Matri is a name found in the King James Bible, appearing 1 time in the text.
Who This Was
Matri was a descendant of Benjamin whose name appears only once in the King James Bible, in the genealogies of the tribe of Benjamin recorded in 1 Samuel. He is identified in the source note as a Benjamite, and Scripture itself names him only in connection with his family line. Beyond this single mention, the Bible tells us nothing about his life, his character, or his deeds. He stands among the many quiet figures in Scripture whose names are preserved chiefly because of the part their family played in a larger story.
The setting of Matri’s appearance is one of the most dramatic moments in Israel’s early history. In 1 Samuel 10, the prophet Samuel had gathered the tribes of Israel to choose their first king. After the tribe of Benjamin was brought near by their families, the lot fell to the family of Matri, and from that family Saul the son of Kish was taken as king. Yet when the people sought Saul to present him, he could not be found, for he had hidden himself among the baggage.
What Scripture says of Matri is therefore very little: his family was the line through which Israel’s first king was identified. He did nothing noteworthy in the account, spoke no words, and made no choice that is recorded. His significance is entirely bound up with the fact that his descendants were counted among the families of Benjamin when the lot was cast. He is a name in a genealogy, remembered because of a moment he did not live to see.
The Name
The name Matri is a Hebrew name, but its meaning is not clearly recoverable from the biblical text or from the standard lexical sources. Some attempts have been made to connect it with roots suggesting “rain” or “descending,” but these proposals are uncertain and are not firmly established. Because Scripture gives no explanation of the name and no reliable etymology is attested, it is best to say plainly that the meaning of Matri is unknown rather than to assign it a meaning the evidence does not support.
A Closing Thought
Matri never appears as an actor in the biblical story. He is simply a name in a family line, and yet that line was the one through which God brought Saul to the throne of Israel. Most of us will never be the central figure in a great account. Our lives are hidden, our names known to few. But God weaves even the quietest lives into His purposes, and a name remembered only in a genealogy can still be part of the story He is telling.
At a Glance
- Gender: Male
- Testament: Old
- Mentions in the KJV: 1
Where It Appears in Scripture
- 1 Samuel 10:21 — When he had caused the tribe of Benjamin to come near by their families, the family of Matri was taken, and Saul the son of Kish was taken: and when they sought him, he could not be found.