Tribe of Benjamin

In the Bible

The tribe of Benjamin, one of the Twelve Tribes of Israel, was made up of the descendants of Benjamin, the youngest of the twelve sons of Jacob. Rachel died near Bethlehem while giving birth to Benjamin. She named the child "Ben-oni" (son of my sorrow), but Jacob renamed him "Benjamin" (Genesis 35:16-20). The name Benjamin is commonly interpreted as "son of the right hand"; because the right hand can also denote the south, some take it to mean "son of the south." As the full brother of Joseph, Benjamin occupies an important place in the Joseph narrative of Genesis 42-45.

• Blessings: Jacob said that "Benjamin shall ravin as a wolf" (Genesis 49:27), and Moses blessed him as "the beloved of the LORD" (Deuteronomy 33:12).
• Territory: The tribe received its inheritance (allotted land) between Judah and the descendants of Joseph. Its territory included Jericho, Bethel, Gibeon, Gibeah, and Jebus (Jerusalem) (Joshua 18:11-28).

The Tribe of Benjamin in History

• Period of the judges: Ehud, a left-handed Benjamite, killed Eglon king of Moab and delivered Israel (Judges 3:15-30). Judges 20:16 mentions seven hundred left-handed slingers.
• The Gibeah incident: The killing of a Levite's concubine at Gibeah led to war with the other tribes. The tribe of Benjamin was reduced to only six hundred men, and the other tribes secured wives for the survivors so that the tribe could continue (Judges 19-21).
• The monarchy: Israel's first king, Saul, and his son Jonathan came from this tribe. Saul described Benjamin as "the smallest of the tribes of Israel" (1 Samuel 9:21).
• With the southern kingdom: At the division of the kingdom, Benjamin sided with Judah in supporting Rehoboam (1 Kings 12:21). At the return from exile, "the chief of the fathers of Judah and Benjamin" likewise returned together (Ezra 1:5). The prophet Jeremiah came from Anathoth in the land of Benjamin (Jeremiah 1:1), and Mordecai was also a Benjamite (Esther 2:5).

In the New Testament

Paul identifies himself as a member of the tribe of Benjamin (Romans 11:1; Philippians 3:5). Acts 13:21 introduces King Saul as "the son of Cis, a man of the tribe of Benjamin." Revelation 7:8 lists twelve thousand from the tribe of Benjamin among those who were sealed.

Interpretation and Issues

• The wolf blessing and Paul: Some interpreters in the early church applied Genesis 49:27 to Paul, who persecuted the church before becoming an apostle. This is an allegorical (figurative) interpretation; the text does not refer to Paul directly.
• Left-handedness: The word rendered "lefthanded" in Judges 3:15 and 20:16 is a Hebrew expression meaning "bound (restricted) in the right hand." Scholars differ on whether it indicates a disability or a left-handed skill acquired through training. The contrast between a tribe whose name means "son of the right hand" and its left-handed warriors is frequently noted.
• A small tribe: Although the tribe nearly disappeared after the Gibeah incident, it later produced Israel's first king and the apostle Paul, a fact that is often highlighted.