Benjamin

The name is first mentioned in letters from King Sîn-kāšid of Uruk (1801–1771 BC), who called himself “King of Amnanum” and was a member of the Amorite tribal group the “Binu-Jamina” (single name “Binjamin”; Akkadian ). This name means "Sons/Son of the South" and is linguistically related to the Old Testament name "Benjamin". According to the Hebrew Bible, Benjamin's name arose when Jacob deliberately changed the name "Benoni", the original name of Benjamin, since Benoni was an allusion to Rachel's dying just after she had given birth, as it means "son of my pain". 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. Unusual for one of the 12 tribes of Israel, the Bible does not explain the etymology of Benjamin's name. Medieval commentator Rashi gives two different explanations, based on Midrashic sources. "Son of the south", with south derived from the word for the right hand side, referring to the birth of Benjamin in Canaan, as compared with the birth of all the other sons of Jacob in Aram. Modern scholars have proposed that "son of the south" / "right" is a reference to the tribe being subordinate to the more dominant tribe of Ephraim. Textual scholars believe that this is the result of 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. By allusion to the biblical Benjamin, in French, Polish and Spanish, "Benjamin" (/ /, respectively) is a common noun meaning the youngest child of a family, especially a particularly favoured one (with a similar connotation to "baby of the family"). ==Israelites in Egypt==

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. 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. the narrative heavily implies that Benjamin was Joseph's favorite brother, since he is overcome with tears when he first meets Benjamin in particular, and he gives Benjamin five times as much food as he apportions to the others. 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. Modern scholars often view these narrative variations as evidence of distinct source traditions that emphasize Benjamin's symbolic and theological significance within the broader Joseph cycle. == Jacob's blessing ==

Upon his death, the patriarch Jacob blesses his youngest son: "Benjamin is a ravenous wolf; In the morning he consumes the foe, And in the evening he divides the spoil" (Genesis 49:27). This wolf symbolism has been interpreted to refer to several elements of the Tribe of Benjamin, including its heroic members like King Saul and Mordecai, the tribe's often warlike nature, and the tribe's jurisdiction over the Temple in Jerusalem in which sacrifices were 'devoured' by flame. ==Origin==

caravanserai complex, including the mausoleum of Nabi Yamin, traditionally believed to be the tomb of Benjamin, located outside Kfar Saba, Israel Biblical scholars believe, due to their geographic overlap and their treatment in older passages, that Ephraim and Manasseh were originally considered one tribe, that of Joseph. 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. 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. 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. ==Benjamin's sons==

According to Genesis 46:21, Benjamin had ten sons: Bela, Becher, Ashbel, Gera, Naaman, Ehi, Rosh, Muppim, Huppim, and Ard. The classical rabbinical tradition adds that each son's name honors Joseph: • Belah, progenitor of the Belaites, is in both lists • Ashbel, progenitor of the Ashbelites, is in both lists • Ahiram, progenitor of the Ahiramites, appears in this list but not the first • Shupham, progenitor of the Shuphamites, corresponds to Muppim from the first list • Hupham, progenitor of the Huphamites, corresponds to Huppim from the first list Becher, Gera, Ehi, and Rosh are omitted from the second list. Ard and Naaman, who are the sons of Benjamin according to Numbers 26, are listed as the sons of Belah and are the progenitors of the Ardites and the Naamites respectively. ==In Islam==

Though not named in the Quran, Benjamin ( Binyāmīn) is referred to as the righteous youngest son of Jacob, in the narrative of Joseph in Islamic tradition. Apart from that, however, Islamic tradition does not provide much detail regarding Benjamin's life, and refers to him as being born from Jacob's wife Rachel. As with Jewish tradition, it also further links a connection between the names of Benjamin's children and Joseph. Near Jenin, in Al-Yamun, there is a tomb-shrine known as the "Maqam of Nabi Yamin" or "A-Nabi Binyamin," which is traditionally believed by locals to be the burial site of Benjamin. ==See also==