Few men in Scripture have a record like Benaiah's. He was "a valiant man of Kabzeel, who had done many acts" (2 Samuel 23:20), and every one of those acts took raw courage.
Three Deeds in Two Verses
- Two of Moab's mightiest. He struck down two "ariels" of Moab, translated "lionlike men" in the KJV, champions of an enemy nation (2 Samuel 23:20).
- A lion in a pit on a snowy day. He went down into a pit on a day when snow had fallen and killed a lion. Cold, slippery footing, no room to escape, and he went down to it.
- The giant Egyptian. 1 Chronicles 11:23 says the Egyptian was five cubits tall (about 7½ feet), with a spear like a weaver's beam. Benaiah went at him with only a staff, snatched the spear out of his hand, and killed him with his own spear (2 Samuel 23:21).
He went down also and slew a lion in the midst of a pit in time of snow.— 2 Samuel 23:20 (KJV)
Captain of the King's Guard
Benaiah "won a name beside the three mighty men" but did not attain to the Three, and David set him over his bodyguard (2 Samuel 23:22–23). He commanded the Cherethites and Pelethites, David's royal guard (2 Samuel 8:18), and led the third division of the army (1 Chronicles 27:5–6). His father Jehoiada is called a chief priest in that passage.
Loyal Through the Hardest Test
When Adonijah tried to seize the throne, Benaiah stood with David and with Solomon, the son God had chosen (1 Kings 1:8, 36–38). Solomon later put him over the whole army in place of Joab (1 Kings 2:35). From the pit to the throne room, Benaiah never switched sides.
What Benaiah Teaches Young Men
Run toward the hard thing. Stay loyal when others scheme. Do your duty in the cold and dark, when no one is watching. The book's Benaiah page is one of its boldest, drawn ready for your colors.
41 bold coloring pages of King David's warriors, straight from 2 Samuel 23 and 1 Chronicles 11. Ages 5–99+. Paperback, $9.99.
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