BENJAMIN (Heb. Binyamīn). - The last son of Jacob. Rachel, dying, when giving birth to him near Ephrath (Bethlehem), had called him Ben-oni "son of my sorrow." Jacob changed this name of sadness into that of B., "son of the right hand," which is an omen of happiness ("right hand": strength, prosperity; Gen. 35:16-18). He was his father's favorite, especially after the loss of Joseph, carried off as a slave into Egypt. The latter too had a particular affection for B. (Gen. 42-45). As for the number and the names of B.'s sons, Gen. 46:21, Num. 26:38-40, 1 Par. 7:6-11 and 8:1-5 present notable divergences.
B. was the progenitor of the tribe of the same name. In the letters of Mari, the expression mārē-jamina and bin-jamina ("southerners") has no relation to the biblical name.
At Sinai, shortly after the exodus from Egypt, the tribe of B. numbered 35,400 members (Num. 1:36). In the steppes of Moab, after about 40 years, it numbered 43,700 (Num. 26:41). These figures were obtained by counting only men fit for arms, from twenty to fifty years of age, one fifth of the population, and multiplying the result by five, as the ancient Semites were accustomed to do (A. Pohl, Historia Populi Israel, Rome 1933, pp. 13-15).
The tribe of B. was located between Ephraim to the north, Judah to the south, Dan to the west and the Jordan to the east; between the northern shore of the Dead Sea, Kiriath-jearim, Beth-horon, Bethel and the Jordan a little north of Jericho. A restricted but very important territory; a mountainous region, with towns easily transformed into fortresses; with very fertile plains, especially that of Jericho. Its principal cities were: Bethel, Gibeon, Jericho and above all Jerusalem (Josh. 18:11-28). It was warlike, daring and obstinate (Gen. 49:27). Ehud (v.) is a Benjaminite (Judg. 3:15-30). The warriors of B. took part in the decisive battle against the Canaanites of the north, with Barak and Deborah (Judg. 5:14).
Because of the brutal act of the inhabitants of Gibeah, it ran the risk of being exterminated by the other tribes: about 600 men survived the slaughter. Their women having been killed, they obtained 300 maidens spared in the massacre of Jabesh-gilead, and others they seized from Shiloh during a religious solemnity (Judg. 19-20). The tribe recovered and in the period of Samuel it returned to its former power. It gave the first king of Israel, Saul, and rose up against the Philistines (1 Sam. 10:21). It supported Ish-bosheth against David and reluctantly yielded primacy to Judah (2 Sam. 2-5). In the division of the kingdom, it remained for the most part faithful to the Davidic dynasty (1 Kings 12:20-23; 2 Chron. 15:9 ff.). The tribe then merged its history with that of Judah, while still preserving its own individuality (Ezra 2; Neh. 5:11). St. Paul is careful to note his belonging to B. (Rom. 11:1; Phil. 3:5).