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However, some scholars believe that “Gibeon” is a scribal error
for “Gibeah,” the city of Saul (I Sam. 11:4).
The Tribal Territory
The territory of Benjamin, which extended from the hill
country of Ephraim to the hill country of Judah, is described in
great detail in Joshua 18:11–28. The description of its southern
border fits that of the northern border of Judah (Josh. 15:5–11),
while the picture of its northern border accords with that
of the southern border of the House of Joseph (Josh. 16:1–3,
5). The northern boundary began at the Jordan and continued
in an almost straight line westward to Jericho, which it bypassed
to the north; it then ascended the mountains in a westnorthwesterly
direction, encompassing Beth-El, turning south
and continuing to the southwest, and circumventing lower
Beth-Horon on the south. The western border of Benjamin
is unclear; however, from the description of the territory
of Dan, it would seem that it did not reach the sea, but
ended in the vicinity of the valley of Aijalon, with the area of
lower Beth-Horon and Kiriath-Jearim marking its northern
and southern extremities (cf. Josh. 18:28 with 15:60). The
southern border ran “from the outskirts of Kiriath-Jearim”
(Josh. 18:15), eastward via the “spring of the Waters of Nephtoah”
(Lifta) to Jerusalem, which was included in the territory
of Benjamin; for the border passed Jerusalem on the
south and descended east by way of En-Rogel, En-Shemesh,
“the Stone of Bohan son of Reuben,” and Beth-Hoglah to the
Dead Sea, near where the Jordan enters it. The eastern border
was the Jordan.
The list of Benjaminite towns (Josh. 18:21–28) does not
accord with the northern border of the tribe as described in
Joshua 18:12–13 since Beth-El, Zemaraim, Ophrah, and Mizpeh
are elsewhere included in the territory of Ephraim (cf.
Josh. 16; II Chron. 13:4, 19). Possibly the list of cities and the
list of border points are not from the same period and reflect
fluctuating territorial and historical situations. It is generally
believed that the list of border points antedates the period of
the monarchy, whereas the list of cities is of later date. A westward
expansion of the Benjaminites – possibly as early as the
end of the period of Judges, but perhaps taking place during
the monarchy – can be inferred from the list of Benjaminite
towns in Nehemiah 11:31–35. Non-Israelite enclaves existed
within the territory of Benjamin; the Jebusites dwelt in Jerusalem
(Josh. 18:28), and there were four cities of the Hivites
in the western portion. Echoes of the conflicts between the
Benjaminites and the indigenous population are discernible
in II Samuel 21:1–2 and possibly in I Chronicles 8:6–8.
The History of the Tribe
Despite the fact that the territory of Benjamin was smaller
than that of most of the other tribes and although Benjamin
was regarded as the youngest tribe (see the *Tribes of Israel),
it played an important part in the history of the unification
of the tribes of Israel during the period of the Judges and the
beginning of the monarchy. One of the first judges who arose
to save Israel was *Ehud son of Gera, of the tribe of Benja-
benjamin
min (Judg. 3:15), and the first king to rule Israel was *Saul the
Benjaminite (I Sam. 9:1). Benjamin’s importance was due to
the strategic position of its territory, through which the divide
(watershed) of the central hill country passed. The territory’s
main north-south road ran along the divide; a main
highway connecting Transjordan with the west also passed
through Benjamin’s territory. It was this road that the Israelites
used after they crossed the Jordan. When *Eglon king
of Moab extended the boundaries of his rule westward, the
oppressive effects were felt mainly by the tribe of Benjamin,
since the corridor connecting regions on the banks of the
Jordan was situated in its territory. Therefore it was not just
by chance that the judge who saved Israel from Moab came
from the tribe of Benjamin (Judg. 3:12ff). The close ties between
the Benjaminites and the people of Jabesh-Gilead (Judg.
20–21; I Sam. 11; 31:11–13; Obad. 19) are also explained in part
by the Benjaminites’ easy access to Transjordan. In the days
of *Deborah the Benjaminites joined in the war against Jabin
and Sisera (Judg. 5:14). After forcing the tribe of Dan to move
northward, Philistine pressure focused upon the territory
of the Benjaminites because of the strategic importance of
the area. The *Philistines dominated the entire central part
of the country and placed a garrison in Gibeath-Benjamin
(I Sam. 10:5; 13:3). Opposition to Philistine rule was thus centered
in Benjamin, and so it is hardly surprising that the first
king, Saul, whose primary task it was to save Israel from the
Philistines (cf. I Sam. 9:16), was a Benjaminite. This is also in
keeping with Benjamin’s reputation for military prowess, as
expressed in Jacob’s blessing: “Benjamin is a ravenous wolf;
in the morning he consumes the foe, and in the evening he
divides the spoil” (Gen. 49:27).
A count of Benjaminites made before the intertribal war
that followed the affair of the concubine in Gibeah (Judg.
19–21) revealed “twenty six thousand men that drew the
sword… Among all these were seven hundred picked men
who were left-handed; every one could sling a stone at a
hair and not miss” (Judg. 20:15–16; cf. I Chron. 8:40; 12:1–2).
According to the account, Benjamin was defeated and its civilian
population massacred. The survival of the tribe was
only insured by seizure as wives for the 600 remaining warriors
of the unmarried women of Jabesh-Gilead and Shiloh
(Judg. 21). The kingdom of Judah established by David did
not include Benjamin (see *Ish-Bosheth), and when Israel
also chose David as its king, Benjamin continued to belong
to “the House of Joseph” (II Sam. 19:17–21). The tribe retained
some rancor against David as the supplanter of the House of
Saul, as is shown by the episode of *Shimei son of Gera and
the revolt of *Sheba son of Bichri (II Sam. 16:5–13; 20:1–2).
Under Solomon, too, the territory of Benjamin constituted
one of the administrative divisions of Israel (I Kings 4:18).
After Solomon’s death and the revolt of Israel, the Davidides
tried to regain as much of Israel as they could, and according
to II Chronicles 13 for a time pushed the northern limit of
their dominion well beyond Benjamin. Ultimately, however,
they had to be content with the Benjaminite watershed as a
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