Benaiah ( he, בניה, "

Yahweh Yahweh *''Yahwe'', was the national god of ancient Israel and Judah. The origins of his worship reach at least to the early Iron Age, and likely to the Late Bronze Age if not somewhat earlier, and in the oldest biblical literature he posse ...

builds up") is a common name in the

Hebrew Bible The Hebrew Bible or Tanakh (;"Tanach"
''Random House Webster's Unabridged Dictionary''. Hebrew: ''Tān ...

Etymology

In the

etymology Etymology ()The New Oxford Dictionary of English (1998) – p. 633 "Etymology /ˌɛtɪˈmɒlədʒi/ the study of the class in words and the way their meanings have changed throughout time". is the study of the history of the Phonological chan ...

of the name, the first part of Benaiah comes from the root-verb בנה (bana), which is a common

Hebrew Hebrew (; ; ) is a Northwest Semitic language of the Afroasiatic language family. Historically, it is one of the spoken languages of the Israelites and their longest-surviving descendants, the Jews and Samaritans. It was largely preserved ...

verb meaning "to build". The second part of Benaiah is יה (Yah), which is not a derivative of the

Tetragrammaton The Tetragrammaton (; ), or Tetragram, is the four-letter Hebrew language, Hebrew theonym (transliterated as YHWH), the name of God in the Hebrew Bible. The four letters, written and read from right to left (in Hebrew), are ''yodh'', ''he (l ...

, but a

contraction Contraction may refer to: Linguistics * Contraction (grammar), a shortened word * Poetic contraction, omission of letters for poetic reasons * Elision, omission of sounds ** Syncope (phonology), omission of sounds in a word * Synalepha, merged ...

of it (ie, the first and last consonants of יהוה are contracted as יה).

Benaiah, son of Jehoiada

The most famous Benaiah in the Bible is the son of Jehoiada, who came from the southern Judean town of

Kabzeel Kabzeel ( he, קַבְצְאֵל, Trans: ''Qabtsĕ'el'', "God gathers") is a Hebrew Bible place name. It was the most remote city of Judah; located in southern Judah on the border of Edom (Idumaea) (). The location is tentatively identified wit ...

. Benaiah was one of

King David David (; , "beloved one") (traditional spelling), , ''Dāwūd''; grc-koi, Δαυΐδ, Dauíd; la, Davidus, David; gez , ዳዊት, ''Dawit''; xcl, Դաւիթ, ''Dawitʿ''; cu, Давíдъ, ''Davidŭ''; possibly meaning "beloved one". w ...

’s mighty men, commander of the 3rd rotational army division; (; ). He helped David's son

Solomon Solomon (; , ),, ; ar, سُلَيْمَان, ', , ; el, Σολομών, ; la, Salomon also called Jedidiah (Hebrew language, Hebrew: , Modern Hebrew, Modern: , Tiberian Hebrew, Tiberian: ''Yăḏīḏăyāh'', "beloved of Yahweh, Yah"), ...

become king, killed Solomon's enemies, and served as the chief of Solomon's army. On Solomon's instructions he was responsible for the deaths of

Adonijah According to 2 Samuel, Adonijah ( he, , ''’Ǎḏōnīyyā''; "my lord is Yah") was the fourth son of King David. His mother was Haggith as recorded in the book of . Adonijah was born at Hebron during the long conflict between David and the ...

(),

Joab Joab (Hebrew Modern: ''Yōʼav'', Tiberian: ''Yōʼāḇ'') the son of Zeruiah, was the nephew of King David and the commander of his army, according to the Hebrew Bible. Name The name Joab is, like many other Hebrew names, theophoric - derive ...

() and

Shimei Shimei ( ''Šīmʿī'') is the name of a number of persons referenced in the Hebrew Bible and Rabbinical literature. *The second son of Gershon and grandson of Levi (; ; ). The family of the Shimeites, as a branch of the tribe of Levi, is mention ...

(). He was in charge of the Cherethites and Pelethites. Several verses in make clear that Benaiah was closely associated with Solomon's party and excluded from Adonijah's faction., , , , , and He is also mentioned in , , and . Benaiah by William Etty YORAG 70

Other Benaiahs

Other Benaiahs of the

Hebrew Bible The Hebrew Bible or Tanakh (;"Tanach"
''Random House Webster's Unabridged Dictionary''. Hebrew: ''Tān ...

are: *Another of David's mighty men, an Ephraimite from Pirathon, commander of the 11th rotational army division (1 Chr. 11:31, 1 Chr. 27:14, 2 Sam. 23:30) * A Levite musician who played his stringed instrument accompanying the

Ark of the Covenant The Ark of the Covenant,; Ge'ez: also known as the Ark of the Testimony or the Ark of God, is an alleged artifact believed to be the most sacred relic of the Israelites, which is described as a wooden chest, covered in pure gold, with an e ...

when it was brought to Jerusalem and placed in the tent David had prepared for it (1 Chr. 15:18, 20; 16:1, 5). * A priest who played the trumpet when the Ark was brought to Jerusalem during David's reign (1 Chr. 15:24; 16:6). * A Levite descendant of Asaph, son of Berachiah the

Gershonite The Gershonites were one of the four main divisions among the Levites in Biblical times. The Bible claims that the Gershonites were all descended from the eponymous ''Gershon'' a son of Levi (not to be confused with Moses' son Gershom), although som ...

(2 Chr. 20:14). * A Simeonite, possibly a contemporary of King

Hezekiah Hezekiah (; hbo, , Ḥīzqīyyahū), or Ezekias); grc, Ἐζεκίας 'Ezekías; la, Ezechias; also transliterated as or ; meaning "Yahweh, Yah shall strengthen" (born , sole ruler ), was the son of Ahaz and the 13th king of Kingdom of Jud ...

(1 Chr. 4:24, 36–43). * A Levite appointed by Hezekiah to help care for the bounteous contributions to Jehovah's house (2 Chr. 31:12, 13). * Father of Pelatiah, one of the wicked princes seen in

Ezekiel Ezekiel (; he, יְחֶזְקֵאל ''Yəḥezqēʾl'' ; in the Septuagint written in grc-koi, Ἰεζεκιήλ ) is the central protagonist of the Book of Ezekiel in the Hebrew Bible. In Judaism, Christianity, and Islam, Ezekiel is acknow ...

’s vision (Eze. 11:1, 13). * Four men who, at

Ezra Ezra (; he, עֶזְרָא, '; fl. 480–440 BCE), also called Ezra the Scribe (, ') and Ezra the Priest in the Book of Ezra, was a Jewish scribe (''sofer'') and priest (''kohen''). In Greco-Latin Ezra is called Esdras ( grc-gre, Ἔσδρας ...

's admonition, dismissed their foreign wives and sons. These four were descendants of Parosh,

Pahath-Moab Pahath-moab (Hebrew "Pit of Moab") was the ancestor of a Judahite clan that returned from the Babylonian Exile and assisted in rebuilding Jerusalem. (Book of Ezra 2:6; 8:4; 10:30; Book of Nehemiah 3:11, 7:11, 10:14) The meaning is most likely ...

, Bani, and Nebo respectively (Ezr. 10:25, 30, 34, 35, 43, 44).

Footnotes

References

* {{cite book, last1=''Eerdmans'', first1=

David Noel Freedman David Noel Freedman (May 12, 1922 – April 8, 2008) was an American biblical scholar, author, editor, archaeologist, and, after his conversion from Judaism, a Presbyterian minister. He was one of the first Americans to work on the Dead Sea Scroll ...

, ed.-in-chief; Allen C. Myers, associate ed. ; Astrid B. Beck, managing, title=Eerdmans Dictionary of the Bible, date=2000, url=https://books.google.com/books?id=qRtUqxkB7wkC&pg=PA164, publisher=Eerdmans, location=Grand Rapids, MI tc.isbn=9789053565032 David's Mighty Warriors Biblical murderers