. v 19; cf. Ez 13:11 (v. 7 supr.) e.g. Exodus 15:5
- 9. In topogr. terms (nearly = n.pr.); אֶבֶן בֹּהַן Jos 15:6; 18:17; א׳ הָעֶזֶר 1 S 5:1 cf. 7:12, also 4:1 (We Dr); הָא׳ הָאָ֑זֶל 1 S 20:19, read הָאַרְגָּב הַלָּאז v. 𝔊 here & v 41 (We Dr Klo); א׳ הַזֹּחֶלֶת 1 K 1:9 (where WeSkizzen III,171 comp. Ar. Zuḥal = Saturn). e.g. Joshua 15:6
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
n.f. Gn 29:2 (m. 1 S 17:40?) stone (Assyrian abnu, = the sharp, projecting? v. DlW, Pr 107; Ph. אבן; Aramaic. אֶבֶן, ܐܰܒܢܳܐ; Ethiopic እብን Sab. אבנ[ם] DHMZMG 1883, 341) = א׳ abs. Gn 28:22 +; אָ֑בֶן 11:3 +; cstr. 49:24 +; sf. אַבְנוֹ 2 K 3:25; אֲבָנִים Gn 31:46 +, etc.;—a stone (large or small).
— Brown-Driver-Briggs (Oxford 1906, public domain), digitized via Sefaria, supplemented by the OpenScriptures HebrewLexicon (CC BY 4.0). See Sources.
Derived from אבן (ʼeben) (H68) — stone.
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.
אֶבֶן
- , v. Ges. H. Dict. s. v.) stone. Sabb. 10ᵃ; Pes. 12ᵇ כזורק א׳ וכ׳ like throwing a stone into a leather bottle (has no effect, or is indigestible). Num. R. s. 22 (prov.) into a well out of which you drank אל תזרוק בו א׳ cast no stone.—א׳ טובה jewel. B. Bath. 16ᵇ; a. fr. Pl. אֲבָנִים, const. אַבְנֵי. Gen. R. s. 68 שנים עשרה א׳. Ib. אם מתאחות הן שלשה א׳ (read שלש) if these three stones shall grow into one; a. fr.
- Stone Chamber, name of a Temple compartment. Parah III, 1.—א׳ גליון, v. אָוֶן.—א׳ הטועים (א׳ טועין, א׳ טוען, v. טָעָה) Stone of Losers (Claims), a place in Jerusalem where lost and found things were deposited and claimed. Taan. III, 8; Y. ib. 66ᵈ bot.; B. Mets. 28ᵇ—א׳ המבר or א׳ המקח auction place (for slaves). Sifré Deut. 26. Sifra B’har ch. VII, s. 6. Yalk. Lev. 667 א׳ הלקח.—א׳ מסמא a stone used for closing a pit etc. Nidd. 69ᵇ בא׳ מ׳ the corpse was put on a closing (immovable) stone; a. e.—קבועה א׳ a stone rooted in the ground, opp. תלושה. Y. Sotah IX, 23ᶜ top.—אבני השדה v. אדני.—שׁוֹאֶבֶת א׳ magnetic stone, load-stone. Snh. 107ᵇ; a. e.—א׳ הַשָּׁעוֹת stone-dial, Kel. XII, 4; a. e.—א׳ שְׁתִיָּה foundation stone, stone Sh’thiya which in the second Temple occupied the place of the Holy Arc. Yoma V, 2 (3); v. Ib. a. l.—אבנים תּוֹשָׁבוֹת immigrant stones, i.e. stones brought over from another ground. Tosef. Shebi. III, 4; cmp. Shebi. III, 7 a. Y. Ib. a. l.—א׳ תלושה v. sup. א׳ קבועה.—א׳ תקומה preserving stone, a stone believed to protect against abortion. Sabb. 66ᵇ.—[For other combinations see respective determinants.]
אֶבֶן ²
- Targ. Gen. XXVIII, 18; a. fr.—Pl. אַבְנַיָּא, אַבְנֵי, אַבְנִין. Targ. Ex. XXVIII, 11; a. fr. Lev. R. s. 16; a. e.—א׳ דאכפא weight-stones, to prevent the sheaves being blown away. B. Bath. 69ᵃ.—א׳ דכוחלא black marble stone. Kidd. 12ᵃ. [Targ. Prov. XXIII, 28, read with Ms. Luzz. וצאדא בניא שברי and captures foolish sons.] [Y. B. Bath. II, 13ᶜ … דיין אבן corrupt a. defective.]
אֹבֶן
- , only in Du. אָבְנַיִם (b. h.,
- 1. the potter’s turning implement.
- 2. the passage of the embryo, vagina. Ex. R. s. 1 (etym.) מקום שהולד נפנה בו (some ed. נקנה incorr.) where the child turns (to come to light). [Oth. etym. v. ibid. a. Sot. 11ᵇ.]
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 7 distinct written forms H69 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| אֶ֣בֶן | Noun, Common, Feminine, Singular, Absolute | Daniel 6:17 | 2 |
| אֶ֜בֶן | Noun, Common, Feminine, Singular, Absolute | Daniel 2:45 | 1 |
| אֶ֤בֶן | Noun, Common, Feminine, Singular, Construct | Ezra 6:4 | 1 |
| אֶ֨בֶן֙ | Noun, Common, Feminine, Singular, Absolute | Daniel 2:34 | 1 |
| וְ/אַבְנָ֗/א | Particle, Definite Article | Daniel 5:23 | 1 |
| וְ/אַבְנָ֣/א | Particle, Definite Article | Daniel 2:35 | 1 |
| וְ/אַבְנָֽ/א | Particle, Definite Article | Daniel 5:4 | 1 |
Same root — word family
Other BDB entries built from the same root as H69, 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
Proper names from this root
People and places named from this root — a name, not an additional meaning of the word.
Compare all same-root words → Showing 4 of 5 — not the complete family. 2 of the same-root words are proper names (people or places). They share a root, not necessarily a meaning.
Septuagint verse parallels
This word appears in 7 verses that also exist in the Greek Old Testament (Septuagint), out of the 8 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.
