Benjamin (Hebrew: בִּנְיָמִין, Standard Binyamin Tiberian Binyāmîn) was, according to the Book of Genesis, a son of Jacob, the second (and final) son of Rachel, and the founder of the Israelite Tribe of Benjamin^[1]; in the Biblical account, unlike Rachel's first son - Joseph, the father of Ephraim and Manasseh - Benjamin was born after Jacob and Rachel arrived in Canaan. However Biblical scholars view these details as postdiction, an eponymous metaphor providing an etiology of the connectedness of the tribe to others in the Israelite confederation. Benjamin may refer to one of the following. ... “Hebrew” redirects here. ... “Hebrew” redirects here. ... Tiberian Hebrew is an oral tradition of pronunciation for ancient forms of Hebrew, especially the Hebrew of the Tanakh, that was given written form by masoretic scholars in the Jewish community at Tiberias in the early Middle Ages, beginning in the 8th century. ... Genesis (Greek: Γένεσις, having the meanings of birth, creation, cause, beginning, source and origin) is the first book of the Torah (five books of Moses) and hence the first book of the Tanakh, part of the Hebrew Bible; it is also the first book of the Christian Old Testament. ... Jacob Wrestling with the Angel – Gustave Doré, 1855 Jacob or Yaakov, (Hebrew: יַעֲקֹב, Standard  Tiberian ; Arabic: يعقوب, ; holds the heel), also known as Israel (Hebrew: יִשְׂרָאֵל, Standard  Tiberian ; Arabic: اسرائيل, ; Struggled with God), is the third Biblical patriarch. ... Look up Rachel, רחל in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ... An Israelite is a member of the Twelve Tribes of Israel, descended from the twelve sons of the Biblical patriarch Jacob who was renamed Israel by God in the book of Genesis, 32:28 The Israelites were a group of Hebrews, as described in the Bible. ... 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 Binyāmîn) is one of the Hebrew tribes, founded by Benjamin, youngest son of Jacob. ... Joseph interprets the dream of the Pharaoh. ... This entry incorporates text from the public domain Eastons Bible Dictionary, originally published in 1897. ... This entry incorporates text from the public domain Eastons Bible Dictionary, originally published in 1897. ... For other uses, see Canaan (disambiguation). ... This article is being considered for deletion in accordance with Wikipedias deletion policy. ... Postdiction, post-shadowing, retroactive clairvoyance, and prediction after the fact are terms used by critics to refer to those who use hindsight to claim to have predicted a significant event such as a plane crash or natural disaster. ... An eponym is the name of a person, whether real or fictitious, who has (or is thought to have) given rise to the name of a particular place, tribe, discovery, or other item. ... This article is about metaphor in literature and rhetoric. ... Etiology (alternately aetiology, aitiology) is the study of causation. ...

Biblical scholars regard it as obvious, from their geographic overlap and their treatment in older passages, that originally Ephraim and Manasseh were considered one tribe, that of Joseph ^[2]; according to several biblical scholars, Benjamin was also originally part of this single tribe, but the biblical account of Joseph as his father became lost^[3][4]. The description of Benjamin being born after the arrival in Canaan is thought by scholars to refer to the tribe of Benjamin coming into existence by branching from the Joseph group after the tribe had settled in Canaan^[5]. A number of biblical scholars suspect that the distinction of the Joseph tribes (including Benjamin) is that they were the only Israelites which went to Egypt and returned, while the main Israelite tribes simply emerged as a subculture from the Canaanites and had remained in Canaan throughout^[6][7]. According to this view, the story of Jacob's visit to Laban to obtain a wife originated as a metaphor for this migration, with the property and family which were gained from Laban representing the gains of the Joseph tribes by the time they returned from Egypt^[8]; according to textual scholars, the Jahwist version of the Laban narrative only mentions the Joseph tribes, and Rachel, and does not mention the other tribal matriarchs whatsoever^[9][10]. ḍ:The article Exodus discusses the events related in the book of the Bible and Torah by the same name. ... Canaanite can describe anything pertaining to Canaan: in particular, its languages and inhabitants. ... For other uses, see Canaan (disambiguation). ... Laban is: A character in the Bible. ... This article is about metaphor in literature and rhetoric. ... Carmina Cantabrigiensia, Manuscript C, folio 436v, 11th century Textual criticism or lower criticism is a branch of philology or bibliography that is concerned with the identification and removal of errors from texts and manuscripts. ... The Jahwist, also referred to as the Jehovist, Yahwist, or simply as J, is one of the sources of the Torah postulated by the documentary hypothesis. ... ...

The Torah argues that Benjamin's name arose when Jacob deliberately corrupted the name Benoni, the original name of Benjamin, since Benoni was an allusion to Rachel dying just after she had given birth, as it means son of my pain^[11]; textual scholars regard these two names as fragments of naming narratives coming from different sources - one being the Jahwist and the other being the Elohist^[12]. The true etymology of the name Benjamin is a matter of dispute, though most agree that it is composed of two parts - ben and jamin - the former meaning son of. The literal translation of Benjamin is son of right (as opposed to left), generally interpreted as meaning son of my right hand, though sometimes interpreted as son of the right [hand] side; being associated with the right hand side was traditionally a reference to strength and virtue (cf sinister, which derives from the latin for left). This is, however, not the only literal translation, as the root for right is identical to that for south, hence Benjamin also literally translates as son of the south; this meaning is advocated by several classical rabbinical sources, which argue that it refers to the birth of Benjamin in Canaan, as compared with the birth of all the other sons of Jacob in Aram^[13]. Modern scholars have instead proposed that, with the eponymous Benjamin being just a metaphor, son of the south/son of the right are references to the tribe coming into existence in a geographic situation to the south of Ephraim, the more dominant tribe^[14]. In the Samaritan Pentateuch, the name is consistently written as בן ימים - with a terminal mem - making it Benjamim, and would literally translate as son of days; some classical rabbinical literature argues that this was the original form of the name and was a reference to the old age of Jacob when Benjamin was born^[15]. It has been suggested that Tawrat be merged into this article or section. ... It has been suggested that this article or section be merged with Maternal health. ... The Elohist (E) is one of the sources of the Torah postulated by the documentary hypothesis. ... Not to be confused with Entomology, the scientific study of insects. ... Sinister means left or to the left, and is a heraldry term referring to the left of the bearer of the arms, and to the right by the viewers eyes. ... Latin is an ancient Indo-European language originally spoken in Latium, the region immediately surrounding Rome. ... The root is the primary lexical unit of a word, which carries the most significant aspects of semantic content and cannot be reduced into smaller constituents. ... Rabbinic literature, in the broadest sense, can mean the entire spectrum of Judaisms rabbinic writing/s throughout history. ... The term Aram can refer to: Aram (אֲרָם or ), the son of Shem, according to the Table of nations of Genesis 10 in the Hebrew Bible. ... This entry incorporates text from Eastons Bible Dictionary, 1897, with some modernisation. ... Mem is the thirteenth letter of the Phoenician and Hebrew alphabets. ... Rabbinic literature, in the broadest sense, can mean the entire spectrum of Judaisms rabbinic writing/s throughout history. ...

According to classical rabbinical sources, Benjamin was only born after Rachel had fasted for a long time, as a religious devotion with the hope of a new child as a reward, and by then Jacob had become over 100 years old^[16]. Benjamin is treated as a young child in most of the Biblical narrative^[17], but at one point is abruptly described as the father of ten sons^[18]; textual scholars believe that this is caused by the genealogical passage, in which his children are named, being from a much later source than the Jahwist and Elohist narratives, which make up most of the Joseph narrative, and which consistently describe Benjamin as a child.^[19]. The genealogical passage names each of the sons^[20], which classical rabbinical tradition adds to with the argument that the sons were each named in honour of Joseph^[21]: Fasting is primarily the act of willingly abstaining from some or all food, drink, or both, for a period of time. ... The Jahwist, also referred to as the Jehovist, Yahwist, or simply as J, is one of the sources of the Torah postulated by the documentary hypothesis. ... The Elohist (E) is one of the sources of the Torah postulated by the documentary hypothesis. ...

• Belah (meaning swallow), in reference to Joseph disappearing (being swallowed up)
• Becher (meaning first born), in reference to Joseph being the first child of Rachel
• Ashbel (meaning capture), in reference to Joseph having suffered captivity
• Gera (meaning grain), in reference to Joseph living in a foreign land (Egypt)
• Naaman (meaning grace), in reference to Joseph having graceful speech
• Ehi (meaning my brother), in reference to Joseph being Benjamin's only full-brother (as opposed to half-brothers)
• Rosh (meaning elder), in reference to Joseph being older than Benjamin
• Muppim (meaning double mouth), in reference to Joseph passing on what he had been taught by Jacob
• Huppim (meaning marriage canopies), in reference to Joseph being married in Egypt, while Benjamin was not there
• Ard (meaning wanderer/fugitive), in reference to Joseph being like a rose

The Torah's Joseph narrative, at a stage when Joseph is unrecognised by his brothers, describes Joseph as testing whether his brothers have reformed, by secretly planting a silver cup in Benjamin's bag, then publicly searching the bags for it, and after finding it in Benjamin's possession, demanding that Benjamin become his slave as a punishment^[22]; the narrative goes on to state that when Judah (on behalf of the other brothers) begged Joseph not to enslave Benjamin and instead enslave him, since enslavement of Benjamin would break Jacob's heart, this caused Joseph to recant and reveal his identity^[23]. The midrashic book of Jasher argues that prior to revealing his identity, Joseph asked Benjamin to find his missing brother (ie. Joseph) via astrology, using an astrolabe-like tool^[24]; it continues by stating that Benjamin divined that the man on the throne was Joseph, so Joseph identified himself to Benjamin (but not the other brothers), and revealed his scheme (as in the Torah) to test how fraternal the other brothers were^[25]. However, some classical rabbinical sources argue that Joseph identified himself for other reasons^[26]. In these sources, Benjamin swore an oath, on the memory of Joseph, that he was innocent of theft, and, when challenged about how believable the oath would be, explained that remembering Joseph was so important to him that he had named his sons in Joseph's honour^[27]; these sources go on to state that Benjamin's oath touched Joseph so deeply that Joseph was no longer able to pretend to be a stranger^[28]. An elaborate chupah A chuppah (Hebrew: חוּפָּה) (also spelled khuppa, chupah, or chuppa - plural: chuppot, Hebrew: חוּפּוֹת) is a canopy traditionally used in Jewish weddings. ... Wiktionary has related dictionary definitions, such as: slave Slave may refer to: Slavery, where people are owned by others, and live to serve their owners without pay Slave (BDSM), a form of sexual and consenual submission Slave clock, in technology, a clock or timer that synchrnonizes to a master clock... In Genesis (the first book of the Bible) Judah (יְהוּדָה Praise, Standard Hebrew Yəhuda, Tiberian Hebrew Yəhûḏāh) is the fourth son of Jacob and Leah, born in Padan-aram (Genesis xxix. ... Sefer haYashar (midrash), a Hebrew midrash known in English translation mostly as The Book of Jasher. ... Hand-coloured version of the anonymous Flammarion woodcut (1888). ... A 16th century astrolabe. ... This article is about the religious practice of divination. ...

In the narrative, just prior to this test, when Joseph had first met all of his brothers (but not identified himself to them), he had held a feast for them^[29]; the narrative heavily implies that Benjamin was Joseph's favorite brother, since he is overcome with tears when he first meets Benjamin in particular^[30], and he gives Benjamin five times as much food as he apportions to the others^[31]. According to textual scholars, this is really the Jahwist's account of the reunion after Joseph identifies himself, and the account of the threat to enslave Benjamin is just the Elohist's version of the same event, with the Elohist being more terse about Joseph's emotions towards Benjamin, merely mentioning that Benjamin was given five times as many gifts as the others^[32]. A version of the Joseph narrative appears in the Qu'ran, which also mentions Benjamin (though it does so without naming him), describing him as having been regarded particularly highly by Joseph, and by Jacob^[33]; Baidawi, the quintessential mediaeval commentator on the Qu'ran, records that there was a tradition that the brothers had been made to sit in pairs at the feast, so that Benjamin had to sit on his own, which resulted in Benjamin weeping over the loss of Joseph^[34]. Not only is Benjamin treated as the favourite brother of Joseph, and a favourite of Jacob, but classical rabbinical sources also stress the fact that Benjamin is referred to as the beloved of Yahweh in Deuteronomy; these rabbinical sources concluded that Benjamin died without ever committing sin - one of only four men to have done so (the other three being Amram, Jesse, and Kileab^[35]. The Quran ( Arabic al-qurʾān أَلْقُرآن; its literal meaning is the recitation and is often called Al Quran Al Karim: The Noble Quran, also transliterated as Quran, Koran, and less commonly Alcoran) is the holy book... Baidawi (Abdallah ibn Umar al-Baidawi Arabic: عبدالله بن عمر البيدوي), Muslim critic, was born in Fars, where his father was chief judge, in the time of the Atabek ruler Abu Bakr ibn Sad (1226-60). ... Look up Quintessence in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ... This article does not cite any references or sources. ... For other uses, see Sin (disambiguation). ... Amram (עַמְרָם Friend of the most high (God), or People are Exalted Standard Hebrew Ê¿Amram, Tiberian Hebrew Ê¿Amrām) is a Levite, a son of Kohath, the husband of Jochebed (Exodus 6:20 and Numbers 26:59) and father of Aaron, Miriam and Moses. ... Detail of Jesse from the Stained Glass window of All Saints Church,Hove,Sussex. ...

See also

• Tribe of Benjamin
• Kever Benjamin
• For a list of persons with the given name Benjamin see All pages beginning with Benjamin

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 Binyāmîn) is one of the Hebrew tribes, founded by Benjamin, youngest son of Jacob. ... Hebrew כפר סבא Name Meaning Grandfathers Village Founded in 1903 Government City Also Spelled Kefar Sava (officially) District Center Population 81,100 (2006) Jurisdiction 15,000 dunams (15 km²) Mayor Yehuda Ben Hemo The city today. ... Jacob Wrestling with the Angel – Gustave Doré, 1855 Jacob or Yaakov, (Hebrew: יַעֲקֹב, Standard  Tiberian ; Arabic: يعقوب, ; holds the heel), also known as Israel (Hebrew: יִשְׂרָאֵל, Standard  Tiberian ; Arabic: اسرائيل, ; Struggled with God), is the third Biblical patriarch. ... Look up Leah, לֵאָה in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ... Reuben (רְאוּבֵן, Standard Hebrew Rəʾuven, Tiberian Hebrew Rəʾûḇēn) is the first-born son of Jacob and the founder of the Tribe of Reuben, as related in the Book of Genesis of the Hebrew Bible. ... Simeon (Hebrew: שִׁמְעוֹן, ) was, according to the Book of Genesis, the second son of Jacob and Leah, and the founder of the Israelite Tribe of Simeon; however Biblical scholars view this as postdiction, an eponymous metaphor providing an aetiology of the connectedness of the tribe to others in the Israelite confederation... This article discusses the Biblical patriarch. ... Judah/Yehuda (Hebrew: יְהוּדָה, Standard YÉ™huda Tiberian ) was, according to the Book of Genesis, the fourth son of Jacob and Leah, and the founder of the Israelite Tribe of Judah; however Biblical scholars view this as postdiction, an eponymous metaphor providing an aetiology of the connectedness of the tribe to... Issachar or Yissachar (יִשָּׂשׁכָר Reward; recompense, Standard Hebrew Yissaḫar, Tiberian Hebrew Yiśśâḵār) was the fifth son of Jacob and his first wife Leah. ... This entry incorporates text from Eastons Bible Dictionary, 1897, with some modernisation. ... The references in this article would be clearer with a different and/or consistent style of citation, footnoting or external linking. ... Look up Rachel, רחל in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ... Joseph interprets the dream of the Pharaoh. ... In the Book of Genesis, Bilhah (בִּלְהָה Faltering; bashful, Standard Hebrew Bilha, Tiberian Hebrew Bilhāh) is a concubine of Jacob, and bears him two sons, Dan and Naphtali. ... Dan (Hebrew: דָּן, Standard Dan Tiberian Dān; Judge) was, according to the Book of Genesis, a son of Jacob and Bilhah (the first son of Bilhah, but the fifth son of Jacob), and the founder of the Israelite Tribe of Dan[1]; however Biblical scholars view this as postdiction, an... Naphtali (Hebrew: נַפְתָּלִי, Standard Tiberian  ; My struggle) is the sixth son of Jacob and the founder of the tribe of Naphtali, first mentioned in the Book of Genesis and as described in the Hebrew Bible. ... In the Book of Genesis, Zilpah (זִלְפָּה Drooping, Standard Hebrew Zilpa, Tiberian Hebrew Zilpāh) is a concubine of Jacob and the mother of Gad and Asher. ... Gad (Hebrew: גד ; luck) was, according to the Book of Genesis, the first son of Jacob and Zilpah, the seventh of Jacob overall, and the founder of the Israelite Tribe of Gad; however Biblical scholars view this as postdiction, an eponymous metaphor providing an aetiology of the connectedness of the tribe... Asher (Hebrew: , Standard  Tiberian ), was, according to the Book of Genesis, the second son of Jacob and Zilpah, and the founder of the Israelite Tribe of Asher; however Biblical scholars view this as postdiction, an eponymous metaphor providing an aetiology of the connectedness of the tribe to others in the...

Citations

• This entry incorporates text from the public domain Easton's Bible Dictionary, originally published in 1897.

Israel Finkelstein Israel Finkelstein is an Israeli archaeologist. ... Richard Elliot Friedman is a writer and Professor of Hebrew and Comparative Literature at UCSD. He is also Katzin Professor of Jewish Civilization: Hebrew Bible; Near Eastern Languages and Literatures. ... Richard Elliot Friedman is a writer and Professor of Hebrew and Comparative Literature at UCSD. He is also Katzin Professor of Jewish Civilization: Hebrew Bible; Near Eastern Languages and Literatures. ... Sura Yusuf (Joseph) is the 12th sura of the Quran. ... Moed (Festivals) is the second Order of the Mishnah (also the Tosefta and Talmud), Of the six orders of the Mishna, Moed is the third shortest. ... Eastons Bible Dictionary generally refers to the Illustrated Bible Dictionary, Third Edition, by Matthew George Easton M.A., D.D. (1823-1894), published three years after Eastons death in 1897 by Thomas Nelson. ...

External links

• The Jewish Encyclopedia, 1908: Benjamin. Material on the tribe, its territory, Rabbinical tradition and Islam, where Benjamin is not specifically mentioned in the Qur'an.