Bible Word Study
בְּעֹן
Bᵉʻôn · Beon, a place East of the Jordan
בְּעֹן
Beon, a place East of the Jordan
Definition
Beon is a place name referring to a location east of the Jordan River, in the region of Gilead. It is mentioned in the context of the tribes of Reuben and Gad requesting this land for their livestock (Numbers 32:3). The name is likely a shortened form of Baal-meon (H1186), a more prominent Moabite town mentioned in later prophetic judgments (Ezekiel 25:9). As a place name, its primary significance is geographical, identifying a specific territory desired by the Israelite tribes during the conquest.
Biblical Usage
This proper noun is used only once in the Old Testament, in Numbers 32:3. It appears in a narrative context where the tribes of Reuben and Gad, seeing the land of Jazer and Gilead as suitable for their herds, specifically list places including Beon as territories they wish to possess. Its usage is purely locative, identifying a region east of the Jordan.
Etymology
The name בְּעֹן (Bᵉʻôn) is almost certainly a contracted form of בֵּית בַּעַל מְעוֹן (Bêyth Baʻal Mᵉʻôwn, H1010), meaning 'house of Baal of the dwelling.' This longer form, Baal-meon, appears in other biblical texts (e.g., Numbers 32:38, Ezekiel 25:9) and in the Mesha Stele, a Moabite inscription. The contraction reflects common linguistic shortening of compound place names.
Semantic Range
While the place name itself is not theologically loaded, its context in Numbers 32 is significant. The request for land east of the Jordan, including Beon, tests the tribes' commitment to helping the rest of Israel conquer Canaan. It sets a precedent for tribal inheritance and highlights themes of promise, land allocation, and communal responsibility within the covenant. Understanding its connection to Baal-meon also links it to later prophetic condemnations of Moabite idolatry. As a place name in Transjordan, Beon was located in a contested region between the Israelites and the Moabites. Its probable full name, Baal-meon, indicates it was originally a Canaanite/Moabite settlement dedicated to the god Baal. When the tribes of Reuben and Gad requested it, they were seeking to inhabit and rename a site with a pagan history, a common pattern in the Israelite settlement. This reflects the cultural and religious reclamation of the land. Baal-meon (Baʻal Mᵉʻôwn, H1186) — The fuller, original name of the same location, associated with Moabite worship.
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]