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  • From: JimStinehart AT aol.com
  • To: b-hebrew AT lists.ibiblio.org
  • Subject: [b-hebrew] The "Benjamin Conundrum": Were Benjamin's Sons Born in Egypt?
  • Date: Wed, 23 Jan 2008 10:42:27 EST


The “Benjamin Conundrum”: Were Benjamin’s Sons Born in Egypt?

In considering the question of whether Jacob led 75 Hebrews or 70 Hebrews
into Egypt, one of the important issues is whether Benjamin’s descendants
listed
at Genesis 46: 21 were born in Egypt after Jacob led the Hebrews into Egypt,
or whether Benjamin’s descendants were born before the Hebrews moved to
Egypt.
Here is how this important issue is stated by our own Yigal Levin, in his
excellent article, “Joseph, Judah and the ‘Benjamin Conundrum’”, Zeitschrift
für die Alttestamentliche Wissenschaft volume 116 (2004), pp. 223-241, at p.
237:

“A…contradiction seems to appear at the end of the story [of Joseph in
Egypt], where the same Benjamin who was too young to leave his father’s side
in Gen
43, 32 has no less than ten sons by the time the whole family comes to Egypt
(46, 21).”

If we count people’s ages, we see that Benjamin was age 15 regular years when
Jacob moved all 70 Hebrews into Egypt. (Joseph was age 25 regular years, and
Jacob was age 65 regular years. Genesis 47: 9 tells us that Jacob was the
awkward age of 130 “years”, being awkward 13, tenfold, in 6-month “years”,
which is age 65 regular years, when Jacob led the Hebrews into Egypt. Joseph
was
a “child of Jacob’s old age”, in that Jacob was age 40 regular years when
Joseph was born. Benjamin was born 10 regular years later, when Jacob was
age
50 regular years. Note that Abraham had similarly been age 50 regular years
when Abraham’s last son, Isaac, was born. [The sons that Abraham sired by
concubines are mentioned after Isaac’s birth, but in fact all such sons by
concubines were sired by Abraham earlier, before Abraham reached the old age
in the
ancient world of age 50 regular years.] All of the numbers and ages always
work
perfectly in the Patriarchal narratives, without exception.)

At age 15 regular years when the Hebrews moved to Egypt, Benjamin probably
had not married yet. It is likely that all of Jacob’s 10 older sons marry at
about age 20 regular years, since that is the age, apparently the “normal”
age,
at which each of Isaac and Esau marry. (Genesis 25: 20; 26: 34, referencing
each such marriage at age 40 “years”, in 6-month “years”, which is age 20
in regular, 12-month years.) Joseph marries the daughter of an Egyptian
priest, in Egypt, under unusual circumstances, when Joseph is age 15 regular
years.
(Genesis 41: 46, referencing such marriage at age 30 “years”, in 6-month “
years”, which is age 15 in regular, 12-month years. That was 10 regular
years
before the Hebrews come to Egypt: 1 normal harvest year + 7 feast years +
the
first 2 famine years = 10 regular years in total. Joseph is age 15 + 10 = 25
regular years when the Hebrews move to Egypt. All of the numbers and ages
always work perfectly in the Patriarchal narratives, without exception.)

Based on the foregoing, it is unlikely that Benjamin was married yet when the
Hebrews moved to Egypt. All of Jacob’s other sons were married at that
point, but not young Benjamin. Thus all 10 of Benjamin’s sons are born after
Jacob
moves the Hebrews to Egypt. (In the Septuagint, Benjamin is credited with 3
sons and 6 grandsons. Obviously such 6 grandsons could not have been born
before Benjamin and the Hebrews moved to Egypt.)

So when chapter 46 of Genesis is counting how many Hebrews Jacob is treated
as leading into Egypt, the example of Benjamin makes it clear that the text
is
counting all of Jacob’s grandsons, including grandsons born after the Hebrews
moved to Egypt.

In what sense, then, is Benjamin “too young to leave his father’s side”,
when Jacob sends his other sons to Egypt to buy food for the starving Hebrews
in
Canaan? Benjamin, at age 15 regular years, was still the “baby” of the
family, being the youngest son by 10 full regular years, and being the only
remaining bachelor. In part, the author of the Patriarchal narratives is
showing
Jacob’s improper favoritism of Jacob’s son by Jacob’s favorite main wife,
Rachel, who was not Jacob’s main wife #1 (because Jacob had married Leah 7
days
before marrying Rachel), as continuing for many years (though eventually
Jacob
would realize his error). Yet even more importantly, the author of the
Patriarchal narratives is showing how unbelievably selfish Benjamin is. When
Jacob’s
sons have to go to Egypt to buy food to prevent the Hebrews in Canaan from
starving to death, Benjamin does not volunteer to go. Nor does Benjamin say
thank
you when his older half-brothers bring back the desperately needed food from
Egypt. Then when the older sons say that they cannot go back to Egypt a
second time to buy more food for the starving Hebrews in Canaan unless they
take
Benjamin, 15-regular-year-old Benjamin, an adult in the ancient world, still
does not volunteer to go to Egypt. Only when Judah gives his bond to Jacob
is it
decided by Jacob that Benjamin will go to Egypt the second time. This
pattern continues, for when the brothers get down to Egypt, a disguised
Joseph
lavishes gifts on Benjamin (Joseph’s only full-brother). Benjamin selfishly
takes
all these lavish gifts, and does not even offer to share them at any point
with his older half-brothers, who had gallantly gone to Egypt to save the
Hebrews
in Canaan from starvation. At no point does Benjamin ever thank anyone --
Joseph or Jacob or anyone else -- for all the great favors that are bestowed
on
Benjamin. Benjamin just takes and takes and takes, nothing else.

Near the end of his life, Jacob finally wakes up to the incredible
selfishness of Benjamin, and rightly curses his formerly favorite son
Benjamin:

“Benjamin is a wolf that raveneth; in the morning he devoureth the prey, and
at even he divideth the spoil.'” Genesis 49: 27

When a shepherd calls his youngest son a “ravenous wolf”, that’s quite a
curse. And eminently deserved, in the case of ultra-selfish Benjamin.

In chapter 46 of Genesis, Jacob is treated as bringing all 55 of his
grandsons into Egypt, including the many grandsons who are born after Jacob
moves the
70 Hebrews to Egypt. The author of the Patriarchal narratives is taking that
golden opportunity to list all 55 of Jacob’s grandsons. Jacob’s two ages in
Egypt that are set forth in the text are age 15 and age 55, in un-doubled,
regular years. 15 + 55 = 70, with 70 being the “Egyptian” number, per
Genesis
50: 3. Likewise, Jacob leads 15 + 55 = 70 Hebrews into Egypt. The older
group
of 15 consists of Jacob, Jacob’s 12 blood sons, and Jacob’s 2 adopted sons.
1 + 12 + 2 = 15. The younger group is all 55 of Jacob’s grandsons, including
Jacob’s grandsons by Benjamin who were born after the Hebrews moved to Egypt.
All of the numbers and ages always work perfectly in the Patriarchal
narratives, without exception.

There is no “contradiction” here. Chapter 46 of Genesis lists all 55 of
Jacob’s grandsons, and credits Jacob with effectively having brought all 55
of
Jacob’s grandsons into Egypt, even though many such grandsons, including
Jacob’
s grandsons by Benjamin, were born after Jacob moved the Hebrews to Egypt.
In
addition, some of such grandsons were born to parents (Joseph and his wife)
who were in Egypt already when they married.

“A…contradiction seems to appear…, where the same Benjamin who was too young
to leave his father’s side in Gen 43, 32 has no less than ten sons by the
time the whole family comes to Egypt….” No, all 10 of those sons were sired
by
Benjamin after Benjamin and the Hebrews moved to Egypt. Moreover, Benjamin
was not really “too young to leave his father’s side” either, since Benjamin,
though unmarried, was a young adult in the ancient world at age 15 regular
years. Rather, the text is telling us how unbelievably selfish Benjamin
always
was. There is no “contradiction” of any type here at all. Or anywhere else
in
the original text of the Patriarchal narratives, for that matter.

Jim Stinehart
Evanston, Illinois




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  • [b-hebrew] The "Benjamin Conundrum": Were Benjamin's Sons Born in Egypt?, JimStinehart, 01/23/2008

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