Hebrew word · H886

בְּאֵרֹתִי

habe'eroti

Beerothite

Gentilic adjective (a word saying where someone comes from): "the Beerothite", a man of Beeroth ("wells"), a town near Gibeon a few miles north of Jerusalem.

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

What it means

Group of be.e.rot (בְּאֵרוֹת "Beeroth" H0881)

§ Beerothite = "wells"

an inhabitant of Beeroth (in Benjamin)

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 2 Samuel 4:9

Range of meaning

Gentilic adjective (a word saying where someone comes from): "the Beerothite", a man of Beeroth ("wells"), a town near Gibeon a few miles north of Jerusalem.

Against the English

All versions render it "the Beerothite". The background is what modern readers miss.

Used elsewhere in the period

Beeroth was one of the four Gibeonite cities that made a treaty with Joshua (Josh 9:17). It was later counted to Benjamin (Josh 18:25; 2 Sam 4:2). 2 Sam 4:3 says the original Beerothites fled to Gittaim. Joab's armor-bearer Naharai was also a Beerothite (2 Sam 23:37).

Similar words

Where it appears

2 Samuel · 5

  1. 2 Samuel 4:2 הַבְּאֶֽרֹתִ֖י the Beerothite

    Saul’s son had two men who were leaders of raiding parties. One was named Baanah and the other Rechab; they were sons of Rimmon the Beerothite of the tribe of Benjamin—Beeroth is considered part of Benjamin,

  2. 2 Samuel 4:3 הַבְּאֵרֹתִ֖ים the Beerothites

    because the Beerothites fled to Gittaim and have lived there as foreigners to this day.

  3. 2 Samuel 4:5 הַבְּאֵֽרֹתִי֙ the Beerothite

    Now Rechab and Baanah, the sons of Rimmon the Beerothite, set out and arrived at the house of Ish-bosheth in the heat of the day, while the king was taking his midday nap.

  4. 2 Samuel 4:9 הַבְּאֵֽרֹתִ֖י the Beerothite

    But David answered Rechab and his brother Baanah, the sons of Rimmon the Beerothite, “As surely as the LORD lives, who has redeemed my life from all distress,

    Here: "The man from Beeroth", a town counted to Benjamin (v. 2) but originally one of the Gibeonite cities (Joshua 9:17). Repeating it reminds the hearer that the killers came from Saul's own tribal territory.

  5. 2 Samuel 23:37 הַבְּאֵ֣רֹתִ֔י the Beerothite

    Zelek the Ammonite, Naharai the Beerothite, the armor-bearer of Joab son of Zeruiah,

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