Who was Joed in the Bible?

Joed was a man from the tribe of Benjamin who resettled in Jerusalem after the Babylonian exile, as recorded in the book of Nehemiah (Nehemiah 11:7). He was one of the returning exiles who helped repopulate the holy city.

Why is Joed mentioned in the Bible?

Joed is mentioned to document the faithful Israelites who obeyed God's call to return and rebuild Jerusalem. His inclusion in the list (Nehemiah 11:7) highlights the importance of every individual in fulfilling God's restoration plan for His people after the exile.

What do we know about Joed's life?

The Bible only records that Joed was a Benjaminite and that he was chosen by lot to live in Jerusalem (Nehemiah 11:1-2, 7). This indicates he was part of the crucial repopulation effort, a key event in the post-exilic restoration of Judah.

Joed

Old TestamentExile & ReturnMaleSon of pedaiah

Joed, a Benjaminite, was among those who resettled in Jerusalem after the Babylonian exile (Neh.11.7).

Joed

Biography

Joed was a Benjaminite who settled in Jerusalem following the return from the Babylonian exile, listed in Nehemiah's census of those who repopulated the holy city (Nehemiah 11:7). He is identified as the son of Pedaiah, son of Kolaiah, and an ancestor of Sallu, the prominent Benjaminite leader of the resettlement group. The Benjaminites who resettled Jerusalem were one of two primary tribal groups chosen or volunteering to repopulate the city, the other being Judah. Jerusalem's repopulation after the exile was a critical covenant act, restoring the community and worship life of God's people in the city bearing his name. Joed's place in this genealogical record identifies him as a foundational ancestral figure in the lineage of those who made this act of restoration possible.

Significance

Joed's appearance in Nehemiah 11:7 connects him to one of the most theologically significant acts of the post-exilic period: the voluntary resettlement of Jerusalem, which Nehemiah 11:2 describes as an act the people 'blessed' those who undertook. Repopulating the holy city was an expression of covenant renewal and communal courage, since Jerusalem remained economically underdeveloped and potentially vulnerable despite rebuilt walls. As an ancestor in the Benjaminite lineage of those who settled there, Joed represents the kind of faithful, unnamed heritage upon which covenant restoration depends. His genealogical record in Nehemiah affirms that God's restorative purposes move through whole generations of families, honoring the cumulative faithfulness of ancestors as well as their descendants.

Verse Appearances (1)

Nehemiah

Nehemiah 11:7

References

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

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