The name is given to one of the supporters of Solomon at the time of Adonijah's attempt to secure the throne (1Ki 1:8). He is mentioned along with Shimei, and was likely an officer in the royal guard. These troops seem to have had an enormous influence in determining the succession to the throne.

The reading, however, is not above suspicion, and Josephus (Ant. VII. xiv. 4) reads 'Shimei, the friend of David,' and thus gets rid of Rei as a personal name (so Lucian). Several attempts have been made to identify him with other figures, as Ira or Jair (Winckler, Gesch. ii. 247) or Raddai (Ewald, Gesch. iii. p. 266 note).

W. F. Boyd.