BEN (Heb. ben)

In Semite usage a term used to designate a male descendant, without being limited to the father-son association of the west. Thus, Uzziah (Azariah) can be represented as Joram’s son, despite the intervening generations (Matt.1.8). The term Ben is also used in connection with a clan, in plural only, as in the children of (sons of) Israel, children of (sons of) Ammon, etc. It is used also in prefixes of proper names such as Benjamin, Ben-Hadad, etc. It is found also connoting a class, as “sons of the prophets” (2Kgs.2.15, niv “company of the prophets”).A Levite appointed by David to serve in a musical capacity before the ark of the Lord (1Chr.15.18). The text is doubtful, because Ben is not mentioned in 1Chr.15.20 and receives no reference at all in the LXX. NIV omits it.

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BEN bĕn (בֵּ֡ן, son of). A Levite musician (1 Chron 15:18; KJV, ASV). The LXX omits the name and both the MT and the LXX omit it in v. 20. The RSV omits it in v. 18.

International Standard Bible Encyclopedia (1915)

A Levite appointed to assist as musician in the temple service (1Ch 15:18). The text seems to be doubtful, since the name is omitted in 1Ch 15:20 and not mentioned at all in the Septuagint.

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Ben (prefix) (singular ben, "son of"; plural bene, "sons of" = Aramaic bar): This word is used in the singular or plural to express relationship of almost any kind:

(1) to a person; as such it is found as part of many compound names like Benjamin, Benhur, etc. (compare Bar);

(2) to a clan; in this connection it is found in the plural only: "children of Israel," "children of Ammon," etc.;

(3) to a town; perhaps as place of birth ("son of Jabesh"; 2Ki 15:10 ff);

(4) to occupation, state of life, age, character, quality even of things;

(5) peculiarly employed in the sense of "scholar disciple" ("son of prophet"), or in phrases like "son of death," etc.;

(6) in poetry, "sons of flame" for "sparks" (Job 5:7 margin), etc. The frequent metaphorical use of the word indicates that it was rarely used to express the relation of father to son like the Arabic Ibn. Compare HPN, 64 ff.