May, Dictionary of the Bible.

From: Good News for Young and Old: Volume 14 (1872)

Ben, at the beginning of a proper name in Scripture usually means son.

Benai’ah (Jehovah-builded), son of Jehoiada, was chief of David’s guards, the Cherethites and Pele-thites (2 Sam. 8:18, 23:22; 1 Chron. 11:25²⁵Behold, he was honorable among the thirty, but attained not to the first three: and David set him over his guard. (1 Chronicles 11:25)), and was afterward made commander-in-chief of the whole army by Solomon (1 Kings 2:35, 4:4; see also 1 Kings 1:32-36³²And king David said, Call me Zadok the priest, and Nathan the prophet, and Benaiah the son of Jehoiada. And they came before the king. ³³The king also said unto them, Take with you the servants of your lord, and cause Solomon my son to ride upon mine own mule, and bring him down to Gihon: ³⁴And let Zadok the priest and Nathan the prophet anoint him there king over Israel: and blow ye with the trumpet, and say, God save king Solomon. ³⁵Then ye shall come up after him, that he may come and sit upon my throne; for he shall be king in my stead: and I have appointed him to be ruler over Israel and over Judah. ³⁶And Benaiah the son of Jehoiada answered the king, and said, Amen: the Lord God of my lord the king say so too. (1 Kings 1:32‑36); 1 Chron. 27:5⁵The third captain of the host for the third month was Benaiah the son of Jehoiada, a chief priest: and in his course were twenty and four thousand. (1 Chronicles 27:5)). Another Benaiah, “the Pirathonite,” is named as one of David’s thirty-seven valiant men (2 Sam. 23:30³⁰Benaiah the Pirathonite, Hiddai of the brooks of Gaash, (2 Samuel 23:30); 1 Chron. 11:31, 27:14). Four persons of the same name are mentioned Ezra 10:25, 30, 35, 43²⁵Moreover of Israel: of the sons of Parosh; Ramiah, and Jeziah, and Malchiah, and Miamin, and Eleazar, and Malchijah, and Benaiah. (Ezra 10:25)
³⁰And of the sons of Pahath-moab; Adna, and Chelal, Benaiah, Maaseiah, Mattaniah, Bezaleel, and Binnui, and Manasseh. (Ezra 10:30)
³⁵Benaiah, Bedeiah, Chelluh, (Ezra 10:35)
⁴³Of the sons of Nebo; Jeiel, Mattithiah, Zabad, Zebina, Jadau, and Joel, Benaiah. (Ezra 10:43); and besides these we have Benaiah a Simeonite (1 Chron. 4:36³⁶And Elioenai, and Jaakobah, and Jeshohaiah, and Asaiah, and Adiel, and Jesimiel, and Benaiah, (1 Chronicles 4:36)), Benaiah a Levite (1 Chron. 15:18, 20, 16:5), and Benaiah a priest (1 Chron. 15:24, 16:6), in the time of David. In the reign of Hezekiah the name again occurs (2 Chron. 31:13¹³And Jehiel, and Azaziah, and Nahath, and Asahel, and Jerimoth, and Jozabad, and Eliel, and Ismachiah, and Mahath, and Benaiah, were overseers under the hand of Cononiah and Shimei his brother, at the commandment of Hezekiah the king, and Azariah the ruler of the house of God. (2 Chronicles 31:13)).

Benha’dad (son of Hadad or Adad, the Syrian god). — This seems to have been both a name and a title taken by the kings of Damascus, who, in common with pagan kings of other countries, called themselves after their idols. Three Ben-hadads are mentioned in Scripture.

1. Benhadad, son of Tabrimon, son of Hezion, whom Asa, king of Judah, failing in his faith in Jehovah, hired to invade the land of Israel (1 Kings 15:16-22¹⁶And there was war between Asa and Baasha king of Israel all their days. ¹⁷And Baasha king of Israel went up against Judah, and built Ramah, that he might not suffer any to go out or come in to Asa king of Judah. ¹⁸Then Asa took all the silver and the gold that were left in the treasures of the house of the Lord, and the treasures of the king's house, and delivered them into the hand of his servants: and king Asa sent them to Ben-hadad, the son of Tabrimon, the son of Hezion, king of Syria, that dwelt at Damascus, saying, ¹⁹There is a league between me and thee, and between my father and thy father: behold, I have sent unto thee a present of silver and gold; come and break thy league with Baasha king of Israel, that he may depart from me. ²⁰So Ben-hadad hearkened unto king Asa, and sent the captains of the hosts which he had against the cities of Israel, and smote Ijon, and Dan, and Abel-beth-maachah, and all Cinneroth, with all the land of Naphtali. ²¹And it came to pass, when Baasha heard thereof, that he left off building of Ramah, and dwelt in Tirzah. ²²Then king Asa made a proclamation throughout all Judah; none was exempted: and they took away the stones of Ramah, and the timber thereof, wherewith Baasha had builded; and king Asa built with them Geba of Benjamin, and Mizpah. (1 Kings 15:16‑22); 2 Chron. 16:1-10¹In the six and thirtieth year of the reign of Asa Baasha king of Israel came up against Judah, and built Ramah, to the intent that he might let none go out or come in to Asa king of Judah. ²Then Asa brought out silver and gold out of the treasures of the house of the Lord and of the king's house, and sent to Ben-hadad king of Syria, that dwelt at Damascus, saying, ³There is a league between me and thee, as there was between my father and thy father: behold, I have sent thee silver and gold; go, break thy league with Baasha king of Israel, that he may depart from me. ⁴And Ben-hadad hearkened unto king Asa, and sent the captains of his armies against the cities of Israel; and they smote Ijon, and Dan, and Abel-maim, and all the store cities of Naphtali. ⁵And it came to pass, when Baasha heard it, that he left off building of Ramah, and let his work cease. ⁶Then Asa the king took all Judah; and they carried away the stones of Ramah, and the timber thereof, wherewith Baasha was building; and he built therewith Geba and Mizpah. ⁷And at that time Hanani the seer came to Asa king of Judah, and said unto him, Because thou hast relied on the king of Syria, and not relied on the Lord thy God, therefore is the host of the king of Syria escaped out of thine hand. ⁸Were not the Ethiopians and the Lubims a huge host, with very many chariots and horsemen? yet, because thou didst rely on the Lord, he delivered them into thine hand. ⁹For the eyes of the Lord run to and fro throughout the whole earth, to show himself strong in the behalf of them whose heart is perfect toward him. Herein thou hast done foolishly: therefore from henceforth thou shalt have wars. ¹⁰Then Asa was wroth with the seer, and put him in a prison house; for he was in a rage with him because of this thing. And Asa oppressed some of the people the same time. (2 Chronicles 16:1‑10). See ASA).

2. Benhadad, the son and successor of the above, who made war with Ahab twice with an immense host (1 Kings 20). On each occasion he was signally defeated, according to the word of Jehovah, whom he had defied in attacking His people. But Ahab made a covenant with him on the second occasion, and thus displeased Jehovah; so that Israel afterward suffered from the King of Syria in the reign of Jehoram, Ahab’s son (2 Kings 6). Yet the Lord again interfered, and while Benhadad was besieging Samaria He caused the Syrian host to hear a noise as of a great army advancing upon them, and they, supposing that the King of Israel had hired the kings of the Hittites and of the Egyptians to attack them, fled in complete disorder, so as to leave their tents and it everything in the camp just as was. Thus the people of Samaria were not only delivered from their enemy, but also from the famine that had come on the city through the siege; and “two measures of barley were sold for a shekel, and a measure of fine flour for a shekel, in the gate of Samaria,” as Elisha the prophet had foretold only the day before (2 Kings 7:1¹Then Elisha said, Hear ye the word of the Lord; Thus saith the Lord, To morrow about this time shall a measure of fine flour be sold for a shekel, and two measures of barley for a shekel, in the gate of Samaria. (2 Kings 7:1)), when all the people were starving for want of food, so that one woman had actually eaten her own child! (ch. 6:29; comp. Lev. 26:27-29²⁷And if ye will not for all this hearken unto me, but walk contrary unto me; ²⁸Then I will walk contrary unto you also in fury; and I, even I, will chastise you seven times for your sins. ²⁹And ye shall eat the flesh of your sons, and the flesh of your daughters shall ye eat. (Leviticus 26:27‑29).) Benhadad was afterward smothered in his bed by Hazael, who then usurped the throne, and-reigned in his stead. Thus, while the Lord delivered His own people, although they had so grievously sinned against Him, He punished the wicked man whom He had used as the instrument of chastisement to Israel.

3. Benhadad, son of the Hazael who murdered his master. He was defeated three times by Jehoash, king of Israel, according to the word of the Lord by the mouth of the dying prophet (2 Kings 13:14-19,¹⁴Now Elisha was fallen sick of his sickness whereof he died. And Joash the king of Israel came down unto him, and wept over his face, and said, O my father, my father, the chariot of Israel, and the horsemen thereof. ¹⁵And Elisha said unto him, Take bow and arrows. And he took unto him bow and arrows. ¹⁶And he said to the king of Israel, Put thine hand upon the bow. And he put his hand upon it: and Elisha put his hands upon the king's hands. ¹⁷And he said, Open the window eastward. And he opened it. Then Elisha said, Shoot. And he shot. And he said, The arrow of the Lord's deliverance, and the arrow of deliverance from Syria: for thou shalt smite the Syrians in Aphek, till thou have consumed them. ¹⁸And he said, Take the arrows. And he took them. And he said unto the king of Israel, Smite upon the ground. And he smote thrice, and stayed. ¹⁹And the man of God was wroth with him, and said, Thou shouldest have smitten five or six times; then hadst thou smitten Syria till thou hadst consumed it: whereas now thou shalt smite Syria but thrice. (2 Kings 13:14‑19) and 25).

Ben’jamin (“son of my right hand”), so called by his father Jacob, after, his mother, just before her death, had named him “Ben-oni,” “son of my pain.” He was the youngest of Jacob’s sons. The tribe of Benjamin, although the smallest in Israel, was nevertheless a very numerous race (Numb. 1:36, 2:22; 1 Chronicles 7:6-12⁶The sons of Benjamin; Bela, and Becher, and Jediael, three. ⁷And the sons of Bela; Ezbon, and Uzzi, and Uzziel, and Jerimoth, and Iri, five; heads of the house of their fathers, mighty men of valor; and were reckoned by their genealogies twenty and two thousand and thirty and four. ⁸And the sons of Becher; Zemira, and Joash, and Eliezer, and Elioenai, and Omri, and Jerimoth, and Abiah, and Anathoth, and Alameth. All these are the sons of Becher. ⁹And the number of them, after their genealogy by their generations, heads of the house of their fathers, mighty men of valor, was twenty thousand and two hundred. ¹⁰The sons also of Jediael; Bilhan: and the sons of Bilhan; Jeush, and Benjamin, and Ehud, and Chenaanah, and Zethan, and Tharshish, and Ahishahar. ¹¹All these the sons of Jediael, by the heads of their fathers, mighty men of valor, were seventeen thousand and two hundred soldiers, fit to go out for war and battle. ¹²Shuppim also, and Huppim, the children of Ir, and Hushim, the sons of Aher. (1 Chronicles 7:6‑12); 2 Chronicles 14:8, 17:17). This tribe gave the first king to Israel, as Saul was a Benjamite (1 Sam. 9:1, 2¹Now there was a man of Benjamin, whose name was Kish, the son of Abiel, the son of Zeror, the son of Bechorath, the son of Aphiah, a Benjamite, a mighty man of power. ²And he had a son, whose name was Saul, a choice young man, and a goodly: and there was not among the children of Israel a goodlier person than he: from his shoulders and upward he was higher than any of the people. (1 Samuel 9:1‑2)). At the division of the kingdom of Israel after Solomon’s death, Benjamin and Judah remained under the house of David and after the Babylonish captivity, the two tribes were mingled together in their return to their own land (Ezra 10:9⁹Then all the men of Judah and Benjamin gathered themselves together unto Jerusalem within three days. It was the ninth month, on the twentieth day of the month; and all the people sat in the street of the house of God, trembling because of this matter, and for the great rain. (Ezra 10:9))

Bere’a a city, of Macedonia on the river Astræus.

It is now called Boor. It was here that the Jews were said to have been “more noble than those of Thessalonica, in than they received the word with all readiness of mind, and searched the Scriptures daily,” to see whether what the Apostle Paul and. Silas taught’ was according to God’s word. “Therefore many of them believed,” (Acts 17:10-12¹⁰And the brethren immediately sent away Paul and Silas by night unto Berea: who coming thither went into the synagogue of the Jews. ¹¹These were more noble than those in Thessalonica, in that they received the word with all readiness of mind, and searched the scriptures daily, whether those things were so. ¹²Therefore many of them believed; also of honorable women which were Greeks, and of men, not a few. (Acts 17:10‑12)).

Berni’ce, the eldest daughter of Herod Agrippa I. and sister of the younger Agrippa. She was the Wife of her uncle Herod, king of Chalcis, and after his death married Polemon, king of Cilicia. When divorced from him she returned for her brother, and afterward became the mistress of Vespasian and Titus. It was this wicked sinner who, with her brother, also living in sin, presumed to sit in judgment, “with much pomp,” on God’s dear servant Paul (Acts 25:13, 23, 26:30).

Ber’yl, mentioned Revelation 21:20,²⁰The fifth, sardonyx; the sixth, sardius; the seventh, chrysolite; the eighth, beryl; the ninth, a topaz; the tenth, a chrysoprasus; the eleventh, a jacinth; the twelfth, an amethyst. (Revelation 21:20) is supposed to be the same as that translated onyx (Hebrew, shoham) in Genesis 2:12¹²And the gold of that land is good: there is bdellium and the onyx stone. (Genesis 2:12); Exodus 28:9, 35:9-27; Job 28:16¹⁶It cannot be valued with the gold of Ophir, with the precious onyx, or the sapphire. (Job 28:16); Ezekiel 28:13¹³Thou hast been in Eden the garden of God; every precious stone was thy covering, the sardius, topaz, and the diamond, the beryl, the onyx, and the jasper, the sapphire, the emerald, and the carbuncle, and gold: the workmanship of thy tabrets and of thy pipes was prepared in thee in the day that thou wast created. (Ezekiel 28:13)). The beryl is of a pale sea-green color, sometimes inclining to a water-blue and sometimes to yellow.

Be’sor, a brook now called Wady Gaza, to the south of Gaza. Its bed is about thirty yards wide; but even as early as the month of April it has been found almost dried up, only some stagnant pools remaining.

Beth at the beginning of a word means house, as Beth-el, house of God.

Bethab’ara (place of the ford), mentioned, John 1:28,²⁸These things were done in Bethabara beyond Jordan, where John was baptizing. (John 1:28) as the place where John baptized; but it should be Bethany. Origen is said to have changed the word to Bethabara, because he found no such place in his day as Bethany near the Jordan, but knew a town of the name of Bethabara, where John was said to have baptized. Thus he tampered with Scripture on mere conjecture.

Beth’any (house of dates). — The place where John baptized, now unknown (John 1:28²⁸These things were done in Bethabara beyond Jordan, where John was baptizing. (John 1:28)). Also the name of a town or village beyond the Mount of Olives, about fifteen furlongs south-east-by-east of Jerusalem, where Lazarus and his sisters, Mary and. Martha, lived, and where Jesus often went with His disciples (Matt. 21:17, 26:6; Mark 11:1, 11, 12, 14:3; Luke 19:29, 24:50; John 11:1, 18, 12:1). It is now a poor little village of about twenty families, on the eastern slope of the Mount of Olives. Some hewn stones from more ancient buildings are found in the walls of some of the houses, and these are the only marks of antiquity now seen in Bethany. The monks pretend to show the house where Lazarus dwelt, and the tomb from which he was raised; but, like all monkish legends and statements, they are not to be trusted.

Beth-ar’bel (Hos. 10:14¹⁴Therefore shall a tumult arise among thy people, and all thy fortresses shall be spoiled, as Shalman spoiled Beth-arbel in the day of battle: the mother was dashed in pieces upon her children. (Hosea 10:14)) supposed to be the Arbela of Josephus, a village in Galilee, near which were some strongly-fortified caverns, which once formed the retreat of bands of robbers, who greatly distressed the inhabitants of the whole neighborhood, but were at last destroyed by Herod. These caverns were afterward fortified by Josephus against the Romans, while he had the command of the Jewish forces in Galilee. The place called Kulat ibn Maan and the ruins known as Irbid are supposed to be Arbela.

Beth-a’ven (house of idols), a name given to Bethel after it became the place of the worship of the golden calves. But there was also a town of this name to the east of it, not far from Bethel, and also a desert of the same name (Josh. 7:2²And Joshua sent men from Jericho to Ai, which is beside Beth-aven, on the east side of Beth-el, and spake unto them, saying, Go up and view the country. And the men went up and viewed Ai. (Joshua 7:2); 1 Sam. 13:5⁵And the Philistines gathered themselves together to fight with Israel, thirty thousand chariots, and six thousand horsemen, and people as the sand which is on the sea shore in multitude: and they came up, and pitched in Michmash, eastward from Beth-aven. (1 Samuel 13:5); Josh. 18:12¹²And their border on the north side was from Jordan; and the border went up to the side of Jericho on the north side, and went up through the mountains westward; and the goings out thereof were at the wilderness of Beth-aven. (Joshua 18:12)).

Be’ther (dissection or division.). — These mountains are only mentioned Song of Solomon 2:17, 8:14; perhaps only as a figure, as no such place is known.