Kabzeel

Kabzeel ("God gathers") was a town on the southern border of Judah toward Edom (Joshua 15:21). Its claim to fame is its most famous son: Benaiah son of Jehoiada, one of David's mighty men and commander of his royal bodyguard, the Cherethites and Pelethites (2 Samuel 23:20, 1 Chronicles 11:22). Benaiah's exploits at Kabzeel are legendary — he struck down two formidable Moabites, killed a lion in a pit on a snowy day, and bested an enormous Egyptian by wresting away his spear and killing him with it. After David died, Benaiah backed Solomon and executed Adonijah, Joab, and Shimei to secure the new king's throne (1 Kings 2). The town was reoccupied as "Jekabzeel" by Jewish returnees from Babylon (Nehemiah 11:25).