Biblical Hebrew Forum

["Yigal Levin" <leviny1 AT mail.biu.ac.il>]

----- Original Message -----
From: "Dora Smith" <villandra AT austin.rr.com>

> My understanding is exactly that the Banu-yamin referred to by the Maori
> were an Amoritic tribe, ie, they were seminomadic.

Dora, nowhere are Amurru defined as "seminomadic" per se. yes, some of them
were. Some were not. Many Amurru were well integrated into urban
civilization.


> They were located at
> the northern end of the hill country and would have ranged through it like
> all other Amoritic tribes in that area.

"Northern end" of WHAT hill country? Of Canaan? Of Central Syria?

>
> So if Banu-yamin turn up in central Palestine, there is a good chance they
> are some of the same people - though it is n't proven.

Since ALL we know of the biblical Benjaminites is from the Bible, that's all
we have to go with. There is NOTHING in the biblical traditions that would
suggest that the tribe of Benjamin was of "Amorite" origin, any more than
any other tribe of Israel. All the Bene Yamin of Mari prove is the
geographical nature of the name Benjamin - just as the Bene-Yamin of Mari
were called that because they were in the south (that is, on the right, if
one is "oriented" to the east), so were those of Israel (excluding Judah).

Yigal