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This article is about the history and origin of Benjamin. For people named Benjamin, see Benjamin (name). Benjamin is a popular Given name for males translating from Hebrew as "son of my right side" For other uses, see Benjamin (disambiguation). Benjamin is a figure in the Hebrew Bible It is also a common Given name for men and a Surname.
Exterior view of Kever Binyamin (Tomb of Benjamin), located outside Kfar Saba, Israel.
Exterior view of Kever Binyamin (Tomb of Benjamin), located outside Kfar Saba, Israel. Kfar Saba (כְּפַר סָבָא Kfar Sava, lit "Grandfather's Village" or "Saba's Village" is a city in the Sharon region For a topic outline on this subject see List of basic Israel topics.

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. Tiberian Hebrew is an extinct (yet very well documented Oral tradition of pronunciation for ancient Hebrew, especially the Hebrew of the Tanakh, that was Jacob ( Hebrew: יַעֲקֹב, Standard   Yaʿaqov Tiberian   Yaʿăqōḇ; Rachel (; meaning "ewe" is the second and favorite Wife of Jacob and mother of Joseph and Benjamin, first mentioned in the See also History of ancient Israel and Judah According to the Bible, the Israelites were the dominant group living in the Land of Israel. The Tribe of Benjamin ( was one of the Tribes of Israel. At its height the territory it occupied was sandwiched between that of Ephraim to the north and Judah Joseph or Yosef (יוֹסֵ Standard Yosef Tiberian Yôsēp̄, يوسف Yusuf; "He Ephraim ( Hebrew: אֶפְרַיִם/אֶפְרָיִם Standard Efráyim Tiberian ʾEp̄ráyim/ʾEp̄rāyim Canaanites redirects here For the 1940s social and political movement in Israel, see Canaanites (movement. However some 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. This article is about the academic treatment of the bible as a historical document This article is about postdiction in the criticism of parapsychology not about the scientific technique also called Retrodiction. Metaphor (from the Greek: μεταφορά - metaphora, meaning "transfer" is language that directly compares seemingly unrelated subjects Etiology (alternatively 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[2][3]. The description of Benjamin being born after the arrival in Canaan is thought by some scholars to refer to the tribe of Benjamin coming into existence by branching from the Joseph group after the tribe had settled in Canaan[3]. 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[3][4]. This article is about the country of Egypt For a topic outline on this subject see List of basic Egypt topics. The Exodus ( is the term used for the escape departure and emancipation of the enslaved Israelites freed from Ancient Egypt as described in the Hebrew Canaanites redirects here For the 1940s social and political movement in Israel, see Canaanites (movement. 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[3]; 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[5][6]. Metaphor (from the Greek: μεταφορά - metaphora, meaning "transfer" is language that directly compares seemingly unrelated subjects Textual criticism (or lower criticism) is a branch of Literary criticism that is concerned with the identification and removal of Transcription errors in The Jahwist, also referred to as the Jehovist, Yahwist, or simply as J, is one of the four major sources of the Torah postulated by the A matriarch, clan-mother or 'chief' is an Autocratic female ruler of a human family Clan, or Kinship, or of an animal grouping

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[7]; 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[8]. term " Torah " ( Hebrew: תּוֹרָה "teaching" or "instruction" sometimes translated as "Law" most commonly refers to Maternal death, or maternal mortality, also "obstetrical death" is the Death of a woman during or shortly after a Pregnancy. The Elohist (E is one of four sources of the Torah described by the Documentary Hypothesis. 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. Etymology is the study of the History of Words &mdash when they entered a language from what source and how their form and meaning have changed over time 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). Latin ( lingua Latīna, laˈtiːna is an Italic language, historically spoken in Latium and Ancient Rome. 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[9]. 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 its broadest sense can mean the entire spectrum of Rabbinic writings throughout Jewish history 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[10]. 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[9]. The Samaritan Pentateuch is the text of the Pentateuch (the first five books of the Bible, also called the Torah or Law that is used by the Samaritans Mem (also spelled Meem or Mim) is the thirteenth letter of many Semitic abjads, including Phoenician, Aramaic, Hebrew Rabbinic literature, in its broadest sense can mean the entire spectrum of Rabbinic writings throughout Jewish 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[9]. Fasting is primarily the act of willingly abstaining from some or all Food, Drink, or both for a period of time Benjamin is treated as a young child in most of the Biblical narrative[11], but at one point is abruptly described as the father of ten sons[12]; 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. The Jahwist, also referred to as the Jehovist, Yahwist, or simply as J, is one of the four major sources of the Torah postulated by the The Elohist (E is one of four sources of the Torah described by the Documentary Hypothesis. [9]. The genealogical passage names each of the sons[12], which classical rabbinical tradition adds to with the argument that the sons were each named in honour of Joseph[9]:

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[13]; 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[14]. A chuppah ( חוּפָּה) (also spelled hupah, chupah, or chuppa - plural chuppot or chuppahs, Hebrew As a social-economic system slavery is a legal institution under which a Person (called "a slave" is compelled to work for another Judah / Yehuda ( Hebrew: יְהוּדָה Standard Yəhuda Tiberian Yəhûḏāh) was according The midrashic book of Jasher argues that prior to revealing his identity, Joseph asked Benjamin to find his missing brother (ie. Sefer haYashar (midrash, a Hebrew Midrash known in English translation mostly as The Book of Jasher. Joseph) via astrology, using an astrolabe-like tool[9]; 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[15]. Astrology (from Greek grc ἄστρον astron, "constellation star" and grc -λογία -logia) is a group of Systems The astrolabe is a historical Astronomical instrument used by classical astronomers, Navigators Divination (from Latin divinare "to be inspired by a god" related to Divine, Diva and Deus) is the attempt of ascertaining However, some classical rabbinical sources argue that Joseph identified himself for other reasons[16]. 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[17]; 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[18].

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[19]; the narrative heavily implies that Benjamin was Joseph's favorite brother, since he is overcome with tears when he first meets Benjamin in particular[20], and he gives Benjamin five times as much food as he apportions to the others[21]. 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[9]. 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[22]; 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[9]. The Qur’an ( القرآن, literally "the recitation" also sometimes transliterated as Qur’ān, Koran, Alcoran Baidawi (' Abdallah ibn 'Umar al-Baidawi Arabic: عبدالله بن عمر البيدوي was a Muslim scholar was born in Fars, where his 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[23]. Deuteronomy (Greek deuteronomion, Δευτερονόμιον "second law" is the fifth book of the Hebrew Bible and of the Old Testament Sin is a term used mainly in a religious context to describe an act that violates a moral Rule, or the state of having committed such a violation In the Book of Exodus, Amram ( Arabic عَمْرَام: ʿAmrām) (Anrão is the father of Aaron, Moses, and Jesse or Yishai ( meaning "God's gift" is the father of the Biblical David mentioned in the Books of Samuel of the Hebrew Bible.

Children of Jacob by wife in order of birth (D = Daughter)
Leah Reuben (1) Simeon (2) Levi (3) Judah (4) Issachar (9) Zebulun (10) Dinah (D)
Rachel Joseph (11) Benjamin (12)
Bilhah (Rachel's servant) Dan (5) Naphtali (6)
Zilpah (Leah's servant) Gad (7) Asher (8)


Contents

See also

Citations

  1. ^ Genesis 35:18
  2. ^ a b Jewish Encyclopedia, Ephraim
  3. ^ a b c d Peake's commentary on the Bible
  4. ^ Israel Finkelstein, The Bible Unearthed
  5. ^ ibid
  6. ^ Richard Elliott Friedman, Who Wrote the Bible?
  7. ^ Genesis 35:19
  8. ^ Richard Elliott Friedman, Who wrote the Bible?
  9. ^ a b c d e f g h Jewish Encyclopedia
  10. ^ ibid
  11. ^ ibid
  12. ^ a b Genesis 46:21
  13. ^ Genesis 44
  14. ^ ibid
  15. ^ ibid
  16. ^ ibid
  17. ^ ibid
  18. ^ ibid
  19. ^ Genesis 43
  20. ^ Genesis 43:30
  21. ^ Genesis 43:34
  22. ^ Sura Yusuf
  23. ^ Shabbat 55b

Also try Benjamin Martinez

References


External links

Dictionary

benjamin

-noun

  1. (US, slang) A US$100 bill, which features a portrait of Benjamin Franklin (usually used in the plural).

Benjamin

-proper noun

  1. A male given name of biblical origin.
  2. (Biblical) The youngest of the sons of Jacob and Rachel.
  3. (US, slang) A US$100 bill, which features a portrait of Benjamin Franklin. Often used in the plural form to indicate money:
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