of the law in Williamsburg, Virginia. During a lifetime with the Crusades in France, he had argued against attempting to impose French beliefs onto people from other lands. In ancient Egypt, he had assisted individuals with vocational guidance. He was told that one of the greatest mental influences in his present experience came from his military career in the Holy Land:
The entity then was Benoni [Gladys Davis later noted that she believed she had erroneously written down the name and that because of the reference she felt the reading was actually referring to Benaiah], the leader or director of the army or the military forces of that great king; thus one whose judgments and activities were looked upon as being close to the king himself.
The entity gained, the entity lost; yet we may see much in the characteristics and personality of the present entity from the activities of the entity as Benoni, the keeper of the military forces of Solomon, the king—if there will be made a close study of those activities.
2316-1
Cayce encouraged the boy’s parents to give their son an education in the law and prepare him for a career in writing or in law and order. When they asked about their son’s future, Cayce stated, “Depends upon the use to which he puts his abilities.”
In 1943, according to the last notation on file, the boy’s father stated that [2316] had foregone his studies at Princeton University for a time because he was extremely interested in becoming a part of active service in the navy.
Benaiah, the Levite
II Chronicles 31:13Case 3528
This Benaiah lived during the time of King Hezekiah (known for his many reforms) and for a time was given the position of overseeing the offerings presented in the temple.
A thirty-six-year-old bakery salesman, who read about Edgar Cayce in There Is a River, in 1943 obtained a life reading and was told that his tendency to become headstrong was due to his lifetime as Benaiah. At that time, he had apparently been taken into captivity by order of the king for gratifying his own selfish interests and forgetting the ways of the Lord. Although Benaiah later regretted his misdeeds, his banishment enabled him to become educated. His reading stated, “From that experience the entity learned to write. For as Benaiah, the entity was educated in the schools of those lands where the entity was taken as hostage.” (3528-1) That ability to write remained with him in the present, and he was told that he could become “a writer of note” provided he overcome his propensity for sarcasm.
Additional past lives had occurred in colonial times when he had worked with the Native Americans to learn their customs as well as a lifetime during the time of the Mound Builders, when [3528] had acquired a respect for the soil and the preparation of foods. He was encouraged to focus his talents into composition and writing, even writing articles about food if he so desired.
His reading stated that it was due to his own sensitivity that he often appeared sarcastic and pessimistic. He was encouraged to be sincere, learning to control his temper and not say things that he really didn’t mean. He was also told to focus his energies into learning how to apply spiritual principles in everyday life, learning his true relationship to the Creative Forces. By so doing, he would have the opportunity to work with writing.
Later reports suggest that [3528] found the information on spirituality in the Cayce information very helpful to him. In 1952, he filled out a follow-up questionnaire and stated that the reading’s analysis of his abilities and tendencies had been “absolutely correct” and that he was “fundamentally in agreement with the reading—especially as to basic character traits.” At the same time, he admitted that his own “laziness” and “lack of will” had caused him to do nothing about pursuing writing. He still confessed to being sarcastic, hardheaded, and capable of “flying off the handle” easily.
No additional follow-up reports are on file.
Benaiah, the Pirathonite
II Samuel 23:30; I Chronicles 11:31, 27:14Case 3001
This Benaiah was considered one of the thirty valiant men of David. He served as a division commander for the army, going on active duty during the eleventh month of each year.
A fifty-two-year-old business owner, involved in the textile industry, was told that his love of “clothing, woolens, textiles of all natures, especially skins [and] furs” had originated in his most recent life as a British citizen who had settled in New York during the American Revolution. He had also been among the tribe of Levi in a lifetime in the Holy Land, where he had gained spiritually because of his attempt to apply spiritual principles in the face of external obstacles. His abilities as a leader and the lifetime of greatest influence, however, were due to his incarnation as Benaiah:
For, the entity then was Benaiah. Hence those inclinations or tendencies; for the individual entity would not be called a religious man, and yet there is the adherence to—or the desire of information, knowledge, or that in which the entity interests self—in comparative religions, comparative philosophy, comparative things having to do with the mental and spiritual influences in the lives of men. Yet it also makes the entity a hard taskmaster.
3001-1
Mr. [3001] was told that he also possessed abilities with “mechanical things, or those things prepared by mechanical things” and could write, if he chose to do so. As long as he overcame his own hardheadedness and treated others as he would choose to act toward his Creator, he would find joy in life and understand the purpose for which he had come into the earth. He was encouraged to begin learning how he could serve those around him.
The only report on file states that Mr. [3001] and his wife were planning to attend the A.R.E. membership Congress in 1943.
Benjamin
Genesis 35:15-29, 42-43, 45-46, 49; Exodus 1:1-7; Deuteronomy 33; I Chronicles 2:1-2, 7:1-7Case 221
Benjamin was the second son born to Jacob and Rachel, his father’s favorite wife who died shortly after Benjamin was born. After Joseph was sold into slavery, Benjamin became his father’s favorite. When there was famine in Canaan, Jacob reluctantly sent Benjamin and his brothers into Egypt to buy grain. When it was finally revealed that Joseph was not dead but had become prime minister of Egypt, Jacob and his sons all moved to Egypt. (See also “Reuben.”)
In 1940, in a reading given to the Glad Helpers Prayer Group, Cayce discussed the activity of the body’s endocrine system and the important influence parents played during conception in attracting a soul into the earth. In a brief side comment in this regard, Cayce stated that the soul that had been Saul had also incarnated as Benjamin, the second son of Jacob and Rachel. (See also “Saul” and “Seth.”)
Boaz
(also known as Booz)Ruth 2-4; I Kings 7:21; I Chronicles 2:11-12; Matthew 1:5; Luke 3:32Case 2694
Boaz was a wealthy landowner who lived near Bethlehem. He took pity on a young woman named Ruth, who scoured fields that had already been picked looking for something to eat. His kindness eventually led to their marriage. (See also “Ruth” and “Naomi.”) Their son became King David’s grandfather.
In
