Benjamin

Benjamin (Heb. son of the right hand) was the youngest son of Jacob by his wife Rachel, who on her death-bed called the child Benoni (son of my pain), a name changed subsequently. He was the favourite of his father and apparently of his brother Joseph, but little is known of his life except his journey into Egypt at the urgent request of the latter, and his detention there (Gen. xlii. xliii.). The tribe that descended from him was numerically the smallest, but displayed fighting qualities (Num. xxvi. 41), and was almost exterminated by the rest of the nation (Judges xix. xx.). It appears to have speedily recovered, and in Asa's time boasted 280,000 warriors. Saul, the first King of Israel, was a member of the tribe, and Jerusalem came within its territory. Always closely connected with Judah, Benjamin remained with that tribe in the schism that followed Solomon's death.