Person
Benjamin (patriarch)
Also called Ben-oni
Mentioned in 157 verses across 23 books, first in 1 Chronicles 2:2. The verses below are the ones linked to this person (the Theographic dataset, with our sourced corrections).
In these stories
In the Bible
All 14 verses in 1 Chronicles, in Bible order. Text from the Berean Standard Bible; verse numbers follow the KJV.
1 Chronicles
- 1 Chronicles 2:2
Dan, Joseph, Benjamin, Naphtali, Gad, and Asher.
- 1 Chronicles 6:60
And from the tribe of Benjamin they were given Gibeon, Geba, Alemeth, and Anathoth, together with their pasturelands. So they had thirteen cities in all among their families.
- 1 Chronicles 6:65
They assigned by lot the cities named above from the tribes of Judah, Simeon, and Benjamin.
- 1 Chronicles 7:6
The three sons of Benjamin: Bela, Becher, and Jediael.
- 1 Chronicles 8:1
Benjamin was the father of Bela, his firstborn; Ashbel was the second born, Aharah the third,
- 1 Chronicles 8:40
The sons of Ulam were mighty men of valor, archers, and they had many sons and grandsons—150 in all. All these were the descendants of Benjamin.
- 1 Chronicles 9:3
These were some of the descendants of Judah, Benjamin, Ephraim, and Manasseh who lived in Jerusalem:
- 1 Chronicles 9:7
From the Benjamites: Sallu son of Meshullam, the son of Hodaviah, the son of Hassenuah;
- 1 Chronicles 11:31
Ithai son of Ribai from Gibeah of the Benjamites, Benaiah the Pirathonite,
- 1 Chronicles 12:2
they were archers using both the right and left hands to sling stones and shoot arrows; and they were Saul’s kinsmen from Benjamin):
- 1 Chronicles 12:16
Other Benjamites and some men from Judah also came to David in his stronghold.
- 1 Chronicles 12:29
From Benjamin, the kinsmen of Saul: 3,000, most of whom had remained loyal to the house of Saul up to that time.
- 1 Chronicles 21:6
But Joab did not include Levi and Benjamin in the count, because the king’s command was detestable to him.
- 1 Chronicles 27:21
over the half-tribe of Manasseh in Gilead was Iddo son of Zechariah; over Benjamin was Jaasiel son of Abner;
Events
Events the dataset lists Benjamin (patriarch) as taking part in. Dates follow its Ussher–Jones reckoning (one of several traditional counts), not established history.
- c. 1739 BCRachel dies giving birth to Benjamin
Dictionary
From Easton’s Bible Dictionary (1897), as attached to this record by Theographic. The entry is for the name and can describe more than one person who bore it. Easton wrote in 1897, and some of his views are now debated.
Read Easton’s entry
The younger son of Jacob by Rachel (Gen. 35:18). His birth took place at Ephrath, on the road between Bethel and Bethlehem, at a short distance from the latter place. His mother died in giving him birth, and with her last breath named him Ben-oni, son of my pain, a name which was changed by his father into Benjamin. His posterity are called Benjamites (Gen. 49:27; Deut. 33:12; Josh. 18:21).
The tribe of Benjamin at the Exodus was the smallest but one (Num. 1:36, 37; Ps. 68:27). During the march its place was along with Manasseh and Ephraim on the west of the tabernacle. At the entrance into Canaan it counted 45,600 warriors. It has been inferred by some from the words of Jacob (Gen. 49:27) that the figure of a wolf was on the tribal standard. This tribe is mentioned in Rom. 11:1; Phil. 3:5.
The inheritance of this tribe lay immediately to the south of that of Ephraim, and was about 26 miles in length and 12 in breadth. Its eastern boundary was the Jordan. Dan intervened between it and the Philistines. Its chief towns are named in Josh. 18:21-28.
The history of the tribe contains a sad record of a desolating civil war in which they were engaged with the other eleven tribes. By it they were almost exterminated (Judg. 20:20, 21; 21:10).
The first king of the Jews was Saul, a Benjamite. A close alliance was formed between this tribe and that of Judah in the time of David (2 Sam. 19:16, 17), which continued after his death (1 Kings 11:13; 12:20). After the Exile these two tribes formed the great body of the Jewish nation (Ezra 1:5; 10:9).
The tribe of Benjamin was famous for its archers (1 Sam. 20:20, 36; 2 Sam. 1:22; 1 Chr. 8:40; 12:2) and slingers (Judge. 20:6).
The gate of Benjamin, on the north side of Jerusalem (Jer. 37:13; 38:7; Zech. 14:10), was so called because it led in the direction of the territory of the tribe of Benjamin. It is called by Jeremiah (20:2) “the high gate of Benjamin;” also “the gate of the children of the people” (17:19). (Comp. 2 Kings 14:13.)