Bible Word Study
בְּנִינוּ
Bᵉnîynûw · Beninu, an Israelite
בְּנִינוּ
Beninu, an Israelite
Definition
Beninu is a proper name of an Israelite who appears in the post-exilic period. The name means 'our son' and is borne by one of the Levites who sealed the covenant of renewal and commitment to God's law alongside Nehemiah (Nehemiah 10:13). As a signatory, Beninu represents the collective pledge of the returned community to separate from foreign influences and faithfully obey the Torah. The name itself, while personal, reflects a communal identity within the restored people of God.
Biblical Usage
The word בְּנִינוּ (Beninu) is used only once in the Old Testament, in Nehemiah 10:13. It functions strictly as a personal name within a list of Levites who publicly affirmed the binding covenant. Its usage is confined to this specific historical and religious context of national restoration and recommitment following the Babylonian exile.
Etymology
The name Beninu is a compound word derived from the common noun בֵּן (bēn, H1121), meaning 'son,' with the first-person plural pronominal suffix '-inu' meaning 'our.' Thus, it translates directly as 'our son.' This construction is typical of Hebrew personal names that express relationship or belonging, similar to names like Benjamin ('son of the right hand').
Semantic Range
While the name Beninu itself is not theologically loaded, its appearance is significant. As a covenant signatory in Nehemiah 10, Beninu represents the Levitical line's crucial role in leading the community's spiritual revival. His act of sealing the covenant underscores themes of corporate responsibility, repentance, and the renewal of the covenant relationship between God and His people after judgment. It highlights the importance of every individual, even those only mentioned once, in the collective story of God's faithfulness. In ancient Israelite culture, names often carried meaning and reflected hopes, circumstances, or statements about God. 'Beninu' ('our son') suggests a name denoting familial belonging or perhaps a child born into a close-knit community. As a Levite, Beninu belonged to the tribe set apart for religious service, making his signature on a religious document a culturally expected act of his hereditary role and social standing. בֵּן (bēn, H1121) — The root noun meaning 'son,' from which Beninu is directly derived.
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]