Paarai
1:
PAARAI (PERSON) [Heb pa˓ăray (פַּעֲרַי)]. One of “The Thirty,” an elite group of the warriors of King David (2 Sam 23:35). He is called “the Arbite” (Heb ˒arbı̂), which is a reference to his home village, ARAB, in the hill country district of Hebron (Josh 15:52).
There is some textual confusion over both the name “Paarai,” and the gentilic “Arbite.” In the parallel list of David’s champions in 1 Chr 11:26–47, the reading corresponding to “Paarai the Arbite” is “Naarai the son of Ezbai” (1 Chr 11:37; LXX supports this). Although certainty is impossible, scholars generally feel that Samuel has the superior reading, Naarai resulting from a confusion of the Hebrew letters pe and nun, and “son of Ezbai” being the result of corruption.
In the LXX of 2 Kgdms 23:35, Codex Vaticanus reads Ouraioerchi for the term “Arbite” in MT. This suggests the translator read Heb ˒arḥi instead of ˒arbi, “Archite” in place of “Arbite.” This would then place the home town of Paarai in the hill country of Ephraim. Although some scholars have argued for the originality of this reading, it has a weak textual basis. It would also be incongruous with the geographical arrangement of the list, since Paarai’s name is included with other warriors, all of whom came from the southern district of Judah (Elliger 1966: 101–2).
Bibliography
Elliger, K. 1966. Die dreissig Helden David. Pp. 72–118 in Kleine Schriften zum Alten Testament, ed. H. Gese and O. Kaiser. Munich.
Stephen G. Dempster
Freedman, D. N. (1996, c1992). The Anchor Bible Dictionary (5:53). New York: Doubleday.
2:
Paarai — opening of the Lord, “the Arbite,” one of David’s heroes (2 Sam. 23:35); called also Naarai, 1 Chr. 11:37.
Easton, M. (1996, c1897). Easton's Bible dictionary. Oak Harbor, WA: Logos Research Systems, Inc.
3:
PAARAI One of David’s mighty men, said to be from Arba, in Judah (2 Sm 23:35); perhaps the same as Naarai the son of Ezbai (1 Chr 11:37).
Elwell, W. A., & Comfort, P. W. (2001). Tyndale Bible dictionary. Tyndale reference library (983). Wheaton, Ill.: Tyndale House Publishers.
4:
PA´ARAI (paʹa-ri). “The Arbite,” one of David’s valiant men (2 Sam. 23:35), called Naarai (which see) in 1 Chron. 11:37.
Unger, M. F., Harrison, R. K., Vos, H. F., Barber, C. J., & Unger, M. F. (1988). The new Unger's Bible dictionary. Revision of: Unger's Bible dictionary. 3rd ed. c1966. (Rev. and updated ed.). Chicago: Moody Press.
5:
Paarai (Heb. pa˓ăray) (also NAARAI)
An Arbite; one of David’s Thirty (2 Sam. 23:35). At 1 Chr. 11:37 he is called Naarai the son of Ezbai.
Freedman, D. N., Myers, A. C., & Beck, A. B. (2000). Eerdmans dictionary of the Bible (997). Grand Rapids, Mich.: W.B. Eerdmans.
