Bible Dictionaries
Barzillai

Holman Bible Dictionary

(bahr zihl' lay i) Personal name meaning, “made of iron.” 1. Man from Gilead east of the Jordan who met David at Mahanaim as he fled from Absalom. Barzillai and others gave needed supplies for David's company (1 Samuel 17:27-29 ). When David returned to Jerusalem, the eighty-year-old Barzillai accompanied him across the Jordan but refused to go to Jerusalem (1 Samuel 19:31-39 ). Barzillai may have served as David's host while he stayed east of the Jordan. His sons went to Jerusalem, and the dying David ensured their welfare (1 Kings 2:7 ). 2 . Father of Adriel whose sons David delivered to the Gibeonites for execution in payment for Saul's inhumane slaying of Gibeonites (1 Samuel 21:8 ). This Barzillai could be the same as 1. above. 3. A priestly clan whose ancestor had married the daughter of 1. above and taken his name. Some of these priests returned from Exile in Babylon with Zerubbabel about 537 B.C. (Ezra 2:61 ).