Benaiah (Hebrew: בניהו, "Yahweh delivers", or possibly, "the son of Yahweh builds up" is a common name in the Hebrew Bible. In the etymology of the name, the first part of Benaiah comes from the root-verb בנה (bana), which is a common and ubiquitous Hebrew verb meaning "to build". The second part of Benaiah is יה (Yah) = יהו (Yahu) = יו (Yu), a derivative of the Tetragrammaton. The Hebrew word בן (ben), meaning son, is also thought by some to come from the verb בנה (bana).
In the Hebrew Bible, Benaiah, son of Jehoiada the priest, came from the southern Judean town of Kabzeel.
Other Benaiahs of the Hebrew Bible are:
One of David’s mighty men, commander of the 11th rotational army division; a Pirathonite of the tribe of Ephraim (2 Sam. 23:30; 1 Chr. 11:31; 27:14).
A Levite musician who played his stringed instrument accompanying the ark 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 a trumpet when the Ark was brought to Jerusalem during David’s reign (1 Chr. 15:24; 16:6).
A Levite descendant of Asaph, son of Berachiah the Gershonite (2 Chr. 20:14).
A Simeonite, possibly a contemporary of King Hezekiah (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 of Pelatiah, one of the wicked princes seen in Ezekiel’s vision (Eze. 11:1, 13).
Four men who, at Ezra’s admonition, dismissed their foreign wives and sons. These four were descendants of Parosh, Pahath-moab, Bani, and Nebo respectively (Ezr. 10:25, 30, 34, 35, 43, 44).
