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Benjamin Held Five Sleeping Forces Between His Brothers

Psalm 80 names Ephraim, Benjamin, and Manasseh, and the rabbis heard a call to wake five sleeping divine forces hidden in that tribal order.

Curated by Arthur · Told by Maggid ·
Table of Contents
  1. Joseph's Missing Name
  2. Five Things That Are Not Moving
  3. Benjamin the Hinge
  4. Torah and the Seven Things Before the World

Joseph's Missing Name

Psalm 80 calls out three tribal names in succession: Ephraim, Benjamin, Manasseh. The verse is a prayer asking God to rouse His strength and come to save, and the tribes named are the ones the psalmist wants accompanying the divine march. But Joseph, their father, is absent from the list. His sons stand on either side of Benjamin, the only full brother Joseph ever had, the only son whom Rachel bore before she died giving birth to him. Benjamin sits in the middle of the verse like a pin holding two halves of a broken family together.

The rabbis of Midrash Tehillim slowed down over the word the verse uses for rousing: awaken. Something is asleep. The prayer is not asking God to act differently. It is asking God to wake up what God is already carrying.

Five Things That Are Not Moving

The midrash gives names to what is sleeping. Not virtues, not abstract qualities: five specific forces that exist in heaven but are not currently in motion. The might of God, which is the capacity for decisive intervention that has been deliberately held back. The rainbow, which is the covenant sign from after the flood, covenant memory still visible in storms but not yet speaking its promise fully. The sword, which is judgment waiting to be drawn. The arm, which is the intervention that reaches from heaven into history, the kind of reach that parted the sea and struck down the firstborn. And the jealousy of God, which is the fierce protective force that refuses to allow Israel's enemies the last word, the kind of jealousy that cannot watch the covenant people disappear without responding.

None of these are absent from the universe. All of them are present. The psalm is asking God to wake them because sleeping forces are not the same as active forces, and the people praying need the active version.

Benjamin the Hinge

Why is Benjamin in the middle of the verse? The aggadic tradition heard the placement as a reference to Benjamin's specific history: the child born on the road between Bethel and Bethlehem while his mother died, the son Jacob named both Ben-oni, son of my sorrow, and Benjamin, son of my right hand. He was the last-born of the twelve, the one Joseph demanded be brought to Egypt before he would reveal himself, the one whose name Joseph's sons carried into the next generation in the form of their own names, each one encoding something of the absent brother they had never met.

Benjamin stands between Ephraim and Manasseh because he is the connection between Joseph's lost life in Canaan and his sons' lives in Egypt. He is the living bridge between the family that was and the nation that would be. When the psalm places him in the center and asks God to awaken the sleeping forces, Benjamin's position is not accidental. He is the hinge on which the request turns.

Torah and the Seven Things Before the World

The tradition about things created before the world was formed includes Torah, repentance, the Garden of Eden, Gehinnom, the throne of glory, the Temple, and the name of the Messiah. These were not created because they are needed now. They were created in advance because what is needed in history must have been provided for before history began. The five sleeping forces in Psalm 80 belong to the same logic. They exist before they are called upon. They wait. The prayer that wakes them is not creating them. It is releasing what was always there.

BenjaminTribesCreationPsalmsJacob
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From the tradition

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The texts this telling draws on, in full. Open a card to read inline, or expand it for a wider, quieter read.

Midrash Tehillim 80:3Midrash Tehillim

"Before Ephraim and Benjamin and Manasseh" (Psalms 80:3). Five things are asleep in the world. Might, as it is said, "Rouse Your might" (Psalms 80:3). The bow, as it is said (Habakkuk 3:9), "Your bow is laid utterly bare." The sword, as it is said (Zechariah 13:7), "O sword, awake against My shepherd." The arm, as it is said (Isaiah 51:9), "Awake, put on strength, O arm of the LORD." And zeal, as it is said (Isaiah 42:13), "Like a man of war He rouses zeal." Thus, "Before Ephraim and Benjamin and Manasseh, etc." "And come to save us" (Psalms 80:3).

Rabbi Hilkiah said in the name of Rabbi Abbahu: "And come" is written in full spelling, indicating that all the salvation is Yours. "O God, restore us, and let Your face shine, that we may be saved" (Psalms 80:4). Rabbi said: We have nothing but the shining of Your face.

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Bamidbar Rabbah 14:8Bamidbar Rabbah

Avidan son of Gidoni brings Benjamin's offering, and Bamidbar Rabbah finds Rachel, dawn, and creation folded into the gift.

The Torah tells us, "On the ninth day, prince of the children of Benjamin, Avidan son of Gidoni" (Numbers 7:60). But why did Benjamin offer his gifts after the sons of Joseph, Ephraim and Manasseh? It seems like a simple detail, but the Rabbis of the Midrash (rabbinic interpretive commentary) ask this very question! Bamidbar Rabbah offers a beautiful explanation: Just as the Divine Presence, the Shekhinah (the Divine Presence), rested in Joseph’s portion in Shilo, so too, it later resided in Benjamin’s portion with the Temple in Jerusalem. There's a symmetry, a balance, in the placement of holiness.

Another explanation connects to the verse, "Rouse Your might before Ephraim, Benjamin, and Manasseh, and come to our rescue" (Psalms 80:3). The Midrash emphasizes that Ephraim and Manasseh are inseparable, almost like two sides of the same coin. But Benjamin, nestled in between, is crucial to their dynamic.The Midrash plays with the Hebrew word for "dish," kaarat. Instead of reading it literally, the Rabbis suggest reading it as akeret, which alludes to Rachel.

Why Rachel? Because, as Bamidbar Rabbah points out, she was the "pillar of the household," the ikar, the very essence of Jacob’s family. “The sons of Rachel, Jacob’s wife: Joseph and Benjamin” (Genesis 46:19). And it says: “Rachel died on me” (Genesis 48:7). This connection to Rachel is further emphasized by the phrase "One silver." The Midrash explains that Benjamin's birth was a direct result of Rachel's prayer. Remember when she named Joseph, saying, "May the Lord add another son for me" (Genesis 30:24)? The Rabbis connect this to the verse, "The tongue of the righteous is choice silver" (Proverbs 10:20), specifically referring to the powerful and effective words of a righteous woman.

The weight of the dish, "one hundred and thirty," is also significant. Bamidbar Rabbah connects it to Jacob's age when Benjamin was born – one hundred years old. This is why he was named Benjamin [Binyamin], meaning "son of my right hand" or, as the Midrash creatively interprets, "son of yamin." The numerical value (gematria) of yamin (ימין) – Yod (10), Mem (40), Nun (50) – adds up to 100! Jacob was 100 and Benjamin was thirty years old when they went down to Egypt, totaling one hundred and thirty.

Moving on to the "one silver basin of seventy shekels," the Midrash connects this to Joseph. This basin, resembling a goblet, recalls Joseph's famous goblet, which he used to test his brothers' righteousness regarding Benjamin. The Rabbis explain that when Joseph saw Judah's willingness to sacrifice himself for Benjamin, he knew his brothers had truly repented. The numerical value (gematria) of the Hebrew word for wine, yayin (יין), which Joseph would have drunk from the goblet, is seventy (Yod - 10; Yod - 10; Nun - 50).

Bamidbar Rabbah concludes that "Both of them full" – Joseph and Benjamin – were equal. Just as the Tabernacle rested in Joseph's portion in Shilo, the Temple later found its home in Benjamin's portion in Jerusalem.

But the offerings don’t stop there! There's "one gold ladle of ten shekels, filled with incense" (Numbers 7:62). The Midrash associates this with the ten sons that Benjamin had when he went down to Egypt, all of whom were righteous individuals. "The sons of Benjamin: Bela, and Bekher, [and Ashbel, Gera, and Naaman, Eḥi, and Rosh, Mupim, and Hupim, and Ard]" (Genesis 46:21).

And what about the animal offerings? "One young bull, one ram, one lamb in its first year, as a burnt offering" (Numbers 7:63). According to Bamidbar Rabbah, these three species symbolize the three times the Temple would be built in Benjamin's territory: during the eras of Solomon, the return from Babylonian exile, and the Messianic Era.

The "one goat as a sin offering" (Numbers 7:64) is linked to the Temple built by Herod. This Temple, constructed by a king considered sinful, served as atonement for his actions, particularly the killing of the Sages of Israel (Bava Batra 4a).

Finally, "And for the peace offering, two bulls..five rams, five goats, five lambs in their first year" (Numbers 7:65). The two bulls represent the two kings who came from Benjamin: Saul and Ish Boshet. Alternatively, they symbolize the two redeemers: Mordechai and Esther. The groupings of five animals each represent the multiple blessings Benjamin received: his portion being five times greater than his brothers' (Genesis 43:34); the five changes of garments given to him (Genesis 45:22); and Mordechai's five royal garments (Esther 8:15).

So, what does it all mean? The Rabbis in Bamidbar Rabbah aren't just giving us historical or legalistic interpretations. They're showing us how deeply interconnected everything is within the Jewish tradition. From familial connections to geographical locations, from the Temple's history to the future Messianic Era, every detail is significant.

And perhaps, the most powerful message is this: Even seemingly small offerings, like those of Avidan, can be a source of immense blessing. "This was the offering of Avidan…" the Torah emphasizes. Because he presented his offering with intention and in the proper order, God Himself lauded his gift. What offerings, big or small, are we bringing to the world? And what blessings might they unlock?

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Bereshit Rabbah 94:8Bereshit Rabbah

Bereshit Rabbah turns to Benjamin's Sons Named After the Brother He Never Met.

Consider the passage in (Genesis 46:21): "And the sons of Benjamin: Bela, and Bekher, and Ashbel, Gera, and Naaman, Eḥi, and Rosh, Mupim, and Ḥupim, and Ard." Just a list. But Bereshit Rabbah, that incredible collection of rabbinic interpretations, opens it up for us.

The Midrash (rabbinic interpretive commentary) imagines a scene where Joseph, now a powerful figure in Egypt, is reunited with his brother Benjamin. He asks Benjamin about his sons. Benjamin replies that he has ten. Joseph, curious, asks for their names.

Here's where it gets really interesting. Benjamin doesn't just rattle off a list of names. Instead, each name becomes a lament, a coded message about the brother he lost – Joseph himself! According to Bereshit Rabbah, Benjamin explains that he named his sons based on the pain and longing he felt after Joseph disappeared.

"Bela," Benjamin says, is because Joseph was "swallowed up" (nivla) from him. "Bekher" reminds him that Joseph was his firstborn (bekhor) brother. "Ashbel" signifies that Joseph was taken captive (nishba). "Gera" represents Joseph residing (gar) in another land. "Naaman" reflects that Joseph's actions were fine (na’im) and pleasant (ne’imim). "Eḥi" means that Joseph was his full-fledged brother (aḥi).

"Rosh" is particularly poignant. Benjamin explains that Joseph was a leader (rosh) for him, the head (roshan) of his brothers. This even ties into (Deuteronomy 33:16), which says, "May his blessing rest on the head of [lerosh] Joseph."

But wait, there's more. "Mupim" speaks to Joseph's wisdom and knowledge. Bereshit Rabbah explains that Joseph was exceedingly fine (yafeh) and that he absorbed the teachings that Shem and Ever transmitted to Jacob - directly from their mouths (mo pihem).

And then, the gut punch: "Ḥupim" signifies that Benjamin did not see Joseph's wedding canopy (beḥupati), nor did Joseph see his (beḥupato). The family concealed (veḥipu) matters concerning Joseph, claiming, "A savage beast devoured him" ((Genesis 37:33)).

Finally, "Ard" is like a rose (vered), but also echoes Jacob's sorrowful statement in (Genesis 37:35): "For I will descend [ered] mourning to my son to the grave."

Wow. Talk about layers of meaning. What seems like a simple name list is really a powerful evidence of familial love, loss, and enduring memory.

But the Midrash doesn't stop there. It continues with the sons of Naphtali ((Genesis 46:24)): "Yaḥtze'el, and Guni, and Yetzer, and Shilem." Here, the interpretations take a slightly different turn, focusing on the character traits and potential flaws of Naphtali's descendants.

According to Bereshit Rabbah, the creations of Naphtali's sons were twisted (muftalin) on seventy-two heddles – a reference to weaving and perhaps their skill, but also a hint of complexity. "Yaḥtze'el" suggests they broke (sheḥitzu) idols and made cutting remarks (metzaḥtzeḥin) about idolatry. "Guni" implies they spoke in derogatory (megunim) language. "Yetzer" indicates that their evil inclination was stronger than that of others. And "Shilem" suggests they were devoted (mushlamim) to their inclination or, alternatively, devoted to God despite it, and that they repaid (umshalmin) goodness with evil.

Now, some commentaries, like Yefeh To’ar, offer more positive spins, suggesting that "Shilem" could mean devotion to God, but the overall tone is certainly more critical than the interpretation of Benjamin's sons' names.

So, what does all this mean for us? I think it reminds us that the Bible is so much more than just a historical record. it weaves human emotion, hidden meanings, and endless opportunities for interpretation. Even seemingly mundane lists of names can hold profound stories of love, loss, and the complexities of human nature. And it invites us to look deeper, to ask questions, and to find our own connections to these ancient narratives. What hidden stories might we be missing in our own lives? What names carry unspoken burdens or untold tales? Maybe it's time to start listening more closely.

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Legends of the Jews 1:405Legends of the Jews

Take the blessing Jacob gave to his youngest son, Benjamin. It seems straightforward, but the Rabbis saw in it a glimpse into the future of the entire Israelite nation.

Jacob, on his deathbed, declared that Benjamin would be "a wolf that ravineth" (Genesis 49:27). A rather fierce image, wouldn't you say? But what did it really mean?

The Midrash (rabbinic interpretive commentary), that treasure trove of rabbinic interpretation, doesn't take things at face value. It digs deeper. The Rabbis saw in Jacob's words a prophecy that the tribe of Benjamin would produce both Israel's first king and its last great leader: Saul, who, despite his later troubles, was indeed the first king, and Esther, the heroine of the Purim story, who saved the Jewish people from annihilation. Both, remarkably, were from the tribe of Benjamin.

There's more. According to Legends of the Jews, Ginzberg’s masterful compilation of Jewish folklore, Benjamin's inheritance in the Holy Land mirrored these extremes. Jericho, located in Benjamin's territory, was known for its early-ripening fruits, while Beth-el, also within Benjamin's borders, ripened its fruits later than any other region. It's almost as if Benjamin's portion of the land was destined to hold both beginnings and ends, early harvests and delayed gratification.

Jacob's blessing also hinted at the service in the Beit HaMikdash, the Holy Temple. The Temple, the very heart of Jewish worship, stood within the territory of Benjamin. In Genesis Rabbah 99:2, we find this connection clearly drawn.

And that "wolf that ravineth" imagery? It wasn't just about power. The Rabbis also associated it with Ehud, the judge, a Benjamite who, as the Book of Judges recounts, cleverly and courageously defeated Eglon, the king of Moab. Ehud was a scholar and a warrior, a man of both intellect and action.

There’s another, perhaps darker, association too. Jacob may have also been alluding to the infamous story of the Benjamites who, as recounted in the Book of Judges, captured wives by cunning and force. This episode, filled with complexity and moral ambiguity, reminds us that even within a blessed tribe, human failings can exist.

So, what do we take away from this? Jacob's blessing of Benjamin, seemingly simple, becomes a rich tradition woven with threads of leadership, territory, service, and even moral challenges. It shows us how the Rabbis found meaning in every word, every phrase, revealing layers of prophecy and historical significance within the sacred text. It's a reminder that sometimes, the greatest stories are hidden in plain sight, waiting to be uncovered.

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Midrash Mishlei 8:4Midrash Mishlei

Rabbi Chanina said: Come and see how good a thing the Holy One, blessed be He, created in His world before the world was created, and what is it? The Torah. There we learned: "Seven things were created before the creation of the world, and these are they: the Torah, the Throne of Glory, the Temple, repentance, the Garden of Eden, Gehinnom, and the name of the Messiah." The Throne of Glory, from where? As it is said, "Thy throne is established from of old" (Ps. 93:2). The Temple, from where? As it is said, "A throne of glory, exalted from the beginning, is the place of our sanctuary" (Jer. 17:12). The Garden of Eden, from where? As it is said, "And the LORD God planted a garden in Eden, from aforetime" (Gen. 2:8). Gehinnom, from where? As it is said, "For Tophet is ordained from of old" (Isa. 30:33). Repentance, from where? As it is said, "Before the mountains were brought forth" (Ps. 90:2), and it is written after it, "Thou turnest man back to contrition, and sayest, Return, ye children of men" (Ps. 90:3). The name of the Messiah, from where? As it is said, "May his name endure for ever; before the sun, may his name flourish" (Ps. 72:17). The Torah, from where? As it is said, "The LORD possessed me as the beginning of His way, before His works of old" (Prov. 8:22).

What is written above it? "That I may cause those that love me to inherit yesh (substance), and I will fill their treasuries" (Prov. 8:21). In the time to come the Holy One, blessed be He, will cause every single righteous person to inherit three hundred and ten worlds [the word yesh has the numerical value of 310, by gematria; hence "to inherit yesh" is read as three hundred and ten]; therefore it is said "that I may cause those that love me to inherit yesh." In the beginning the Torah was in the heavens, as it is said, "Then I was beside Him as a nursling (amon), and I was His delight day by day" (Prov. 8:30); and afterward Moses went up and brought her down to the earth and gave her to humankind, as it is said, "Rejoicing (mesacheket) in His habitable earth, and my delights were with the sons of man" (Prov. 8:31).

Rabbi Alexandri said: What is "rejoicing in His habitable earth"? From this you learn that ten names were given to the earth, and these are they: eretz, adamah, charvah, yabbashah, arka, tevel, cheled, reshit, gei, sadeh, eretz ["earth"], because the sons of man run (ratzim) upon it; adamah ["ground"], because from it Adam (Adam ha-Rishon, the first man) was created; charvah ["dry land"], because the waters lay it waste (macharivin); yabbashah ["dry land"], from the time it received (kibblah) the blood of Abel [reading it as the earth that drank the spilled blood]; arka ["earth," Aramaic], because it fled (barchah) before the Holy One, blessed be He, when He wished to give Israel the Torah on Mount Sinai; tevel ["world"], because it is seasoned (metabbelet) with its fruits; cheled ["world," "duration"], because the sons of man are transient (chaludim) upon it; reshit ["beginning"], because it is the beginning of all the work of creation (ma'aseh bereshit); gei ["valley"], because it is made with hills (geva'ot); sadeh ["field"], because it is made into fields (sadot).

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