Ben-hanan
Ben-hanan was a descendant of Judah through Shimon.
Biography
Ben-hanan was a man of the tribe of Judah, listed among the sons of Shimon in the genealogical records preserved in 1 Chronicles 4:20. His name means "son of grace" or "son of the gracious one," and he appears within the extended Judahite clan lineages that the Chronicler compiled to establish the continuity of God's covenant people from the patriarchs through the post-exilic period. Beyond his genealogical placement, no narrative details of his life are recorded in Scripture. He belongs to the broad network of Judahite families whose careful documentation reflects the importance of tribal identity and covenantal inheritance in ancient Israel, particularly in securing land rights and priestly or civic privileges.
Significance
Though Ben-hanan appears only in a genealogical list, his inclusion in the Chronicler's record carries theological weight. The painstaking preservation of names like his reflects Israel's conviction that every member of the covenant community matters in God's redemptive plan. These genealogies anchor Israel's identity in real historical families, countering any tendency to reduce faith to abstraction. Ben-hanan's position within the tribe of Judah is particularly significant given that tribe's messianic role, the line through which the promises to David would ultimately find fulfillment in Jesus Christ (Matthew 1). Even obscure names in Scripture bear witness to God's faithfulness across generations.
Verse Appearances (1)
1Chr
References
- Orr, J. (ed.) (1915) The International Standard Bible Encyclopedia. Chicago: Howard-Severance Company. [Public Domain]
- Tyndale House, Cambridge (n.d.) Translators Individualised Proper Names with all References (TIPNR). STEPBible. Available at: https://www.stepbible.org. [CC BY 4.0]
- Wikidata contributors (n.d.) Wikidata. Available at: https://www.wikidata.org. [CC0]
- Church of England (1769) The Holy Bible, Authorized (King James) Version. [Public Domain]