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Nehemiah 7:55 — Word Study

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WLCבְּנֵי־ בַרְק֥וֹס בְּֽנֵי־ סִֽיסְרָ֖א בְּנֵי־ תָֽמַח׃

BSAthe descendantsbên [children, sons] of BarkosBarqôwç [a family of temple slaves] the descendantsbên [children, sons] of SiseraÇîyçᵉrâʼ [a Canaanite king] the descendantsbên [children, sons] of TemahTemach [a leader in Israel's return]

Word
Listen & take awayNehemiah 7
English ↓ Download MP3 The Berean Standard Bible chapter audio already hosted for the site's Bible section — verse 55 is in this chapter.
Hebrew ↓ Download MP3 The Masoretic text of this chapter, read aloud. Read by Abraham Shmuelof, courtesy of Audio Scriptures International. Chapter divisions by the Academy of Ancient Languages..
Say the word Each Hebrew word carries its transliteration (Ta.mach) — no per-word recordings of the Hebrew exist to link to.
Take it away
Nehemiah 7:55quick helps
In a sentenceThis verse lists the descendants of three families who returned from exile.
Who is speakingThe text is a record of names from the community returning to Israel.
Where we areThis is part of a genealogical list in Nehemiah, detailing those who returned.
The hard wordבְּנֵי־
Take awayThe verse emphasizes lineage and family connections in the returning community.
2 commentators on this verse Jamieson, Ellicott & more — read them › clause The sentence as the grammar sees it Open the tree ›
How rare are these words?in the Old Testament

Every word here is used elsewhere in the Old Testament.

Bars are logarithmic — אֵת, the commonest word in the Hebrew Bible, stands about 11,000 times, so a linear scale would leave everything else invisible. Click a row to open that word.

Deep Study — Nehemiah 7:55

Sections marked generated are written from the data on this page rather than by a named author. Everything else — the lexicon entries, the cross references, the manuscript readings, the counts — is quoted from its source unchanged.

Context — The Genealogy of Those Who Returnedgenerated

54the descendants of Bazlith, the descendants of Mehida, the descendants of Harsha,
55the descendants of Barkos, the descendants of Sisera, the descendants of Temah,
56the descendants of Neziah, and the descendants of Hatipha.
57The descendants of the servants of Solomon: the descendants of Sotai, the descendants of Sophereth, the descendants of Perida,

Nehemiah 7:55 is part of a broader genealogical record that lists the families who returned to Jerusalem after the Babylonian exile. This particular verse highlights the descendants of three specific families, emphasizing their roles in the community's restoration. Such genealogies serve to establish identity and continuity for the returning exiles, linking them to their ancestral heritage and the promises made to Israel.


Cross References

ReferenceText (BSB)
1Ezra 2:53the descendants of Barkos, the descendants of Sisera, the descendants of Temah,

The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge — 1 reference, hung on the phrase they belong to

TamahEzra 2:53

The Key Word בְּנֵי־, be.nei-generated

The word בֵּן (ben) means 'son' or 'descendant' and can refer to a broad range of familial relationships, including grandsons and even figurative descendants. In this verse, it is used to denote the lineage of the families mentioned, highlighting their connection to the past and their role in the present community.

This noun is in the masculine plural construct form, indicating multiple descendants. The use of this term underscores the importance of family and heritage in the context of the Israelite return from exile, as it establishes the continuity of the community through its ancestral lines.


How Translations Differ — measured against the Berean Standard Biblegenerated

This study reads the verse in the Berean Standard Bible, so the BSB is the wording every comparison below is made against.


Sentence Structuregenerated

The structure of the verse is straightforward, with a series of noun phrases following the main predicate. The finite verb is implied, as this is a genealogical listing, focusing on the names and their familial connections.

The repetition of the phrase בְּנֵי־ emphasizes the lineage, creating a rhythmic pattern that reinforces the importance of each family in the overall narrative of restoration.


Septuagint Backgroundgenerated

The Septuagint translates בְּנֵי־ as υἱοὶ, which also means 'sons' or 'descendants'. This choice reflects the same familial emphasis found in the Hebrew text, maintaining the focus on lineage.

The translation of the names remains consistent, indicating that the Greek translators recognized the significance of these families in the context of Israel's return.


In plain words — the whole versegenerated

Nehemiah 7:55 lists the descendants of three families: Barkos, Sisera, and Temah. These names are part of a larger record of those who returned to Jerusalem after the exile, highlighting their roles in the community.


Frequently Asked Questionsgenerated

Who were the descendants of Barkos?

Barkos was the head of a family of temple slaves who returned from exile, as mentioned in Ezra 2:53.

What is the significance of Sisera in this verse?

Sisera was a Canaanite king defeated by the Israelites, and his mention here connects the returning community to their historical adversaries.

What does the name Temah mean?

Temah means laughter and refers to a leader of a family who returned with Zerubbabel.

Why are genealogies important in the Bible?

Genealogies establish identity, heritage, and continuity within the community, especially after significant events like exile.


Reflection Questionsgenerated

  1. How do genealogies help us understand our own family histories?
  2. What can we learn from the roles of these families in the restoration of Israel?
  3. Why do you think the Bible places such importance on lineage?
  4. How can understanding our heritage influence our identity today?

Commentators on this verse — 2 expositors, verse by verse

Each of these wrote on Nehemiah 7:55 itself, not merely on the chapter around it.

Robert Jamieson1802–1880Jamieson, Fausset, and Brown's Commentary

The children of Immer, a thousand fifty and two. No JFB commentary on these verses.

Read Robert Jamieson on Nehemiah 7 →
Charles John Ellicott1819–1905Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers

(5-73) The genealogical reckoning of the people, as the first step towards increasing the population of the metropolis, is determined on, not without express Divine suggestion; the allusion to this inspiration from God, is, as in Nehemiah 2:12, very emphatic. The original register of Zerubbabelis found and copied. The express language of both Ezra and Nehemiah makes it plain that this is no other than the list of those who came up with Zerubbabel and Joshua after the decree of Cyrus, in B.C. 538. Nehemiah’s own census follows, in Nehemiah 11. The exposition, especially as compared with Ezra 2, has been given on that chapter.

Read Charles John Ellicott on Nehemiah 7 →

The verse in English, compared — 17 translations, and where they part company

Every translation on this page is a decision someone had to make and commit to. Read down a column and you see one translator's judgement; read across a row and you see the range the Greek actually allows. The BSB is the wording the rest of this page is measured against, so it is listed first.

Modern formal

BSBBerean Standard Bible2020

the descendants of Barkos, the descendants of Sisera, the descendants of Temah,

WEBWorld English Bible2000

the children of Barkos, the children of Sisera, the children of Temah,

MSBMajority Standard Bible2022

the descendants of Barkos, the descendants of Sisera, the descendants of Temah,

NETBNew English Translation2006

the descendants of Barkos, the descendants of Sisera, the descendants of Temah,

Tyndale line

KJVKing James Version1611

The children of Barkos, the children of Sisera, the children of Tamah,

ASVAmerican Standard Version1901

the children of Barkos, the children of Sisera, the children of Temah,

RVARevised Version, American1894

the children of Barkos, the children of Sisera, the children of Temah;

NWBWebster's Bible1833

The children of Barkos, the children of Sisera, the children of Tamah,

GNVGeneva Bible1599

The sonnes of Barkos, the sonnes of Sissera, the sonnes of Tamah,

Strictly literal

DBYDarby Translation1890

the children of Barkos, the children of Sisera, the children of Thamah,

YLTYoung's Literal Translation1862

sons of Barkos, sons of Sisera, sons of Tamah,

LSVLiteral Standard Version2020

sons of Barkos, sons of Sisera, sons of Tamah,

ILTInterlinear Literal Translation2000

The children of Barkoss, the children of Sissera, the children of Thamach,

ULBUnlocked Literal Bible2017

the descendants of Barkos, the descendants of Sisera, the descendants of Temah,

From the Latin

DRADouay-Rheims (Challoner)1899

The children of Bercos, the children of Sisara, the children of Thema,

Simplified

FBVFree Bible Version2020

Barkos, Sisera, Temah,

BBEBible in Basic English1949

The children of Barkos, the children of Sisera, the children of Temah,

Counted from the translations carried on this site, not from a survey of every English Bible. A rendering shared by many versions is usually inherited rather than independently arrived at — the Tyndale line in particular runs through most of them.


The sentence as the grammar sees it — from the MACULA Hebrew treebank

This is not our own analysis: it is the scholarly syntax tree for the verse, showing how the clause actually holds together.

clausenoun phrase · predicatenoun phraseבְּנֵיthe.descendantsבַרְק֥וֹסof.Barkosnoun phraseבְּֽנֵיthe.descendantsסִֽיסְרָ֖אof.Siseranoun phraseבְּנֵיthe.descendantsתָֽמַחof.Temah

Boxes are the grammarian's groupings — clause, noun phrase, prepositional phrase.


The four witnesses to this verse — Masoretic, Septuagint, Samaritan, Qumran

The Masoretic Text and the Septuagint agree on the wording of this verse, with all six words matched in the Hebrew and Greek texts. This consistency indicates a shared understanding of the importance of these families in the genealogical record.

Masoretic TextLeningrad Codex, c. AD 1008 — the text this page is built on

בְּנֵי־ בַרְק֥וֹס בְּֽנֵי־ סִֽיסְרָ֖א בְּנֵי־ תָֽמַח׃

Septuagintthe Greek the translators chose, word by word
בְּנֵי־υἱοὶבַרְק֥וֹסβαρκουςבְּֽנֵי־υἱοὶסִֽיסְרָ֖אσισαραבְּנֵי־υἱοὶתָֽמַח׃θημα

6 of the 6 words are matched. This is the word-by-word correspondence, not the Septuagint's own sentence — its word order and its articles are its own.

Four traditions, not one. “On the leather” means the letters physically survive on the scroll, as against letters an editor has supplied to fill a hole in it — a restoration is a scholar’s reading, not a reading of the manuscript. Words in [square brackets] are supplied; the notes count them apart from what survives.


The map of this verse — what each word keeps company with

This is a map of two things, both counted rather than judged. Company kept: which words stand within three words of each of these, anywhere in the Hebrew Bible — the thicker the line, the more often the pair meet compared with chance. Built from: the words a word is made out of, taken from its own Strong’s entry. It is not a map of meaning: nothing here claims two words mean the same thing. Click any circle to see the numbers behind it.

Nehemiah 7:55בֵּן[the] desce[the] descendanבֵּןבַּרְקוֹסBarkosBarkosבַּרְקוֹסבֵּן[the] desce[the] descendanבֵּןסִיסְרָאSiseraSiseraסִיסְרָאבֵּן[the] desce[the] descendanבֵּןתָּ֑מַחTemahTemahתָּ֑מַחבָּנָהto buildto buildבָּנָהעַמּוֹןAmmonAmmonעַמּוֹןרְאוּבֵןReubenReubenרְאוּבֵןבַּרְקוֹסBarkosBarkosבַּרְקוֹסתָּ֑מַחTemahTemahתָּ֑מַח
meets it a little oftener than chancemeets it far oftener than chancebuilt from the same roottwo words of the verse share ita word of this versea related word

Lexicons — every word in Nehemiah 7:55

One dossier per word, with every reference work grouped by kind — Hebrew lexicons, morphology, Bible dictionaries, topical chains and the English of the translators themselves. The verse sits at the head of each block with the word under study lit, so you never lose your place. The panel above gives the short answer; this is the long one, and it is the part of the page worth indexing.

Every entry below is the lexicographer's own text. On the Hebrew: Brown-Driver-Briggs entire and its gloss set, Strong's Hebrew Dictionary, and Tyndale House's Translators Brief lexicon. Where a cell says a work has no entry, that work genuinely has none for this word.

[the] descendants of Barkos [the] descendants of Sisera [the] descendants of Temah
בְּנֵי־be.nei- [the] descendants of H1121 Noun common · masculine plural construct
4,943× in the OT scale is logarithmic — the commonest word, אֵת, appears about 11,000×
In plain English
Meaning
In the Bible, this word means a son or descendant, and can also refer to a grandson, nation, or quality. It appears in 1 Chronicles 24, describing a Levite named Beno. The word is used to show family relationships and inheritance.
Amplified meaning
children, sons
Tyndale gloss
son: child
Hebrew lexiconskeyed to Strong's numbers
Layman’s summary of all Lexicon entries.generated

בֵּן (ben) means 'son' or 'male child' and encompasses a wide range of meanings, including descendants, young animals, and even figurative uses like sparks or arrows. It can refer to members of a tribe or class and is used in various contexts throughout the Old Testament, such as in 1 Chronicles 24:26. The word is derived from a root meaning 'to build' and implies a connection to family or lineage.

Brown-Driver-Briggs Hebrew Lexicon (full)

בֵּן 4870 n.m. son

son, male child, born of a woman

children (male and female)

youth, young men

the young of animals

of plant shoots

fig. of lifeless things, sparks, stars, arrows

member of a guild, order or class

of animals son of (the) herd

ב׳ as n. relat. followed by word of quality, characteristic, etc.

n. relat. of age

base

בְּנוֹ 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.

done

Brown-Driver-Briggs glosses

H1121a בֵּן son . son, male child, born of a woman

. children (male and female)

. youth, young men

. the young of animals

. of plant shoots

. fig. of lifeless things, sparks, stars, arrows

. . member of a guild, order or class

. of animals son of (the) herd

. ב׳ as n. relat. followed by word of quality, characteristic, etc.

. n. relat. of age

H1121b בְּנוֹ as n. pr. m. in AV, RV, but render: the sons of Jaaziah his son, & the sons of Merari by Jaaziah his son

Strong's Hebrew Dictionary

1121 ben bane

from 1129; a son (as a builder of the family name), in the

widest sense (of literal and figurative relationship,

including grandson, subject, nation, quality or condition,

etc., (like 1, 251, etc.)):--+ afflicted, age, (Ahoh-)

(Ammon-) (Hachmon-) (Lev-)ite, (anoint-)ed one, appointed to,

(+) arrow, (Assyr-) (Babylon-) (Egypt-) (Grec-)ian, one born,

bough, branch, breed, + (young) bullock, + (young) calf, X

came up in, child, colt, X common, X corn, daughter, X of

first, + firstborn, foal, + very fruitful, + postage, X in, +

kid, + lamb, (+) man, meet, + mighty, + nephew, old, (+)

people, + rebel, + robber, X servant born, X soldier, son, +

spark, + steward, + stranger, X surely, them of, + tumultuous

one, + valiant(-est), whelp, worthy, young (one), youth.

see HEBREW for 01129

see HEBREW for 01

see HEBREW for 0251

Translators Brief Hebrew Lexicon

בֵּן (ben) — son: child.

: child/son

בְּנוֹ (be.no) — Beno.

A man of the tribe of Levi living at the time of Divided Monarchy, first mentioned at 1Ch.24.26;

son of: Jaaziah (H3269);

brother of: Shoham (H7719), Zaccur (H2139I) and Ibri (H5681)

§ Beno = "his son"

the sons of Jaaziah and the sons of Merari by Jaahziah (his son)

בֵּן (ben) — son: descendant/people.

: descendant, people, tribe, nation

A sub-meaning of ben (בֵּן ": child" H1121)

§ : child/son

בֵּן (ben) — son: young animal.

: calf/lamb/young(ANIMAL)

A sub-meaning of ben (בֵּן ": child" H1121)

§ : descendant

בֵּן (ben) — son: type of.

: rebel/son(Belial)

A sub-meaning of ben (בֵּן ": child" H1121)

§ : people/men/nation/tribe

בֵּן (ben) — son.

: [inheriting]son/heir

A sub-meaning of ben (בֵּן ": child" H1121)

בֵּן (ben) — son: warrior.

: warrior/son(strong)

Read the full entry →
Morphologythe parsing behind the code
Berean parsing
N-mp — Noun common · masculine plural construct
HNcmpc
Bible dictionarieson the English sense
International Standard Bible Encyclopedia

ov:

(1) In Anglo-Saxon, had the meaning "from," "away from" (as the strengthened form "off" has still), and was not used for genitive or possessive relations, these being expressed by special case-forms. In the Norman period, however, "of" was taken to represent the French de (a use well developed by the time of Chaucer), and in the Elizabethan period both senses of "of" were in common use. But after about 1600 the later force of the word became predominant, and in the earlier sense (which is now practically obsolete) it was replaced by other prepositions. In consequence the King James Version (and in some cases the Revised Version (British and American)) contains many uses of "of" that are no longer familiar--most of them, to be sure, causing no difficulty, but there still being a few responsible for real obscurities.

English usagewhat the translators’ English meant
Webster's Dictionary (1828), Webster's Unabridged (1913), Webster's Dictionary (1806)

OF, preposition ov. [Gr.]

1. From or out of; proceeding from, as the cause, source, means, author or agent bestowing.

I have received of the Lord that which also I delivered to you. 1 Corinthians 11:1.

For it was of the Lord to harden their hearts. Joshua 11:1.

It is of the Lord's mercies that we are not consumed.

Lamentations 3:1.

The whole disposing thereof is of the Lord. Proverbs 16:1.

Go, inquire of the Lord for me. 2 Chronicles 34:2.

That holy thing that shall be born of thee. Luke 1:1.

Hence of is the sign of the genitive case, the case that denotes production; as the son of man, the son proceeding from man, produced from man. This is the primary sense, although we now say, produced by man. 'Part of these were slain; ' that is, a number separate, for part denotes a division; the sense then is, a number from or out of the whole were slain. So also, 'some of these were slain; ' that is…

[the] descendants of Barkos [the] descendants of Sisera [the] descendants of Temah
בַרְק֥וֹסvar.Kos Barkos H1302 Noun proper masculine
2× in the OT scale is logarithmic — the commonest word, אֵת, appears about 11,000×
In plain English
Meaning
Barkos was a head of a family of temple slaves who returned from exile with Zerubbabel, as mentioned in Ezra 2.53. His name means the son cut off.
Amplified meaning
a family of temple slaves
Tyndale gloss
Barkos
Hebrew lexiconskeyed to Strong's numbers
Layman’s summary of all Lexicon entries.generated

בַּרְקוֹס (Barqowc) refers to a man named Barkos, who is identified as the head of a family of Nethinim, or temple slaves, that returned from exile with Zerubbabel. The name is noted in Ezra 2:53, and its derivation remains uncertain.

Brown-Driver-Briggs Hebrew Lexicon (full)

בַּרְקוֹס n.pr.m. (√ & mng. unknown) head of a family of Nethinim

base

Brown-Driver-Briggs glosses

H1302 בַּרְקוֹס

Strong's Hebrew Dictionary

1302 Barqowc bar-kose'

of uncertain derivation; Barkos, one of the

Nethimim:--Barkos.

Translators Brief Hebrew Lexicon

בַּרְקוֹס (bar.qos) — Barkos.

A man living at the time of Exile and Return, first mentioned at Ezr.2.53

§ Barkos = "the son cut off"

head of a family of temple-slaves who returned from exile with Zerubbabel

Morphologythe parsing behind the code
Berean parsing
N-proper — Noun proper masculine
HNpm
Bible dictionarieson the English sense
International Standard Bible Encyclopedia

bar'-kos (barqoc, "party-colored" (?) compare Gray, Studies in Hebrew Proper Names, 68, note 2): The descendants of Barkos returned with Zerubbabel to Jerusalem (Ezr 2:53; Ne 7:55). Compare Barchus (1 Esdras 5:32).

Easton's Bible Dictionary

Barkos

Painter, (Ezra 2:53; Neh. 7:55). The father of some of the Nethinim.

Smith's Bible Dictionary

(painted). "Children of Barkos" were among the Nethinim who returned from the captivity with Zerubbabel. (Ezra 2:53; Nehemiah 7:55) (B.C. 536.)

Nave's Topical Bible

→ A Jew whose descendants returned from exile Ezr 2:53; Ne 7:55

[the] descendants of Barkos [the] descendants of Sisera [the] descendants of Temah
בְּֽנֵי־be.nei- [the] descendants of H1121 Noun common · masculine plural construct
4,943× in the OT scale is logarithmic — the commonest word, אֵת, appears about 11,000×
In plain English
Meaning
In the Bible, this word means a son or descendant, and can also refer to a grandson, nation, or quality. It appears in 1 Chronicles 24, describing a Levite named Beno. The word is used to show family relationships and inheritance.
Amplified meaning
children, sons
Tyndale gloss
son: child
Hebrew lexiconskeyed to Strong's numbers
Layman’s summary of all Lexicon entries.generated

בֵּן (ben) means 'son' or 'male child' and encompasses a wide range of meanings, including descendants, young animals, and even figurative uses like sparks or arrows. It can refer to members of a tribe or class and is used in various contexts throughout the Old Testament, such as in 1 Chronicles 24:26. The word is derived from a root meaning 'to build' and implies a connection to family or lineage.

Brown-Driver-Briggs Hebrew Lexicon (full)

בֵּן 4870 n.m. son

son, male child, born of a woman

children (male and female)

youth, young men

the young of animals

of plant shoots

fig. of lifeless things, sparks, stars, arrows

member of a guild, order or class

of animals son of (the) herd

ב׳ as n. relat. followed by word of quality, characteristic, etc.

n. relat. of age

base

בְּנוֹ 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.

done

Brown-Driver-Briggs glosses

H1121a בֵּן son . son, male child, born of a woman

. children (male and female)

. youth, young men

. the young of animals

. of plant shoots

. fig. of lifeless things, sparks, stars, arrows

. . member of a guild, order or class

. of animals son of (the) herd

. ב׳ as n. relat. followed by word of quality, characteristic, etc.

. n. relat. of age

H1121b בְּנוֹ as n. pr. m. in AV, RV, but render: the sons of Jaaziah his son, & the sons of Merari by Jaaziah his son

Strong's Hebrew Dictionary

1121 ben bane

from 1129; a son (as a builder of the family name), in the

widest sense (of literal and figurative relationship,

including grandson, subject, nation, quality or condition,

etc., (like 1, 251, etc.)):--+ afflicted, age, (Ahoh-)

(Ammon-) (Hachmon-) (Lev-)ite, (anoint-)ed one, appointed to,

(+) arrow, (Assyr-) (Babylon-) (Egypt-) (Grec-)ian, one born,

bough, branch, breed, + (young) bullock, + (young) calf, X

came up in, child, colt, X common, X corn, daughter, X of

first, + firstborn, foal, + very fruitful, + postage, X in, +

kid, + lamb, (+) man, meet, + mighty, + nephew, old, (+)

people, + rebel, + robber, X servant born, X soldier, son, +

spark, + steward, + stranger, X surely, them of, + tumultuous

one, + valiant(-est), whelp, worthy, young (one), youth.

see HEBREW for 01129

see HEBREW for 01

see HEBREW for 0251

Translators Brief Hebrew Lexicon

בֵּן (ben) — son: child.

: child/son

בְּנוֹ (be.no) — Beno.

A man of the tribe of Levi living at the time of Divided Monarchy, first mentioned at 1Ch.24.26;

son of: Jaaziah (H3269);

brother of: Shoham (H7719), Zaccur (H2139I) and Ibri (H5681)

§ Beno = "his son"

the sons of Jaaziah and the sons of Merari by Jaahziah (his son)

בֵּן (ben) — son: descendant/people.

: descendant, people, tribe, nation

A sub-meaning of ben (בֵּן ": child" H1121)

§ : child/son

בֵּן (ben) — son: young animal.

: calf/lamb/young(ANIMAL)

A sub-meaning of ben (בֵּן ": child" H1121)

§ : descendant

בֵּן (ben) — son: type of.

: rebel/son(Belial)

A sub-meaning of ben (בֵּן ": child" H1121)

§ : people/men/nation/tribe

בֵּן (ben) — son.

: [inheriting]son/heir

A sub-meaning of ben (בֵּן ": child" H1121)

בֵּן (ben) — son: warrior.

: warrior/son(strong)

Read the full entry →
Morphologythe parsing behind the code
Berean parsing
N-mp — Noun common · masculine plural construct
HNcmpc
Bible dictionarieson the English sense
International Standard Bible Encyclopedia

ov:

(1) In Anglo-Saxon, had the meaning "from," "away from" (as the strengthened form "off" has still), and was not used for genitive or possessive relations, these being expressed by special case-forms. In the Norman period, however, "of" was taken to represent the French de (a use well developed by the time of Chaucer), and in the Elizabethan period both senses of "of" were in common use. But after about 1600 the later force of the word became predominant, and in the earlier sense (which is now practically obsolete) it was replaced by other prepositions. In consequence the King James Version (and in some cases the Revised Version (British and American)) contains many uses of "of" that are no longer familiar--most of them, to be sure, causing no difficulty, but there still being a few responsible for real obscurities.

English usagewhat the translators’ English meant
Webster's Dictionary (1828), Webster's Unabridged (1913), Webster's Dictionary (1806)

OF, preposition ov. [Gr.]

1. From or out of; proceeding from, as the cause, source, means, author or agent bestowing.

I have received of the Lord that which also I delivered to you. 1 Corinthians 11:1.

For it was of the Lord to harden their hearts. Joshua 11:1.

It is of the Lord's mercies that we are not consumed.

Lamentations 3:1.

The whole disposing thereof is of the Lord. Proverbs 16:1.

Go, inquire of the Lord for me. 2 Chronicles 34:2.

That holy thing that shall be born of thee. Luke 1:1.

Hence of is the sign of the genitive case, the case that denotes production; as the son of man, the son proceeding from man, produced from man. This is the primary sense, although we now say, produced by man. 'Part of these were slain; ' that is, a number separate, for part denotes a division; the sense then is, a number from or out of the whole were slain. So also, 'some of these were slain; ' that is…

[the] descendants of Barkos [the] descendants of Sisera [the] descendants of Temah
סִֽיסְרָ֖אsis.Ra' Sisera H5516 Noun proper masculine
21× in the OT scale is logarithmic — the commonest word, אֵת, appears about 11,000×
In plain English
Meaning
Sisera was a Canaanite king and general who was slain by Jael. His name means battle array and he is mentioned in the Bible as a conquering general under king Jabin of Hazor.
Amplified meaning
a Canaanite king
Tyndale gloss
Sisera
Hebrew lexiconskeyed to Strong's numbers
Layman’s summary of all Lexicon entries.generated

סִיסְרָא (sis.ra) refers to Sisera, a Canaanite general under King Jabin of Hazor, known for being defeated by Jael. The name is associated with 'battle array' and appears in contexts relating to both the conquest of Israel and the return from exile, indicating its historical significance.

Brown-Driver-Briggs Hebrew Lexicon (full)

סִיסְרָא 21 n.pr.m.

general of Jabin, king of Hazor

returned exiles

base

Brown-Driver-Briggs glosses

H5516 סִיסְרָא

Strong's Hebrew Dictionary

5516 Ciycra'; see-ser-aw'

of uncertain derivation; Sisera, the name of a Canaanitish

king and of one of the Nethinim:--Sisera.

Translators Brief Hebrew Lexicon

סִיסְרָא (sis.ra) — Sisera.

A man living before Israel's Monarchy, first mentioned at Jdg.4.2

§ Sisera = "battle array"

1) the conquering general under king Jabin of Hazor and slain by Jael

2) ancestor of a family of temple slaves who returned from exile with Zerubbabel

סִיסְרָא (sis.ra) — Sisera.

A man living at the time of Exile and Return, first mentioned at Ezr.2.53

§ Sisera = "battle array"

1) the conquering general under king Jabin of Hazor and slain by Jael

2) ancestor of a family of temple slaves who returned from exile with Zerubbabel

Morphologythe parsing behind the code
Berean parsing
N-proper — Noun proper masculine
HNpm
Bible dictionarieson the English sense
International Standard Bible Encyclopedia

sis'-er-a (cicera', of doubtful meaning; S(e)isara):

(1) Given in Judges 4 as the captain of the army of Jabin, king of Hazor. The accounts given of the battle of Sisera with Barak, as found in Judges 4 and 5, have important points of difference. The first is a prose, the second a poetic narrative. In the first only Naphtali and Zebulun are mentioned as being under the command of Barak; in the second 6 tribes are given as being under his command. In Judges 4 Sisera is known as the captain of Jabin's forces, while in Judges 5 he seems to have been an independent leader. There is also a difference as to the scene of the battle and as to the manner in which Sisera met his death at the hand of Jael. Because of these points of difference, added to the fact that this is the only account, in these early times, where a king did not lead his own forces, it is thought by many that there is here…

Easton's Bible Dictionary

Sisera

(Egypt. Ses-Ra, “servant of Ra”). (1.) The captain of Jabin’s army (Judg. 4:2), which was routed and destroyed by the army of Barak on the plain of Esdraelon. After all was lost he fled to the settlement of Heber the Kenite in the plain of Zaanaim. Jael, Heber’s wife, received him into her tent with apparent hospitality, and “gave him butter” (i.e., lebben, or curdled milk) “in a lordly dish.” Having drunk the refreshing beverage, he lay down, and soon sank into the sleep of the weary. While he lay asleep Jael crept stealthily up to him, and taking in her hand one of the tent pegs, with a mallet she drove it with such force through his temples that it entered into the ground where he lay, and “at her feet he bowed, he fell; where he bowed, there he fell down dead.” The part of Deborah’s song (

American Tract Society Bible Dictionary

A general in the army of Jabin king of Hazor, sent by his master against Barak and Deborah, who occupied Mount Tabor with an army. Being defeated, he fled on foot, and was ingloriously slain by Jael, Jud 4:1-5:31. See JAEL.

[the] descendants of Barkos [the] descendants of Sisera [the] descendants of Temah
בְּנֵי־be.nei- [the] descendants of H1121 Noun common · masculine plural construct
4,943× in the OT scale is logarithmic — the commonest word, אֵת, appears about 11,000×
In plain English
Meaning
In the Bible, this word means a son or descendant, and can also refer to a grandson, nation, or quality. It appears in 1 Chronicles 24, describing a Levite named Beno. The word is used to show family relationships and inheritance.
Amplified meaning
children, sons
Tyndale gloss
son: child
Hebrew lexiconskeyed to Strong's numbers
Layman’s summary of all Lexicon entries.generated

בֵּן (ben) means 'son' or 'male child' and encompasses a wide range of meanings, including descendants, young animals, and even figurative uses like sparks or arrows. It can refer to members of a tribe or class and is used in various contexts throughout the Old Testament, such as in 1 Chronicles 24:26. The word is derived from a root meaning 'to build' and implies a connection to family or lineage.

Brown-Driver-Briggs Hebrew Lexicon (full)

בֵּן 4870 n.m. son

son, male child, born of a woman

children (male and female)

youth, young men

the young of animals

of plant shoots

fig. of lifeless things, sparks, stars, arrows

member of a guild, order or class

of animals son of (the) herd

ב׳ as n. relat. followed by word of quality, characteristic, etc.

n. relat. of age

base

בְּנוֹ 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.

done

Brown-Driver-Briggs glosses

H1121a בֵּן son . son, male child, born of a woman

. children (male and female)

. youth, young men

. the young of animals

. of plant shoots

. fig. of lifeless things, sparks, stars, arrows

. . member of a guild, order or class

. of animals son of (the) herd

. ב׳ as n. relat. followed by word of quality, characteristic, etc.

. n. relat. of age

H1121b בְּנוֹ as n. pr. m. in AV, RV, but render: the sons of Jaaziah his son, & the sons of Merari by Jaaziah his son

Strong's Hebrew Dictionary

1121 ben bane

from 1129; a son (as a builder of the family name), in the

widest sense (of literal and figurative relationship,

including grandson, subject, nation, quality or condition,

etc., (like 1, 251, etc.)):--+ afflicted, age, (Ahoh-)

(Ammon-) (Hachmon-) (Lev-)ite, (anoint-)ed one, appointed to,

(+) arrow, (Assyr-) (Babylon-) (Egypt-) (Grec-)ian, one born,

bough, branch, breed, + (young) bullock, + (young) calf, X

came up in, child, colt, X common, X corn, daughter, X of

first, + firstborn, foal, + very fruitful, + postage, X in, +

kid, + lamb, (+) man, meet, + mighty, + nephew, old, (+)

people, + rebel, + robber, X servant born, X soldier, son, +

spark, + steward, + stranger, X surely, them of, + tumultuous

one, + valiant(-est), whelp, worthy, young (one), youth.

see HEBREW for 01129

see HEBREW for 01

see HEBREW for 0251

Translators Brief Hebrew Lexicon

בֵּן (ben) — son: child.

: child/son

בְּנוֹ (be.no) — Beno.

A man of the tribe of Levi living at the time of Divided Monarchy, first mentioned at 1Ch.24.26;

son of: Jaaziah (H3269);

brother of: Shoham (H7719), Zaccur (H2139I) and Ibri (H5681)

§ Beno = "his son"

the sons of Jaaziah and the sons of Merari by Jaahziah (his son)

בֵּן (ben) — son: descendant/people.

: descendant, people, tribe, nation

A sub-meaning of ben (בֵּן ": child" H1121)

§ : child/son

בֵּן (ben) — son: young animal.

: calf/lamb/young(ANIMAL)

A sub-meaning of ben (בֵּן ": child" H1121)

§ : descendant

בֵּן (ben) — son: type of.

: rebel/son(Belial)

A sub-meaning of ben (בֵּן ": child" H1121)

§ : people/men/nation/tribe

בֵּן (ben) — son.

: [inheriting]son/heir

A sub-meaning of ben (בֵּן ": child" H1121)

בֵּן (ben) — son: warrior.

: warrior/son(strong)

Read the full entry →
Morphologythe parsing behind the code
Berean parsing
N-mp — Noun common · masculine plural construct
HNcmpc
Bible dictionarieson the English sense
International Standard Bible Encyclopedia

ov:

(1) In Anglo-Saxon, had the meaning "from," "away from" (as the strengthened form "off" has still), and was not used for genitive or possessive relations, these being expressed by special case-forms. In the Norman period, however, "of" was taken to represent the French de (a use well developed by the time of Chaucer), and in the Elizabethan period both senses of "of" were in common use. But after about 1600 the later force of the word became predominant, and in the earlier sense (which is now practically obsolete) it was replaced by other prepositions. In consequence the King James Version (and in some cases the Revised Version (British and American)) contains many uses of "of" that are no longer familiar--most of them, to be sure, causing no difficulty, but there still being a few responsible for real obscurities.

English usagewhat the translators’ English meant
Webster's Dictionary (1828), Webster's Unabridged (1913), Webster's Dictionary (1806)

OF, preposition ov. [Gr.]

1. From or out of; proceeding from, as the cause, source, means, author or agent bestowing.

I have received of the Lord that which also I delivered to you. 1 Corinthians 11:1.

For it was of the Lord to harden their hearts. Joshua 11:1.

It is of the Lord's mercies that we are not consumed.

Lamentations 3:1.

The whole disposing thereof is of the Lord. Proverbs 16:1.

Go, inquire of the Lord for me. 2 Chronicles 34:2.

That holy thing that shall be born of thee. Luke 1:1.

Hence of is the sign of the genitive case, the case that denotes production; as the son of man, the son proceeding from man, produced from man. This is the primary sense, although we now say, produced by man. 'Part of these were slain; ' that is, a number separate, for part denotes a division; the sense then is, a number from or out of the whole were slain. So also, 'some of these were slain; ' that is…

[the] descendants of Barkos [the] descendants of Sisera [the] descendants of Temah
תָֽמַח׃Ta.mach Temah H8547 Noun proper masculine
2× in the OT scale is logarithmic — the commonest word, אֵת, appears about 11,000×
In plain English
Meaning
Temah was a person who lived during the time of the Israelites' exile and return, as mentioned in Ezra 2:53. He was a leader of a family of temple slaves who returned with Zerubbabel, and his name means laughter. The Bible records his family's history and role in the temple.
Amplified meaning
a leader in Israel's return
Tyndale gloss
Temah
Hebrew lexiconskeyed to Strong's numbers
Layman’s summary of all Lexicon entries.generated

תָּ֑מַח (Temach) refers to a male name, specifically a head of a Jewish family mentioned in the context of the Exile and Return, particularly in Ezra 2:53. The exact derivation of the name is uncertain, but it may relate to the word for 'laughter.' It is associated with the Nethinim, a group of temple servants.

Brown-Driver-Briggs Hebrew Lexicon (full)

תָּ֑מַח n.pr.m. head of a Jewish family

base

Brown-Driver-Briggs glosses

H8547 תָּ֑מַח, תֶּמַח

Strong's Hebrew Dictionary

8547 Temach teh'-makh

of uncertain derivation; Temach, one of the

Nethinim:--Tamah, Thamah.

Translators Brief Hebrew Lexicon

תָּ֑מַח (te.mach) — Temah.

A man living at the time of Exile and Return, first mentioned at Ezr.2.53

§ Tamah or Thamah = "laughter"

a head of a family of temple slaves who returned from exile with Zerubbabel

Morphologythe parsing behind the code
Berean parsing
N-proper — Noun proper masculine
HNpm
Bible dictionarieson the English sense
International Standard Bible Encyclopedia

te'-ma (temach, Codex Alexandrinus and Codex Vaticanus Thema; Lucian, Themaa; Ne 7:55; Codex Vaticanus Hemath; Codex Alexandrinus Thema; Lucian, Themaa; the King James Version, Thamah): The family name of a company of Nethinim (Ezr 2:53).

Sources on this page. Lexicons and dictionaries imported from the CrossWire SWORD modules — Abbott-Smith, Strong's, Dodson, the Intermediate Liddell-Scott-Jones, Robinson and Packard, Webster and Cawdrey. Thayer’s Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament (Harper, 1889 — Grimm’s Wilke’s Clavis Novi Testamenti, translated, revised and enlarged by Joseph Henry Thayer) is public domain and is set here from the Internet Archive page scan greekenglishlex00grim; it is uncorrected OCR, marked as such on the entry itself, and the Strong’s numbers — which Thayer’s own edition does not carry — were matched by lemma against the other modules on this page. Trench’s Synonyms of the New Testament (Macmillan, 1880) and Moulton and Milligan’s Vocabulary of the Greek Testament (Hodder & Stoughton, 1930, which entered the United States public domain on 1 January 2026) are set from Internet Archive page scans synonymsofnewtes00treniala and vocabularyofgree00mouluoft, and are likewise uncorrected OCR matched to Strong’s numbers by lemma. Trench treats a group of words at once, so the same essay stands on the page of each word it compares. The Mounce Concise Greek-English Dictionary is © 1993 and is used here by permission for non-commercial use, www.teknia.com/greek-dictionary. The full Liddell-Scott-Jones and the Hebrew word data (TAHOT) come from STEPBible.org, CC BY 4.0. Brown-Driver-Briggs is the OpenScriptures digitisation, public domain. Syntax analysis is the Nestle 1904 Lowfat treebank (biblicalhumanities.org); the concordance and morphology are built from the tagged Nestle 1904 text. Septuagint occurrences use the Open Scriptures Septuagint lemma index, derived from CCAT (University of Pennsylvania) and the Rahlfs 1935 dataset by Eliran Wong, CC BY-NC-SA 4.0 — used here on a non-commercial ministry site. Greek of Josephus and Barnabas from the Perseus Digital Library, CC BY-SA 4.0. Commentaries and the Ante-Nicene Fathers are public-domain texts hosted on this site. Everyday Greek from the Duke Databank of Documentary Papyri, CC BY 3.0, with dates and provenance from the Heidelberger Gesamtverzeichnis. Philo and the Apostolic Fathers from Open Greek and Latin (First1KGreek), CC BY-SA 4.0. The apparatus and the fifth Greek column are the SBL Greek New Testament, © 2010 SBL and Logos Bible Software, CC BY 4.0. The Latin is the Clementine Vulgate (public domain); the Syriac New Testament is the ETCBC edition (MIT licence). The Hebrew behind the Greek is computed here from the Septuagint index and TAHOT, not taken from any aligned edition. The translation spread and the per-word edition marks come from the Translators Amalgamated Greek NT (STEPBible, CC BY 4.0); clause roles from the Nestle 1904 Lowfat treebank (CC BY-SA 4.0); place identifications and their confidence from OpenBible.info Bible Geocoding (CC BY 4.0), with map tiles © OpenStreetMap contributors. Gospel parallels are computed here from shared uncommon vocabulary, not taken from any printed harmony. Cross references are the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge and the subject headings are Nave’s Topical Bible, both public domain. Works under Creative Commons licences are used unchanged apart from markup removal.

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