Benjamin
Jacob’s youngest son, brother of Joseph, and ancestor of a tribe listed in Genesis 46:21 with ten names (some possibly grandsons).
Benjamin is the younger son of Rachel and Jacob, named by his dying mother Benoni but renamed Benjamin by his father (Genesis 35:18). He is the full brother of Joseph (Genesis 35:24; Genesis 46:19). Genesis 46:21 lists ten names associated with Benjamin, but scholars note that some of these may be grandsons or descendants rather than direct sons, reflecting the genealogical complexity of the passage.
Lore & Background
Benjamin is the youngest son of Jacob and Rachel, born as Rachel died, and his mother named him Benoni ('son of my sorrow'), but Jacob renamed him Benjamin ('son of the right hand') (Genesis 35:18). He is the only full brother of Joseph besides Joseph himself (Genesis 35:24; Genesis 46:19). Jacob kept Benjamin at home when his other sons went to Egypt, fearing harm might come to him (Genesis 42:4). When famine forced the brothers to return to Egypt with Benjamin, Jacob reluctantly sent him, saying, 'If I be bereaved of my children, I am bereaved' (Genesis 43:14).
Reader's Guide
The passages portray Benjamin primarily through his relationships with his father Jacob and his brother Joseph. Jacob shows protective anxiety over Benjamin, refusing to let him travel to Egypt initially (Genesis 42:4) and later lamenting that his sons would take Benjamin away, compounding his grief over Joseph and Simeon (Genesis 42:36; Genesis 43:14). Joseph, upon seeing Benjamin with his brothers, shows special favor: he invites them to dine, gives Benjamin five times the portion of food (Genesis 43:34), and later gives him three hundred pieces of silver and five changes of raiment (Genesis 45:22). The emotional reunion between Joseph and Benjamin is marked by weeping and embracing (Genesis 45:14). Benjamin is also the brother in whose sack Joseph’s cup is found, leading to a climactic test of the brothers’ loyalty (Genesis 44:12). The only prophetic statement about Benjamin is Jacob’s blessing: '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).
Elsewhere in Figures of Scripture
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