Jacob’s Twelve Sons — Benjamin
He was the youngest son of Jacob by his most beloved wife Rachel who, as she was dying in child birth, named him Ben-oni, signifying “son of my sorrow.” However, his father named him Benjamin, which means “son of my right hand.” He is a picture of the Lord Jesus as the exalted one, as the name his father gave h im signifies.
When Moses prophesied concerning the 12 tribes of Israel, we read, “And of 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” (Deuteronomy 33:12).
Very little is recorded of his personal life. It was the smallest of the tribes except Manasseh in the numbering of Numbers 1:37. He was also the father of 10 sons: “The sons of Benjamin were Belah, and Becher, and Ashbel, Gera, and Naaman, Ehi, and Rosh, Muppim, and Huppim, and Ard” (Genesis 46:10).
The Apostle Paul was from the tribe of Benjamin. He says, “Circumcised the eighth day, of the stock of Israel, of the tribe of Benjamin” (Philippians 3:5).
