Dictionary:בַּיִת/0

בַּיִת

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בַּיִת

Part of Speech	Noun
Occurrences
Possible Meanings	Physical structure of a house Family or household Location which houses The inside of A house and its contents
Related Words	בִּיתַן

Possible Meanings

1. Physical structure of a house¹

• Biblical verses – Bereshit 12:15, 19:2, 24:23, 27:15, 28:2, 29:13
• This is the primary meaning of the word, and this basic meaning is extended in a number of directions:²
• Additional data –

2. Family or household³

• Biblical verses – Bereshit 7:1, 12:17, 15:3, 20:18, 34:19, 35:2
• This meaning further expands to include descendants, sometimes constituting a tribe, nation, or dynasty – Bereshit 18:19, Shemot 16:31, Bemidbar 17:23, Melakhim I 13:2.⁴
• Additional data –

3. Location which houses / receptacle which contains

• Biblical verses – Shemot 25:27, 26:29, 30:4, 38:5, Melakhim I 18:32, Nechemyah 2:3.⁵
• Additional data –

4. The inside of (in adverb or prepositional phrase)

• Biblical verses – Bereshit 6:14, Shemot 25:11, 26:33, 28:26, Vayikra 14:41, 16:2, Bemidbar 18:7
• Additional data –

5. A house and all of its contents and affairs

• Biblical verses – Bereshit 39:4, Melakhim I 13:8, Esther 8:1
• Additional data –

Disputed Cases

Bereshit 12:1

Idioms

עשה בית

• Literal meaning – to build a physical house – Melakhim I 7:8, 12:31, Melakhim II 12:12, 17:29,⁶ Divrei HaYamim I 15:1.
• Figurative meaning – to build a family⁷ or dynasty – Shemuel I 25:28, Shemuel II 7:11, Melakhim I 2:24.
• Ambiguous verses – Shemot 1:21 (see "Rewarding the Midwives").
• Akkadian bītam epēšu – to found a family,⁸ to build a house

בנה בית‎⁹

• Primary meaning – to build a physical house – Bereshit 33:17, Devarim 20:5, 22:8.
• Secondary meaning – to build a family or dynasty – Devarim 25:9, Shemuel I 2:35, Shemuel II 7:27, Melakhim I 11:38, Rut 4:11, Divrei HaYamim I 17:10,25.
• Ambiguous verses – Mishlei 9:1, 14:1, 24:3.

Semantic Evolution

Intra-Biblical

Rabbinic Hebrew

Biblical בית is sometimes understood as a wife – see Mishna Yoma 1:1 regarding Vayikra 16:6. This is a narrowing of the meaning of a family.

Modern Hebrew

¹ The letter בית may derive its name from the house like shape of its Ancient Hebrew form.

² Compare also to the expansion of the semantic field of Akkadian bītu which can mean house, container, or household, and English "house" which includes a family.

³ See the phrases עשה בית and בנה בית below. Cf. the Rabbinic Hebrew meaning of wife, noted below.

⁴ See the phrases עשה בית and בנה בית below.

⁵ See also Melakhim II 23:7 and RadakMelakhim II 23:7About Radak.

⁶ It is unclear in this verse whether the verb עָשׂוּ refers to the בית.

⁷ See Akkadian parallel below.

⁸ See Shalom Paul, Divrei Shalom (Leiden – Boston, 2005): 177-180 who notes the parallel to the Biblical expression "עשה בית".

⁹ This phrase parallels עשה בית – compare Shemuel II 7:11 and Divrei HaYamim I 17:10.