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Benjamin
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Boyd’s Bible Dictionary
:
(
son
of the right hand). (1) Youngest of
Jacob
’s
children
. First named Benoni, afterward
Benjamin
(
Gen. 35:16-18
16
And they journeyed from Beth-el; and there was but a little way to come to Ephrath: and Rachel travailed, and she had hard labor.
17
And it came to pass, when she was in hard labor, that the midwife said unto her, Fear not; thou shalt have this son also.
18
And it came to pass, as her soul was in departing, (for she died) that she called his name Ben-oni: but his father called him Benjamin. (Genesis 35:16‑18)
). Beloved by Jacob (Gen. 42); visited
Egypt
(Gen. 43); tribe distinguished as Jacob prophesied (
Gen. 49:27
27
Benjamin shall ravin as a wolf: in the morning he shall devour the prey, and at night he shall divide the spoil. (Genesis 49:27)
;
1 Sam. 20:20,36
20
And I will shoot three arrows on the side thereof, as though I shot at a mark. (1 Samuel 20:20)
36
And he said unto his lad, Run, find out now the arrows which I shoot. And as the lad ran, he shot an arrow beyond him. (1 Samuel 20:36)
;
2 Sam. 1:22
22
From the blood of the slain, from the fat of the mighty, the bow of Jonathan turned not back, and the sword of Saul returned not empty. (2 Samuel 1:22)
;
Judg. 20:16
16
Among all this people there were seven hundred chosen men lefthanded; every one could sling stones at an hair breadth, and not miss. (Judges 20:16)
;
1 Chron. 8:40
40
And the sons of Ulam were mighty men of valor, archers, and had many sons, and sons' sons, an hundred and fifty. All these are of the sons of Benjamin. (1 Chronicles 8:40)
). Their allotment described (
Josh. 18:11-28
11
And the lot of the tribe of the children of Benjamin came up according to their families: and the coast of their lot came forth between the children of Judah and the children of Joseph.
12
And their border on the north side was from Jordan; and the border went up to the side of Jericho on the north side, and went up through the mountains westward; and the goings out thereof were at the wilderness of Beth-aven.
13
And the border went over from thence toward Luz, to the side of Luz, which is Beth-el, southward; and the border descended to Ataroth-adar, near the hill that lieth on the south side of the nether Beth-horon.
14
And the border was drawn thence, and compassed the corner of the sea southward, from the hill that lieth before Beth-horon southward; and the goings out thereof were at Kirjath-baal, which is Kirjath-jearim, a city of the children of Judah: this was the west quarter.
15
And the south quarter was from the end of Kirjath-jearim, and the border went out on the west, and went out to the well of waters of Nephtoah:
16
And the border came down to the end of the mountain that lieth before the valley of the son of Hinnom, and which is in the valley of the giants on the north, and descended to the valley of Hinnom, to the side of Jebusi on the south, and descended to En-rogel,
17
And was drawn from the north, and went forth to En-shemesh, and went forth toward Geliloth, which is over against the going up of Adummim, and descended to the stone of Bohan the son of Reuben,
18
And passed along toward the side over against Arabah northward, and went down unto Arabah:
19
And the border passed along to the side of Beth-hoglah northward: and the outgoings of the border were at the north bay of the salt sea at the south end of Jordan: this was the south coast.
20
And Jordan was the border of it on the east side. This was the inheritance of the children of Benjamin, by the coasts thereof round about, according to their families.
21
Now the cities of the tribe of the children of Benjamin according to their families were Jericho, and Beth-hoglah, and the valley of Keziz,
22
And Beth-arabah, and Zemaraim, and Beth-el,
23
And Avim, and Parah, and Ophrah,
24
And Chephar-haammonai, and Ophni, and Gaba; twelve cities with their villages:
25
Gibeon, and Ramah, and Beeroth,
26
And Mizpeh, and Chephirah, and Mozah,
27
And Rekem, and Irpeel, and Taralah,
28
And Zelah, Eleph, and Jebusi, which is Jerusalem, Gibeath, and Kirjath; fourteen cities with their villages. This is the inheritance of the children of Benjamin according to their families. (Joshua 18:11‑28)
). Tribe awfully visited (Judg. 20-21). (2)
Head
of a Benjamite family (
1 Chron. 7:10
10
The sons also of Jediael; Bilhan: and the sons of Bilhan; Jeush, and Benjamin, and Ehud, and Chenaanah, and Zethan, and Tharshish, and Ahishahar. (1 Chronicles 7:10)
). (3) A returned captive (
Ezra 10:32
32
Benjamin, Malluch, and Shemariah. (Ezra 10:32)
).
Concise Bible Dictionary
:
The youngest
son
of
Jacob
by his beloved wife
Rachel
. She died at his birth and named him
BEN
-ONI, signifying “son of my sorrow,” but his
father
named him BENJAMIN, “son of the right hand” (
Gen. 35:18, 24
18
And it came to pass, as her soul was in departing, (for she died) that she called his name Ben-oni: but his father called him Benjamin. (Genesis 35:18)
24
The sons of Rachel; Joseph, and Benjamin: (Genesis 35:24)
).
Type
of Christ both as exalted at
God
’s right hand (Benjamin), and, as rejected, the occasion of
Israel
’s
tribulation
in the
last days
(Ben-oni), Rachel being a type of Israel (Mic. 5). Very little is recorded of Benjamin personally: he was the father of
ten
sons (
Gen. 46:21
21
And the sons of Benjamin were Belah, and Becher, and Ashbel, Gera, and Naaman, Ehi, and Rosh, Muppim, and Huppim, and Ard. (Genesis 46:21)
).
Benjamin was the smallest of the tribes except
Manasseh
in the numbering of
Numbers 1:3
3
From twenty years old and upward, all that are able to go forth to war in Israel: thou and Aaron shall number them by their armies. (Numbers 1:3)
7and
Numbers 2:22-23
22
Then the tribe of Benjamin: and the captain of the sons of Benjamin shall be Abidan the son of Gideoni.
23
And his host, and those that were numbered of them, were thirty and five thousand and four hundred. (Numbers 2:22‑23)
. In
Psalm 68:27
27
There is little Benjamin with their ruler, the princes of Judah and their council, the princes of Zebulun, and the princes of Naphtali. (Psalm 68:27)
it is called “little Benjamin”; but in the numbering before entering the land Benjamin exceeded in number four of the other tribes (
Num. 26:41
41
These are the sons of Benjamin after their families: and they that were numbered of them were forty and five thousand and six hundred. (Numbers 26:41)
). In
Genesis 49:27
27
Benjamin shall ravin as a wolf: in the morning he shall devour the prey, and at night he shall divide the spoil. (Genesis 49:27)
Jacob prophesied of the tribe that it should “ravin as a
wolf
; in the morning he shall devour the prey, and at
night
he shall divide the
spoil
,” typical of Christ in
judgment
on the
earth
in a future
day
. In
Deuteronomy 33:12
12
And of Benjamin he said, The beloved of the Lord shall dwell in safety by him; and the Lord shall cover him all the day long, and he shall dwell between his shoulders. (Deuteronomy 33:12)
, where
Moses
prophesied of the tribes, he said of Benjamin, “The beloved of the
Lord
shall dwell in safety by him; and the Lord shall cover him all the day long, and he shall dwell between his shoulders.” So in the blessings of
Psalm 68:27
27
There is little Benjamin with their ruler, the princes of Judah and their council, the princes of Zebulun, and the princes of Naphtali. (Psalm 68:27)
Benjamin is the first named of the four tribes; and in
Psalm 80:2
2
Before Ephraim and Benjamin and Manasseh stir up thy strength, and come and save us. (Psalm 80:2)
, where God is called upon to save them, Benjamin is mentioned with
Ephraim
and Manasseh, being the
three
tribes which followed the ark (
Num. 2:17-24
17
Then the tabernacle of the congregation shall set forward with the camp of the Levites in the midst of the camp: as they encamp, so shall they set forward, every man in his place by their standards.
18
On the west side shall be the standard of the camp of Ephraim according to their armies: and the captain of the sons of Ephraim shall be Elishama the son of Ammihud.
19
And his host, and those that were numbered of them, were forty thousand and five hundred.
20
And by him shall be the tribe of Manasseh: and the captain of the children of Manasseh shall be Gamaliel the son of Pedahzur.
21
And his host, and those that were numbered of them, were thirty and two thousand and two hundred.
22
Then the tribe of Benjamin: and the captain of the sons of Benjamin shall be Abidan the son of Gideoni.
23
And his host, and those that were numbered of them, were thirty and five thousand and four hundred.
24
All that were numbered of the camp of Ephraim were an hundred thousand and eight thousand and an hundred, throughout their armies. And they shall go forward in the third rank. (Numbers 2:17‑24)
;
Num. 10:22-24
22
And the standard of the camp of the children of Ephraim set forward according to their armies: and over his host was Elishama the son of Ammihud.
23
And over the host of the tribe of the children of Manasseh was Gamaliel the son of Pedahzur.
24
And over the host of the tribe of the children of Benjamin was Abidan the son of Gideoni. (Numbers 10:22‑24)
).
The tribe did not drive out the
Jebusites
, but allowed them to dwell with them in
Jerusalem
(
Judg. 1:21
21
And the children of Benjamin did not drive out the Jebusites that inhabited Jerusalem; but the Jebusites dwell with the children of Benjamin in Jerusalem unto this day. (Judges 1:21)
); this may have led to their
idolatry
, for when, with
Judah
and Ephraim, they were attacked by the
children
of
Ammon
, they confessed they had forsaken God and served
Baalim
(
Judg. 10:9-10
9
Moreover the children of Ammon passed over Jordan to fight also against Judah, and against Benjamin, and against the house of Ephraim; so that Israel was sore distressed.
10
And the children of Israel cried unto the Lord, saying, We have sinned against thee, both because we have forsaken our God, and also served Baalim. (Judges 10:9‑10)
). It may also have led to the dreadful deed which resulted in the
destruction
of nearly the whole tribe (Judg. 19-21). From this they in a measure recovered their strength. At the division of the
kingdom
they remained with Judah, but a large portion of their
lot
was seized by Israel. At
times
they appear to be lost sight of, for
Ahijah
said that God had reserved to the
house
of
David
one
tribe (as if Benjamin was reckoned as cut off in judgment) (
1 Kings 11:36
36
And unto his son will I give one tribe, that David my servant may have a light alway before me in Jerusalem, the city which I have chosen me to put my name there. (1 Kings 11:36)
). The two tribes were constantly spoken of as “Judah,” whereas the ten tribes were called “Israel.”‘ On the return from the
captivity
, Benjamin had its share of
blessing
with Judah (
Ezra 1:5
5
Then rose up the chief of the fathers of Judah and Benjamin, and the priests, and the Levites, with all them whose spirit God had raised, to go up to build the house of the Lord which is in Jerusalem. (Ezra 1:5)
;
Ezra 10:9
9
Then all the men of Judah and Benjamin gathered themselves together unto Jerusalem within three days. It was the ninth month, on the twentieth day of the month; and all the people sat in the street of the house of God, trembling because of this matter, and for the great rain. (Ezra 10:9)
;
Neh. 11:4-36
4
And at Jerusalem dwelt certain of the children of Judah, and of the children of Benjamin. Of the children of Judah; Athaiah the son of Uzziah, the son of Zechariah, the son of Amariah, the son of Shephatiah, the son of Mahalaleel, of the children of Perez;
5
And Maaseiah the son of Baruch, the son of Col-hozeh, the son of Hazaiah, the son of Adaiah, the son of Joiarib, the son of Zechariah, the son of Shiloni.
6
All the sons of Perez that dwelt at Jerusalem were four hundred threescore and eight valiant men.
7
And these are the sons of Benjamin; Sallu the son of Meshullam, the son of Joed, the son of Pedaiah, the son of Kolaiah, the son of Maaseiah, the son of Ithiel, the son of Jesaiah.
8
And after him Gabbai, Sallai, nine hundred twenty and eight.
9
And Joel the son of Zichri was their overseer: and Judah the son of Senuah was second over the city.
10
Of the priests: Jedaiah the son of Joiarib, Jachin.
11
Seraiah the son of Hilkiah, the son of Meshullam, the son of Zadok, the son of Meraioth, the son of Ahitub, was the ruler of the house of God.
12
And their brethren that did the work of the house were eight hundred twenty and two: and Adaiah the son of Jeroham, the son of Pelaliah, the son of Amzi, the son of Zechariah, the son of Pashur, the son of Malchiah,
13
And his brethren, chief of the fathers, two hundred forty and two: and Amashai the son of Azareel, the son of Ahasai, the son of Meshillemoth, the son of Immer,
14
And their brethren, mighty men of valor, an hundred twenty and eight: and their overseer was Zabdiel, the son of one of the great men.
15
Also of the Levites: Shemaiah the son of Hashub, the son of Azrikam, the son of Hashabiah, the son of Bunni;
16
And Shabbethai and Jozabad, of the chief of the Levites, had the oversight of the outward business of the house of God.
17
And Mattaniah the son of Micha, the son of Zabdi, the son of Asaph, was the principal to begin the thanksgiving in prayer: and Bakbukiah the second among his brethren, and Abda the son of Shammua, the son of Galal, the son of Jeduthun.
18
All the Levites in the holy city were two hundred fourscore and four.
19
Moreover the porters, Akkub, Talmon, and their brethren that kept the gates, were an hundred seventy and two.
20
And the residue of Israel, of the priests, and the Levites, were in all the cities of Judah, every one in his inheritance.
21
But the Nethinims dwelt in Ophel: and Ziha and Gispa were over the Nethinims.
22
The overseer also of the Levites at Jerusalem was Uzzi the son of Bani, the son of Hashabiah, the son of Mattaniah, the son of Micha. Of the sons of Asaph, the singers were over the business of the house of God.
23
For it was the king's commandment concerning them, that a certain portion should be for the singers, due for every day.
24
And Pethahiah the son of Meshezabeel, of the children of Zerah the son of Judah, was at the king's hand in all matters concerning the people.
25
And for the villages, with their fields, some of the children of Judah dwelt at Kirjath-arba, and in the villages thereof, and at Dibon, and in the villages thereof, and at Jekabzeel, and in the villages thereof,
26
And at Jeshua, and at Moladah, and at Beth-phelet,
27
And at Hazar-shual, and at Beer-sheba, and in the villages thereof,
28
And at Ziklag, and at Mekonah, and in the villages thereof,
29
And at En-rimmon, and at Zareah, and at Jarmuth,
30
Zanoah, Adullam, and in their villages, at Lachish, and the fields thereof, at Azekah, and in the villages thereof. And they dwelt from Beer-sheba unto the valley of Hinnom.
31
The children also of Benjamin from Geba dwelt at Michmash, and Aija, and Beth-el, and in their villages,
32
And at Anathoth, Nob, Ananiah,
33
Hazor, Ramah, Gittaim,
34
Hadid, Zeboim, Neballat,
35
Lod, and Ono, the valley of craftsmen.
36
And of the Levites were divisions in Judah, and in Benjamin. (Nehemiah 11:4‑36)
).
Paul
relates twice that he was of the tribe of Benjamin (
Rom. 11:1
1
I say then, Hath God cast away his people? God forbid. For I also am an Israelite, of the seed of Abraham, of the tribe of Benjamin. (Romans 11:1)
;
Phil. 3:5
5
Circumcised the eighth day, of the stock of Israel, of the tribe of Benjamin, an Hebrew of the Hebrews; as touching the law, a Pharisee; (Philippians 3:5)
). In the future,
twelve
thousand of this tribe will be sealed (
Rev. 7:8
8
Of the tribe of Zabulon were sealed twelve thousand. Of the tribe of Joseph were sealed twelve thousand. Of the tribe of Benjamin were sealed twelve thousand. (Revelation 7:8)
).
The district occupied by the tribe is often simply called Benjamin. It was situated with Ephraim on its
north
, and Judah on its
south
,
Dan
on its
west
, and the
Jordan
on its
east
; it occupied about 28 miles east and west and 14 miles north and south at its widest parts. The district is mountainous with rocks and ravines, having an elevated
table
land. It contained the important cities such as Jerusalem (in its south border),
Bethel
,
Gibeon
,
Ramah
.
Strong’s Dictionary of Hebrew Words:
Number:
1144
(
find all occurrences in KJV Bible
)
Transliteration:
Binyamiyn
Phonic:
bin-yaw-mene’
Meaning:
from
1121
and
3225
; son of (the) right hand; Binjamin, youngest son of Jacob; also the tribe descended from him, and its territory
KJV Usage:
Benjamin
Jackson’s
Dictionary of Scripture Proper Names
:
son of the right hand
Potts’
Bible Proper Names
:
Son of my right hand; the manifestation of divine power:―youngest son of Jacob; see Benoni, Gen. 35:18. {Filius dextrae meae}
Call: 1-630-543-1441
“Study to show thyself approved unto God, … rightly dividing the word of truth” (2 Timothy 2:15).
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