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Benjamin - Twelve Tribes of Israel
 The
Tribe of Benjamin
בִּנְיָמִין "Son of my right
hand" but in some Rabbinical Judaism traditions "Son of
the south", Standard Hebrew Binyamin, Tiberian Hebrew
Binyāmīn) is one of the Hebrew tribes, founded by
Benjamin son of Jacob.
The Book of Judges chapters 19 to 21 describes an
episode in which all of the rest of Israel attacks and
defeats the Benjamites in the battle at Gibeah, in
retaliation following a disgraceful incident. To
complete the defeat, all the civilians, including women
and children, in the Benjamite towns and villages are
then killed, and the other tribes vow that they will
never allow their women to marry Benjamites ever again.
However, so as to not exterminate a tribe of Israel,
they then provide four hundred virgins, spoil from
another town they have massacred, as wives to the
Benjamites, and also allow them to raid a festival and
carry off some of the women.
Later, when the Kingdom of Israel was divided, the tribe
of Benjamin joined with the tribe of Judah to form the
Kingdom of Judah, while the other tribes formed the
reduced kingdom of Israel which was subsequently
conquered and the people exiled. Benjamin was very much
the minor partner, as the ruling House of David came
from the far more numerous and powerful tribe of Judah.
Thus it was the tribe of Judah who in time became
identified with the entire people of the southerly
Israelite kingdom, and gave their name to the Jews.
Benjamin was born in
Bethlehem and was the last son of Jacob and Rachel. The
birthing of Benjamin brought the death of his mother and
in her final moments, Rachel (soul) called him 'Benoni'
(son of my sorrow), but Israel (spirit) called him
Benjamin, meaning the son of my right hand (Gen 35:18).
Also means: in the widest sense of son (grandson,
great-grandson, etc. thereby covering all generations to
come). It was the bringing of Benjamin to Joseph in
Egypt that released the provision of food to Israel
(Jacob). |
