Bedan

Two men named Bedan appear in the UPDV. Both references are single verses, and the two figures live in different texts and different periods: one is invoked in Samuel's farewell speech as a deliverer of Israel, the other surfaces in a Manassite genealogy in Chronicles.

Bedan the Deliverer

Reviewing the cycle of apostasy and rescue in his farewell address, Samuel names four men through whom Yahweh had delivered the people: "And Yahweh sent Jerubbaal, and Bedan, and Jephthah, and Samuel, and delivered you⁺ out of the hand of your⁺ enemies on every side; and you⁺ dwelt in safety" (1Sa 12:11). Bedan stands between Jerubbaal and Jephthah in that list of judges. The text gives no more about him than the name and the company he keeps.

Bedan Son of Ulam

The other Bedan belongs to the genealogy of Manasseh: "And the sons of Ulam: Bedan. These were the sons of Gilead the son of Machir, the son of Manasseh" (1Ch 7:17). The line traces Bedan back through Ulam, Gilead, Machir, to Manasseh — a clan record without narrative attached.