Person Old Testament
Bichri
Also known as Bichri =ESV, KJV; Bikri =NIV, Bichrites =ESV, KJV; Bikrites =NIV; Berites =KJV
Bichri, a Benjamite, was the father of Sheba, who led a rebellion against King David. Mentioned in 9 verses across 1 book, first at 2 Samuel 20:1.
Why it matters. Benjamite, father of the rebel Sheba
- Last reviewed
- 2026-08-30 by the FaithGraph team
About Bichri
Bichri was a Benjamite mentioned as the father of Sheba, a man who led a rebellion against King David (2Sa. 20). After the death of Absalom, David returned to Jerusalem and faced a new challenge when Sheba, son of Bichri, rallied the Israelites against the king, saying, "We have no share in David, no part in Jesse's son!" (2Sa. 20:1). Sheba's rebellion posed a significant threat to David's reign, prompting the king to send his forces, led by Joab, to pursue the rebel. Joab's army besieged the city of Abel-beth-maacah, where Sheba had taken refuge. The city was spared when a wise woman negotiated with Joab and convinced the inhabitants to behead Sheba, thus ending the rebellion (2Sa. 20:14-22). The incident involving Sheba, son of Bichri, highlights the tensions and challenges faced by David in consolidating his rule over all Israel.
Description from STEPBible TIPNR (Tyndale House, Cambridge), CC BY 4.0, lightly reformatted. This is background reference material, not Scripture and not a FaithGraph editorial claim.
Connections
No reviewed connections yet.
Family
Family links from STEPBible TIPNR (CC BY 4.0). Where the dataset marks an identification as uncertain, the mark is kept. Matthew and Luke give different genealogies for Jesus; see the Lineage page, which never merges them.
- Children
- Sheba
Appears in Scripture
Named in 9 verses across 1 book. Occurrence data from STEPBible TIPNR (CC BY 4.0); references only, no translation text.