Hebrew word · H1145

בֶּן־יְמִינִי

ben-

Benjaminite

The term for a member of the tribe of Benjamin (binyamin, 'son of the right hand' or 'son of the south'; when you face east, the right hand is south). Written either as one word or, as here, in two parts, 'son of the Yeminite.'

Appears 17 times in 9 verses of the Hebrew Old Testament. ·

What it means

Someone from the tribe of Benjamin living at the time of the Patriarchs, first mentioned at Gen.35.18;

son of: Israel (H3478) and Rachel (H7354);

brother of: Joseph (H3130);

half-brother of: Reuben (H7205), Simeon (H8095), Levi (H3878), Judah (H3063), Dan (H1835H), Naphtali (H5321), Gad (H1410), Asher (H0836), Issachar (H3485), Zebulun (H2074) and Dinah (H1783);

father of: Bela (H1106A), Becher (H1071), Ashbel (H0788), Gera (H1617), Naaman (H5283), Ehi (H0278), Rosh (H7220), Muppim (H4649), Huppim (H2650H), Ard (H0714), Ahiram (H0297) and Jediael (H3043); also called Jamin at 1Sa.9.1,4; 22.7; 1x

Group of bin.ya.min (בִּנְיָמִין "Benjamin" H1144)

§ Benjamite = "a son of the right hand"

one of the tribe of Benjamin

Abridged from Brown, Driver and Briggs, A Hebrew and English Lexicon of the Old Testament (1906), via STEPBible.org (CC BY 4.0).

In depth

From the study of 2 Samuel 19:16

Range of meaning

The term for a member of the tribe of Benjamin (binyamin, 'son of the right hand' or 'son of the south'; when you face east, the right hand is south). Written either as one word or, as here, in two parts, 'son of the Yeminite.'

Against the English

'Benjamite' or 'Benjaminite' in all English versions. That is accurate. What English cannot show is how often Samuel uses this tag for people tied to Saul's house: Saul's father Kish (1 Sam 9:1, 21), Shimei here and in 16:11, and the rebel Sheba (20:1).

Used elsewhere in the period

Letters from the city of Mari (on the Euphrates, 18th century BC) name a tribal group called the Binu-Yamina, 'sons of the south/right.' This shows the type of name was old and widespread. It does not prove any direct historical link with Israel's Benjamin.

From the study of 1 Chronicles 27:12

Range of meaning

"Benjamite," member of the tribe of Benjamin. Literally "son of the right hand/south." Hebrew yamin means both "right hand" and "south," because a person faces east to orient himself.

Against the English

English "Benjamite" (BSB, KJV, WEB) is accurate. Only YLT keeps the singular "of the Benjamite."

Used elsewhere in the period

The two-word form appears for Saul's family (1 Samuel 9:1, 21; 22:7) and for Ehud (Judges 3:15). Chronicles prefers bənê binyamin. The two-word form here, set off by a scribal separator mark, keeps the older style. The name Benjamin itself is explained in Genesis 35:18.

From the study of 1 Samuel 9:21

Range of meaning

A member of the tribe of Benjamin. Literally "son of the right hand." For someone facing east, the right hand is the south, so it can also mean "son of the south."

Against the English

"Benjamite/Benjaminite" is accurate. The literal sense is lost but does not matter much here.

Used elsewhere in the period

Used of Ehud (Judg 3:15), Kish (1 Sam 9:1) and Shimei (2 Sam 16:11). Letters from Mari (18th century BC, on the Euphrates) mention a tribal group called the "sons of the right/south" (Binu-Yamina). Any historical link with Israel's Benjamin is debated and uncertain, though the name pattern is the same.

Where it appears

Judges · 4

  1. Judges 3:15 בֶּן־ הַיְמִינִ֔י [the] Ben-, <the> jaminite

    And again they cried out to the LORD, and He raised up Ehud son of Gera, a left-handed Benjamite, as their deliverer. So they sent him with tribute to Eglon king of Moab.

    Here: The first half of the tribal name. Here it is written as a separate word, so the literal sense "son of the right" can be heard.

  2. Judges 19:16 בְּנֵ֥י יְמִינִֽי׃ [were] Ben-, jaminites

    That evening an old man from the hill country of Ephraim, who was residing in Gibeah (the men of that place were Benjamites), came in from his work in the field.

1 Samuel · 4

  1. 1 Samuel 9:21 בֶן־ יְמִינִ֤י a Ben-, jaminite

    Saul replied, “Am I not a Benjamite from the smallest tribe of Israel, and is not my clan the least of all the clans of Benjamin? So why would you say such a thing to me?”

    Here: The first half of the tribal name. "Son of" here means "member of" the tribe.

  2. 1 Samuel 22:7 בְּנֵ֣י יְמִינִ֑י O Ben-, jaminites

    Then Saul said to his servants, “Listen, men of Benjamin! Is the son of Jesse giving all of you fields and vineyards and making you commanders of thousands or hundreds?

2 Samuel · 4

  1. 2 Samuel 16:11 בֶּן־ הַיְמִינִ֗י [the] Ben-, <the> jaminite

    Then David said to Abishai and to all his servants, “Behold, my own son, my own flesh and blood, seeks my life. How much more, then, this Benjamite! Leave him alone and let him curse me, for the LORD has told him so.

    Here: The first half of the tribal name 'son of Yemini' = Benjaminite. 'Son' here links to 'my son' earlier in the verse: a son of David's own body against a 'son' of a rival tribe.

  2. 2 Samuel 19:16 בֶּן־ הַיְמִינִ֔י [the] Ben-, <the> jaminite

    Then Shimei son of Gera, a Benjamite from Bahurim, hurried down with the men of Judah to meet King David,

    Here: First half of the two-word term for a member of the tribe of Benjamin, literally 'son of …'.

1 Kings · 2

  1. 1 Kings 2:8 בֶן־ הַיְמִינִי֮ [the] Ben-, <the> jaminite

    Keep an eye on Shimei the son of Gera, the Benjamite from Bahurim who is with you. He called down bitter curses against me on the day I went to Mahanaim, but when he came down to meet me at the Jordan, I swore to him by the LORD: ‘I will never put you to the sword.’

Esther · 1

  1. Esther 2:5 יְמִינִֽי׃ a Jaminite

    Now there was at the citadel of Susa a Jewish man from the tribe of Benjamin named Mordecai son of Jair, the son of Shimei, the son of Kish.

Psalms · 2

Word data: STEPBible.org (CC BY 4.0), main text only.