The youngest son of Jacob, by Rachel. The mother of Benjamin had expressed her dissatisfaction in having no children. "Give me children (said she in her displeasure) or else I die." It is said in the after pages of her history, that God "remembered Rachel, and that God hearkened unto her and opened her womb; and she bare a son, and called his name Joseph;" that is, as the margin of the Bible renders it, adding; and said,"the Lord shall add to me another son." (See the interesting history, Genesis 30:1-43 throughout. See also Joseph.) After the birth of Joseph, Rachel conceived again, and bore Benjamin, on which occasion she died. Moses gives a very affecting account of it, Genesis 35:15-20. As the soul of Rachel was departing from her body, she named her child Ben-oni; and the margin of our Bibles hath thought it proper to mark it with some degree of emphasis; the son of my sorrow, from Ben, son; and On, grief or burden; and the pronoun I, makes it personal, my sorrow. Poor Rachel! what a mistaken judgment she made! She earnestly desired children; but behold the event! God gave her a son; but he was, as she properly named him, a son of sorrow; a Benoni. How many Rachels have there been since, who in wrestling or wishing to take the government out of Lord's hands, have done it to their sorrow! Jacob, though his love to Rachel was unbounded, (see Genesis 29:18-20) yet he would not suffer the child to retain the name of Benoni, but changed it to Benjamin, which is, the son of my right hand, from Ben, son; and jamin, the right hand. And his love to Benjamin is much recorded in the Scripture. Moses, the man of God, viewing, most probably, Benjamin typically in relation to the Lord Jesus Christ, makes a beautiful observation in his dying blessing, which he gave to the tribes of Israel; "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)
See Gold