דברי הימים א, פרק י״ב, פסוק כ״ח

The effort to establish David's kingdom brought together many groups, including a significant force from the priestly family. At the head of this group stood Jehoiada. He was the father of Benaiah, the man who would become the chief of David's thirty mighty warriors. Historically, this family line continued to hold great importance; the famous priest Jehoiada, who served much later during the reign of King Joash, was actually the grandson of this Jehoiada, making him the son of Benaiah [רש״י].

Jehoiada held a unique title as the leader of Aaron's descendants, a position that commentators understand in two distinct ways. The primary approach among commentators is that this title refers to a practical, military role. In this view, Jehoiada acted as a commander and minister, taking direct responsibility for leading the men into action and managing their movements [רש״י]. On the other hand, a different perspective suggests that the title points to a supreme spiritual rank, indicating that Jehoiada actually served as the High Priest during this period [רלב״ג, רד״ק]. This idea is supported by the fact that Abiathar the priest was already staying with David, leaving Jehoiada to fill the senior leadership role among the rest of the priests [רלב״ג].

Jehoiada did not arrive alone. He was accompanied by a large force of three thousand seven hundred men. These thousands of individuals were not ordinary warriors gathered from various tribes. Rather, they all belonged exclusively to the family of Aaron the priest. They stood united under Jehoiada's command, fully prepared to assist David in securing his rule.