BANAIA (Hebr. Bēnājāh[ā]). — Son of the priest Ioiada, the most illustrious of the thirty warriors who constituted David’s bodyguard (II Sam. 23, 20 ff.; I Par. 11, 22–24). Among his deeds of valor, the slaying of a lion and that of a gigantic Egyptian warrior were recounted. David entrusted him with command of the Kerethei and Pelethei (II Sam. 8, 18). At David’s death he contributed to Solomon’s accession (I Reg. 1, 38), and Solomon appointed him commander of the army in place of Ioab (I Reg. 2, 34–35). He was the instrument of several capital executions at the beginning of Solomon’s reign (I Reg. 2, 25, 34, 46).
Among the body of the thirty valiant men there was another B. (II Sam. 23, 30). A priest (I Par. 16, 6) and a Levite (I Par. 15, 18, 20) of this name are also mentioned. Angelo Penna