The various forms of this word—verbs, noun, adjective—occurs close to 250 times in the Old Testament, with translations running around the words like 'understanding' or 'insight.' Fundamental to the idea of bina is discernment, and it is from this idea that the Hebrew preposition ben, 'between' is derived; "understanding" or "insight" comes from the ability to discern between things, between good and evil, etc. It is from this idea that the Old Testament makes much of the fact that it is possible to hear but not perceive, to look but not see.