Bible Strands
Genesis 35:18
And with her last breath—for she was dying—she named him Ben-oni. But his father called him Benjamin.
Berean Standard Bible
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Study note
Setting — Rachel is dying on the road to Ephrath while delivering her second son. She names the infant Ben-oni, but Jacob immediately overrides her and calls him Benjamin.
The words — בְּצֵאת נַפְשָׁהּ (be-tse'at napshah) literally means "when her life went out." בֶּן־אוֹנִי (ben-oni) combines "son" with "my trouble/affliction."
The thread — This naming under duress parallels the women in 1 Samuel 4:20 who acknowledge a son amid dying, and the mother in 1 Chronicles 4:9 who names a child after the pain of his birth. Luke 12:20 records life being required at the moment of death.
Why it lands — The text records a dying mother's final label of pain and a father's immediate reassignment of identity. It requires the reader to observe how human designations of suffering are routinely superseded by established authority.
Drafted by a language model from the text, its original words and its cross-references, then checked against them. It can still be wrong: open the verse in the app to report it.
The Hebrew words
King James Version
And it came to pass, as her soul was in departing, (for she died) that she called his name Ben–oni: but his father called him Benjamin.
Cross-references
- 1 Samuel 4:20 As she was dying, the women attending to her said, “Do not be afraid, for you have given birth to a son!” But she did not respond or pay any heed.
- 1 Chronicles 4:9 Now Jabez was more honorable than his brothers. His mother had named him Jabez, saying, “Because I bore him in pain.”
- Luke 12:20 But God said to him, ‘You fool! This very night your life will be required of you. Then who will own what you have accumulated?’
- Luke 23:46 Then Jesus called out in a loud voice, “Father, into Your hands I commit My Spirit.” And when He had said this, He breathed His last.
- Acts 7:59 While they were stoning him, Stephen appealed, “Lord Jesus, receive my spirit.”
- Genesis 30:1 When Rachel saw that she was not bearing any children for Jacob, she envied her sister. “Give me children, or I will die!” she said to Jacob.
- Genesis 42:4 But Jacob did not send Joseph’s brother Benjamin with his brothers, for he said, “I am afraid that harm might befall him.”
- Genesis 42:38 But Jacob replied, “My son will not go down there with you, for his brother is dead, and he alone is left. If any harm comes to him on your journey, you will bring my gray hair down to Sheol in sorrow.”
- Genesis 43:14 May God Almighty grant you mercy before the man, that he may release your other brother along with Benjamin. As for me, if I am bereaved, I am bereaved.”
- Genesis 44:27 And your servant my father said to us, ‘You know that my wife bore me two sons.