Ira

Ira is the name of three men associated with David's reign, all bearing a name meaning citizen or watchman. (1.) Ira the Ithrite, one of David's thirty mighty warriors (2 Samuel 23:38; 1 Chronicles 11:40). (2.) Ira son of Ikkesh the Tekoite, another of the thirty, who also commanded the sixth division of David's monthly rotation of military officers (2 Samuel 23:26; 1 Chronicles 11:28; 27:9). (3.) Ira the Jairite, identified in 2 Samuel 20:26 as a priest (kohen) to David — a puzzling title since he was not from a Levitical family, suggesting perhaps the term is used loosely here for a chief minister or adviser.

The three Iras illustrate the diversity of backgrounds among David's close associates: warriors from Tekoa and the Ithrite clan, and an administrative official. The designation of a non-Levite as "priest" in 2 Samuel 20:26 has generated scholarly discussion about the flexibility of priestly terminology in early monarchic Israel before the later institutionalization of the Levitical system.