Back سبط بنيامين Arabic Веніямінава пакаленне Byelorussian Вэніямінава пакаленьне BE-X-OLD Meuriad Binyamin Breton قبیله بنیامین Persian Tribu de Benjamin French שבט בנימין HE Benjamin (pleme) Croatian Suku Benyamin ID ベニヤミン族 Japanese
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| Geographical range | West Asia |
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| Major sites | Jerusalem |
| Preceded by | New Kingdom of Egypt |
| Followed by | Kingdom of Israel (united monarchy) |
| Tribes of Israel |
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According to the Torah, the Tribe of Benjamin (Hebrew: בִּנְיָמִן, romanized: Bīnyāmīn) was one of the Twelve Tribes of Israel. The tribe was descended from Benjamin, the youngest son of the patriarch Jacob (later given the name Israel) and his wife Rachel.[1] In the Samaritan Pentateuch the name appears as Binyamēm (Samaritan Hebrew: ࠁࠪࠍࠬࠉࠣࠌࠜࠉࠌࠬ).
The Tribe of Benjamin, located to the north of the Tribe of Judah but to the south of the later 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. In the period of the Judges, they feature in an episode in which a civil war results in their near-extinction as a tribe. 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. After the destruction of the northern kingdom, Benjamin was fully absorbed into the southern kingdom. After Judah's revolts against Babylon, it was destroyed by the Neo-Babylonian Empire in the early sixth century BCE, and its population deported, Benjamin as an organized tribe faded from history.
Members of the tribe are referred to as Benjamites or Benjaminites.
- ^ Lemche, Niels Peter (2004). Historical dictionary of ancient Israel. Historical dictionaries of ancient civilizations and historical eras. Lanham, Md.: Scarecrow Press. pp. 80–81. ISBN 978-0-8108-4848-1.