King David's Brothers

Question

King David had seven brothers. What were their names?

Answer

King David's first six brothers are listed in 1 Chronicles 2:13-15: Eliab, Abinadab, Shimea, Nethanel, Raddai and Ozem. His other brother is not named anywhere in the Bible. Elsewhere, we learn that David had a brother named Elihu (1 Chr. 27:18), which may be the name of his seventh brother, or which may simply be a variant form of "Eliab." Also, the Bible speaks of "Shammah/Shimeah/Shimei" as David's brother, but all these are most likely variants of "Shimea" (without doubt this is the case with at least "Shammah" [1 Sam. 17:13]). If his seventh brother is not named in the genealogies, it may be because he died without children.