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Biblical Person · Old · Patriarchal · -1652-01-0 – -1500-01-0

Benjamin

Benjamin

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Benjamin was the youngest son of Jacob and Rachel, and the patriarch of the tribe of Benjamin, one of the twelve tribes of Israel.

AI-assisted summary — may contain inaccuracies.

From Wikidata

Biographical facts

Born
-1652-01-0
Died
-1500-01-0
More
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Family

Parents
Jacob (father)  ·  Rachel (mother)

Where Benjamin appears

158 verses across 20 books.

Judg40×Gen16×1Chr15×2Chr14×1Sam11×Num10×Jer10×2Sam9×Josh6×Neh6×1Kgs4×Ezra4×Ezek4×Deut2×Ps2×Exod1×Hos1×Obad1×Zech1×Acts1×

Verses mentioning Benjamin

  • 1Chr 2:2 — Dan, Joseph, and Benjamin, Naphtali, Gad, and Asher.
  • 1Chr 6:60 — And out of the tribe of Benjamin; Geba with her suburbs, and Alemeth with her suburbs, and Anathoth with her suburbs. All their cities throughout their families were thirteen cities.
  • 1Chr 6:65 — And they gave by lot out of the tribe of the children of Judah, and out of the tribe of the children of Simeon, and out of the tribe of the children of Benjamin, these cities, which are called by thei
  • 1Chr 7:6 — The sons of Benjamin; Bela, and Becher, and Jediael, three.
  • 1Chr 7:10 — The sons also of Jediael; Bilhan: and the sons of Bilhan; Jeush, and Benjamin, and Ehud, and Chenaanah, and Zethan, and Tharshish, and Ahishahar.
  • 1Chr 8:1 — Now Benjamin begat Bela his firstborn, Ashbel the second, and Aharah the third,
  • 1Chr 8:40 — And the sons of Ulam were mighty men of valour, archers, and had many sons, and sons’ sons, an hundred and fifty. All these are of the sons of Benjamin.
  • 1Chr 9:3 — And in Jerusalem dwelt of the children of Judah, and of the children of Benjamin, and of the children of Ephraim, and Manasseh;
  • 1Chr 9:7 — And of the sons of Benjamin; Sallu the son of Meshullam, the son of Hodaviah, the son of Hasenuah,
  • 1Chr 11:31 — Ithai the son of Ribai of Gibeah, that pertained to the children of Benjamin, Benaiah the Pirathonite,
  • 1Chr 12:2 — They were armed with bows, and could use both the right hand and the left in hurling stones and shooting arrows out of a bow, even of Saul’s brethren of Benjamin.
  • 1Chr 12:16 — And there came of the children of Benjamin and Judah to the hold unto David.
  • 1Chr 12:29 — And of the children of Benjamin, the kindred of Saul, three thousand: for hitherto the greatest part of them had kept the ward of the house of Saul.
  • 1Chr 21:6 — But Levi and Benjamin counted he not among them: for the king’s word was abominable to Joab.
  • 1Chr 27:21 — Of the half tribe of Manasseh in Gilead, Iddo the son of Zechariah: of Benjamin, Jaasiel the son of Abner:
  • 1Kgs 4:18 — Shimei the son of Elah, in Benjamin:
  • 1Kgs 12:21 — And when Rehoboam was come to Jerusalem, he assembled all the house of Judah, with the tribe of Benjamin, an hundred and fourscore thousand chosen men, which were warriors, to fight against the house
  • 1Kgs 12:23 — Speak unto Rehoboam, the son of Solomon, king of Judah, and unto all the house of Judah and Benjamin, and to the remnant of the people, saying,
  • 1Kgs 15:22 — Then king Asa made a proclamation throughout all Judah; none was exempted: and they took away the stones of Ramah, and the timber thereof, wherewith Baasha had builded; and king Asa built with them Ge
  • 1Sam 4:12 — And there ran a man of Benjamin out of the army, and came to Shiloh the same day with his clothes rent, and with earth upon his head.
  • 1Sam 9:1 — Now there was a man of Benjamin, whose name was Kish, the son of Abiel, the son of Zeror, the son of Bechorath, the son of Aphiah, a Benjamite, a mighty man of power.
  • 1Sam 9:16 — To morrow about this time I will send thee a man out of the land of Benjamin, and thou shalt anoint him to be captain over my people Israel, that he may save my people out of the hand of the Philistin
  • 1Sam 9:21 — And Saul answered and said, Am not I a Benjamite, of the smallest of the tribes of Israel? and my family the least of all the families of the tribe of Benjamin? wherefore then speakest thou so to me?
  • 1Sam 10:2 — When thou art departed from me to day, then thou shalt find two men by Rachel’s sepulchre in the border of Benjamin at Zelzah; and they will say unto thee, The asses which thou wentest to seek are fou
  • 1Sam 10:20 — And when Samuel had caused all the tribes of Israel to come near, the tribe of Benjamin was taken.
  • 1Sam 10:21 — When he had caused the tribe of Benjamin to come near by their families, the family of Matri was taken, and Saul the son of Kish was taken: and when they sought him, he could not be found.
  • 1Sam 13:2 — Saul chose him three thousand men of Israel; whereof two thousand were with Saul in Michmash and in mount Bethel, and a thousand were with Jonathan in Gibeah of Benjamin: and the rest of the people he
  • 1Sam 13:15 — And Samuel arose, and gat him up from Gilgal unto Gibeah of Benjamin. And Saul numbered the people that were present with him, about six hundred men.
  • 1Sam 13:16 — And Saul, and Jonathan his son, and the people that were present with them, abode in Gibeah of Benjamin: but the Philistines encamped in Michmash.
  • 1Sam 14:16 — And the watchmen of Saul in Gibeah of Benjamin looked; and, behold, the multitude melted away, and they went on beating down one another.
  • 2Chr 11:1 — And when Rehoboam was come to Jerusalem, he gathered of the house of Judah and Benjamin an hundred and fourscore thousand chosen men, which were warriors, to fight against Israel, that he might bring
  • 2Chr 11:3 — Speak unto Rehoboam the son of Solomon, king of Judah, and to all Israel in Judah and Benjamin, saying,
  • 2Chr 11:10 — And Zorah, and Aijalon, and Hebron, which are in Judah and in Benjamin fenced cities.
  • 2Chr 11:12 — And in every several city he put shields and spears, and made them exceeding strong, having Judah and Benjamin on his side.
  • 2Chr 11:23 — And he dealt wisely, and dispersed of all his children throughout all the countries of Judah and Benjamin, unto every fenced city: and he gave them victual in abundance. And he desired many wives.
  • 2Chr 14:8 — And Asa had an army of men that bare targets and spears, out of Judah three hundred thousand; and out of Benjamin, that bare shields and drew bows, two hundred and fourscore thousand: all these were m
  • 2Chr 15:2 — And he went out to meet Asa, and said unto him, Hear ye me, Asa, and all Judah and Benjamin; The LORD is with you, while ye be with him; and if ye seek him, he will be found of you; but if ye forsake
  • 2Chr 15:8 — And when Asa heard these words, and the prophecy of Oded the prophet, he took courage, and put away the abominable idols out of all the land of Judah and Benjamin, and out of the cities which he had t
  • 2Chr 15:9 — And he gathered all Judah and Benjamin, and the strangers with them out of Ephraim and Manasseh, and out of Simeon: for they fell to him out of Israel in abundance, when they saw that the LORD his God
  • 2Chr 17:17 — And of Benjamin; Eliada a mighty man of valour, and with him armed men with bow and shield two hundred thousand.
  • 2Chr 25:5 — Moreover Amaziah gathered Judah together, and made them captains over thousands, and captains over hundreds, according to the houses of their fathers, throughout all Judah and Benjamin: and he numbere
  • 2Chr 31:1 — Now when all this was finished, all Israel that were present went out to the cities of Judah, and brake the images in pieces, and cut down the groves, and threw down the high places and the altars out
  • 2Chr 34:9 — And when they came to Hilkiah the high priest, they delivered the money that was brought into the house of God, which the Levites that kept the doors had gathered of the hand of Manasseh and Ephraim,
  • 2Chr 34:32 — And he caused all that were present in Jerusalem and Benjamin to stand to it. And the inhabitants of Jerusalem did according to the covenant of God, the God of their fathers.
  • 2Sam 2:9 — And made him king over Gilead, and over the Ashurites, and over Jezreel, and over Ephraim, and over Benjamin, and over all Israel.
  • 2Sam 2:15 — Then there arose and went over by number twelve of Benjamin, which pertained to Ishbosheth the son of Saul, and twelve of the servants of David.
  • 2Sam 2:25 — And the children of Benjamin gathered themselves together after Abner, and became one troop, and stood on the top of an hill.
  • 2Sam 2:31 — But the servants of David had smitten of Benjamin, and of Abner’s men, so that three hundred and threescore men died.
  • 2Sam 3:19 — And Abner also spake in the ears of Benjamin: and Abner went also to speak in the ears of David in Hebron all that seemed good to Israel, and that seemed good to the whole house of Benjamin.
  • 2Sam 4:2 — And Saul’s son had two men that were captains of bands: the name of the one was Baanah, and the name of the other Rechab, the sons of Rimmon a Beerothite, of the children of Benjamin: (for Beeroth als
  • 2Sam 19:17 — And there were a thousand men of Benjamin with him, and Ziba the servant of the house of Saul, and his fifteen sons and his twenty servants with him; and they went over Jordan before the king.
  • 2Sam 21:14 — And the bones of Saul and Jonathan his son buried they in the country of Benjamin in Zelah, in the sepulchre of Kish his father: and they performed all that the king commanded. And after that God was
  • 2Sam 23:29 — Heleb the son of Baanah, a Netophathite, Ittai the son of Ribai out of Gibeah of the children of Benjamin,
  • Acts 13:21 — And afterward they desired a king: and God gave unto them Saul the son of Cis, a man of the tribe of Benjamin, by the space of forty years.
  • Deut 27:12 — These shall stand upon mount Gerizim to bless the people, when ye are come over Jordan; Simeon, and Levi, and Judah, and Issachar, and Joseph, and Benjamin:
  • Deut 33:12 — 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.
  • Exod 1:3 — Issachar, Zebulun, and Benjamin,
  • Ezek 48:22 — Moreover from the possession of the Levites, and from the possession of the city, being in the midst of that which is the prince’s, between the border of Judah and the border of Benjamin, shall be for
  • Ezek 48:23 — As for the rest of the tribes, from the east side unto the west side, Benjamin shall have a portion.
  • Ezek 48:24 — And by the border of Benjamin, from the east side unto the west side, Simeon shall have a portion.
Voices from the tradition

The Church Fathers on Benjamin

Patristic commentary on the Scriptures that name Benjamin.

This thoroughly suits Paul, who was of the tribe of Benjamin. For when he was young, he was a ravening wolf; but when he believed, he "apportioned" food. This also is shown us by the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that the tribe of Benjamin is among the first persecutors, which is the sense of "in the morning." For Saul, who was of…

The brothers did not know what to say; they found it impossible not to put the blame on Benjamin because the cup had come out from his sack, but the money that had twice come out from their own sacks did not permit them to put the blame on him. Then the brothers, confounded by the things that had befallen them, rent their garments and…

Not even a minority of the women stayed clear of that struggle, but all the women of the tribe of Benjamin, along with boys and girls of every age, were wiped out by sword or fire.

Their spirits broken, they faced the enemy. The men of Benjamin who thought they were shut in and surrounded, even before they were invaded from the rear, began scattering and fleeing to the desert, while Israel pressed after with doubled force and pursued them as they wandered in rout. About twenty-five thousand were slain, therefore,…

"Circumcised on the eighth day"; and he sets down the first that wherein they chiefly boasted, viz. the ordinance of circumcision. "Of the stock of Israel." He pointed out both these circumstances, that he was neither a proselyte, nor born of proselytes; for from his being circumcised on the eighth day, it follows that he was not a…

"And afterward they desired a king:" and still not a word of their ingratitude, but throughout he speaks of the kindness of God. "And God gave unto them Saul the son of Cis, a man of the tribe of Benjamin, by the space of forty years." And observe, he nowhere mentions right deeds of theirs, but only benefits on God's part: "He chose:…

(Chapter 1, Verses 1 onwards) The words of Jeremiah son of Hilkiah concerning the priests who were in Anathoth in the land of Benjamin: the word of the Lord that came to him in the days of Josiah son of Amon, king of Judah, in the thirteenth year of his reign. And it came to pass in the days of Jehoiakim son of Josiah, king of Judah,…

(Verse 8) And Anameel, the son of my uncle, came to me, according to the Word of the Lord, to the entrance (or courtyard) of the prison, and he said to me: Possess (or buy) my field, which is in Anathoth in the land of Benjamin, for the inheritance belongs to you, and you are a close relative to possess (or buy) it. What the word of…

"There is Benjamin the younger in a trance" [Psalm 68:27]. There is Paul the last of the Apostles, who saith, "For even I am an Israelite, out of the seed of Abraham, out of the tribe of Benjamin." But evidently "in a trance," all men being amazed at a miracle so great as that of his calling. For a trance is the mind's going out: which…

— Augustine of Hippo (430) on Ps 68:27

Now notice a still greater wonder and see how blessed Joseph, who knew that his father suffered intolerable sorrow on his account, as if what he had endured before were not enough, now causes Benjamin to be taken from him. Surely by this act he knew that his father would suffer increased grief. I do not believe that all these things…

He is also described as a man coming from the land of Benjamin. He is called a man on account of the strength of his works; from the land of Benjamin, on account of his right confession of faith. Benjamin indeed means "son of the right hand." Who then is called this son of the right hand, if not he of whom it is written: "He ascended…

But every elect person, when he hears great things about himself, brings his own weaknesses to mind, so that he may guard himself against pride, lest he lose the good things he has. Hence it is added: Saul answered and said: "Am I not a son of Gemini, of the least tribe of Israel, and is not my kindred the last among all the families…