“And as her soul was departing (for she was dying), she called his name Ben-oni; but his father called him Benjamin.” (Ge 35:18)
Ben-Oni means “son of sorrow” and Benjamin means “son of the right hand”. This is a messianic prophecy. Yeshua said that Moses wrote about Him. The birth of Benjamin became a sorrow for Rachel as well as Jacob. But the spirit of prophecy that was upon Jacob saw the hope beyond the sorrow of his son’s birth, so he called him Benjamin.
Isaiah wrote about Messiah:
“He was despised and rejected by men; a man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief; and as one from whom men hide their faces he was despised, and we esteemed him not. Surely he has borne our griefs and carried our sorrows; yet we esteemed him stricken, smitten by God, and afflicted.” (Isa 53:3-4)
Because of His suffering, Yeshua, the “son of sorrow”, was exalted to the right hand of God to give salvation to Israel. Ben-oni became Benjamin, the “son of the right hand”. Peter said:
“The God of our fathers raised Jesus, whom you killed by hanging him on a tree. God exalted him at his right hand as Leader and Savior, to give repentance to Israel and forgiveness of sins.” (Ac 5:30-31)
After Rachel’s death, the Torah says: “Israel journeyed on and pitched his tent beyond the tower of Eder.” (v. 21) The tower of Eder is Migdal Eder in Hebrew and it means “the shepherd’s tower”. Alfred Edersheim wrote in his book The Life And Times of Jesus The Messiah, that this tower was located close to Bethlehem, on the way to Jerusalem. During the second Temple period, the shepherds who guarded the thousands of sheep that were to be sacrificed at the Temple, used this tower.
Targum Jonathan is a paraphrased translation of the Torah from Hebrew into Aramaic. It was used in the synagogues around the time of Yeshua and it translates Genesis 35:21: “he pitched his tent beyond Migdal Eder, in the place where King Messiah will be revealed in the last days.”
Luke wrote about shepherds in connection with the birth of Jesus.
“And in the same region there were shepherds out in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night. And an angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were filled with fear. And the angel said to them, ‘Fear not, for behold, I bring you good news of a great joy that will be for all the people. For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Messiah the Lord.” (Lk 2:8-11)
The prophecy about Migdal Eder, the shepherd’s tower, mentioned in connection with the birth of Benjamin, was fulfilled that night!
The birth of Benjamin brought death and sorrow for Rachel, the patriarch mother of the Jewish people. Many children died in Bethlehem in connection with Messiah’s birth and the Jewish people were also about to be exiled.
“Then was fulfilled what was spoken by the prophet Jeremiah: ‘A voice was heard in Ramah, weeping and loud lamentation, Rachel weeping for her children; she refused to be comforted, because they are no more.’” (Mt 2:17-18)
But the prophecy in Jeremiah about Rachel ends in hope. It continues:
“Keep your voice from weeping, and your eyes from tears, for there is a reward for your work, declares the LORD, and they shall come back from the land of the enemy. There is hope for your future, declares the LORD, and your children shall come back to their own country.’” (Jer 31:16-17)
The child born in the manger close to the shepherd’s tower is the key to that hope. The angel told the shepherds: “Fear not, for behold, I bring you good news of a great joy that will be for all the people. For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Messiah the Lord.” The son of sorrow was destined to become the son of the right hand for His people.
