Hebrew word · H1177

בַּ֫עַל חָנָן

ba'al

Baal-hanan

A name made of two parts: baʿal ('lord, master, owner', and also the name of the storm god Baal) and ḥānān ('has been gracious', or 'has shown favour').

Appears 10 times in 5 verses of the Hebrew Old Testament. ·

What it means

A man living at the time of the Patriarchs, first mentioned at Gen.36.38;

son of: Achbor (H5907)

§ Baal-hanan = "Baal is gracious"

1) an early king of Edom

2) one of David's officers, a Gederite, who had the superintendence of his olive and sycamore plantations

Abridged from Brown, Driver and Briggs, A Hebrew and English Lexicon of the Old Testament (1906), via STEPBible.org (CC BY 4.0).

In depth

From the study of Jubilees 38:22

Range of meaning

A name made of two parts: baʿal ('lord, master, owner', and also the name of the storm god Baal) and ḥānān ('has been gracious', or 'has shown favour').

Against the English

English versions just transliterate it as Baal-hanan. Charles's 'Ba'elunan' reproduces the Ethiopic spelling, which hides the Hebrew roots altogether.

Used elsewhere in the period

Genesis 36:38–39 and 1 Chronicles 1:49–50 use the name for this Edomite king. 1 Chronicles 27:28 uses it for one of David's officials. Names built from baʿal plus a verb are common in Phoenician and other West Semitic inscriptions (compare Hannibal, 'grace of Baal').

Where it appears

Genesis · 4

  1. Genesis 36:38 בַּ֥עַל חָנָ֖ן Baal-, Hanan

    When Shaul died, Baal-hanan son of Achbor reigned in his place.

  2. Genesis 36:39 בַּ֣עַל חָנָ֣ן Baal-, Hanan

    When Baal-hanan son of Achbor died, Hadad reigned in his place. His city was named Pau, and his wife’s name was Mehetabel daughter of Matred, the daughter of Me-zahab.

1 Chronicles · 6

  1. 1 Chronicles 1:49 בַּ֥עַל חָנָ֖ן Baal-, Hanan

    When Shaul died, Baal-hanan son of Achbor reigned in his place.

  2. 1 Chronicles 1:50 בַּ֣עַל חָנָ֔ן Baal-, Hanan

    When Baal-hanan died, Hadad reigned in his place. His city was named Pau, and his wife’s name was Mehetabel daughter of Matred, the daughter of Me-zahab.

  3. 1 Chronicles 27:28 בַּ֥עַל חָנָ֖ן Baal-, Hanan

    Baal-hanan the Gederite was in charge of the olive and sycamore trees in the foothills. Joash was in charge of the stores of olive oil.

Word data: STEPBible.org (CC BY 4.0), main text only.