Benjamin
Benjamin was the youngest of Jacobโs twelve sons and the second child born to his favored wife Rachel during their return journey to Canaan. Rachel died shortly after his birth, naming him Ben-Oni (โson of my sorrowโ) before Jacob changed the name to Benjamin (โson of the right handโ), marking both personal loss and paternal hope within the patriarchal family. In the Joseph narrative, Benjaminโs favored status became central to the brothersโ test in Egypt, where his presence prompted Judahโs intercession and ultimately facilitated the reconciliation and preservation of Jacobโs household. The tribe that descended from him produced Israelโs first king, Saul, and the apostle Paul, illustrating its enduring role in the formation of Israelโs monarchy and the spread of the early church.
Biography
- Occupation
- Patriarch of Tribe
- Tribe
- Benjamin
- Father
- Jacob
- Mother
- Rachel
- Era
- Patriarchs
- Nationality
- Hebrew
- Also Known As
- Ben-Oni (by Rachel)
Family
Did You Know?
Benjamin was the only son of Jacob born inside the borders of Canaan, as Rachel went into labor near Bethlehem while the family traveled from Bethel.
Although Jacob renamed him Benjamin ("son of the right hand"), Rachel's dying words called the infant Ben-Oni ("son of my sorrow"), preserving both names in the biblical record.
The tribe descended from Benjamin fielded an elite corps of 700 left-handed slingers who could hit a target the width of a hair without missing, a detail recorded during the civil war in Judges 20.
After that same war nearly wiped out the tribe, only 600 Benjaminite men survived by hiding at the rock of Rimmon, forcing the other Israelite tribes to seize wives for them from Jabesh-Gilead and the daughters of Shiloh to keep the clan alive.
Both Israel's first king, Saul, and the apostle Paul explicitly identified themselves as Benjaminites, underscoring the tribe's enduring identity long after the patriarchal era.
Key Passages
Birth of Benjamin
Genesis 35:16-20
This passage shows how profound loss and new life often intertwine in God's faithful plan for His people.
16nd they journeyed from Bethel; and there was but a little way to come to Ephrath: and Rachel travailed, and she had hard labour.
Jacob's Blessing on Benjamin
Genesis 49:27
This blessing shows God equipping Benjamin's tribe with fierce courage to overcome and generously share their victories.
27enjamin shall ravin as a wolf: in the morning he shall devour the prey, and at night he shall divide the spoil.
Joseph and Benjamin Reunited
Genesis 43:29-34
This passage shows how God's providence can heal deep family wounds through unexpected favor and reconciliation.
29nd he lifted up his eyes, and saw his brother Benjamin, his motherโs son, and said, Is this your younger brother, of whom ye spake unto me? And he said, God be gracious unto thee, my son.