Rehoboam evidently managed to unite Benjamin, or at least a portion of it, together with Judah, so the capital could be held. 22:22)? After a long war (2 Samuel 3:1), David succeeded in uniting all twelve tribes (5:1-5). Despite being anointed to rule Gods people, David had a long and arduous path to kingship. After the death of Moses, Joshua led the Israelites into the Promised Land and, dividing the . But opting out of some of these cookies may affect your browsing experience. Several passages record his lineage, and they all point out that he was the son of Jesse, who was the son of Obed, who was the son of Boaz and Ruthmaking him the great grandson of this significant couple (1 Chronicles 2:12). Excellent and well-grounded response. And he executed plenty of criminals. By submitting your email address, you understand that you will receive email communications from Bible Gateway, a division of The Zondervan Corporation, 3900 Sparks Drive SE, Grand Rapids, MI 49546 USA, including commercial communications and messages from partners of Bible Gateway. So, to hide his sin, David committed another one. 400 virgin women from Jabesh-Gilead were found and given in marriage to the Benjaminite men. 11), that "a nation and a company of nations shall be of him"; and they decided that the existence of the tribe of Benjamin was necessary (Yer. Out of these, the cookies that are categorized as necessary are stored on your browser as they are essential for the working of basic functionalities of the website. Deu. The Southern Kingdom of Judah consisted of the large tribe of Judah (King David's tribe) and the small tribe of Benjamin, which became part of the tribe of Judah and began using the same name. The Tree of Jesse (a reference to David' father) is a traditional Christian artistic representation of Jesus' genealogical connection to David. Under the Judges, the Benjamites participated in various battles such as that under Deborah and Barak against Sisera (Judg 5:14) and the calamitous fight with Israel recorded in Judges 20:20ff. Then again, perhaps the Biblical writers simply enjoyed a bit of word play. David was around 15 years old when Samuel anointed him king in the midst of his brothers. Some have thought that the origin of the tribe is to be found in the Binu (or Maru) yamina of the 18th cent. Those who held the position traced their ancestry to the House of David in the male line. why was King Saul from the tribe of Benjamin chosen as Israel's first king when Judah was to be the ruling tribe all along, as related in I Samuel 8-10? Eventually, the tribes restored Benjamin's tribe, greatly diminished due to the war, and the country reunited. Redemption ran in the family. Several passages in the Bible describe tribe of Benjamin as being pugnacious,[7] for example in the Song of Deborah, and in descriptions where they are described as being taught to fight left handed, so as to be able to wrong foot their enemies (Judges 3:1521, 20:16, 1 Chronicles 12:2) and where they are portrayed as being brave and skilled archers (1 Chronicles 8:40, 2 Chronicles 14:8). But he was a strong . When a lion or a bear came and carried off a sheep from the flock, I went after it, struck it and rescued the sheep from its mouth. 15 Led in with joy and gladness, ; Targ. Thus Ehud the Benjamite, Israels second deliverer in the period of the Judges, was remembered for being left-handed (Judg 3:15). Because Jews have historically believed that the Messiah will be a male-line descendant of David, the lineage of Jesus is sometimes cited as a reason why Jews do not believe that he was the Messiah. Is it plausible for constructed languages to be used to affect thought and control or mold people towards desired outcomes? During the Hasmonean period the Davidic line was largely excluded from the royal house in Judea, but some members had risen to prominence as religious and communal leaders. Does a barbarian benefit from the fast movement ability while wearing medium armor? He is counted among the four men who died by the poison of the serpent in Paradise; i.e., without sin of his own, the other three being Amram, the father of Moses; Jesse, the father of David; and Kileab, the son of David (Shab. Following his death, one of his sons named Ishbosheth was the second king who only ruled for two years. Because of this, some people have assumed that Jesus belonged to the tribe of Judah. To Joseph's astonishment Benjamin declared that the man on the throne was his brother, and Joseph revealed himself to Benjamin, telling him what he meant to do with the brothers. The Book of Ruth is a story of love and redemption. You may unsubscribe from Bible Gateways emails at any time. No central government existed, and in times of crisis the people were led by ad hoc leaders known as Judges (see the Book of Judges). The army commanded by Abner for Ishbosheth, Sauls son, consisted mainly of Benjamites and was successful in mounting considerable opposition to the appointment of David as king (2 Sam 2:15ff.). they enter the palace of the king. But David came to the Israelite camp to play music for Saul, and he heard Goliaths taunts. According to Genesis, Benjamin was the result of a painful birth in which his mother died, naming him Ben-Oni, "son of my pain," immediately before her death. When, after the death of Solomon, the northern tribes broke away from Judah, Benjamin was the only tribe in Israel to remain loyal to Judah and the Davidic throne (1 Kings 11:11-13,31-32; 12:21; 1 Chron 8:1,28). According to the Tanakh, King Saul ( Talut) was the son of Kish, a member of the tribe of Benjamin, one of the twelve Tribes of Israel ( 1 Samuel 9:1-2 ). [49], Another Christian interpretation emphasizes the minor, non-royal, line of David through Solomon's brother Nathan as it is recorded in the Gospel of Luke chapter 3 (entirely undocumented in the Hebrew Bible), which is often understood to be the family tree of Mary's father. It's pretty clear from the exchange that the people's demand for a king was a sinful rejection of God's rule, and that He intended to deal with that sin by giving them a very undesirable king in response. However, it must be noticed that other authorities interpret the data in such a way that the western boundary runs more or less due N of Kiriath-jearim, sharing that border with the tribe of Dan. After the death of Ish-bosheth, the tribe of Benjamin joined the northern Israelite tribes in making David king of the united Kingdom of Israel and Judah. [13] The Babylonian Talmud names three of these cities, all of which were formerly enclosed by a wall, and belonged to the tribe of Benjamin: Lydda (Lod), Ono (Kafr 'Ana),[14][15] and Gei Ha-arashim. R. to viii. Necessary cookies are absolutely essential for the website to function properly. Benjamin's oath touched Joseph so deeply that he could no longer pretend to be a stranger, and so revealed himself to his brother (Tan., ed. [47], Orthodox views have generally held that the Messiah will be a patrilineal descendant of King David,[48] and will gather the Jews back into the Land of Israel, usher in an era of peace, build the Third Temple, father a male heir, re-institute the Sanhedrin, and so on. your right hand, O LORD, shatters the enemy. [10][11][12], The Bible recounts that Joshua assigned to Benjamin the territory between that of Ephraim to the north and Judah to the south, with the Jordan River as the eastern border, and included many historically important cities, such as Bethel, Gibeah, and encroached on the northern hills of Jerusalem. Saul, Israel's first king, was from the Tribe of Benjamin (1 Samuel 9:1527), as were Mordecai and Esther (Esther 2:57) and the apostle Paul (Romans 11:1). The best answers are voted up and rise to the top, Not the answer you're looking for? Bright, History of Israel (1960), 142, 189, 213-216; F. F. Bruce, Israel and the Nations (1963), passim. If Uriah slept with her, then no one could say he was the one who got her pregnant. Israels first king, Saul, was a Benjamite and his appointment enhanced the prestige of the tribe. While We can not explain why this was done by Yhwh, it is obvious that it was part of the Scriptural narrative to bond these two king's respective tribes together to divite the spoil, dwell together and show the mighty hand of YHWH working according to the Council of his own Will! These cookies will be stored in your browser only with your consent. On the accession of Rehoboam, David's grandson, in c. 930 BCE, the united Kingdom of Israel dissolved with the northern tribes splitting from the House of David to constitute the northern Kingdom of Israel. : Because Benjamin did not bow down before Esau as did his brothers and his father (Gen. xxxiii. Warriors from the tribe of Benjamin might have been trained to be equally or more effective with their left hands. To get around this, they provided wives for the men by killing the men from Jabesh-Gilead who had not shown concern for the almost lost tribe of Benjamin as they did not come to grieve with the rest of Israel. But it didnt work out that way. He also overheard the Israelites talking about what Saul would give to the person who defeated Goliath (1 Samuel 17:23-27). Why did Ahimaaz the son of Zadok run ahead of the Cushite to Only provide good news about War Victory, & Not the Bad News about Absalom's death? Do new devs get fired if they can't solve a certain bug? her gown is interwoven with gold. ; compare Ab, Fifteenth Day of). David condemned the man in the story, unaware that it was a metaphor for what hed done to Uriah with Bathsheba (2 Samuel 12:1-10). David was a talented musician. The Quran mentions the House of David once: "Work, O family of David, in gratitude. The Gospel of Luke refers to Bethlehem as the town of David (Luke 2:4), because it was well-known that this was Davids old stomping grounds, and it was where Samuel anointed him king of Gods people. Redoing the align environment with a specific formatting. So because the people demanded a king God gave them what they asked for and all the problems that went along with it. Many years before Samuel anointed David and the Spirit of the Lord came upon him, Samuel anointed Saul, and the Spirit of the Lord came upon Saul (1 Samuel 10:16). Exilarchs continued to be appointed until the 11th century, with some members of the Davidic line dispersing across the Islamic world. [33][34] The patriarch of the Meisels family, Yitskhak Eizik Meisels, was an alleged 10th generation descendant of the Exilarch, Mar Ukba. ; "Sefer ha-Yashar," Wayishla, ib. According to some Islamic sources, some of the Jewish settlers in Arabia were of the Davidic line, Mohammad-Baqer Majlesi recorded: "A Jewish man from the Davidic line entered Medina and found the people in deep sorrow. David was far from perfect, but his faith and zeal made him the standard against which all Israels future kings would be measured against. R., lntroduction, 33). King Saul of the Benjamin Israelite tribe was the first king of Israel. The frailty of the union was exposed, however, when David's son . [3] The account in 2 Samuel 3 stresses that Israel's military commander Abner, negotiating with the tribes to secure a peace treaty with David, then king of Judah, held talks specifically with the house of Benjamin to secure their support. 12 The city of Tyre will come with a gift,[d] xlii. After the death of Saul, the tribe of Benjamin remained faithful to his house. The lives of Gods people were simply collateral damage in Davids effort to cover up his sin. He was later succeeded by his son, Solomon. Join our email list, and well send you some of our best free resourcesplus well tell you whenever we make something new. Scholars debate whether this represents a contradiction or if one of Davids brothers was simply omitted, but thats not the point. After Saul died in battle with the Philistines, David warred against Sauls commander Abner, and Sauls last son, Ish-Bosheth, whom Abner had made king of Israel. The New Testament books of Matthew and Luke give two different accounts of the genealogy of Jesus that trace back to David. Gen 49:27 Benjamin shall ravin as a wolf: in the morning he shall devour the prey, and at night he shall divide the spoil. Gottheil, Richard, et al. As a result, the number seven came to represent completion and perfection in every facet of ancient Jewish culture. These families had special rights in Narbonne, Barcelona, and Castile. . One of the most notable of those was Hillel the Elder, who moved to Judea from his birthplace in Babylon. Wait There Were How Many Herods?! Conclusion 18). Friedmann, 146a) was privileged to have the Shekinah dwell in his territory because all the other tribes (that is, fathers of the tribes) had taken part in the selling of Joseph. Whenever the spirit from God came on Saul, David would take up his lyre and play. God testified concerning him: I have found David son of Jesse, a man after my own heart; he will do everything I want him to do.. It is a good question, and I do not know the answer. It is related that Benjamin (Sifre, Deut. Making statements based on opinion; back them up with references or personal experience. In the Bible, anointed one and messiah are synonymous. 3-7), nor before Joseph (ib. Site design / logo 2023 Stack Exchange Inc; user contributions licensed under CC BY-SA. From this point on, the fortunes of Benjamin are tied up with those of Judah. Can archive.org's Wayback Machine ignore some query terms? BENJAMIN, TRIBE OF bn j mn (, or , or ; LXX ; , G1021; ; Benjamin or sons of Benjamin). In Judaism and Christianity, the Davidic Line is the bloodline from which the Hebrew Messiah has a patrilineal descent. Now, this was hundreds of years before Jesus said looking at a woman lustfully was committing adultery in your heart (Matthew 5:27-28), but at this point it was pretty clear to David that this was not a relationship he could pursue. Petrus Vermaak even suggests that the physical prowess of the Benjaminites, including their left-handed abilities, was what led the tribe to produce the first Israelite king.16 II.he Symbolic Meaning of Left and Right T The stele is dated to circa 840 BCE; however, the name of the Davidic king is not totally preserved, as much of the stele has not survived since the 9th century BCE. Browse other questions tagged, Start here for a quick overview of the site, Detailed answers to any questions you might have, Discuss the workings and policies of this site. [3][4][5] The Christian gospels claim that Jesus descends from the Davidic line and is therefore the legitimate Hebrew Messiah. Buber, Wayiggash, 7; the meanings of the names are also given in Soah 36b; Gen. R. xciv. The Davidic dynasty, which had roots in Judah, continued to reign in Judah. They decided to allow these 600 men to carry on the tribe of Benjamin, but no one was willing to give their daughter in marriage to them because they had vowed not to. 8). Howbeit I will not rend away all the kingdom; but will give one tribe [Benjamin] to thy son for David my servant's sake, and for Jerusalem's sake which I have chosen.' I Kings 11:11-13. Was David responsible for Saul's insane order to slaughter everyone in the city of Nob (1 Sam. As Saro Fedele notes in this answer, Jacob's prophecy to Judah does not rule out another tribe from being chosen to rule first: The scepter will not depart from Judah, nor the ruler's staff from between his feet; so that tribute shall come to him and the homage of the people be his. Eventually, David became king (more on how that happened in a moment), and continued his legacy as a great warrior. Hes also mentioned in several other books, and nearly half of the Psalms are attributed to him. The Davidic line or House of David (Hebrew: , romanized: Beit David) refers to the lineage of the Israelite king David through texts in the Hebrew Bible, the New Testament, and through the succeeding centuries.. In Acts 13:22, Paul appears to give an explanation: After removing Saul, he made David their king. In the Samaritan Pentateuch the name appears as Binyamm (Hebrew: ). When Saul died, the tribe of Judah anointed David as their king (2 Samuel 2:4), but Abner son of Ner, the commander of Sauls army, made Sauls son Ish-bosheth king over all Israel. But Benjamin swore: "As truly as my brother Joseph is separated from me, as truly as he has been made a slave, I have not touched the cup, and my brothers did not want to make me steal." And few of My servants are grateful. Any cookies that may not be particularly necessary for the website to function and is used specifically to collect user personal data via analytics, ads, other embedded contents are termed as non-necessary cookies. In the Revelation, the tribe of Benjamin has its place among the eleven other tribes from each of which 12,000 servants of God were to be sealed (Rev 7:8). Goliath wasnt just taunting the Israelites. You also have the option to opt-out of these cookies. Here are some of the things we know about David. The ownership of Bethel is also ambiguous. Its also possible that we learn something of the character of God through the character of David. The Bible gives us a lot of information about King David. The prophecy of Ahijah, who divided his new garment into twelve pieces and gave ten to Jeroboam with the explanation that he would rule over ten tribes, allows the possibility that Benjamin remained with Judah. A special feature of the Benjamite warriors was that they were completely ambidexterous, being able to handle the sling equally well with either hand (Judg 20:16; 1 Chron 8:40; 12:2). Its possible that he simply meant David cared about the things God cared about. Later, Gd confirmed to King David that this was indeed the site where the Holy Temple was to be built. Psalm 7 is the only Biblical mention of this later Cush, who was from the tribe of Benjamin. The Tribe of Benjamin, located to the north of Judah but to the south of the Kingdom of Israel, is significant in biblical narratives as a source of various Israelite leaders, including the first Israelite king, Saul, as well as earlier tribal leaders in the period of the Judges. After the brief period of the united kingdom of Israel, Benjamin became part of the southern Kingdom of Judah following the split into two kingdoms. The text refers several times to the Benjaminite warriors as "men of valour"[2] despite their defeat. Judah was the son who prevailed over his brothers (1 Chronicles 5:2), and while SaulIsraels first kingwas from the tribe of Benjamin, Judah became the tribe of kings. Berliner, on Gen. xxxv. But Joab did not include the tribes of Levi and Benjamin in the census because he was so distressed at what the king had made him do. Why was Israel accused of "evil" by seeking a king (1 Samuel 12, cf. The word Lifta is merely a corruption of the Hebrew name Nephtoah, and where a natural spring by that name still abounds.[17]. New International Version (NIV), Encyclopedia of The Bible Tribe of Benjamin. Today, most people associate the little town of Bethlehem with the birth of Jesus. David was not the firstborn sona privileged position in Judaismand the authors were intent on working in the number seven, associating David with holiness and Gods perfect plan for his people. [9] However, according to the consensus of modern scholars, the conquest as described in the book of Joshua did not occur. [50] Some Christian commentators also believe that this same "curse" is the reason why Zerubbabel, the rightful Solomonic king during the time of Nehemiah, was not given a kingship under the Persian empire.[51]. On another occasion, however, the Benjamites showed themselves worthy of their pious ancestor. How is Jesus " " (Luke 1:32 NAS28) different from a prophet (, Luke 1:76 NAS28)? Had they waited till David was 17 he would have been king. The Blessing of Moses, portrayed in the Bible as a prophecy by Moses about the future situation of the twelve tribes, describes Benjamin as "dwelling between YHWH's shoulders", in reference to its location between the leading tribe of the Kingdom of Israel (Ephraim), and the leading tribe (Judah) of the Kingdom of Judah.[22]. The Tel Dan Stele, as aforementioned, remains the only mention of David himself outside the Bible, and the historical reliability of the United Monarchy of Israel is archaeologically weak. Between 1 Samuel, 2 Samuel, Psalms, and 1 Chronicles, you could practically write his biography! If God had initiated the kingship, I think He would have started with David. While modern readers tend to focus on Jesus birth in a manger, its important to consider the implications that this manger was in Bethlehema town the Jewish people associated with one of the biggest announcements in their history, where their most important king had his humble beginnings. And when Samuel laid eyes upon Jesses youngest son, the shepherd, David, the Lord said, Rise and anoint him; this is the one.. Jacob's Naming When he was born, Rachel gave him the name of Ben-oni: Then they journeyed from Bethel. Understandably, this made Saul feel threatened by David. David is directly descended from Ruth and Boaz. There seems to be no truly satisfactory resolution of the problem of the western boundary of Benjamin. Forget your people and your fathers house. This is the same kingdom Jesus was referring to in Matt. It is mandatory to procure user consent prior to running these cookies on your website. [a], The earliest unambiguously[b] attested king from the Davidic line is Uzziah, who reigned in the 8th century BCE, about 75years after Ahaziah, who is named on bullae seals belonging to his servants Abijah and Shubnayahu. Referring to the start (morning) and the end (evening) of the state-history of Israel, we read there: Benjamin as a wolf will he tear to pieces; In the morning he will devour the prey, And in the evening he will divide the booty. (Darby). The tribe was descended from Benjamin, the youngest son of the patriarch Jacob (later given the name Israel) and his wife Rachel. Deuteronomy 23:2 says no one born of a forbidden marriage nor any of his descendants may enter the assembly of the Lord, even down to the tenth generation. One of Hasan's descendants Solomon ben Azariah ha-Nasi settled in Aleppo were the family became Dayan's (judges) of the city and thus adopted the surname Dayan. Davids faith would become one of his defining characteristics, and it led him to overcome countless enemies after Goliath. But he wasnt the only person to hold this title. Then, according to the book of Chronicles, some twenty years after the breakup of the United Monarchy, Abijah, the second king of Judah, defeated Jeroboam of Israel and took back the towns of Bethel, Jeshanah and Ephron, with their surrounding villages. The names of Kafnai and his son Haninai, who were Exilarchs in the second half of the 6th century, have been preserved. Jerusalem was chosen by King David to be the capital mainly because the city, although part of the territory of the tribe of Benjamin, had not yet been conquered by the Israelites, and was not tied specifically to any of the twelve tribes. But then people started to see David as greater than Saul. A widely spread traditional Christian interpretation relates the non-continuation of the main Davidic line from Solomon to the godlessness of the line of Jehoiachin which started in the early 500s BC, when Jeremiah cursed the main branch of the Solomonic line, by saying that no descendant of "[Je]Coniah" would ever reign on the throne of Israel again (Jeremiah 22:30). He told Joabs messenger: Say this to Joab: Dont let this upset you; the sword devours one as well as another.