וַיִּשְׁמְע֣וּ כָל־יִשְׂרָאֵ֗ל אֶת־הַמִּשְׁפָּט֙ אֲשֶׁ֣ר שָׁפַ֣ט הַמֶּ֔לֶךְ וַיִּֽרְא֖וּ מִפְּנֵ֣י הַמֶּ֑לֶךְ כִּ֣י רָא֔וּ כִּֽי־חָכְמַ֧ת אֱלֹהִ֛ים בְּקִרְבּ֖וֹ לַעֲשׂ֥וֹת מִשְׁפָּֽט׃ (ס)
Tout Israël eut connaissance du jugement que le roi avait rendu, et ils furent saisis de respect pour le roi; car ils comprirent qu’une sagesse divine l’inspirait dans l’exercice de la justice.
Malbim
And so he goes on to bewail why God has concealed wisdom from the eyes of all the sighted, as a result of which people do not detect Divine Wisdom81 Kings 3:28. This is the term used to describe Solomon's wisdom. and Governance in His world, wherewith to understand its mystery and enigmas. To such a degree, that these otherwise percipient beings are forced to assert that the Wisdom of Governance, its order and regulation, becomes apparent only after death, when the soul disengages from matter, which is a circumstance shrouded from those clothed in mortal bodies. Instead of opening their eyes and showing them His ways and the morality of His Wisdom and Governance, as would be the proper thing to do, He has hidden and secluded the root of the matter (Job 19:28); telling them to be comforted with fear of God and faithfulness of the heart (2 Chronicles 19:10) and to desist from inquiring about God’s deeds; presenting them with foolishness as wisdom and ignorance as understanding (Ch.28).
Ramban
THE BELOVED OF THE ETERNAL SHALL DWELL IN SAFETY BY HIM. He called Benjamin the beloved of the Eternal, saying: “Benjamin, who is the beloved of G-d, will dwell in his land in safety relying on G-d and G-d will shelter him always and cause His Divine Presence to rest in his land.” And He dwelleth between his shoulders — this alludes to what the Rabbis have derived from this expression.193When making plans for the building of the Sanctuary — which was to be in Benjamin’s territory — David felt that it should be built on the highest elevation of the Land. Then he and Samuel the prophet decided to built it on a lower point, for the verse before us says, and He dwelleth between his shoulders, and the shoulders are lower than the head. (Zebachim 54 b).
By the way of the Truth, [the mystic teachings of the Cabala], the verse states: the Beloved, the Eternal,194The word yedid (beloved) does not refer to Benjamin, describing him as “the beloved of G-d.” Instead it is a descriptive noun referring to G-d — “G-d, the beloved” — as in the verse, Let me sing of my Beloved (Isaiah 5:1 — Ha’kthav V’hakabalah). will dwell over Benjamin, and this is the assurance to the Benjaminites that they may trust in the Eternal forever, for the Eternal is G-d, an everlasting Rock.195Isaiah 26:4. And He will shelter and protect Benjamin all the day, and they shall not be ashamed at the time of trouble,196Psalms 37:19. and between the shoulders of Benjamin He will dwell forever. It is from this verse that Solomon was called Yedidiah [i.e., the beloved of the Eternal], for the Eternal’s sake,197II Samuel 12:25. and he built His lovely dwelling-place,198See Psalms 84:2. just as he was called Shlomoh, also meaning to say that his nature was perfect (shleimah) in peace (shalom), and therefore it is spelled with the letter hei [at the end, in order to indicate that he is shleimah — “perfect”]. And the Rabbis said in the Midrash of Rabbi Nechunya ben Hakanah:199Sefer Habahir, 65. See Vol. I, p. 24, Note 42. “The Holy One, blessed be He, said to him [Solomon]: Since your name is like the name of My Glory I will give you My daughter, for it is written, And the Eternal gave Solomon wisdom etc.200I Kings 5:26. But it did not become manifest [to others]. And where did it become manifest? Further on, [where it is said], for they saw that the wisdom of the Eternal was in him, to do justice,201Ibid., 3:28. etc.”
It is correct to interpret that with his three references in this verse to the Divine Presence, Moses alludes to the three Sanctuaries. Of the First Sanctuary he says, He shall dwell in safety by him, similar to what is stated, and the Glory of the Eternal filled the House.202II Chronicles 7:1. Of the Second Sanctuary he says, He covereth him all the day, since the Divine Presence did not dwell there,203Yoma 21b. See Vol. III, p. 473, Note 165. but only sheltered and protected it. Or it may be that it [the Divine Presence] literally “hovered” over it, as is mentioned in Pirkei Heichaloth.204Heichaloth Rabboth, 29. See above, Note 149. [The third reference,] and He dwelleth between his shoulders alludes to the days of the Messiah, for at that time they shall call Jerusalem The throne of the Eternal.205Jeremiah 3:17. It is interpreted in the Sifre in this manner.206Sifre, Brachah 352.
By the way of the Truth, [the mystic teachings of the Cabala], the verse states: the Beloved, the Eternal,194The word yedid (beloved) does not refer to Benjamin, describing him as “the beloved of G-d.” Instead it is a descriptive noun referring to G-d — “G-d, the beloved” — as in the verse, Let me sing of my Beloved (Isaiah 5:1 — Ha’kthav V’hakabalah). will dwell over Benjamin, and this is the assurance to the Benjaminites that they may trust in the Eternal forever, for the Eternal is G-d, an everlasting Rock.195Isaiah 26:4. And He will shelter and protect Benjamin all the day, and they shall not be ashamed at the time of trouble,196Psalms 37:19. and between the shoulders of Benjamin He will dwell forever. It is from this verse that Solomon was called Yedidiah [i.e., the beloved of the Eternal], for the Eternal’s sake,197II Samuel 12:25. and he built His lovely dwelling-place,198See Psalms 84:2. just as he was called Shlomoh, also meaning to say that his nature was perfect (shleimah) in peace (shalom), and therefore it is spelled with the letter hei [at the end, in order to indicate that he is shleimah — “perfect”]. And the Rabbis said in the Midrash of Rabbi Nechunya ben Hakanah:199Sefer Habahir, 65. See Vol. I, p. 24, Note 42. “The Holy One, blessed be He, said to him [Solomon]: Since your name is like the name of My Glory I will give you My daughter, for it is written, And the Eternal gave Solomon wisdom etc.200I Kings 5:26. But it did not become manifest [to others]. And where did it become manifest? Further on, [where it is said], for they saw that the wisdom of the Eternal was in him, to do justice,201Ibid., 3:28. etc.”
It is correct to interpret that with his three references in this verse to the Divine Presence, Moses alludes to the three Sanctuaries. Of the First Sanctuary he says, He shall dwell in safety by him, similar to what is stated, and the Glory of the Eternal filled the House.202II Chronicles 7:1. Of the Second Sanctuary he says, He covereth him all the day, since the Divine Presence did not dwell there,203Yoma 21b. See Vol. III, p. 473, Note 165. but only sheltered and protected it. Or it may be that it [the Divine Presence] literally “hovered” over it, as is mentioned in Pirkei Heichaloth.204Heichaloth Rabboth, 29. See above, Note 149. [The third reference,] and He dwelleth between his shoulders alludes to the days of the Messiah, for at that time they shall call Jerusalem The throne of the Eternal.205Jeremiah 3:17. It is interpreted in the Sifre in this manner.206Sifre, Brachah 352.
Rabbeinu Bahya
According to the Sefer HaBahir item 65, G’d said to Solomon: “seeing you bear My name, I will allow you to be the one to build the Temple for Me.” This is the meaning of Kings I 5,26: “and the Lord had given [I believe the key is the word נתן instead of ויתן, which would have meant that this wisdom had been granted to Solomon only at that point. Ed.] wisdom to Solomon, as He said to him.” We do not have a verse (at that junction) where G’d is on record as granting wisdom to Solomon. However, in Kings I 3,28 we have this verse: “when all of Israel heard the decision of the king (about the two women who each claimed that the baby was hers) they stood in awe of the king; for they saw that he possessed divine wisdom to execute justice.” Thus far the Sefer HaBahir. [the author of that book also refers to the sages who said that every time the word שלמה appears in Song of Songs we must treat it as one of the holy names of G’d.
From all the foregoing we learn that among all the tribes there was none who was as blessed as Binyamin in that the Shechinah dwelled among him permanently in a more concentrated form than among any of the other tribes. Clearly, he possessed greater merit than the other tribes. Perhaps this is also the reason why this tribe was singled out to be mentioned separately, i.e. Moses begins his blessing with the word לבנימין, instead of ולבנימין, which would have emphasised what he had in common with the tribes mentioned first. (Only Reuven, who was mentioned first, did not have the letter ו meaning “and” introducing him). Perhaps, just as the etrog occupies a special position among the four species, not being tied up together with the other three species, the absence of the letter ו when introducing the blessing for the tribe of Binyamin may convey similar considerations. The absence of the letter ו (where we really would have expected it) may be a hint that Binyamin is to be perceived as part of the בנין, “the structure” comprised of the ten sefirot, creative forces, leading to the terrestrial universe.
From all the foregoing we learn that among all the tribes there was none who was as blessed as Binyamin in that the Shechinah dwelled among him permanently in a more concentrated form than among any of the other tribes. Clearly, he possessed greater merit than the other tribes. Perhaps this is also the reason why this tribe was singled out to be mentioned separately, i.e. Moses begins his blessing with the word לבנימין, instead of ולבנימין, which would have emphasised what he had in common with the tribes mentioned first. (Only Reuven, who was mentioned first, did not have the letter ו meaning “and” introducing him). Perhaps, just as the etrog occupies a special position among the four species, not being tied up together with the other three species, the absence of the letter ו when introducing the blessing for the tribe of Binyamin may convey similar considerations. The absence of the letter ו (where we really would have expected it) may be a hint that Binyamin is to be perceived as part of the בנין, “the structure” comprised of the ten sefirot, creative forces, leading to the terrestrial universe.