Genesis 35:18

her soul The nephesh, or "soul," the vital principle: cf. 1 Kings 17:21, "let this child's soul come unto him again."

Ben-oni i.e. the son of my sorrow. Rachel, as she dies, names her son; but the father cannot acquiesce in a name of such sad memories.

Benjamin i.e. the son of the right hand. Jacob refuses to give his child an ill-omened name. The right hand was regarded as the auspicious side. Cf. Genesis 48:13; Genesis 48:17-19; 1 Kings 2:19; Psalms 45:9; Psalms 89:13. The tribe of Benjamin occupied the southernmost territory of the sons of Rachel, viz. on the right of Ephraim, facing eastwards. According to Sayce (E.H.H., p. 79) this is the explanation of the name, which then might be rendered "southerner"; and the present story would imply the formation of the tribe after the occupation of Canaan.

The words of Rachel, as she dies, should be compared with the allusion in Jeremiah 31:15. The condensed account in this passage makes no reference to the grief of Jacob; but this is expressed in Genesis 48:7 by a pathetic sentence.