![]() For example, when the sons were sent down to Egypt during the famine to buy corn, Jacob kept young Benjamin with him “Lest perhaps mischief befall him” (Gen. When Jacob’s favorite son was thus lost to him, all of his fatherly affection was poured into Benjamin. The events surrounding Joseph’s being sold into Egypt and how God’s providence was seen in his preservation and elevation have been recounted in the previous study on Joseph. This name proved to be prophetic as well, because Benjamin was later to replace the “lost” Joseph in Jacob’s affection. ![]() Jacob, however, named the child Benjamin, meaning right-hand son. And Jacob set a pillar upon her grave: that is the pillar of Rachel’s grave unto this day.”Īs Rachel lay dying, her last act was to call her newborn Benoni, a name meaning son of my pain. And Rachel died, and was buried in the way to Ephrath, which is Bethlehem. And it came to pass, as her soul was in departing (for she died), that she called his name Benoni: but his father called him Benjamin. 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. Genesis 35:16-20 records the events: “And they journeyed from Bethel and there was but a little way to come to Ephrath: and Rachel travailed, and she had hard labor. His birth, however, was an event of joy mixed with sorrow. When Benjamin’s older brother was born, he was named Joseph, which means may He add–a pious prayer that was granted when Joseph’s younger brother was born. Matthew Henry eloquently declared, “It is plain that Jacob spoke by prophecy and not by natural affection, else he would have spoken with more tenderness of his beloved Benjamin.” Did Jacob’s prophecy come true? Did Benjamin’s descendants evidence such a ravenous, wolf-like spirit? To answer these questions requires that we take a look at the son Benjamin and also at the tribe Benjamin.īenjamin was the twelfth son of Jacob and the second son born to him by Rachel, his beloved and dearest wife. His words must have arisen from the Spirit of God and not just from the tender feelings which he undoubtedly had for young Benjamin. That Jacob spoke thus of his youngest, of whom he was so fond, is a striking surprise to many. Jacob thus declared that Benjamin would be characterized by a vicious and warlike attitude. The authoritative Commentary on the Old Testament by Keil and Delitzsch translates the verse, “Benjamin-a wolf which tears in pieces ….”Ī wolf is the fifth animal used by Jacob to characterize the future course of his sons’ descendants. Jacob prophesied that his youngest “shall ravin as a wolf.” The word translated ravin comes from a verb which means to tear. Such an obsolete word appears in Jacob’s prophecy about his twelfth and last son, Benjamin. This is due to the fact that it was produced in 1611, and the language has undergone changes in over three and a half centuries. Occasionally the Authorized Version employs a word which current in English usage. “Benjamin shall ravin as a wolf in the morning he shall devour the prey, and at night he shall divide the spoil” (Genesis 49:27).
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