The youngest son of Jacob and Rachel, Genesis 35:16-18 . Rachel died immediately after he was born, and with her last breath named him Ben-oni, the son of my sorrow; but Jacob called him Benjamin, son of my right hand. He was a great comfort to his father, who saw in him the beloved wife he had buried, and Joseph whose loss he mourned. He could hardly be persuaded to let him go with his brethren to Egypt, Genesis 42:38 . The tribe of Benjamin was small at first and was almost exterminated in the days of the Judges, Judges 20:1-48 , but afterwards greatly increased, 2 Chronicles 14:8 17:17 . It was valiant, Genesis 49:27 , and "beloved of the Lord," dwelling safely by him, Deuteronomy 33:12; for its territory adjoined Judah and the Holy City on the north. At the revolt of the ten tribes, Benjamin adhered to the cause of Judah; and the two tribes were ever afterwards closely united, 1 Kings 11:13 12:20 Ezra 4:1 10:9 . King Saul and Saul of Tarsus were both Benjamites, Philippians 3:5 .