WG: Family / Kinship
Overview
The Hebrew family cluster covers the core vocabulary of the immediate family unit —
offspring, parent, and stages of childhood. Five words form the basic grid:
ben (son) and bath (daughter) as the child pair; ab (father) as the generating
parent; and yeled and naʻar marking early stages of life from birth to youth.
Together they appear in every family narrative, genealogy, covenant formula,
and wisdom address in the OT.
Word Group Members
| Strong's |
Word |
Transliteration |
POS |
Occurrences |
Role in Concept |
Library Entry |
| H1121 |
בֵּן |
ben |
m. noun |
3,652v |
Son/offspring — broadest kinship term; extends to class membership and age idiom |
H1121-ben.md |
| H1323 |
בַּת |
bath |
f. noun |
498v |
Daughter — feminine counterpart to ben; same root, same range of use |
TODO(need H1323 study) |
| H1 |
אָב |
ʼâb |
m. noun |
1,060v |
Father — the generating parent; correlative with both ben and bath |
TODO(need H1 study) |
| H3206 |
יֶלֶד |
yeled |
m. noun |
76v |
Child/boy — emphasizes concrete birth and infancy; narrower than ben |
TODO(need H3206 study) |
| H5288 |
נַעַר |
naʻar |
m. noun |
221v |
Boy/youth — emphasizes developmental age and service role |
TODO(need H5288 study) |
Relationships
Shared Roots
- H1121 ben, H1323 bath, H1004 bayit (house) — all derive from H1129 בָּנָה (banah, to build): the family as "that which is built"; a son as "builder of the family name"
- H3206 yeled — from H3205 יָלַד (yalad, to bear/bring forth): the child as "the one born"
- H5288 naʻar — possibly from a root meaning "to shake out, be active": the restless, active youth
Co-occurrence (shared distinct verses)
| Word A |
Word B |
Shared Verses |
Typical Context |
| ben (H1121) |
ab (H1) |
309v (8% of ben) |
Father-son pair; genealogical chains; covenant transmission |
| ben (H1121) |
bath (H1323) |
223v (6% of ben) |
"sons and daughters" — listing family members |
| bath (H1323) |
ab (H1) |
44v |
Father-daughter passages; inheritance; marriage |
| ben (H1121) |
naʻar (H5288) |
36v |
Adolescent sons; young attendants |
| ab (H1) |
naʻar (H5288) |
21v |
Father and young son/servant pairs |
| bath (H1323) |
yeled (H3206) |
7v |
Birth narratives; family preservation |
| ab (H1) |
yeled (H3206) |
7v |
Father and infant child |
| ben (H1121) |
yeled (H3206) |
6v |
Son and infant distinguished |
LXX Overlaps
| Hebrew Words |
Shared Greek |
Notes |
| yeled + naʻar |
G3808 παιδάριον (paidarion) |
"little boy" — LXX conflates the two Hebrew youth words |
| yeled + naʻar |
G3813 παιδίον (paidion) |
"child" — both map here when youth is in view |
| ben + yeled |
G5043 τέκνον (teknon) |
"born child" — shared Greek when biological offspring is emphasized |
| bath + ben |
G2364 θυγάτηρ (thygater) |
"daughter" — bath's primary word; also used for ben in family-listing contexts |
Roles in the Concept
- Primary offspring (male): ben (H1121) — covers son from birth through adulthood, guild membership, covenant designation, and messianic sonship
- Primary offspring (female): bath (H1323) — parallel to ben; same range but feminine
- Generating parent: ab (H1) — the father who names and transmits covenant and lineage; the correlative of both ben and bath
- Stage 1 — Birth/infancy: yeled (H3206) — the newly born; often used of infants and small children; Moses in the basket (Exo 2:6, 10)
- Stage 2 — Youth/active boy: naʻar (H5288) — the older boy or young man; can be a servant; Joseph at 17 (Gen 37:2); Saul's young attendant (1Sa 14:1)
Key Passages Where Multiple Group Words Appear Together
- Gen 37:35 — "all his sons (ben) and all his daughters (bath) rose up to comfort him [Jacob/ab]" — the full family cluster
- Exo 10:9 — "we will go with our young (naʻar) and with our old, with our sons (ben) and with our daughters (bath)" — complete family enumeration
- Isa 9:6 — "unto us a child (yeled) is born, unto us a son (ben) is given: and the government shall be upon his shoulder: and his name shall be called...The everlasting Father (ab)" — three group words in one messianic announcement
- Exo 2:10 — "the child (yeled) grew, and she brought him unto Pharaoh's daughter (bath), and he became her son (ben)" — Moses narrative using all three child/offspring words
- Gen 9:18 — "the sons (bene) of Noah...were Shem, and Ham, and Japheth: and Ham is the father (ab) of Canaan"
Generated from: gather_word_group_data.py H1121 H1323 H1 H3206 H5288
Last updated: 2026-04-01