was king david from the tribe of benjamin

When David returned to Jerusalem and was a favorite of Judah, it was a Benjamite (his name was Sheba) who started a revolt. As Saro Fedele notes in this answer, Jacob's prophecy to Judah does not rule out another tribe from being chosen to rule first: The scepter will not depart from Judah, nor the ruler's staff from between his feet; so that tribute shall come to him and the homage of the people be his. Bibliography W. F. Albright, From the Stone Age to Christianity (1957), passim; M. Noth, History of Israel (1958) 73f., 146, 233; GTT (1959), 164ff. [29] 180 et seq.). There are conflicting accounts of the fate of the Exilarch family in the 11th century; according to one version Hezekiah ben David, who was the last Exilarch and also the last Gaon, was imprisoned and tortured to death. But he also put his God-given creativity to work as a songwriter. In David's case, this was done by the prophet Samuel. By others it is referred to Mordecai and Esther (Gen. R. xcix. Two of his sons fled to Al-Andalus, where they found refuge with Joseph, the son and successor of Samuel ibn Naghrillah. In fact, God chose the Benjaminite Saul as first king of Israel. It appears that Samuel called David a man after Gods own heart because of his obedience. One interpretation refers the blessing to the early ripening of the fruits in the territory of Benjamin, and the great fertility of the region of Jericho and Beth-el, and another refers the expression "wolf" to the altar of the Temple, which devoured the sacrifices in the morning and in the evening (Gen. R. Exilarchs continued to be appointed until the 11th century, with some members of the Davidic line dispersing across the Islamic world. Every day Israel declined Goliaths challenge, they conceded that their God was no match for the gods of the Philistines. 55b). On his father's side, Rashi has been claimed to be a 33rd-generation descendant of Johanan HaSandlar, who was a fourth-generation descendant of Gamaliel, who was reputedly descended from the Davidic line. xiv. Benjamin means "son of the right hand." There seems to be no truly satisfactory resolution of the problem of the western boundary of Benjamin. Several passages record his lineage, and they all point out that he was the son of Jesse, who was the son of Obed, who was the son of Boaz and Ruthmaking him the great grandson of this significant couple (1 Chronicles 2:12). When David returned to Jerusalem an all too obvious favorite of Judah, one Sheba, a Benjamite, raised a revolt (20:1ff.). It is related that Benjamin (Sifre, Deut. Warriors from the tribe of Benjamin might have been trained to be equally or more effective with their left hands. Why is this sentence from The Great Gatsby grammatical? In order to have Uriah killed in battle, Joab had to sacrifice some of Davids other men, and Joab feared David would be angry for the waste (2 Samuel 11:20). Both Ish-bosheth and Abner were murdered. On this Wikipedia the language links are at the top of the page across from the article title. Later, the prophet Nathan rebuked David for his sin. ", Welcome to Bible Hermeneutics SE and thank you for your contribution. The Exilarchate in the Sasanian Empire was briefly abolished as a result of revolt by the Mar-Zutra II in the late 5th century CE, with his son Mar-Zutra III being denied the office and relocating to Tiberias, then within the Byzantine Empire. Must Acts 13:21 mean that Saul reigned 40 years? In 1 Samuel 16:1-13 why did David not establish himself as king when Saul decided to go after him? To Joseph's astonishment Benjamin declared that the man on the throne was his brother, and Joseph revealed himself to Benjamin, telling him what he meant to do with the brothers. The prophecy of Ahijah, who divided his new garment into twelve pieces and gave ten to Jeroboam with the explanation that he would rule over ten tribes, allows the possibility that Benjamin remained with Judah. And it was time for God to choose someone else. He was betrayed by a woman of Abel of Beth-maachah and was slain. But Joab did not include the tribes of Levi and Benjamin in the census because he was so distressed at what the king had made him do. Judahs territory included the city of Jerusalem. David was a talented musician. In the Blessing of Jacob, Benjamin is referred to as "a ravenous wolf";[8] traditional interpretations often considered this to refer to the might of a specific member of the tribe, either the champion Ehud, king Saul, or Mordecai of the Esther narrative, or in Christian circles, the apostle Paul. And he executed plenty of criminals. Before Jacob and Esau were born, the LORD told Rebekah the older son would serve the younger: And the LORD said to her, Two nations are in your womb, and two peoples from within you shall be divided; the one shall be stronger than the other, the older shall serve the younger. (Genesis 25:23) [ESV]. What tribe was King David from? The eleven tribes turned against the tribe of Benjamin and nearly annihilated them because of their refusal to give up the perpetrators (Judges 20:121:25). David killed a lot of people in battle. The Kingdom of Judah was so named because the royal family was from the tribe of Judah and most of the territory, including . Jacob's Naming When he was born, Rachel gave him the name of Ben-oni: Then they journeyed from Bethel. Your servant has killed both the lion and the bear; this uncircumcised Philistine will be like one of them, because he has defied the armies of the living God. SBL Academia Biblica 12. Petrus Vermaak even suggests that the physical prowess of the Benjaminites, including their left-handed abilities, was what led the tribe to produce the first Israelite king.16 II.he Symbolic Meaning of Left and Right T (Genesis 49:10 JPS 1985). The tribes lived as a united nation through the reign of King David's son, Solomon. [28] An unsuccessful attempt of David ben Daniel of the Davidic line to establish an Exilarchate in the Fatimid Caliphate failed and ended with his downfall in 1094. 1), "who devours his enemy" (Gen. xlix. He is counted among the four men who died by the poison of the serpent in Paradise; i.e., without sin of his own, the other three being Amram, the father of Moses; Jesse, the father of David; and Kileab, the son of David (Shab. It uses the relationships between a man named Boaz, a woman named Ruth, and her mother-in-law, Naomi, to paint a picture of Gods compassion for Israel. As the proposed son of God, he could not have been a male descendant of David because according to the genealogy of his earthly parents, Mary and Joseph, he did not have the proper lineage, because he would not have been a male descendant of Mary, and Joseph, who was a descendant of Jeconiah, because Jeconiah's descendants are explicitly barred from ever ruling Israel by God. If God had initiated the kingship, I think He would have started with David. Joshua 18:21-27 gives a list of the many cities and towns contained within the territory of Benjamin and, included among them are Jebus (=Jerusalem) and Jericho. In Jewish culture the day begins at evening. (Dont worry, its been done. The descendants of Benjamin, it is true, did not always show themselves worthy of their ancestor, especially in connection with the incident at Gibeah (Judges xix.). The tribe descended from Benjamin, the youngest son of Jacob. Scholars debate whether this represents a contradiction or if one of Davids brothers was simply omitted, but thats not the point. [47], Orthodox views have generally held that the Messiah will be a patrilineal descendant of King David,[48] and will gather the Jews back into the Land of Israel, usher in an era of peace, build the Third Temple, father a male heir, re-institute the Sanhedrin, and so on. Deu. All except Judah followed him and Joab pursued him on behalf of David. David is the only person referred to this way in the Bible. The text refers several times to the Benjaminite warriors as "men of valour"[2] despite their defeat. Gen 49:27 Benjamin shall ravin as a wolf: in the morning he shall devour the prey, and at night he shall divide the spoil. According to another Haggadah (known to so early a work as the Testament of the Twelve Patriarchs, Benjamin ii. In geographical terms, the term Benjamin can be read as "son of the south" from the perspective of the northern Kingdom of Israel, as the Benjamite territory was at the southern edge of the northern kingdom.[1]. 8), and not until Jacob was one hundred years old (Testament of the Twelve Patriarchs, ib. Was David responsible for Saul's insane order to slaughter everyone in the city of Nob (1 Sam. One of the most notable of those was Hillel the Elder, who moved to Judea from his birthplace in Babylon. Excellent and well-grounded response. According to some, is equivalent to ("son of days"), because Benjamin was born to his father in his old age (Testament of the Twelve Patriarchs, Benjamin i. ; Midrash Lea-ob; and Rashi, ed. ; "Sefer ha-Yashar," Wayishla, ib. Who Was Herod? 69c; Lam. After the death of Saul, the tribe of Benjamin remained faithful to his house. The Book of Ruth is a story of love and redemption. N. Avigad and B. Sass. ; compare Ab, Fifteenth Day of). When David was crowned kingDavid was from the tribe of Judah (one of Leah's tribes)the Benjamites rebelled (2 Samuel 2-3). Site design / logo 2023 Stack Exchange Inc; user contributions licensed under CC BY-SA. David was not the firstborn sona privileged position in Judaismand the authors were intent on working in the number seven, associating David with holiness and Gods perfect plan for his people. His great-grandson Simeon ben Gamliel became one of the Jewish leaders during the First JewishRoman War.[27]. Several passages in the Bible describe tribe of Benjamin as being pugnacious,[7] for example in the Song of Deborah, and in descriptions where they are described as being taught to fight left handed, so as to be able to wrong foot their enemies (Judges 3:1521, 20:16, 1 Chronicles 12:2) and where they are portrayed as being brave and skilled archers (1 Chronicles 8:40, 2 Chronicles 14:8). He killed a lot of prisoners after battles. "[54] and mentions David himself sixteen times. Many times.). Please indicate which translation you are using. According to scholars within Orthodox Judaism, this is considered to have contributed to their downfall and the eventual downfall of Judea; internal strife allowing for Roman occupation and the violent installation of Herod the Great as client king over the Roman province of Judea; and the subsequent destruction of the Second Temple by the future Emperor Titus. [16] Marking what is now one of the southernmost butts and bounds of Benjamin's territory is "the spring of the waters of Nephtoah" (Joshua 18:15), a place identified as Kefar Lifta ( ), and situated on the left-hand side of the road as one enters Jerusalem. Howbeit I will not rend away all the kingdom; but will give one tribe [Benjamin] to thy son for David my servant's sake, and for Jerusalem's sake which I have chosen.' I Kings 11:11-13. On the other hand, excavations at Khirbet Qeiyafa[20] and Gath[21] were interpreted by some to show that Judah was capable of accommodating large-scale urban societies centuries before minimalist scholars claim, and some have taken the physical archaeology of tenth-century Canaan as consistent with the former existence of a unified state on its territory,[22] as archaeological findings demonstrate substantial development and growth at several sites, plausibly related to the tenth century. He was defying God himself on Gods own turf. It's pretty clear from the exchange that the people's demand for a king was a sinful rejection of God's rule, and that He intended to deal with that sin by giving them a very undesirable king in response. [9] However, according to the consensus of modern scholars, the conquest as described in the book of Joshua did not occur. This very day I will give the carcasses of the Philistine army to the birds and the wild animals, and the whole world will know that there is a God in Israel. Mari texts but that seems, on the whole, to be unlikely. Answer (1 of 3): They didn't. After the death of King Solomon, his sons couldn't agree on the succession and ended up splitting Israel into two kingdoms, Israel and Judah. The word Lifta is merely a corruption of the Hebrew name Nephtoah, and where a natural spring by that name still abounds.[17]. The sons were Jonathan, Abinadab, Malchishua, Ish-bosheth, Ishvi, Armani, Irmia, and Mephibosheth. The day on which the reconciliation took place between the tribes is said to have been the fifteenth of Ab, and for this reason it was made a festive day (ib. In the Samaritan Pentateuch the name appears as Binyamm (Hebrew: ). After Solomon's death, the ten northern tribes rejected the Davidic line, refusing to accept Solomon's son, Rehoboam, and instead chose as king Jeroboam and formed the northern Kingdom of Israel. And the people gat them by stealth that day into the city, as people being ashamed steal away when they flee in battle. Surely your goodness and love will follow me, and I will dwell in the house of the Lord. This shows their ability to help their sibling, Judah. 15 Led in with joy and gladness, Then relief would come to Saul; he would feel better, and the evil spirit would leave him. 1 Samuel 16:23. So, to hide his sin, David committed another one. This is what the LORD says: 'Record this man as if he is childless, a man who will not prosper in his lifetime, for none of his offspring will prosper, none of them will sit on the throne of David or rule in Judah anymore.Jeremiah 22:30, NIV, Warren W. Wiersbe -The Wiersbe Bible Commentary: The Complete Old Testament - 2007 p. 1497 "Zerubbabel was the grandson of King Jehoiachin (Jeconiah, Matt. [7] The Temple in Jerusalem was traditionally said to be partly in the territory of the tribe of Benjamin (but mostly in that of Judah), and some traditional interpretations of the Blessing consider the ravenous wolf to refer to the Temple's altar which devoured biblical sacrifices. After his death, he became a symbol of Gods unique relationship with Israel and the redemption that was still to come. Later, David used his experience as a shepherd to create one of the most powerful portrayals of Gods relationship with his people, foreshadowing the good shepherd Jesus (John 10:11): The Lord is my shepherd, I lack nothing. Buber, Wayiggash, 7; the meanings of the names are also given in Soah 36b; Gen. R. xciv. l.c. The story of David and Goliath has been told so many times through literature and art that David, Goliath, and their confrontation have all become cliched symbols for underdogs, brutal antagonists, and stories of overcoming impossible odds. Defeating Goliath marked the beginning of Davids life as a warrior. The Gospel of Luke refers to Bethlehem as the town of David (Luke 2:4), because it was well-known that this was Davids old stomping grounds, and it was where Samuel anointed him king of Gods people. Even after Saul died in combat, those loyal to him werent just going to hand over the kingdom to David. When it turned on me, I seized it by its hair, struck it and killed it. Unfortunately for Ish-bosheth, his reign was short-lived. Benjamin was a kingdom tribe and was given to Judah on a 'temporary loan' basis for David's sake. Berliner, on Gen. xxxv. Later, Gd confirmed to King David that this was indeed the site where the Holy Temple was to be built. From after the conquest of the promised land by Joshua until the formation of the first Kingdom of Israel, the Tribe of Benjamin was a part of a loose confederation of Israelite tribes. Today, most people associate the little town of Bethlehem with the birth of Jesus. When David couldnt get Uriah to sleep with his wife Bathsheba (and therefore conceal Davids adultery), he plotted to have Uriah killed in combat. 1 Samuel 10: 1 Then Samuel took a vial of oil, and poured it upon his head, and kissed him, and said, Is it not because Yhwh hath anointed thee to be captain over his inheritance? . In any event, Jerusalem remained an independent Jebusite city until it was finally conquered by David[18] in c.11th centuryBC and made into the capital of the united Kingdom of Israel. On another occasion, however, the Benjamites showed themselves worthy of their pious ancestor. Parts of 1 and 2 Samuel were written as early as the seventh and sixth centuries BC, likely using earlier accounts as sources. ", "It behooves us to ask, in spite of the fact that the overwhelming consensus of modern scholarship is that Joshua is a pious fiction composed by the deuteronomistic school, how does and how has the Jewish community dealt with these foundational narratives, saturated as they are with acts of violence against others? Rehoboam evidently managed to unite Benjamin, or at least a portion of it, together with Judah, so the capital could be held. Judah was the son who prevailed over his brothers (1 Chronicles 5:2), and while SaulIsraels first kingwas from the tribe of Benjamin, Judah became the tribe of kings. Neh 11:4, 7, 31; 2 Macc 3:4). But after his encounter with Nathan, David wrote Psalm 51, which reflects his humility and sincere repentance for what hed done. Jacob's Naming Benjamins position was on the W side of the Tabernacle along with Ephraim and Manasseh, the leader of the tribe at this time being Abidan the son of Gideoni (2:22). Because of this, some people have assumed that Jesus belonged to the tribe of Judah. Shimei was from the tribe of Benjamin, and Douay-Rheims Bible And Semei the son of Gera the son of Jemini of Bahurim, made haste and went down with the men of Juda to meet king David, English Revised Version [21] As nothing like it is mentioned in the (older) book of Kings and Bethel is thereafter always firmly situated in the Northern kingdom of Israel, this is almost certainly not a historical event. In David's time, the capital probably served as little more than a formidable citadel, and the Davidic "kingdom" was most likely closer to a loosely-confederated regional polity,[19] albeit a relatively substantial one. Gottheil, Richard, et al. The king then understood that if his own son was seeking his life, it was no surprise if the Benjamites should behave in similar fashion (16:11). One of Hasan's descendants Solomon ben Azariah ha-Nasi settled in Aleppo were the family became Dayan's (judges) of the city and thus adopted the surname Dayan. When Saul died, the tribe of Judah anointed David as their king (2 Samuel 2:4), but Abner son of Ner, the commander of Sauls army, made Sauls son Ish-bosheth king over all Israel. When his armies were out waging war without him, David walked along the roof of his palace and saw a beautiful woman bathing. 2. 6), gives another reason, probably based on Jewish tradition (compare Esther R. on iii. David killed Goliath with a single stone, hurled from his sling. But the king covered his face, and the king cried with a . But Jerusalem's significance predates King David. Though Joshua allocated Bethel to Benjamin, by the time of the prophetess Deborah, Bethel is described as being in the land of the Tribe of Ephraim (Judges 4:5). Necessary cookies are absolutely essential for the website to function properly. While a shepherd may seem like an inconsequential position, it was still dangerous. After the death of Moses, Joshua led the Israelites into the Promised Land and, dividing the . And David had been living with and fighting for the Philistinesthe Israelites sworn enemies. As a result, the number seven came to represent completion and perfection in every facet of ancient Jewish culture. The relevant passages are Joshua 15:5-11; 16:1-3, 5; 18:11-13. [49], Another Christian interpretation emphasizes the minor, non-royal, line of David through Solomon's brother Nathan as it is recorded in the Gospel of Luke chapter 3 (entirely undocumented in the Hebrew Bible), which is often understood to be the family tree of Mary's father. and Tan., Wayei, 14; so also in the original text of the Testaments of the Twelve Patriarchs [Benjamin ii]; whereas a Christian interpolation refers it to Paul). Judges 1:21 points to the city being within the territory of Benjamin, while Joshua 15:63 implies that the city was within the territory of Judah. When the captivity ended, the distinction between Benjamin and Judah was lost in favour of a common identity as Israel, though in the biblical book of Esther, Mordecai is referred to as being of the tribe of Benjamin,[5] and as late as the time of Jesus of Nazareth some (notably Paul the Apostle) still identified their Benjamite ancestry: If anyone else thinks he may have confidence in the flesh, I more so: circumcised on the eighth day, of the stock of Israel, of the tribe of Benjamin, a Hebrew of the Hebrews; concerning the law, a Pharisee; concerning zeal, persecuting the church; concerning the righteousness which is in the law, blameless.[6].