BELSHAZZAR

BELSHAZZAR. — Son of Nebuchadnezzar, last king of Babylon before its capture by Cyrus (Dn 5'). The name is somewhat variously given: Baltasar, Bar !"'• [so also LXX and Theod. in Daniel] ; and Josephus says he was son of Naboandelos. There is no doubt that Bel-shar-usur, son of Nabonidus, is meant. He was regent in Babylon during the latter part of his father's reign. It is probable that he was in command of Babylon on its surrender, as he had been in command of the army in Akkad till the 11th year of his father's reign.

C. H. W. Johns.

BELXESHAZZAR. — Nebuchadnezzar is said to have conferred this name on the youthful Daniel (Dn 1'). The Babylonian form would be BaJatsu-usur ('protect his life!') or, according to 4', Bel balatsu-umr. The LXX and Theodotion employ Baltasar both for it and for Belshazzar (ch. 5); and pseudo-Epiphanius repeats a legend that Nebuchadnezzar wished to make the two men co-heirs. J. Taylor.

BEN ('son').— A Levite, 1 Ch IS's, omitted in parallel list in v." in both MT and LXX. The latter omits it also in the first-named passage.

BEN-ABINADAB (AV 'son of Abinadab').— One of Solomon's commissariat officers (1 K 4").

BENAIAH ('Jah hath built').— 1. A brave soldier from Kabzeel in Judah (2 S 23™''-), captain of David's bodyguard (S's 20'^). He became a partisan of Solomon's and carried ' the mighty men,' ' the Cherethites and Pelethites,' with him (1 K !'■ «• '<>). He played an important r61e in the young king's coronation (vv.ss- "), and was subsequently ordered to dispatch .loab, whose place as commander-in-chief he then filled (228-85). 2. One of the thirty who formed the second class of David's heroes (2 S 23»). He came from Pirathon in Mt. Ephraim (2 S 238", cf. Jg 12").

1 Oh 27" assigns to him the command of the course for the eleventh month, with twenty-four thousand Ephraimites under him. 3. Some ten obscure persons of this name appear in 1 Ch 48« IS's- "■ » 166- «,

2 Ch 20" 31'8, Ezr 1028- "■ "8- 9, Ezk 11>- ".

J. Taylor.

BEN-AMMI ('son of my blood-relative' or 'son of my father's kinsman'). — The story (Gn 19) purports to explain the name Ammon (v.88). Notwithstanding the fact that incestuous marriages were common amongst these people, it is most likely that the narrative is a product of the bitter hatred which was excited by pro-longed contests for the territory E. of Jordan.

J. Taylor.

BEN-DEKER ( AV ' son of Dekar ') .—One of Solomon's twelve commissariat officers (1 K 4«).

BENE-BERAK. — A town in the territory of Dan (Jos 19«), identified with Ibn Ibraq, about 5 miles E. of Jaffa, on the N. of WMy Nusrah. W. Ewinq.

BENEFACTOR.- Lk 2Z^ only, 'they that exercise authority over them (the Gentiles) are called benefactors.' The word is an exact tr. of the Gr. EuergetSs, a title of honour borne by two of the Gr. kings of Egypt before Christ's day, Ptolemy in. (b.c. 247-222) and Ptolemy VII. (IX.) (B.C. 147-117). Hence RV properly spells with a capital, 'Benefactors.'

BENE-JAAKAN. — A station in the journeyings, mentioned Nu 33"- '^ (cf. Dt lO', and see Beeroth-bene-Jaakan).

BEN-GEBER (AV 'son of Geber ').— Patronymic of one of Solomon's twelve commissariat ofiicers who had charge of a district N.E. of the Jordan (1 K 4i8).

BEN-HASAO. — The name of three kings of Damascus in the 9th cent. b.c.

1 . Benhadad I., the son of Tab-rimmon of Damascus. At the instance of Asa of Judah he intervened against Baasha of Israel, and took from him valuable territory on his northern border. For this service Benhadad

BENJAMIN

received from Asa costly treasures from the Temple and royal palace (1 K 15"-2»).

2. Benhadad n., son of the preceding, was an able general and statesman. He was at the head of a league of western princes who successfully opposed the attempts of Shalmaneser ii. of Assyria to conquer southern Syria. At the battle of Karkar in b.c. 854 he had Ahab of Jsrael as one of his chief allies. In his time war with Israel was the rule, he being usually successful. But Ahab was more fortunate in the campaigns of 856 and 855, which were followed by a treaty of peace with concessions to Israel (1 K 20). On the resumption of hostilities in the third year thereafter, Benhadad was victorious (1 K 22). He was assassinated by the usurper Hazael about b.c. 843 (2 K 8i8).

3. Benhadad m., son of Hazael, probably the same as the Man' of the Assyrian inscriptions. Under him Damascus lost his father's conquests in Palestine (2 K 13^'-), and he also suffered heavily from the Assyrians. J. F. McCubdy.

BEN-HAIL ('son of might'). — A prince sent by Jehoshaphat to teach in the cities of Judah (2 Ch 17').

BEN-HANAN ('son of a gracious one'). — A man of Judah (1 Ch 42»).

BEN-HESED (AV 'son of Hesed' [-'kindness']).-One of Solomon's twelve commissariat officers who had charge of a district in Judah (1 K 4").

BEN-HITR (AV 'son of Hur').— One of Solomon's twelve commissariat ofiBcers (1 K 4*).

BENINU (perhaps 'our son'). — One of those who sealed the covenant (Neh 10").

BENJAMIN. — 1 . The youngest son of Jacob by Rachel, and the only full brother of Joseph (Gn SO^^f. [JE] 35" [J] 35^ [P]). He alone of Jacob's sons was native- born. J (Gn 35") puts his birth near Ephrath in Benjamin. A later Interpolation identifies Ephrath with Bethlehem, but cf. 1 S 10^. P, however (Gn 35^-^), gives Paddan-aram as the birth-place of all Jacob's children. His mother, dying soon after he was born, named him Ben-oni ('son of my sorrow'). Jacob changed this ill-omened name to the more auspicious one Benjamin, which is usually interpreted ' son of my right hand,' the right hand being the place of honour as the right side was apparently the lucky side (cf. Gn 48"). Pressed by a famine, his ten brothers went down to Egypt, and Jacob, solicitous for his welfare, did not allow Benjamin to accompany them; but Joseph made it a condition of his giving them corn that they should bring him on their return. When Judah (Gn 439 J) or Reuben (428' E) gave surety for his safe return, Jacob yielded. Throughout the earlier documents Benjamin is a tender youth, the idol of his father and brothers. A late editor of P (Gn 46") makes him, when he entered Egypt, the father of ten sons, that is more than twice as many as Jacob's othei sons except Dan, who had seven.

The question is, What is the historical significance of these conflicting traditions? Ydmin, ' right hand,' appears to have been used geographically for south,' ana Ben-ydmin may mean 'son(s) of the south,' i.e. the southern portion of Ephraim. Ben-oni may be connected with On m the tribe of Benjamin. The two names may point to the union of two related tribes, and the peraistence of the traditions that Benjamin was the full brother of Joseph, whereas the other Joseph tribes (Manasseh and Ephraim) are called sons, would indicate not only a close relationship to Joseph, but also a comparatively early development into an independent tribe. On the other hand, J E P all make Benjamin the youngest son, and P gives Canaan as his native land. This points to a traditional belief that the tribe was the last to develop. Thisand the fact that Shimei, a Benjamite, claims (2 S 19^0) to be ' of the house of Joseph,' suggest that the tribe was an offshoot of the latter.

The limits of the tribal territory are given by P in Jos 18"-28. Within it lay Bethel (elsewhere assigned to Ephraim), Ophrah, Geba, Gibeon, Ramah, Mizpeh,

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