BENJAMIN (Heb. Binjantn). — The youngest son of Jacob. Rachel, dying in childbirth near Ephrata (Bethlehem), had called him Ben-'öntî, "son of my sorrow." Jacob changed this name of sorrow to that of B., "son of the right hand," which was an omen of happiness ("right hand": strength, prosperity; Gen. 35:16-18). He was his father’s favorite, especially after the loss of Joseph, who had been taken as a slave to Egypt. Joseph also had a particular affection for Benjamin (Gen. 42-45). The number and names of Benjamin’s sons vary considerably in Gen. 46:21, Num. 26:38-40, and 1 Chron. 7:6-11 and 8:1-5.
Benjamin was the eponymous ancestor of the tribe that bore his name. In the letters of Mari, the expressions máré-jamina and bin-jamina ("the southerners") have no connection with the biblical name.
At Sinai, shortly after the Exodus, the tribe of Benjamin 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 military service, from twenty to fifty years of age, estimated at one-fifth of the population, and multiplying the result by five, as was the custom among the ancient Semites (A. Pohl, Historia Populi Israel, Rome 1933, pp. 13-15).
The territory of the tribe of Benjamin lay 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 just north of Jericho. It was a small but important region: a mountainous area with towns easily converted into fortresses, and very fertile plains, especially that of Jericho. Its principal cities were Bethel, Gibeon, Jericho, and above all Jerusalem (Josh. 18:11-28). The tribe was warlike, bold, and tenacious (Gen. 49:27). Ehud (v.) was a Benjaminite (Judg. 3:15-30). The warriors of Benjamin 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, the tribe nearly faced extermination by the other tribes: about 600 men survived the massacre. After their women had been killed, they obtained 300 young women spared in the slaughter at Jabesh-gilead, and they abducted others at Shiloh during a religious festival (Judg. 19-20). The tribe recovered, and in the time of Samuel it regained its former strength. It provided the first king of Israel, Saul, and rose against the Philistines (1 Sam. 10:21). It supported Ish-bosheth against David and reluctantly yielded preeminence to Judah (2 Sam. 2-5). In the division of the kingdom, it remained, for the most part, loyal to the Davidic dynasty (1 Kings 12:20-23; 2 Chron. 15:9ff.). Later, the tribe merged its history with that of Judah, though retaining its own identity (ibid.; Neh. 5:11). St. Paul takes care to note his own Benjaminite ancestry (Rom. 11:1; Phil. 3:5).