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Definition 2024

בן

Hebrew

Pronunciation

(Modern Israeli Hebrew) IPA^(key): /ben/

Noun

בֵּן • ‎(bén) m ‎(plural indefinite בָּנִים, singular construct בֶּן־, plural construct בְּנֵי־, feminine counterpart בַּת)

A son.
(chiefly in Biblical Hebrew) A direct male descendant.
בן אדם‎ ― bén-adám ― a human [literally a son of Adam]
A guy, a boy.
(no longer productive, construct only) Someone who possesses (the specified object).

בן דעת‎ ― bén dá'at ― someone legally competent [literally a son of intelligence]

בן תורה‎ ― bén torá ― someone devoted to the Torah [literally a son of Torah]
(construct only) Used in expressing the age of a man, a boy, or the referent of a masculine noun: age, aged.
הוא בן שש.‎ ― hú bén shésh. ― He is six years old. [literally, a son of six]
- 2011 September 28, Nir Hasson (ניר חסון),‎ “בית קברות בן 4,000 שנה שופך אור על י-ם בתקופת הברונזה” (béit-k'varót bén 4,000 shaná shofékh ór ál y-m bit'kufát-hab'rónza, “4,000-year-old cemetery sheds light on Bronze-Age Jerusalem”), in Haaretz online.
(בֶּן־, bén-) Singular construct form of בן‎.
(בִּן־, bín-) Singular construct form of בן‎; found only in certain expressions.
יְהוֹשֻׁעַ בִּן־נוּן‎ ― y'hoshúa bín-nún ― Joshua, son of Nun

Declension

Declension of בֵּן

Number	Isolated forms		With possessive pronouns
	State	Form	Person	singular		plural
	State	Form	Person	m.	f.	m.	f.
singular	indefinite	בֵּן	first	בְּנִי		בְּנֵנוּ
	definite	הַבֵּן	second	בִּנְךָ	בְּנֵךְ	בִּנְכֶם	בִּנְכֶן
	construct	בֶּן־	third	בְּנוֹ	בְּנָהּ	בְּנָם	בְּנָן
plural	indefinite	בָּנִים	first	בניי \ בָּנַי		בָּנֵינוּ
	definite	הַבָּנִים	second	בָּנֶיךָ	בנייך \ בָּנַיִךְ	בְּנֵיכֶם	בְּנֵיכֶן
	construct	בְּנֵי־	third	בָּנָיו	בָּנֶיהָ	בְּנֵיהֶם	בְּנֵיהֶן

Usage notes

In colloquial Modern Hebrew, the plural יְלָדִים is generally used to refer to children (of mixed or unknown sex) while בָּנִים is generally used to refer to boys.
When constructing new forms, the Aramaic loanword בַּר ‎(bar) is more common, e.g. בַּר דַּעַת ‎(bar dá'at), בַּר קַיָּמָא ‎(bar kayamá).

Derived terms

Terms derived from the word בן

Proper noun

בֵּן • ‎(bén) m

A male given name, Ben.

Etymology 2

From the root ב־ו־ן

Verb

בָּן • ‎(bán) ‎(pa'al construction)

(rare, archaic) to understand.
- Psalms 5:2, with translation of the Jewish Publication Society:
  אֲמָרַי הַאֲזִינָה יהוה בִּינָה הֲגִיגִי‎
  
  'amaráy ha'azína YHWH bína hagigí
  
  Give ear to my words, O LORD, consider my meditation.

Etymology 3

Preposition

‎‎בָּן • ‎(ban)

(poetic or archaic) Form of בְּ־ ‎(b'-) including third-person feminine plural personal pronoun as object.