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Barzillai
What we know — and how we know it
Scholarly — supported scholarly belief · 1
Name & titles
ScholarlyBarzillai is built on the Hebrew word barzel, "iron," so the name means roughly "man of iron" or "iron-like." A later priestly family adopted the name through marriage into his line, which is why some returning priests in Ezra-Nehemiah are called "sons of Barzillai."
Onomastic: Hebrew barzel ("iron"); adoption of the name noted in Ezra 2:61 / Nehemiah 7:63.
Where in scripture
2 SamuelWhen David had come to Mahanaim, Shobi the son of Nahash of Rabbah of the children of Ammon, and Machir the son of Ammiel of Lodebar, and Barzillai the Gileadite of Rogelim,
2 Samuel 17:27 — Brings food to David
Scripture quotations are from the World English Bible, a public-domain translation.
In their own words — 1 recorded saying
“And Barzillai said to the king, How much of my life is still before me, for me to go up to Jerusalem with the king? I am now eighty years old: good and bad are the same to me; have meat and drink any taste for me now? am I able to take pleasure in the voices of men or women in song? why then am I to be a trouble to my lord the king? Your servant's desire was only to take the king over Jordan; why is the king to give me such a reward? Let your servant now go back again, so that when death comes to me, it may be in my town and by the resting-place of my father and mother. But here is your…” — 2 Samuel 19:34-37
Speaker attribution: Clear Bible MACULA (CC BY 4.0). Wording: Bible in Basic English (public domain).