Sons of Benjamin

Who were the sons of Benjamin?

There are four lists of Benjamin's sons in the Bible. None of them agree.

Genesis lists ten sons.

And the sons of Benjamin were Belah, and Becher, and Ashbel, Gera, andNaaman, Ehi, and Rosh, Muppim, andHuppim, and Ard. Genesis 46:21

Numbers lists five. Two that are sons of Benjamin in Genesis 46 (Ard and Naaman) are grandsons in this list.

The sons of Benjamin after their families: of Bela, the family of the Belaites: of Ashbel, the family of the Ashbelites: of Ahiram, the family of the Ahiramites: Of Shupham, the family of the Shuphamites: ofHupham, the family of the Huphamites. And the sons of Bela were Ard and Naaman : of Ard, the family of the Ardites: and of Naaman, the family of the Naamites.Numbers 26:38-40

There are two lists in 1 Chronicles in successive chapters. Chapter 7 clearly states that Benjamin had only three sons (Bela, Becher, and Jediael), while Chapter 8 says there were five (Bela, Ashbel, Aharah, Nohah, and Rapha).

The sons of Benjamin; Bela, andBecher, and Jediael, three. 1 Chronicles 7:6

Now Benjamin begat Bela his firstborn, Ashbel the second, andAharah the third, Nohah the fourth, and Rapha the fifth. 1 Chronicles 8:1-2

There are a total of seventeen names in the four lists. Only one is common to all four lists: Bela. Ashebel is in three of the lists and Becher is in two. Each of the other names occurs in only one of the lists.

Here's a table that compares the four lists.

Note from The New Oxford Annotated Bible for 1 Chronicles 7:6: "Benjamin, which appears again in the next chapter, may have been confused with Zebulum, which strangely fails to appear here in its proper place (compare Gen 46.17-27; Num 26.23-50; much much non-canonical material is also used)."

Typical Christian Response

"Who were the sons of Benjamin?" (Alleged Contradiction #E4780)

I Chronicles 8:1-2

Response

Not all of the lists mention all the sons of Benjamin. This does not constitute a contradiction, but rather, putting all the data together we are able to develop a family tree.

Regarding Ard and Naaman (which are listed as sons in Genesis 46:21, but grandsons inNumbers 26:38-40), sometimes the Bible uses the term “son” to denote a descendant, though not necessarily an immediate descendant. Or, it is possible that Bela named two of his sons after two of his brothers.