Bible Word Study
בֶּן־דֶּקֶר
Ben-Deqer · Ben-Deker, an Israelite
בֶּן־דֶּקֶר
Ben-Deker, an Israelite
Definition
Ben-Deker is a proper name meaning 'son of Deker' or 'son of piercing'. In the Bible, he is identified as one of the twelve district governors appointed by King Solomon to supply provisions for the royal household, specifically for the region of Makaz, Shaalbim, Beth-shemesh, and Elonbeth-hanan (1 Kings 4:9). The name itself is a patronymic, indicating his lineage or association with a father or ancestor named Deker. As a historical figure, his sole role in the biblical narrative is administrative, highlighting the organizational structure of Solomon's kingdom.
Biblical Usage
The name Ben-Deker appears only once in the Old Testament, in 1 Kings 4:9. It is used in a purely administrative and historical context within a list of Solomon's twelve regional officers responsible for providing food for the king's court. There are no other occurrences or varied usages of this proper name in the biblical text.
Etymology
The name Ben-Deker is a compound Hebrew word. It is formed from 'ben' (H1121), meaning 'son of', and a derivative of the root 'daqar' (H1856), meaning 'to pierce, thrust through'. Thus, the name literally translates to 'son of piercing' or 'son of a lance', likely referring to a characteristic, occupation, or event associated with his father or ancestor.
Semantic Range
The name reflects the common Israelite practice of using patronymics (identifying a person as 'son of' their father). The element 'Deker' ('piercing') may have originally described a warrior, hunter, or someone skilled with a spear, which was a valued trait in ancient Near Eastern societies. As a district governor, Ben-Deker was part of Solomon's centralized administrative system, which replaced the older tribal structures and imposed taxation in kind to support a large royal bureaucracy and building projects. Ben-Hesed (H1121+H2617) — Another of Solomon's district governors (1 Kings 4:10). Ben-Abinadab (H1121+H41) — Another of Solomon's district governors (1 Kings 4:11).
Word Details
How this works
Definitions are from the Brown-Driver-Briggs Hebrew Lexicon (BDB, 1906, public domain). Concordance and morphology data are from the OSHB (Open Scriptures Hebrew Bible).
Full methodology & sources →References
- Abbott-Smith, G. (1921) A Manual Greek Lexicon of the New Testament. Edinburgh: T&T Clark. [Public Domain]
- Brown, F., Driver, S.R. and Briggs, C.A. (1906) A Hebrew and English Lexicon of the Old Testament. Oxford: Clarendon Press. [Public Domain]
- Tyndale House, Cambridge (n.d.) Tyndale Brief lexicon of Extended Strongs for Greek (TBESG). STEPBible. Available at: https://www.stepbible.org. [CC BY 4.0]
- Tyndale House, Cambridge (n.d.) Translators Formatted full LSJ (TFLSJ). STEPBible. Available at: https://www.stepbible.org. [CC BY 4.0]
- Thayer, J.H. (1889) A Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament. [Public Domain]
- Gesenius, W. (1846) Gesenius' Hebrew-Chaldee Lexicon to the Old Testament. [Public Domain]
- Dodson, J. (2010) Greek Lexicon. Biblical Humanities. [CC0]