THE TRIBE OF BENJAMIN

　
And they journeyed from Bethel, and there was but a little way to come to Ephrath when Rachel travailed, and she had hard labor. And it came to pass when she was in hard labor, that the midwife said unto her, Fear not; thou shalt have this son also. And it came to pass as her soul was departing, (for she died) that she called his name Benoni, but his father called him Benjamin. Thus Rachel died and was buried in the way to Ephrath, which is Bethlehem. And Jacob set a pillar upon her grave; that is the pillar of Rachel’s grave unto this day. Genesis 35.16-20

Benjamin was Rachel’s second son with Jacob during which she died in labor. Rachel named her son Benoni but Jacob changed the name to Benjamin. We will look at the meaning of both names.

Benoni is taken from two root words, ben and oni. Ben means “a son” and oni means “to exert oneself in vain, to come to naught, sorrow, unjust and unrighteous, vanity and wickedness.” The name can mean “Son of my sorrow, son of my iniquity, son of my unrighteousness, son of my vanity, son of my false idols.”

In Genesis 31 we see that Rachel stole her father’s idols when Jacob left Laban to return home. Rachel’s father Laban chased Jacob down and demanded the return of the household gods. Jacob, not knowing Rachel has stolen the gods, said to Laban that anyone in his party found with the gods should die.

This word of Jacob comes to pass when Rachel dies in child birth. Rachel names her son Benoni realizing her past sins and expressing her repentance. Jacob renames Benoni as Benjamin.

Benjamin means “son of right hand, the right side, leg or eye of a person.” It also means the south side which is the more pleasant side where the sun warms. Some scholars also say the name Benjamin means “old age, maturity” and “son of happiness, happy year.”

Jacob may have changed the name for several reasons. It may have been a token of his love and dependence on Rachel. She had been his right hand, the wife he loved greatly. She was precious unto him as was his right hand.

He may have also looked upon Benjamin as the son he would lean on and find comfort in as he grew old. Benjamin was the only son Jacob had after God changed his name to Israel. The others were sons of the “supplanter” but Benjamin was the son of Israel--a Prince with God. He was “the son of a prince.”

Rachel made a total confession to God as the Lord forgave and took her away. Jacob must have felt this as he renamed Benoni to Benjamin. When Rachel died she was buried alone on the way to Ephrath which is on the way to Bethlehem (Genesis 35.19-20).

When Jacob died (Genesis 49:29-31) he was buried with Leah in the cave. This cave was where Abraham and Sarah and Isaac and Rebekah were also buried. It is interesting that Jacob choose to be buried with Leah. Perhaps he saw how God loved Leah and how faithful Leah was to him her whole life. At the end of his life Jacob gave Leah the honor of being buried with him.

Leah was the mother of Judah through who’s lineage the Messiah would be born. She was also the mother of Levi through whom the priesthood was established. Leah was not blessed with great outward beauty but God saw the beauty within her and blessed her mightily.

Symbol: Benjamin’s symbol is the wolf. The wolf belongs to the dog family and the grey or timber wolf is the most common of the species. Wolves usually hunt in small packs with speed and endurance. Their prey is usually deer, caribou, and moose. Members of the family are friendly with each other but do not usually accept others outside of their group. When the wolf makes the kill they violently tear and rend their victims.

When Benjamin was born he went through great travail in the womb of Rachel. Her womb was torn and rent through the terrible contractions as Benjamin was pushed out into the world. Rachel would have died due to the hemorrhaging of her torn uterus. Benjamin entered this life in a violent and traumatic way.

PROPHECIES
These prophecies to the tribes in Genesis 48 and 49 are key to understanding the Bible and the end of the age. When we come to a full understanding of the tribes it opens up the big picture of what God is doing through the events of mankind from the beginning until the end. In order to understand the end we must go back to the beginning! These prophecies have individual, tribal, and end time meanings that very few in the body of Christ understand. This study will try to answer many of these meanings. When waiting upon the Lord it is worthy of your time to ask Him to help you understand these things.


JACOB’S PROPHECY TO BENJAMIN“Benjamin, ravening wolf: in the morning he shall devour the prey, and in the evening he shall divide the spoil.”

“Benjamin, ravening wolf: in the morning he shall devour the prey” Most fathers would not call their son a wolf. Jacob is seeing the young immature wolf who only thinks of himself while devouring his prey. Try to take his prey away and he will turn on you and tear you to pieces. When Benjamin was born he had to tear at his mother’s womb to be born. He was only thinking of his survival. This seems to be a shadow of how great we must struggle to be birthed into the kingdom of God. We have to overcome our fleshly nature and yield to God.


“…and in the evening he shall divide the spoil.”
The other wolf in this prophecy is the older more mature wolf who will “in the evening he shall divide the spoil.”

Benjamin’s nature is changed as he matures in God. He will share the spoil with others. He will be willing to make sacrifices and share the good things God has given him. He has become a new creation in Christ.


THE PROPHECY OF MOSES TO BENJAMIN
And to Benjamin he said, The beloved of the LORD shall dwell in safety by him; and the LORD shall cover him all the day long, and he shall dwell between his shoulders. Deut 33.12


“The beloved of the LORD…” This is a special promise to Benjamin of protection from God. God has a special love for Benjamin, “the least of your brethren.” God doesn’t just see Benjamin the wolf but He sees the struggling creature who is fighting for his very life. It is a blessed thing to be called “beloved of the Lord.”


“…shall dwell in safety by him…”In times of danger Benjamin can claim this special place of Divine protection. They are God’s warriors who can go into the most difficult and dangerous situations (in the will of God) and overcome the enemy.

 
“…and the LORD shall cover him all the day long…”
This is the only covering that is important--the covering of the Lord 24 hours a day! Those who are missionaries or are out in the world fulfilling God’s calling on their lives can claim this special protection from the Lord. This is a promise we must rest in as the evil day approaches.


“…and he shall dwell between his shoulders.” Picture a great eagle flying with Benjamin between his wings, upon his shoulders. We need to rest on the Lord’s shoulders. The government is on the Lord’s shoulders. He desires we yield to His government in our lives. When the mother bird pushes the chick out of the nest to learn to fly she is always there to catch them if they falter. Benjamin was a fierce warrior tribe and those in great warfare will have special protection from the Lord. Benjamin does not run and hide but goes out to battle with great faith in God.