And Benaiah the son of Jehoiada was over both the Cherethites and the Pelethites; and David’s sons were chief rulers.
Parallel translations
- WEB Benaiah the son of Jehoiada was over the Cherethites and the Pelethites, David’s sons were chief ministers.
- BSB Benaiah son of Jehoiada was over the Cherethites and Pelethites; and David’s sons were priestly leaders.
- NKJV Benaiah the son of Jehoiada was over both the Cherethites and the Pelethites; and David’s sons were chief ministers.
- NASB Benaiah the son of Jehoiada was over the Cherethites and the Pelethites; and David’s sons were chief ministers.
- NLT Benaiah son of Jehoiada was captain of the king’s bodyguard. And David’s sons served as priestly leaders.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org
Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
Quick answer
Benaiah led the royal guard, and David's sons served as chief ministers. The list rounds out the structure of David's well-ordered court.
Overview
Benaiah commanded the Cherethites and Pelethites, the king's loyal bodyguard, while David's sons held positions of honor (1 Chronicles 18:17 clarifies their leading role). The summary portrays a secure, orderly kingdom under God's blessing. This stable reign provides the backdrop for the acts of covenant kindness that follow.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 13
- 1 Sam 30:14We made an invasion upon the south of the Cherethites, and upon the coast which belongeth to Judah, and upon the south of Caleb; and we burned Ziklag with fire.
- 2 Sam 20:7And there went out after him Joab’s men, and the Cherethites, and the Pelethites, and all the mighty men: and they went out of Jerusalem, to pursue after Sheba the son of Bichri.
- 2 Sam 20:23Now Joab was over all the host of Israel: and Benaiah the son of Jehoiada was over the Cherethites and over the Pelethites:
- 1 Chr 18:17And Benaiah the son of Jehoiada was over the Cherethites and the Pelethites; and the sons of David were chief about the king.
- 2 Sam 15:18And all his servants passed on beside him; and all the Cherethites, and all the Pelethites, and all the Gittites, six hundred men which came after him from Gath, passed on before the king.
- 1 Kgs 1:38So Zadok the priest, and Nathan the prophet, and Benaiah the son of Jehoiada, and the Cherethites, and the Pelethites, went down, and caused Solomon to ride upon king David’s mule, and brought him to Gihon.
- 2 Sam 23:20–23And Benaiah the son of Jehoiada, the son of a valiant man, of Kabzeel, who had done many acts, he slew two lionlike men of Moab: he went down also and slew a lion in the midst of a pit in time of snow:
- 1 Kgs 1:44And the king hath sent with him Zadok the priest, and Nathan the prophet, and Benaiah the son of Jehoiada, and the Cherethites, and the Pelethites, and they have caused him to ride upon the king’s mule:
- 1 Kgs 4:4And Benaiah the son of Jehoiada was over the host: and Zadok and Abiathar were the priests:
- Zeph 2:5Woe unto the inhabitants of the sea coast, the nation of the Cherethites! the word of the LORD is against you; O Canaan, the land of the Philistines, I will even destroy thee, that there shall be no inhabitant.
- 2 Sam 20:26And Ira also the Jairite was a chief ruler about David.
- 1 Kgs 2:34–35So Benaiah the son of Jehoiada went up, and fell upon him, and slew him: and he was buried in his own house in the wilderness.
- Ezek 25:16Therefore thus saith the Lord GOD; Behold, I will stretch out mine hand upon the Philistines, and I will cut off the Cherethims, and destroy the remnant of the sea coast.
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Christ at the center
God's covenant with David — a son whose throne and kingdom would last forever (7:12–16) — finds its yes in Jesus, the Son of David who reigns without end.
How 2 Samuel 8:18 points to him is part of the one story that runs through all Scripture — meet Jesus at the heart of the web, or follow a trail that traces him from Genesis to Revelation.
Original language
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