BEN

[Heb., ben, “son of”].

1. A Levite musician of David’s day who accompanied the ark of the covenant to Jerusalem.—1 Chron. 15:15, 18.

2. The Hebrew prefix ben often occurs in names such as Benjamin (son of the right hand) or Benammi (son of my people). It is equivalent to bar in Aramaic names such as Barnabas (son of comfort). (Acts 4:36) It is frequently used also to define relationships other than parental, such as race, “sons [b^enehʹ] of Israel,” “sons [b^enehʹ] of the Cushites” (2 Chron. 35:17; Amos 9:7); location, “sons [b^enehʹ] of the jurisdictional district” (Ezra 2:1); or condition, “sons [b^enehʹ] of youth,” “sons [b^enehʹ] of unrighteousness.”—Ps. 127:4; Hos. 10:9.