אוֹנוֹ
Ono, a place in Palestine
Definition
Ono is a proper noun referring to a town or valley in ancient Palestine, located in the territory of Benjamin. It is mentioned as a place where Benjamites settled after the exile (1 Chronicles 8:12) and as one of the towns whose inhabitants returned from the Babylonian captivity (Ezra 2:33, Nehemiah 7:37). In Nehemiah's time, Ono is depicted as a significant location where his enemies tried to lure him away from rebuilding Jerusalem's walls, suggesting it was a considerable distance from the city (Nehemiah 6:2). The town is also listed among the places where the tribe of Benjamin lived in the post-exilic period (Nehemiah 11:35).
Biblical Usage
Ono appears five times in the Old Testament, exclusively in post-exilic historical books (1 Chronicles, Ezra, Nehemiah). It is used as a geographical identifier for a settlement in Benjamin. In genealogical and census lists, it simply denotes a place of origin (1 Chronicles 8:12, Ezra 2:33, Nehemiah 7:37, Nehemiah 11:35). Its most notable usage is narrative: Sanballat and Geshem invite Nehemiah to meet in the plain of Ono, intending to harm him, which Nehemiah recognizes as a distraction from his work (Nehemiah 6:2). This indicates Ono was a known, perhaps neutral, meeting place some distance from Jerusalem.
Etymology
The name אוֹנוֹ (ʼÔwnôw) is a prolonged form of the Hebrew root אוֹן (ʼôwn, H202), which means 'vigor,' 'wealth,' or 'productive power.' As a place name, it likely carried the sense of 'strength' or 'wealth,' possibly describing a fertile or prosperous area. The shortened form אֹנוֹ is also attested. This derivation connects the location's identity with concepts of vitality and substance.
Semantic Range
In the biblical context, Ono was a tangible location in the tribal allotment of Benjamin. Its mention in Nehemiah 6:2, as a proposed meeting place far from Jerusalem, highlights the political tensions and the perceived danger for Nehemiah outside the city's immediate environs during the rebuilding project. The town's association with returning exiles (Ezra 2:33) underscores its role as a re-established community in the restored homeland, part of the re-settlement of the land after the Babylonian exile.
Word Details
How this works
Hebrew definitions are from Brown-Driver-Briggs (1906) and Strong's Exhaustive Concordance (1890), both public domain. BDB was groundbreaking for its era but reflects 19th-century assumptions about Semitic etymology. Modern scholarship (HALOT, DCH) has revised many entries. Use these definitions as a starting point for exploration, not as the final word on a term's meaning in context.
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