was king david from the tribe of benjamin was king david from the tribe of benjamin

Do new devs get fired if they can't solve a certain bug? 21 [20]). So there were two kings and two kingdoms: Ish-bosheth became the second king of Israel, and David ruled Judah. 69c; Lam. ", "We Are Family: King David's Descendants Gather for 'Reunion', "The Real Messiah A Jewish Response to Missionaries", "David, Prophetic Figure of the Last Days", https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Davidic_line&oldid=1137080126, This page was last edited on 2 February 2023, at 18:06. Goliath wasnt just taunting the Israelites. The Hasmoneans, who established their own monarchy in Judea in the 2nd century BCE, were not considered connected to the Davidic line nor to the Tribe of Judah. ; compare Heilprin, "Seder ha-Dorot," i. Very little is conclusively known about the House of David. In Judaism and Christianity, the Davidic Line is the bloodline from which the Hebrew Messiah has a patrilineal descent. R. to viii. [32] Hai Gaon was the son of Sherira Gaon, who claimed descent from Rabbah b. Abuha, who belonged to the family of the exilarch, thereby claiming descent from the Davidic line. The Southern Kingdom of Judah consisted of the large tribe of Judah (King David's tribe) and the small tribe of Benjamin, which became part of the tribe of Judah and began using the same name. (Joshua 18:1128), According to rabbinical sources, only those towns and villages on the northernmost and southernmost territorial boundary lines, or purlieu, are named in the land allocation, although, in actuality, all unnamed towns and villages in between these boundaries would still belong to the tribe of Benjamin. It is very interesting the comment of John Gill (bold is mine): Some apply this to particular persons of this tribe, as to Saul the first king of Israel, who was of Benjamin; and who as soon as he took the kingdom of Israel, in the morning, in the beginning of that state, fought against all his enemies on every side, against Moab, Ammon, Edom, the kings of Zobah, and the Philistines, and the Amalekites, 1Sa 14:47 and to Mordecai and Esther, who were of the same tribe, who after the captivity, and in the evening of that state, divided the spoil of Haman, Est 8:1 this is observed by Jarchi, Aben Ezra, and Ben Gersom. (John Gill, Exposition of the Bible; on Gen 49:27). After the death of Ish-bosheth, the tribe of Benjamin joined the northern Israelite tribes in making David king of the united Kingdom of Israel and Judah. 1. Originally, the Levites did not have a land assigned to them, as their inheritance was the service to the Lord, and were scattered throughout all the . Please make sure you take our Tour. After Judah was destroyed by the Babylonians in the early sixth century BCE and its population deported, Benjamin as an organized tribe faded from history. They are: The Bible doesnt give a comprehensive list of Davids wives, but 2 Samuel 3:2-5 tells us the names of his sons as well as six of his wives, and he marries Michal (1 Samuel 18:27) and Bathsheba (2 Samuel 11:27) in other passages. Its possible that he simply meant David cared about the things God cared about. How could I go to my house to eat and drink and make love to my wife? Wherever Saul sent David, God went with him, and he was successful. On the N the border passed from the Jordan to a spring E of Jericho and continued in a northwesterly direction to the region of Upper and Lower Bethhoron. [26] The position holder was regarded as a king-in-waiting, residing in Babylonia in the Achaemenid Empire as well as during the classic era. The report that the large number of 280,000 archers, said to be the tribe of Benjamin, belonged to King Asa (II Chron. Hes also mentioned in several other books, and nearly half of the Psalms are attributed to him. His comparison to the ravening wolf (Cant. Ben-oni, means "son of my sorrow." After Davids repeated attempts to get Uriah to spend time with his wife, Uriah told him: The ark and Israel and Judah are staying in tents, and my commander Joab and my lords men are camped in the open country. 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. Whenever the spirit from God came on Saul, David would take up his lyre and play. b.c. [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. 8), and not until Jacob was one hundred years old (Testament of the Twelve Patriarchs, ib. However the question of the western border is settled, Benjamite territory was strategically located for warfare, the main highway from N to S passing through it. In 1 Samuel 16:1-13 why did David not establish himself as king when Saul decided to go after him? Israel's first king, Saul, was of the tribe of Benjamin. All except Judah followed him and Joab pursued him on behalf of David. King David was a shepherd boy who became Israels third and most important king. ), Joseph makes himself known to Benjamin before his reconciliation with the other brothers. In addition, Mormon eschatology includes multiple references to other prophesied Davidic figures,[52] including one by the name of David who would come in the last days to inherit the throne and kingdom of David.[53]. When David was crowned kingDavid was from the tribe of Judah (one of Leah's tribes)the Benjamites rebelled (2 Samuel 2-3). The land of Gibeon would later be allotted to the tribe of Benjamin (Joshua 21:17). The house of David bonded with Benjamin -1Sam 3, In the civil wars of the kingdom of Israel, Benjamin and Judah banded together -1Ki 12:16. Benjamin was a kingdom tribe and was given to Judah on a 'temporary loan' basis for David's sake. If God had initiated the kingship, I think He would have started with David. But Jerusalem's significance predates King David. Warriors from the tribe of Benjamin might have been trained to be equally or more effective with their left hands. On this Wikipedia the language links are at the top of the page across from the article title. Why did Ahimaaz the son of Zadok run ahead of the Cushite to Only provide good news about War Victory, & Not the Bad News about Absalom's death? [40] In 2020, Roth chose Brando Crawford, a descendant from both grandfathers, to represent the organization internationally. While We can not explain why this was done by Yhwh, it is obvious that it was part of the Scriptural narrative to bond these two king's respective tribes together to divite the spoil, dwell together and show the mighty hand of YHWH working according to the Council of his own Will! The other likely translation, which fits your question better is like the Christian Standard Bible: The scepter will not depart from Judah or the staff from between his feet. Since Benjamin is the youngest, his tribe should be given the first opportunity to rule. The difference between the phonemes /p/ and /b/ in Japanese. Since Jacob had blessed Judah and prophesied that (Genesis 49:10): The scepter will not turn aside from Judah until Shiloh comes, and to him the obedience of the people will belong. But he also put his God-given creativity to work as a songwriter. The 12 tribes of Israel descended from Jacobs 12 sons, and with the exception of Levi, each tribe controlled a specific territory within the nation of Israel. If Uriah slept with her, then no one could say he was the one who got her pregnant. All subsequent kings in both the ancient first united Kingdom of Israel and the later Kingdom of Judah claimed direct descent from King David to validate their claim to the throne in order to rule over the Israelite tribes. After Solomon died, the Israelites divided into two separate kingdoms, each with its own king. The first was called Belah ("swallow"), because Joseph had disappeared; the second, Becher, because Joseph was his mother's first-born; the third, Ashbel ("capture"), because Joseph was made a captive; the fourth, Gera, because he lived in a foreign land; the fifth, Naaman (grace), on account of Joseph's graceful speech; the sixth, Ei ("my only full brother"); the seventh, Rosh ("the older"); the eighth, Muppim ("double mouth") because Joseph taught Benjamin the things he himself had learned from his father; the ninth, uppim ("whose wedding I have not seen"); and the tenth, Ard, because Joseph was like a rose. And then David famously replied: You come against me with sword and spear and javelin, but I come against you in the name of the Lord Almighty, the God of the armies of Israel, whom you have defied. Two of his sons fled to Al-Andalus, where they found refuge with Joseph, the son and successor of Samuel ibn Naghrillah. The tribe was descended from Benjamin, the youngest son of the patriarch Jacob (later given the name Israel) and his wife Rachel. 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. After the brief period of the united kingdom of Israel, Benjamin became part of the southern Kingdom of Judah following the split into two kingdoms. After a long war (2 Samuel 3:1), David succeeded in uniting all twelve tribes (5:1-5). Can archive.org's Wayback Machine ignore some query terms? 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. However, this theory has been widely contested. [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. David was too young. l.c. Benjamin is given special mention as an entity separate from Israel when Abner is negotiating the kingship with David (3:17ff.). In the Christian interpretation the "Davidic covenant" of a Davidic line in 2 Samuel 7 is understood in various ways, traditionally referring to the genealogies of Jesus in the New Testament. It only takes a minute to sign up. The Rabbis lay stress on the name, "beloved of the Lord," by which Benjamin is distinguished (Deut. The relevant passages are Joshua 15:5-11; 16:1-3, 5; 18:11-13. As the old saying goes, "Be careful what you wish for; you might get it. Mari texts but that seems, on the whole, to be unlikely. When David asked the Lord about the famine, God said, "It is on account of Saul and his blood-stained . In fact, David cites his experience as a shepherd to convince Saul why he can defeat Goliath: Your servant has been keeping his fathers sheep. Exilarchs continued to be appointed until the 11th century, with some members of the Davidic line dispersing across the Islamic world. Judahs territory included the city of Jerusalem. When the people asked for a king, David was not born yet, so God gave them the best man available at the time. why was King Saul from the tribe of Benjamin chosen as Israel's first king when Judah was to be the ruling tribe all along, as related in I Samuel 8-10? 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. This day the Lord will deliver you into my hands, and Ill strike you down and cut off your head. However, it must be noticed that other authorities interpret the data in such a way that the western boundary runs more or less due N of Kiriath-jearim, sharing that border with the tribe of Dan. Here are the 73 Psalms attributed to David, according to Jewish (and Protestant) tradition: Most of the Psalms David wrote are laments, giving us intimate portraits of his darkest moments. The Bible doesnt explicitly say when David lived, but many scholars believe he existed around 1,000 BC. Sign up now for the latest news and deals from Bible Gateway! Redoing the align environment with a specific formatting. ", "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? Other rabbis interpret the name Benjamin as "son of the South," since he was the only son born to Jacob in Palestine, the others having been born in Mesopotamia, north of Palestine (Rashi ad loc. But it didnt work out that way. A controversial artifact called the Jehoash Tablet recalls deeds performed by Jehoram of Judah, who reigned about 44 years before Uzziah; however, scholars are tensely divided on whether or not the inscription is genuine. They then grabbed a wife each and took her back to their land and rebuilt their houses (Judges 1921). There were two Benjamin gates in the city of Jerusalem, one in the Temple (Jer 20:2) and the other perhaps to be identified with the sheep gate in the N wall of the city (37:13; Zech 14:10). Some have thought that the origin of the tribe is to be found in the Binu (or Maru) yamina of the 18th cent. 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. In the 11th-15th century, families that descended from the Exilarchs that lived in the South of France (Narbonne and Provence) and in northern Iberian peninsula (Barcelona, Aragon and Castile) received the title "Nasi" in the communities and were called "free men". Jacob's Naming When he was born, Rachel gave him the name of Ben-oni: Then they journeyed from Bethel. Jewish Quarterly Review, hereafter "J. Q. R.", xv. xlii. Gottheil, Richard, et al. Jerusalem was chosen by King David to be the capital mainly because the city, although part of the territory of the tribe of Benjamin, had not yet been conquered by the Israelites, and was not tied specifically to any of the twelve tribes. ), Is there a solutiuon to add special characters from software and how to do it, How to tell which packages are held back due to phased updates. 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 For example: Your right hand, O LORD, glorious in power, Defeating Goliath marked the beginning of Davids life as a warrior. He sent someone to find out about her, and learned she was married to Uriah the Hittiteone of his best soldiers (2 Samuel 23:39). The Hasmoneans were not considered connected to the Davidic line nor to the Tribe of Judah. Welcome to BHSE! 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). During Sauls reign, Jerusalem was captured, and the Ark of the Covenant was in Judah. Historically the fulfillment is: "(when) the scepter is (finally given), it will not depart from Judah" Once it is taken from Benjamin and given to Judah, it will remain. 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). I would add that 1 Samuel 8 -- specifically the exchange between Samuel, God, and the people in verses 6-22 -- provides a reasonable explanation. The Tribe of Benjamin, located to the north of Judah but to the south of the Kingdom of Israel, is significant in biblical narratives as a source of various Israelite leaders, including the first Israelite king, Saul, as well as earlier tribal leaders in the period of the Judges. Ta'anit iv. Later, the prophet Nathan rebuked David for his sin. This kingdom was conquered by the Neo-Assyrian Empire in the 8th century BCE which exiled much of the Northern Kingdom population and ended its sovereign status. 6), gives another reason, probably based on Jewish tradition (compare Esther R. on iii. ), Seemingly Benjamin will be covered with the beloved, The beloved will bear Benjamin between of with his shoulders, All in all this is prophetically the relationship between the everlasting royal house of David via Judah as the beloved in relationship as it happened with Benjamin as a tribe. By others it is referred to Mordecai and Esther (Gen. R. xcix. One Christian interpretation of the Davidic line counts the line as continuing to Jesus son of Joseph, according to the genealogies which are written in Matthew 1:1-16 descendants of Solomon and Luke 3:23-38 descendants of Nathan son of David through the line of Mary. David killed a lot of people in battle. According to the Bible, David, of the Tribe of Judah, was the third king of the United Monarchy of Israel and Judah. The Kingdom of Judah, that included Benjamin, continued until it was conquered by Babylon in c. 586 BCE and the population deported, and was subjected to the Babylonian captivity. Jesse should have been king being a descendant of Judah but Deut. Psalm 7 is the only Biblical mention of this later Cush, who was from the tribe of Benjamin. A number of Jewish families in the Iberian peninsula and within Mesopotamia continued to preserve the tradition of descent from Exilarchs in the Late Middle Ages, including the families of Abravanel, ibn Yahya and Ben-David. Most people have heard Jesus described as the messiah. 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. Here are some of the things we know about David. Parts of 1 and 2 Samuel were written as early as the seventh and sixth centuries BC, likely using earlier accounts as sources. Perhaps Davids biggest claim to fame was his legendary showdown with the Philistine giant, Goliath. 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. ", "Recent decades, for example, have seen a remarkable reevaluation of evidence concerning the conquest of the land of Canaan by Joshua. xxxiii. Responding to a growing threat from Philistine incursions, the Israelite tribes formed a strong, centralised monarchy during the eleventh century BC. Deu. Conclusion Why did King Saul prophesy w/o clothing all day after pursuing David in 1 Samuel 19:24? He also supports his own Jewish credentials by reference to his descent from the tribe of Benjamin (Rom 11:1; Phil 3:5). 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. Saul married Ahinoam, daughter of Ahimaaz and had four sons and two daughters. ; J. According to some Islamic sources, some of the Jewish settlers in Arabia were of the Davidic line, Mohammad-Baqer Majlesi recorded: "A Jewish man from the Davidic line entered Medina and found the people in deep sorrow. b.c. get answers to your Bible questions from 50+ resources ($2,400+ value! Making statements based on opinion; back them up with references or personal experience. A stone inscription known as the Tel Dan Stele dates from the late ninth or early eighth century BC, and it refers to the House of David. Another inscription from around 840 BC (the Moab Stele), may refer to David as well. But David was rather indifferent. The elder serving the younger carries the sense of being ruled. Those who held the position traced their ancestry to the House of David in the male line. ; compare Ab, Fifteenth Day of). The Israelite and Philistine armies lined up on opposing hills, Goliath taunted the Israelites and challenged them to decide the battle with a duel: him against one of them (1 Samuel 17:8-11). Then again, perhaps the Biblical writers simply enjoyed a bit of word play. The grandson of Hezekiah ben David through his eldest son David ben Chyzkia, Hiyya al-Daudi, died in 1154 in Castile according to Abraham ibn Daud and is the ancestor of the ibn Yahya family. The Davidic line or House of David (Hebrew: , romanized: Beit David) refers to the lineage of the Israelite king David through texts in the Hebrew Bible, the New Testament, and through the succeeding centuries.. 80. After the death of David's son, King Solomon, the ten northern tribes of the Kingdom of Israel rejected the Davidic line, refusing to accept Solomon's son, Rehoboam, and instead chose as king Jeroboam and formed the northern Kingdom of Israel. 11.23: 'Thus Joshua conquered the whole country, just as the L. Rashi on Joshua 15:21; Babylonian Talmud, destruction of the northern kingdom by the Assyrians, Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges on 2 Samuel 3, accessed 6 July 2017, "Early Israel in Recent Biblical Scholarship", https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Tribe_of_Benjamin&oldid=1138853522, Short description is different from Wikidata, Wikipedia articles incorporating a citation from the 1906 Jewish Encyclopedia, Wikipedia articles incorporating a citation from the 1906 Jewish Encyclopedia without a Wikisource reference, Wikipedia articles incorporating text from the 1906 Jewish Encyclopedia, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License 3.0, This page was last edited on 12 February 2023, at 00:34. A special feature of the Benjamite warriors was that they were completely ambidexterous, being able to handle the sling equally well with either hand (Judg 20:16; 1 Chron 8:40; 12:2). We create research-based articles and handy infographics to help people understand the Bible. I do not think it is possible to give an exegetical answer to this question, but only an Eisegetical one and that based on conjecture, beside the simplicity of 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. I'm just a layman but this is my analysis. Atlanta, 2004, 15359, 219. And when the Philistines (and Goliath) invaded, David was torn between his duties as Sauls musician and his responsibilities for tending his fathers sheep (1 Samuel 17:15). By submitting your email address, you understand that you will receive email communications from Bible Gateway, a division of The Zondervan Corporation, 3900 Sparks Drive SE, Grand Rapids, MI 49546 USA, including commercial communications and messages from partners of Bible Gateway. The tribe was named after the younger of two children born to Jacob (also called Israel) and his second wife, Rachel. 27) is referred to the men of Shiloh who stole their wives (Judges xxi.) When his armies were out waging war without him, David walked along the roof of his palace and saw a beautiful woman bathing. I believe the NIV includes illegitimate births also. The year of Jubileewhen debts were forgiven and property returned to its original owners, among other thingstook place after seven cycles of seven years. 21-25); but this was due to God's anger against all Israel because they had attacked all Benjamin on account of the crime of an individual, and at the same time quietly tolerated the idolatry which Micah (Judges xvii.) Remember, Saul was anointed, too. We see that in the Feast of Tabernacles, which occurred for seven days on the seventh month. The Bible gives us a lot of information about King David. Despite being anointed to rule Gods people, David had a long and arduous path to kingship. The Book of Ruth is a story of love and redemption. It is a good question, and I do not know the answer. The Tribe of Benjamin remained a part of the southern Kingdom of Judah. Hes the most frequently mentioned human in the Old Testament, and the second most frequently mentioned human in the entire Bible (only Jesus Christ is mentioned more). 6), his territory was reserved for the worship of God. 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. After Saul died, all the tribes other than Judah remained loyal to the House of Saul and to Ish-bosheth, Saul's son and successor to the throne of Israel, but war ensued between the House of Saul and the House of David. How to follow the signal when reading the schematic? 18). those brought to be with her. He reigned from Gibeah for 38 years (1 Samuel 8:31). Descendants of the house of exilarchs were living in various places long after the office became extinct. When the Israelites wanted a human king, the prophet, Samuel, anointed Saul to show that God had set him apart for this special role: Then Samuel took a flask of olive oil and poured it on Sauls head and kissed him, saying, Has not the Lord anointed you ruler over his inheritance? 1 Samuel 10:1. Learn more about Stack Overflow the company, and our products. Redemption ran in the family. He told Joabs messenger: Say this to Joab: Dont let this upset you; the sword devours one as well as another. SBL Academia Biblica 12. 11), that "a nation and a company of nations shall be of him"; and they decided that the existence of the tribe of Benjamin was necessary (Yer. When David was king, a famine plagued Israel for three years. The other Israelite tribes were grieved at the near loss of the tribe of Benjamin. It is related that Benjamin (Sifre, Deut. Paul reminds the Jews in Pisidian Antioch of the Benjamite origin of their first king (Acts 13:21). 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. For less than $5/mo. God testified concerning him: I have found David son of Jesse, a man after my own heart; he will do everything I want him to do.. So who was King David? 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). He was later succeeded by his son, Solomon. O. and Yer.). The Tribe of Benjamin. Because the stele coincides the death of the Davidic king with the death of [Jeho]ram, the king of the Kingdom of Samaria, scholars have reconstructed the second slain king as Ahaziah of Judah, the only king contemporary to Jehoram with a name ending in -yah. xix. In general, the term Messiah unqualified refers to Mashiach ben David (Messiah, son of David).[44][45]. When they came to David with their good news, he had them executed for their crime. And David had been living with and fighting for the Philistinesthe Israelites sworn enemies. 55b). After his death, he became a symbol of Gods unique relationship with Israel and the redemption that was still to come. Sauls servants believed a musician would help soothe Saul whenever the spirit came to torment him. And the victory that day was turned into mourning unto all the people: for the people heard say that day how the king was grieved for his son. But opting out of some of these cookies may affect your browsing experience. When a lion or a bear came and carried off a sheep from the flock, I went after it, struck it and rescued the sheep from its mouth. The Bible names eight wives, but its possible he had more. 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. When David became king, he retook the fortress of Zion (which became known as the City of David), conquered Jerusalem, and returned the Ark to the city. Goliath mocked him and cursed him. 52, ed. Jewish tradition alludes to two redeemers, both of whom are called mashiach and are involved in ushering in the Messianic age: Mashiach ben David; and Mashiach ben Yosef. You also have the option to opt-out of these cookies. The Lord told David the reason for the scarcity: "It is on account of Saul and his blood-stained house; it is because he put the Gibeonites to death" ( 2 Samuel 21:1 ). The Tel Dan Stele, as aforementioned, remains the only mention of David himself outside the Bible, and the historical reliability of the United Monarchy of Israel is archaeologically weak. (Exodus 15:6). The exact boundary lines of Benjamins territory are impossible to determine with certainty. According to Genesis, Benjamin was the result of a painful birth in which his mother died, naming him Ben-Oni, "son of my pain," immediately before her death. Josh. Israels first king, Saul, was a Benjamite and his appointment enhanced the prestige of the tribe. In the morning David wrote a letter to Joab and sent it with Uriah. 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. The lives of Gods people were simply collateral damage in Davids effort to cover up his sin. At the division of the kingdom, we might have expected Benjamin to join in the revolt against Rehoboam and secede with the other tribes leaving Judah alone. 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.