Word Study for H1139 (בְּנֵי־בְּרַק)

Bᵉnêy-Bᵉraq /ben-ay'-ber-ak'/ Ask about this word

Rootfrom the plural construction of בֵּן and בָּרָק

Meaningsons of lightning, Bene-berak, a place in Palestine

KJV usageBene-barak.

Word Study

In depth

A plain-language study of Bᵉnêy-Bᵉraq — the range of meaning it carries, how Scripture actually uses it, and where it points. Written for readers who don’t know the original language.

Core Meaning & Semantic Range

The Hebrew term Bᵉnêy-Bᵉraq, represented by H1139, is defined as sons of lightning. It is the name of a place in Palestine, Bene-berak. This word is highly specific, as it appears only 1 time across 1 unique verse in the entire Bible.

Biblical Occurrences & Contextual Analysis

The single biblical mention of H1139 occurs in the book of Joshua. It is listed as one of the cities within the territory assigned to a tribe. The verse identifies it as a specific geographical location, mentioned in a sequence with other cities: "And Jehud, and Beneberak, and Gathrimmon" Joshua 19:45. Its appearance serves to precisely define a boundary and allotted land.

Related Words & Concepts

In its sole context, H1139 is listed with several other locations that help to define its geographical placement:

H3055 Yᵉhud (Jehud): The name for a place in Palestine. It is mentioned immediately before Bene-berak in the list of cities Joshua 19:45.
H1667 Gath-Rimmôwn (Gath-rimmon): Meaning "wine-press of (the) pomegranate," this is also a place in Palestine. It is listed directly after Bene-berak Joshua 19:45.

Theological Significance

The significance of H1139 is rooted in its geographical and historical context rather than in developed theological themes.

Geographical Identification: Its primary role is to function as a place marker, identifying the city of Bene-berak as part of a specific tribal inheritance Joshua 19:45.
Etymological Meaning: While the name translates to "sons of lightning," the biblical text does not provide any further explanation or symbolic meaning attached to this name.
Historical Context: Its inclusion in the list of cities helps to frame the historical account of the settlement of the land, providing a concrete detail within the larger narrative.

Summary

In summary, H1139 is a singular and specific term in the Hebrew Bible. Its identity as Bᵉnêy-Bᵉraq, meaning "sons of lightning," is tied to a single appearance where it designates a precise location. Unlike words with broad theological weight, its contribution is as a geographical identifier, helping to map out the historical landscape described in the book of Joshua.

How the KJV Renders It

Translation

Strong’s lists the renderings but not their weight. These are counted from the King James text of the tagged verses — the bar under each is how often the translators actually reached for it. Select one to filter the occurrences below.

Grammatical Forms

Morphology

In the Hebrew Old Testament, this word appears as a noun across 2 occurrences, inflected in 1 grammatical form — each row is one form, and the bar is how often it is that form. Select any form to read what each part of its name means, and to filter the occurrence list to it.

בְנֵי

Theographic Context

Context

The people, places, and span of history the verses containing this word touch on — drawn from the theographic tagging of Scripture. Select any name to isolate its verses in the occurrence list.

Biblical Distribution

Distribution

1 verse, all in Joshua — and none of the other 38 Old Testament books.

Every Occurrence

Concordance

Every verse where the word is tagged in the King James text. Filter by book, by the English word the translators chose, by grammatical form, or search within the verses.

Sources. Definition and numbering: James Strong, Exhaustive Concordance of the Bible (1890). Morphology: STEPBible / Tyndale House (CC BY). Verse tagging: the King James text keyed to Strong’s numbers. Every count on this page is computed from the tagged corpus, not estimated.