2 Samuel 19:20

The house of Joseph. — Shimei was not strictly of “the house of Joseph,” but of Benjamin; and it is plain that Joseph, as the name of the most prominent member, stands for all the tribes outside of Judah. This usage is well recognised at a later time (see 1 Crônicas 5:1; Amós 5:15), and it has hence been argued that it indicates a late date for the composition of the book; but it is also found in Salmos 80:1; Salmos 81:5 (the date of which it would be rash to attempt to fix), in the reign of Solomon, 1 Reis 11:28, and probably very early in Juízes 1:35. There is no reason why the expression may not have been used at the earliest date when there began to be a certain separation and distinction between Judah and the other tribes, which was soon after the conquest of Canaan.