The Bible doesnt explicitly say when David lived, but many scholars believe he existed around 1,000 BC. 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. If Uriah slept with her, then no one could say he was the one who got her pregnant. Benjamin is given special mention as an entity separate from Israel when Abner is negotiating the kingship with David (3:17ff.). 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. The Kingdom of Judah was so named because the royal family was from the tribe of Judah and most of the territory, including . Excellent and well-grounded response. Lawrence J. Mykytiuk. According to the Bible, David, of the Tribe of Judah, was the third king of the United Monarchy of Israel and Judah. As king of Israel, David won numerous battles and made Israel a formidable nation, expanding its territory and military might, all while pointing his people to God. David wasnt going to let this go on any longer. [20] Ephron is believed to be the Ophrah that was also allocated to the Tribe of Benjamin by Joshua. 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). 11 Let the king be enthralled by your beauty; When David asked the Lord about the famine, God said, "It is on account of Saul and his blood-stained . 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. Jerusalem: The Israel Academy of Sciences and Humanities, 1997, nos. Stack Exchange network consists of 181 Q&A communities including Stack Overflow, the largest, most trusted online community for developers to learn, share their knowledge, and build their careers. Nevertheless, a prophetic answer could exist in the prophecy concerning Benjamin from Jacob and Moses: Jacob- Do new devs get fired if they can't solve a certain bug? Benjamin had a very strong relationship with both Joseph and Judah for the rest of his life, and that relationship was maintained by their tribes. King David was a shepherd boy who became Israels third and most important king. In general, the term Messiah unqualified refers to Mashiach ben David (Messiah, son of David).[44][45]. Since Benjamin is the youngest, his tribe should be given the first opportunity to rule. After a long war (2 Samuel 3:1), David succeeded in uniting all twelve tribes (5:1-5). The frailty of the union was exposed, however, when David's son . BENJAMIN, TRIBE OF bn j mn (, or , or ; LXX ; , G1021; ; Benjamin or sons of Benjamin). 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. Many years before Samuel anointed David and the Spirit of the Lord came upon him, Samuel anointed Saul, and the Spirit of the Lord came upon Saul (1 Samuel 10:16). From this point on, Davids duties were divided between watching his fathers sheep and playing music for the king. David killed a lot of people in battle. 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). [41][42] The King David Legacy Center has seen support from Haredi Jews in Jerusalem. Years later, when Saul disobeyed God, God rejected him as king (1 Samuel 15:26). 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. In the New testament Paul claims Benjamite descent and is proclaiming the Kingship of Jesus as Christ of the seed of David- Rom 1:3. From this point on, the fortunes of Benjamin are tied up with those of Judah. They each wrote at least 32,000 words, and the entire book of Psalms is only 30,000! Wherever Saul sent David, God went with him, and he was successful. After Solomon died, the Israelites divided into two separate kingdoms, each with its own king. 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 ). ; Num. How is Jesus " " (Luke 1:32 NAS28) different from a prophet (, Luke 1:76 NAS28)? 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. The sons were Jonathan, Abinadab, Malchishua, Ish-bosheth, Ishvi, Armani, Irmia, and Mephibosheth. Benjamites continued their opposition to David even after he had secured the throne for himself. Despite his glaring flaws, the David is described as a man after Gods own heart (1 Samuel 13:14, Acts 13:22). Even after Saul died in combat, those loyal to him werent just going to hand over the kingdom to David. The best answers are voted up and rise to the top, Not the answer you're looking for? Tribe of Benjamin - Wikipedia According to the Torah, the Tribe of Benjamin (Hebrew: .mw-parser-output .script-hebrew,.mw-parser-output .script-Hebr{font-family:"SBL Hebrew","SBL BibLit","Taamey Ashkenaz","Taamey Frank CLM","Frank Ruehl CLM","Ezra SIL","Ezra SIL SR","Keter Aram Tsova","Taamey David CLM","Keter YG","Shofar","David CLM","Hadasim CLM","Simple CLM","Nachlieli",Cardo,Alef,"Noto Serif Hebrew","Noto Sans Hebrew","David Libre",David,"Times New Roman",Gisha,Arial,FreeSerif,FreeSans}, Modern:Bnyamn, Tiberian:Bnymn) was one of the Twelve Tribes of Israel. Today, most people associate the little town of Bethlehem with the birth of Jesus. For less than $5/mo. History. 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 It only takes a minute to sign up. Understandably, this made Saul feel threatened by David. rev2023.3.3.43278. But David also wrote Psalms of praise and thanksgiving, and frequently declared his trust in the Lord in spite of his circumstances. [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. It is mandatory to procure user consent prior to running these cookies on your website. [31] Meir Perels traced the ancestry of Judah Loew ben Bezalel to the Hai Gaon through Judah Loew's alleged great-great-grandfather Judah Leib the Elder and therefore also from the Davidic dynasty; however, this claim is widely disputed, by many scholars such as Otto Muneles. For example: Your right hand, O LORD, glorious in power, But the king covered his face, and the king cried with a . Those who held the position traced their ancestry to the House of David in the male line. This time, the Lord would rescue him from a foe that Saul and his entire army were terrified of (1 Samuel 17:11). 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. But he also put his God-given creativity to work as a songwriter. The Tribe of Benjamin. The tribe seems to have met the challenge of this position, becoming known for its skillful archers and slingers. Gottheil, Richard, et al. All except Judah followed him and it was Joab who pursued him on behalf of David. In Judaism and Christianity, the Davidic Line is the bloodline from which the Hebrew Messiah has a patrilineal descent. David is a main character in the Old Testament books 1 Samuel, 2 Samuel, 1 Chronicles, and 2 Chronicles. But David came to the Israelite camp to play music for Saul, and he heard Goliaths taunts. When they were still some distance from Ephrath, Rachel went into labor, and she had hard labor. The tribe was named after the younger of two children born to Jacob (also called Israel) and his second wife, Rachel. [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. Whenever the spirit from God came on Saul, David would take up his lyre and play. people of wealth will seek your favor. English Standard Version But he did not include Levi and Benjamin in the numbering, for the king's command was abhorrent to Joab. Some have thought that the origin of the tribe is to be found in the Binu (or Maru) yamina of the 18th cent. And when her labor was at its hardest, the midwife said to her, Do not fear, for you have another son. And as her soul was departing (for she was dying), she called his name Ben-oni; but his father called him Benjamin. He told Joabs messenger: Say this to Joab: Dont let this upset you; the sword devours one as well as another. Its fitting that David is such a prominent figure in the Old Testament. The Exilarchate in Mesopotamia was officially restored after the Arab conquest in the 7th century and continued to function during the early Caliphates. Corpus of West Semitic Stamp Seals. Davids line ruled in Jerusalem for about 400 years, until King Nebuchadnezzar captured the city and broke the line of kings. He reigned from Gibeah for 38 years (1 Samuel 8:31). At first the intention of the other tribes was to efface Benjamin completely, since the number of twelve tribes could be preserved through Ephraim and Manasseh; but they remembered God's promise to Jacob shortly before Benjamin's birth (Gen. xxxv. The Stepped Stone Structure and Large Stone Structure in Jerusalem, assuming Eilat Mazar's contested stratigraphic dating of the structures to the Iron Age I is accurate, show that Jerusalem was at least somewhat populated in King David's time, and lends some credence to the biblical claim that Jerusalem was originally a Canaanite fortress; however, Jerusalem seems to have been barely developed until long after David's death,[19] bringing into question the possibility that it could have been the imperial capital described in the Bible. David is the only person referred to this way in the Bible. But the Bible doesnt explicitly tell us what Samuel meant by this. While modern readers tend to focus on Jesus birth in a manger, its important to consider the implications that this manger was in Bethlehema town the Jewish people associated with one of the biggest announcements in their history, where their most important king had his humble beginnings. ; Targ. When David returned to Jerusalem and was a favorite of Judah, it was a Benjamite (his name was Sheba) who started a revolt. In the morning David wrote a letter to Joab and sent it with Uriah. To subscribe to this RSS feed, copy and paste this URL into your RSS reader. When David became king, he established Jerusalem as the nations capital and Gods headquarters, permanently altering Judahs importance in Jewish life and culture. This understanding does not rule out the possibility that before the entrusting of the assignment to Judah as kingly tribe, another tribe could receive this honor. 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. His great-grandson Simeon ben Gamliel became one of the Jewish leaders during the First JewishRoman War.[27]. Ish-bosheth was murdered by Israelites who seemed to be trying to earn Davids favor. 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. Judahs territory included the city of Jerusalem. Both Ish-bosheth and Abner were murdered. But he wasnt the only person to hold this title. David knew all that, but he sent for her anyways, slept with her, and got her pregnant (2 Samuel 11:4-5). On the accession of Rehoboam, David's grandson, in c. 930 BCE, the united Kingdom of Israel dissolved with the northern tribes splitting from the House of David to constitute the northern Kingdom of Israel. [8][c] Additionally, a tombstone dated to the Second Temple Period claiming to mark the grave (or, reburial) site of Uzziah, was discovered in a convent on the Mount of Olives in 1931, but there is no way of determining if the remains were genuinely Uzziah's as the stone had to have been carved more than 700 years after Uzziah died and was originally interred, and the tablet's provenance remains a mystery. So who was King David? The Tribe of Benjamin. Who are the descendants of Benjamin - DoorToEden In Jewish eschatology, the Messiah is a future Jewish king from the Davidic line, who is expected to rule the Jewish people during the Messianic Age and world to come. Site design / logo 2023 Stack Exchange Inc; user contributions licensed under CC BY-SA. 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). Paul reminds the Jews in Pisidian Antioch of the Benjamite origin of their first king (Acts 13:21). He attempted to kill David on multiple occasions, and became his constant enemy. These cookies do not store any personal information. Making statements based on opinion; back them up with references or personal experience. 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? By others it is referred to Mordecai and Esther (Gen. R. xcix. Who Was Herod? But it didnt work out that way. Forget your people and your fathers house. David was far from perfect, but his faith and zeal made him the standard against which all Israels future kings would be measured against. It is a good question, and I do not know the answer. 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. The relevant passages are Joshua 15:5-11; 16:1-3, 5; 18:11-13. The Levites had always been excluded from the Israelite monarchy, so when the Maccabees assumed the throne in order to rededicate the defiled Second Temple, a cardinal rule was broken. Y. Aharoni describes the southern border as turning NW from the shores of the Dead Sea, passing S of Jericho, skirting below Jerusalem leaving it in Benjamite territory, continuing past Kiriath-jearim, descending to Beth-shemesh and following the Sorek Valley to the Mediterranean. So Saul had him brought in, and made him one of his armor-bearers. 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. 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. Sherira's son-in-law was Elijah ben Menahem HaZaken. David was too young. But centuries before Jesus, another savior came from this unassuming town. After he finished the work of creation, God rested on the seventh day and made it holy (Genesis 2:3). The tribe of Benjamin continued to oppose David being named as king. 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. 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.. Surely your goodness and love will follow me, and I will dwell in the house of the Lord. Biblical Hermeneutics Stack Exchange is a question and answer site for professors, theologians, and those interested in exegetical analysis of biblical texts. They decided to allow these 600 men to carry on the tribe of Benjamin, but no one was willing to give their daughter in marriage to them because they had vowed not to. Ruth 4:18 lists descendants of Judah as Perez, Hezron, Ram, Amminidab, Nahshon, Salmon, Boaz, Obed, Jesse, David (the tenth). 18). Its possible that he simply meant David cared about the things God cared about. The Quran mentions the House of David once: "Work, O family of David, in gratitude. And David had been living with and fighting for the Philistinesthe Israelites sworn enemies. Deu. Twins were born, one being Perez. Benjamin was the only son born in Canaan and choosing the first king from Benjamin is a way to recognize that distinction. And when Samuel laid eyes upon Jesses youngest son, the shepherd, David, the Lord said, Rise and anoint him; this is the one.. Because of this, some people have assumed that Jesus belonged to the tribe of Judah. Buber, Wayesheb, 8).When Benjamin was detained as the alleged thief of the cup, Joseph pretended that Benjamin had been instigated by his brothers. 10 Listen, daughter, and pay careful attention: They see the book as an ideological retrojection from a later period either as early as the reign of Josiah or as late as the Hasmonean period. [7] Uzziah may also be mentioned in the annals of Tiglath-Pileser III; however, the texts are largely fragmentary. Benjamin's oath touched Joseph so deeply that he could no longer pretend to be a stranger, and so revealed himself to his brother (Tan., ed. Mari texts but that seems, on the whole, to be unlikely. 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). The Hebrew text of the Bible passage (Gen 49:10) you try to understand implies that: 1) the tribe of Judah, starting from a crucial moment, would receive (from God) the honor to have kings on the throne of Jerusalem (until the latter existed! According to the Bible, David, of the Tribe of Judah, was the third king of the United Monarchy of Israel and Judah. But he was a strong . Why did Benjamin and Judah split from the other tribes? - Quora In the Southern Kingdom of Judah, the tribes of Judah and Benjamin remained with control of the capital city of Jerusalem. 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. Because as an imperfect human, anointed by God to save and rule his people, David lays the foundation for Jesus Christthe only sinless human, whom God would use to save and rule all of humanity. 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 . (Gen 49:10, I Sam 8-9), We've added a "Necessary cookies only" option to the cookie consent popup. The Torah had a thing or two to say about adultery (Leviticus 18:20, Deuteronomy 5:18, Exodus 20:14), and it was punishable by death (Deuteronomy 22:22, Leviticus 20:10). . Benjamin was a kingdom tribe and was given to Judah on a 'temporary loan' basis for David's sake. Two of his sons fled to Al-Andalus, where they found refuge with Joseph, the son and successor of Samuel ibn Naghrillah. An account in Genesis explains the name of Benjamin as a result of the birth of the tribe's founder, Benjamin. 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. 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. The New Testament books of Matthew and Luke give two different accounts of the genealogy of Jesus that trace back to David. At the time of the first census under Moses, the able-bodied men available for war from the tribe of Benjamin was given as 35,400 (Num 1:37) and at the second census, 45,600 (26:41). 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. Although Jerusalem was in the territory allocated to the tribe of Benjamin (Joshua 18:28), it remained under the independent control of the Jebusites. The report that the large number of 280,000 archers, said to be the tribe of Benjamin, belonged to King Asa (II Chron. And the people gat them by stealth that day into the city, as people being ashamed steal away when they flee in battle. 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). [3] The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges suggests that the tribe of Benjamin "was the most likely to offer opposition [to Abner] through fear of losing dignity and advantage by the transference of the royal house to the tribe of Judah".[4]. Later still, during the time of King David, a famine occurred in Israel. Can archive.org's Wayback Machine ignore some query terms? 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. The "Sefer ha-Yashar" (Mie 89) narrates that Joseph caused a kind of astrolabe to be brought, and asked Benjamin whether he could not discover by means of the instrument the whereabouts of his lost brother. [44][45][46] The Messiah is often referred to as "King Messiah", or, in Hebrew, (melekh mashiach), and, in Aramaic, malka meshia. 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. 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. 15 Led in with joy and gladness, 1:12; Coniah, Jer. [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. While Psalms is often (mistakenly) assumed to be the biggest book of the Bible, David actually didnt write that much of the Bible in comparison to authors like Moses, Ezra, Luke, Jeremiah, and Paul. Why was Israel accused of "evil" by seeking a king (1 Samuel 12, cf. The names of Kafnai and his son Haninai, who were Exilarchs in the second half of the 6th century, have been preserved. When the Kingdom of Israel split, what happened to Benjamin? When David learned she was pregnant, he hatched a scheme to hide his sin: since her husband Uriah was away at war, David had him brought back home. The Hasmoneans, also known as the Maccabees, established their own monarchy in Judea following their revolt against the Hellenistic Seleucid dynasty. King David saw the angel and immediately confessed his sin to Gd, at which point Gd, via the Prophet Gad, commanded him to build an altar on the site. According to the Tanakh, King Saul ( Talut) was the son of Kish, a member of the tribe of Benjamin, one of the twelve Tribes of Israel ( 1 Samuel 9:1-2 ). [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. And he executed plenty of criminals. Eventually, the tribes restored Benjamin's tribe, greatly diminished due to the war, and the country reunited. Wait There Were How Many Herods?! In the genealogies of the restoration in the OT, in the Apoc., and in the NT, Benjamin generally is used to indicate personal descent rather than tribal territory (e.g. 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). The Bible gives us a lot of information about King David. Afghana - Wikipedia 4), viz. SBL Academia Biblica 12. 8), and not until Jacob was one hundred years old (Testament of the Twelve Patriarchs, ib. This fear led Saul to drive away his greatest asset. honor him, for he is your lord. Jerusalem: From Canaanite City to Israelite Capital When David was anointed, the Spirit of the Lord left Saul, and an evil spirit began to torment him (1 Samuel 16:14). 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. Initially, David was king over the Tribe of Judah only and ruled from Hebron, but after seven and a half years, the other Israelite tribes, who found themselves leaderless after the death of Ish-bosheth, chose him to be their king as well.[25]. The first king of this new entity was Saul, from the tribe of Benjamin (1 Samuel 9:12), which at the time was the smallest of the tribes. 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. Geography. 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. 12; Sifre, l.c.). Today, David is most famous for being the boy who defeated a giant with a slingshot. 352, ed. by Ryan Nelson | Jul 27, 2020 | Bible characters. 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. Was King David From The Tribe Of Benjamin? - Caniry ", Welcome to Bible Hermeneutics SE and thank you for your contribution. One of the most notable of those was Hillel the Elder, who moved to Judea from his birthplace in Babylon. In this guide, well cover the basic facts about who he is and what the Bible says about him. Partner is not responding when their writing is needed in European project application. 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. 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. 352); and in order to comfort Benjamin concerning his brother's fate, God showed him, while awake, Joseph's form and countenance (Testament of the Twelve Patriarchs, Benjamin x.; compare Tan., ed. What tribe was King David from? The army commanded by Abner for Ishbosheth, Sauls son, consisted mainly of Benjamites and was successful in mounting considerable opposition to the appointment of David as king (2 Sam 2:15ff.). All subsequent kings of Judah, except Athaliah, are said to be direct descendants of David. 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. 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. This pleased all the troops, and Sauls officers as well. 1 Samuel 18:5. Very little is conclusively known about the House of David. Several families, as late as the 14th century, traced their descent back to Josiah, the brother of David ben Zakkai who had been banished to Chorasan (see the genealogies in [Lazarus 1890] pp.