אֶ֫בֶן274 H0068
Stone — rock as material or object for building, throwing, memorials; also a standard weight, and figuratively a title of God
One of the most concrete and versatile nouns in biblical Hebrew, 'even covers everything from a rough field stone to a hewn building block to a precious gem. Jacob uses a stone as a pillow and then sets it up as a sacred pillar (Gen 28:11, 18); Israel's enemies sink 'like a stone' in the sea (Exod 15:5); and the law demands honest 'stones' — that is, weights — in the marketplace (Deut 25:13). The word even acquires theological force in Genesis 49:24, where God is called 'the Stone of Israel,' a metaphor that resonates across the multilingual tradition from Arabic hajar to German der Fels.
Senses
1. stone, rock (material/object) — A piece of rock as a physical object — used for building walls and altars, throwing as a weapon, setting up as a memorial pillar, paving roads, or serving as raw material. This overwhelmingly dominant sense (267x) covers singular and plural, construct and absolute, with prepositions and suffixes. Jacob's pillow-stone at Bethel (Gen 28:11), the tablets of stone at Sinai (Exod 24:12), and the stones of a sling (1 Sam 17:40) all fall here. Every major target language uses its basic word for rock: Spanish piedra, French pierre, Arabic hajar, Korean dol. 267×
AR["أَبِنَ","بِ-حَجَرٍ","حَجَر","حَجَراً","حَجَرًا","حَجَرٌ","حَجَرٍ","حِجارَةٍ","حِجَارَةٍ"]·ben["পাথর","পাথর;","পাথরের","বড়"]·DE["Stein","aus-Stein","ein-Stein","einen-Stein","mit-Stein"]·EN["a-stone","stone","with-stone"]·FR["avec-pierre","pierre","une-pierre"]·heb["אבן"]·HI["पत्थर","पत्थर-का","पत्थर-के","पत्थरों-की"]·ID["ada-batu","batu","dengan-batu"]·IT["con-pietra","pietra","un-pietra"]·jav["dening-sela","sela","sela,","sela;","séla","watu"]·KO["돌","돌로","돌을","돌의","돌이"]·PT["pedra","pedra."]·RU["каменные","каменный","камень","камне","камней","камнем","камня"]·ES["con-piedra","piedra","una-piedra"]·SW["jiwe","mawe","vya-jiwe","wa-mawe"]·TR["tas","taş","taşla"]·urd["پتھر","پتھر-سے","پتھر-کا","پتھر-کی"]
Gen 31:45, Gen 35:14, Exod 15:5, Exod 17:12, Exod 28:11, Exod 28:17, Exod 28:17, Exod 31:5, Exod 31:18, Exod 35:33, Exod 39:10, Lev 24:23 (+38 more)
2. weight, balance-stone — A stone used as a standard weight for measuring in trade, the 'balance-stone' (even mishqal). Leviticus 19:36 commands 'just balances, just weights,' and Deuteronomy 25:13-15 forbids having two different 'stones' in one's bag — a large and a small. The metonymic leap from physical stone to unit of measurement is natural; ancient weights were literally carved stones. French poids and English 'weight' translate the function rather than the material. 4×
AR["أَحْجَارَ","حَجَرٌ","وَحَجَرٌ"]·ben["এবং-পাথর","পাথর","পাথর-"]·DE["und-weight","weight","weights-von-"]·EN["and-weight","weight","weights-of-"]·FR["et-poids","poids","weights-de-"]·heb["אבן","אבני","ו-אבן"]·HI["और-पत्थर","पत्थर","बाट-"]·ID["Batu-timbangan","batu-batu-","batu-timbangan","dan-batu-timbangan"]·IT["e-weight","weight","weights-di-"]·jav["Watu","lan-watu","watu","watu-"]·KO["그리고-저울추가","돌들-의","저울추"]·PT["e-peso","pedras-de","peso"]·RU["Гиря","гири-","гиря","и-гиря"]·ES["Piedra","piedra","piedras-de","y-piedra"]·SW["jiwe","mawe-ya-","na-jiwe"]·TR["taş","taşları-","ve-taş"]·urd["اور-باٹ","باٹ","باٹ-"]
3. sense 3 — Stone as a precious or costly material in the context of honoring or adorning, as in Daniel 11:38 where a foreign god is honored 'with stone' — that is, with precious stones and costly gifts. The prepositional phrase 'and with stone' (u-ve-'even) here denotes gem-quality material rather than common rock, a usage supported by the parallel with gold and silver in the same verse. 1×
AR["وَ-بِـ-حَجَرٍ"]·ben["ও-মণিমুক্তায়"]·DE["und-in-Stein"]·EN["and-with-stone"]·FR["et-pierre"]·heb["ו-ב-אבן"]·HI["और-पत्थर-से"]·ID["dan-dengan-batu"]·IT["e-in-pietra"]·jav["lan-kanthi-sèla"]·KO["그리고-에-보석으로"]·PT["e-com-pedras"]·RU["и-камнем"]·ES["y-con-piedra"]·SW["na-kwa-vito"]·TR["ve-be-taşla"]·urd["اور-ساتھ-پتھر"]
4. sense 4 — A figurative or titular use: 'the Stone of Israel' (even yisra'el) in Genesis 49:24, a divine epithet for God as the immovable foundation and protector of his people. This metaphorical extension — from physical rock to theological title — is echoed in later Scripture (Isa 28:16, Ps 118:22). German der Fels ('the Rock') and Spanish Piedra-de capture the metaphorical dignity. The sense stands apart from literal stone by functioning as a proper epithet within Jacob's blessing. 1×
AR["صَخْرَةِ"]·ben["পাথর"]·DE["der-Fels"]·EN["Stone-of"]·FR["Pierre-de"]·heb["אבן"]·HI["चट्टान"]·ID["Batu"]·IT["Stone-di"]·jav["watu"]·KO["반석이다"]·PT["Pedra-de"]·RU["Камень"]·ES["Piedra-de"]·SW["jiwe"]·TR["kayası"]·urd["چٹان"]
Related Senses
H5921a 1. upon, on, over (spatial) (5443×)H0413 1. directional: to, toward (5366×)H1121a 1. son, male offspring, descendant (4914×)H3808 1. simple negation (not) (4839×)H4428 1. king, human ruler (2518×)G1722 1. locative: in, within (2442×)H1004b 1. house, dwelling, building (2015×)H6440 1. before, in front of (spatial) (1870×)G3756 1. not (negation particle) (1635×)H3027 1. physical hand (body part) (1596×)H1697 1. word, speech, utterance (1235×)H4480a 1. source or separation (1198×)H5892b 1. city, town (1093×)G1519 1. direction: into, to, toward (1061×)H3427 1. Qal: to dwell, inhabit (937×)G1537 1. from, out of (source/origin) (886×)H8034 1. Name (designation / identifier) (856×)G3361 1. subjective negation (not) (834×)G1909 1. on, upon (spatial surface) (757×)H0369 1. existential negation: there is not (738×)
BDB / Lexicon Reference
אֶ֫בֶן274 n.f. Gn 29:2 (m. 1 S 17:40?) stone (Assyrian abnu, = the sharp, projecting? v. DlW, Pr 107; Ph. אבן; Aramaic. אֶבֶן, ܐܰܒܢܳܐ; Ethiopic እብን Sab. אבנ[ם] DHMZMG 1883, 341) = א׳ abs. Gn 28:22 +; אָ֑בֶן 11:3 +; cstr. 49:24 +; sf. אַבְנוֹ 2 K 3:25; אֲבָנִים Gn 31:46 +, etc.;—a stone (large or small). 1. in natural state, used as pillow Gn 28:11, 18 (E); seat Ex 17:12 (E); cover of well Gn…