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Guni

Old TestamentEgypt & WildernessMaleSon

Guni was a son of Naphtali and a grandson of Jacob, as listed in the genealogies of Genesis and Numbers.

Guni illustration
Guni

Biography

Guni was a son of Naphtali, one of the twelve sons of Jacob, born to Bilhah, Rachel's handmaid (Genesis 46:24; Numbers 26:48; 1 Chronicles 7:13). He traveled with his father and the extended family of Jacob into Egypt during the time of Joseph's governance, part of the seventy souls who entered Egypt as the beginning of Israel's sojourn there. In the census of Numbers 26, his descendants are called the Gunites, a clan within the tribe of Naphtali that was counted during the wilderness period as Israel prepared to enter Canaan. Though Guni receives no personal narrative in Scripture, his inclusion in the genealogies of Genesis, Numbers, and Chronicles testifies to the meticulous care with which Israel preserved the memory of its founding families.

Significance

Guni's significance lies in his place within the tribal structure of Israel, through which God organized and preserved his covenant people across generations. As a son of Naphtali, he was part of the extended household that fulfilled God's word to Abraham that his descendants would sojourn in a foreign land (Genesis 15:13). The Gunites, numbered in the Mosaic census (Numbers 26:48), represent the faithful continuation of covenant lineage through the Egyptian bondage and wilderness wandering. Genealogical records like Guni's embody a core biblical conviction: that God's redemptive purposes work through specific families and generations, and that even names preserved only in lists are known fully to the God who counts the hairs of every head.

Authority Records
FatherNaphtali

Verse Appearances (3)

References

  1. Orr, J. (ed.) (1915) The International Standard Bible Encyclopedia. Chicago: Howard-Severance Company. [Public Domain]
  2. Tyndale House, Cambridge (n.d.) Translators Individualised Proper Names with all References (TIPNR). STEPBible. Available at: https://www.stepbible.org. [CC BY 4.0]
  3. Wikidata contributors (n.d.) Wikidata. Available at: https://www.wikidata.org. [CC0]
  4. Church of England (1769) The Holy Bible, Authorized (King James) Version. [Public Domain]

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Content compiled from public domain scholarship, academic sources, and verified references. Editorial standards · View all sources