MeaningBuilt By YahEtymologyFrom (1) the verb בנה (bana), to build, and (2) יה (yah), the shortened name of the Lord. The name Benaiah (or actually,
most often spelled בניהו, Benaiahu) is among the most popular in the Bible. There are at least twelve different individuals with that name. Doubtlessly the best known of these is Benaiah, the son of Jehoiada of Kabzeel (2 Samuel 23:20), who starts out as a military sub commander under king
David (2 Samuel 8:18), but rises to prominence by murdering the two sons of Ariel of Moab, and killing a lion in a pit on a snowy day, and an Egyptian with his
own spear that he snatches from his hand (2 Samuel 23:20-21). After that, whenever David, or his son and successor Solomon need some killing done, all they have to do is whistle for Benaiah. In rapid succession Benaiah kills Adonijah the son of
Haggith (1 Kings 2:25), general Joab (2:34) and Shimei the son of Gera of Benjamin (2:46). The other Benaiahs of the Bible are:🔼The name Benaiah: Summary
🔼The name Benaiah in the Bible
🔼Etymology of the name Benaiah
The name Benaiah consists of two elements, the final one being יה (Yah) = יהו (Yahu) = יו (Yu), which in turn are abbreviated forms of the Tetragrammaton יהוה, YHWH, or Yahweh.
The first part of the name Benaiah comes from the verb בנה (bana), which is the Hebrew common and ubiquitous verb meaning to build:
Excerpted from: Abarim Publications' Biblical Dictionary
בנהThe verb בנה (bana) means to build, mostly of stone buildings and thus of houses and thus of families and dynasties: hence the association between this verb and the nouns אבן ('eben), stone, and בן (ben), son.
Noun בניה (binya) means a building in the sense of a structure. Noun מבנה (mibneh) means building in the sense of place of building. Noun תבנית (tabnit) means building in the sense of the act of building: a construction, pattern or image.
Noun תבן (teben) means straw (the stems of grains), which was inserted into clay to enhance the structural integrity of the building. We do the same today with carbon fibers.
🔼Benaiah meaning
It should be remembered that the punctuations in the Hebrew text were added to the original during a time when Judaism was competing with Christianity, and every reference to a son of God may be expected to have been obscured.
The name Benaiah may mean Son Of God, but NOBSE Study Bible Name List proposes Yahweh Has Built. Jones' Dictionary of Old Testament Proper Names reads Built Up Of The Lord, and BDB Theological Dictionary offers Yah Hath Built Up.
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Meanings
Biblical Names Meaning:
In Biblical Names the meaning of the name Benaiah is: Son of the Lord.
Hebrew Baby Names Meaning:
In Hebrew Baby Names the meaning of the name Benaiah is: God builds.
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"Benayahu" redirects here. For the former IDF spokesman, see Avi Benayahu.
Benaiah (Hebrew: בניה, "Yahweh builds up")[1][2] is a common name in the Hebrew Bible.
Etymology[edit]
In the etymology of the name, the first part of Benaiah comes from the root-verb בנה (bana),[3] which is a common Hebrew verb meaning "to build". The second part of Benaiah is יה (Yah), which is not a derivative of the Tetragrammaton,[4] but a contraction of it (ie, the first and last consonants of יהוה are contracted as יה).[5]
Benaiah, son of Jehoiada[edit]
The most famous Benaiah in the Bible is the son of Jehoiada, who came from the southern Judean town of Kabzeel.[6]
Benaiah was one of King David’s mighty men, commander of the 3rd rotational army division; (2 Samuel 23:20; 1 Chronicles 27:5). He helped David's son Solomon 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 (1 Kings 2:25), Joab (1 Kings 2:34) and Shimei (1 Kings 2:46). He was in charge of the Cherethites and Pelethites. Several verses in 1 Kings 1 make clear that Benaiah was closely associated with Solomon's party and excluded from Adonijah's faction.[7] He is also mentioned in 2 Samuel 8:18, 23:20–23, 30 and 1 Chronicles 27:5–6.
Other Benaiahs[edit]
Other Benaiahs of the Hebrew Bible 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 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 (2 Chr. 20:14).
- A Simeonite, possibly a contemporary of King Hezekiah (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’s vision (Eze. 11:1, 13).
- Four men who, at Ezra's admonition, dismissed their foreign wives and sons. These four were descendants of Parosh, Pahath-Moab, Bani, and Nebo respectively (Ezr. 10:25, 30, 34, 35, 43, 44).
Footnotes[edit]
- ^ Eerdmans 2000, p. 447.
- ^ //www.blueletterbible.org/lexicon/h2141/kjv/wlc/0-1/ | Strong's H1141 - bᵊnāyâ
- ^ The root-verb בנה (bana) means to build. It is used to describe the construction of all kinds of buildings; a city (Genesis 4:17), a tower (Genesis 10:11), an altar (Genesis 22:9), a house (Genesis 33:27), the temple (2 Samuel 7:5), a fortress (2 Chronicles 17:12), a wall (1 Kings 3:1). It is also used to describe YHWH's making of a woman from a rib of man (Genesis 2:22).
- ^ Abbreviated forms of the Tetragrammaton יהוה, YHWH, or Yahweh.
- ^ //www.blueletterbible.org/lexicon/h3050/kjv/wlc/0-1/ | Strong's H3050 - yâ
- ^ Eerdmans 2000, p. 164.
- ^ 1 Kings 1:8, 10, 26, 32, 36, 38 and 44
References[edit]
- Eerdmans, David Noel Freedman, ed.-in-chief; Allen C. Myers, associate ed. ; Astrid B. Beck, managing (2000). Eerdmans Dictionary of the Bible. Grand Rapids, MI [etc.]: Eerdmans. ISBN 9789053565032.