Benaiah (Hebrew:בניה, "Yahweh builds up")^[1][2] is a common name in theHebrew Bible.

In theetymology of the name, the first part of Benaiah comes from the root-verb בנה (bana),^[3] which is a commonHebrew verb meaning "to build". The second part of Benaiah is יה (Yah), which is not a derivative of theTetragrammaton,^[4] but acontraction of it (ie, the first and last consonants of יהוה are contracted as יה).^[5]

The most famous Benaiah referenced in theTanakh is the son of Jehoiada, who came from the southern Judean town ofKabzeel.^[6]

According to the text, Benaiah was one ofDavid's Mighty Warriors, commander of the third rotational army division; (2 Samuel 23:20;1 Chronicles 27:5). He helped David's sonSolomon 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 ofAdonijah (1 Kings 2:25),Joab (1 Kings 2:34) andShimei (1 Kings 2:46). He was in charge of the Cherethites and Pelethites. Several verses in1 Kings 1 illustrate Benaiah's close association with Solomon's party and his exclusion from Adonijah's faction.^[7] He is also mentioned in2 Samuel 8:18,23:20–23,30 and1 Chronicles 27:5–6.

According toRabbi Hayyim Vital, the grave of Benaiah is inBiriya. In 1869,Rabbi Yosef Hayyimm of Baghdad visited the grave and stayed there for a few days. In the introduction to his book, "Ben Ish Chai", he wrote that "many and great secrets" were revealed to him there, and even that "his soul came from the soul of Baniahu ben Yehoida," and that is why he named his books after him.

Other Benaiahs depicted in the Hebrew Bible include:

• 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 while accompanying theArk 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 ofAsaph, son ofBerachiah theGershonite (2 Chr. 20:14).
• ASimeonite, possibly a contemporary of KingHezekiah (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 ofPelatiah, one of the wicked princes seen inEzekiel’s vision (Eze. 11:1, 13).
• Four men who, atEzra's admonition, dismissed their foreign wives and sons. These four were descendants ofParosh,Pahath-Moab, Bani, andNebo respectively (Ezr. 10:25, 30, 34, 35, 43, 44).

• 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.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)

• David's Mighty Warriors
• Biblical murderers

• Articles with short description
• Short description matches Wikidata
• Articles containing Hebrew-language text
• CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list