Commentaire sur La Genèse 35:18

בן אוני means SON OF MY SORROW (Genesis Rabbah 82:9).

‘BEN ONI’ (THE SON OF MY SORROW). I am of the opinion that he was so called because he alone was born in the land of Canaan which lies to the south (yamin) as one comes from Aram-naharaim, just as it is said: In the south, in the land of Canaan;²²⁰Numbers 33:40. Going on still toward the south.²²¹Above, 12:9. Binyamin thus means a son of the south, just as in the verse: The north ‘v’yamin’ (and the south) Thou hast created them.²²²Psalms 89:13. For this reason the name Binyamin is here written “full” [with a yud after the mem to indicate that the name is derived from the word yamin (south)]. This is Rashi’s language.
But I do not understand this claim that the Land of Israel lies to the south of Aram-naharaim for Aram is eastward of the Land of Israel, as it is written, And he came to the land of the children of the east,²²³Above, 29:1. and it is further written, From Aram Balak bringeth me, the king of Moab from the mountains of the East,²²⁴Numbers 23:7. and Jacob crossed the Jordan which is to the east of the Land of Israel, and he returned by way of Edom which is south of the Land of Israel. Thus you find that Aram is south-east of the Land of Israel, and the Land of Israel is to its north. However, if Benjamin was born within the border of Bethlehem Ephrathah which is in the land of Judah — as it is written, Bethlehem in Judah,²²⁵Judges 19:2. and it is further written, But thou, Bethlehem Ephratha, which art little to be among the thousands of Judah²¹⁷Micah 5:1. — this was in the south of the Land of Israel, and he was thus born between Beth-el and Bethlehem Ephrath. And if the place was in the hill country of Ephraim, then it is in the north of the Land of Israel, as it is written, Judah shall abide in his border on the south, and the house of Joseph shall abide in their border on the north.²²⁶Joshua 18:5. And if it was in the portion of Benjamin, it was also not in the south, for it is written, And their border was on the north side.²²⁷Ibid., Verse 12. Thus in any case there was no reason to call Benjamin “a son of the south.”
The correct interpretation appears to me to be that his mother called him ben oni, and she meant to say, “the son of my mourning, similar in expression to: bread of ‘onim’ (mourners);²²⁸Hosea 9:4. I have not eaten thereof ‘b’oni’ (in my mourning).²²⁹Deuteronomy 26:14. And his father understood the word oni in the sense of “my strength,” similar in expression to: the first-fruits of ‘oni’ (my strength);²³⁰Genesis 49:29. And to those who have no ‘onim’ (power).²³¹Isaiah 40:29. And therefore he called him Binyamin, “the son of power” or “the son of strength,” for in the right hand (yamin) there is strength and success, just as it is written: A wise man’s understanding is at his right hand;²³²Ecclesiastes 10:2. Thy right hand shall overtake all those that hate thee;²³³Psalms 21:9. The right hand of the Eternal is exalted.²³⁴Ibid., 118:16. Jacob wanted to call him by the name his mother had called him, for all his children were called by the names their mothers had called them, and he thus rendered it to good and to strength.
Now I have seen in Bereshith Rabbah:²³⁵82:10. “Ben oni, ‘the son of my sorrow.’ And his father called him Benjamin, i.e., in the Sacred Language.” I do not know what this means for it is all the Sacred Language, and so are the names of all his sons in the Sacred Language. However, the Rabbis have alluded to that which I have said, namely, that Jacob rendered the expression so that it signified good.

ויהי בצאת נפשה, while her soul was about to depart from her body,

ויהי בצאת נפשה כי מתה, ותקרא שמו בן אוני, “it was at the moment when her soul was departing, seeing she was dying, she called him Ben Oni.” Some commentators claim that Ben Oni was named by Rachel after she had “died.” This corresponds to the plain text which first reported Rachel’s death followed by the naming of the baby. It is not unusual for a terminally sick person to pass out and create the impression that she had died, only to briefly regain consciousness before dying completely. This would explain why the Torah seems to speak of two “deaths” which Rachel experienced, i.e. “her soul departed,” and “for she had died.”

און .בן אוני scheint in seiner Grundbedeutung die physische, oder moralische Fähigkeit zum Erwerb und Besitz zu sein, daher auch den Anspruch auf ein Gut zu bedeuten. In diesem Sinne heißt auch און rabbinisch geradezu: Rechtstitel: כותבין ב״ק פ׳ בי) .עליו אונו). Es ist Vorbedingung und Anfang vom הון. Der Missbrauch dieser Erwerbs- und Besitzeskraft heißt: אָוֶן, wie der Missbrauch der Überordnung עול: עָוֶל. -das erste durch einen herben Verlust hervorgerufenen Schmerz און Daher aber auch- gefühl; es ist der sich zum Besitz berechtigt glaubende Anspruch, der im Momente des Verlustes am schärfsten hervortritt, sich gleichsam gegen die Beraubung empört. Daher zunächst das durch die noch daliegende Leiche frisch gehaltene Schmerzgefühl um einen Dahingeschiedenen. ויהי העם כמתאוננים: das Volk war, als ob sie über sich selbst trauerten, sie sahen fich wie bereits Gestorbene an, und hielten gleichsam Trauer über sich. Hier somit בן אוני: Sohn meiner Trauer, d. i. Sohn meines Hinscheidens, das man bald betrauern wird. Der Vater aber nannte ihn: בן ימין, Sohn der Rechte, d.i. Sohn der Kraft, die heitere Bedeutung des און hervorkehrend. Über den Namenwechsel 17ישרא יעקב Raw Hirsch on Genesis 35: 20 u. 21, siehe zu Kap.45, 28.

בן אוני, “son of my sorrow;” she foresaw the tragedy involving the tribe of Benjamin in a civil war described in Judges chapters 19-21.

בצאת נפשה כי מתה, ”when her soul departed as she was dying;” she was both dying and not dying;

בנימין BENJAMIN — I am of opinion that he was so called because he alone was born in the land of Canaan which is in the South (ימין) as one comes from Aram-Naharaim, as it is said (Numbers 33:40) “in the South, in the Land of Canaan”, and (12:9) “going on still towards the South”. בנימין therefore means בן ימין where ימין has the same meaning as in (Psalms 89:13) “The North and the South (ימין) Thou hast created them”. For this reason the word is here written plene (with a י after the מ).

כי מתה, ,for she was dying and there was no hope for her, she called him

בן אוני. “son of my pain.”

בנימין, the name is spelled with two letters י, as if it meant בן ימין, “the son of my right hand.” (Compare KimchiJ) Alternate version: the last letter in the word is the letter ם, i.e. ימים, “days” or “years,” and means that Yaakov considered Benjamin as a son who would assist him in his old age, seeing that he was the youngest. We find support for this interpretation in Isaiah 51,18, אין מחזיק בידה מכל בנים גדלה, “no one takes her by the hand of all the sons she raised.”

Another explanation of בנימין is that it means “son of his old days (ימים)”, only that it is written with ן (instead of ם), like (Daniel 12:13) “at the end of days.

בן אוני, for I gave birth to him in great pain;

בנימין, “son of my right.” Rashi explains the name in terms of Binyamin being the only one of Yaakov’s sons who had been born on the soil of the Holy Land. This land is to the south when one comes from Aram Naharayim, i.e. it is on the right hand side of the traveler. Nachmanides objects by proving that the Land of Israel is not situated to the south of Aram Naharayim. He claims that the reason that Yaakov called this son Binyamin was because his mother had called him Ben Oni, a word having a negative connotation, so that his father gave this word a positive connotation, i.e. he did not change the name but the meaning of the name, giving it the same meaning as in Genesis 49,3 where he described Reuven as כוחי וראשית אוני, “my strength and the first of my vigor.” The word בנימין referring to the strength of one’s right hand, is therefore very appropriate [all Biblical atlases have Aram Naharayim north-east of the land of Israel, so that Rashi appears correct, from the point of view of Geography, though Nachmanides’ approach that Yaakov did not actually change the name Rachel gave is more appealing. Ed.] Basically, all the sons remained known by the names given them by their mothers. Yaakov simply gave the name Ben Oni a positive connotation.

ואביו קרא לו בנימין, meaning “the son of my right hand.” The name suggested that the child is especially beloved seeing that he was born when his father was already advanced in years. We find the word ימין used in the sense of being especially beloved in Psalms 80,18 וכן תהי ידך על איש ימינך, “grant Your help to the man at Your right hand, etc.” The end of the verse על בן אדם אמצת לך, “the one You have adopted as Your own,” spells out this meaning beyond any doubt.