The Tribe of Benjamin

The Tribe of Benjamin, or the tribe composed of "the benjaminites" was one of the Twelve Tribes of Israel. The tribe was descended from Benjamin, the youngest son of the patriarch Jacob, as well as his wife Rachel.

The land allocated to the tribe was located to the north of Judah, and to the south of the northern Kingdom of Israel. The populace was significant throughout the timeline of the Old Testament 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. During this time, the benjaminites 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 following the split into two kingdoms. After the destruction of the north

ern kingdom, Benjamin was absorbed into the southern kingdom. When the southern kingdom was destroyed in the early sixth century BCE, Benjamin no longer could claim to be an organized "tribe."

History
After the death of Ish-bosheth, the tribe of Benjamin joined the northern Israelite tribes in making David king of the united Kingdom of Israel and Judah. On the accession of Rehoboam, David's grandson, in c. 930 BCE the northern tribes split from the House of David to constitute the northern Kingdom of Israel. The tribe of Benjamin remained a part of the Kingdom of Judah until Judah was conquered by Babylon in c. 586 BCE and the population deported.

After the dissolution of the United Kingdom of Israel in c. 930 BCE, the tribe of Benjamin joined the Tribe of Judah as a junior partner in the Kingdom of Judah, otherwise known as the Southern Kingdom. The Davidic dynasty, which had roots in the tribe of Judah, continued to reign in the kingdom of Judah. As part of this kingdom, Benjaminites survived the destruction of Israel by the Assyrians, but was, however, subjected to Babylonian captivity. Even though after captivity had ended, the distinction between the tribes of Benjamin and Judah was lost in favour of a common identity as Israel, subsequent instances of Jews identifying by either tribe can still be found in the Bible. In the book of Esther, for example, Mordecai is referred to as being of the tribe of Benjamin, and as late as the time of Jesus Christ, some (notably Paul the Apostle) still identified with their claimed Benjamite ancestry.