Included in the genealogy of Benjamin are accounts of families that suffered and managed to overcome severe adversity. These include the deportation of the descendants of Ehud from Geba (1 Chronicles 8:6), Shaharaim’s divorce from two of his wives, Hushim and Baara, the tragedy of Saul’s monarchy, implied by the reference to Israel’s first king in 1 Chronicles 8:33, and the brave warriors of Ulam’s family who were no more (1 Chronicles 8:40). The dozen generations of Saul after Meribbaal, that is, Micah onwards (1 Chronicles 8:35–40), of whom nothing is known beyond what we are told here, end at roughly the time of the end of the monarchy, in 587 BC. Perhaps it was in that catastrophe (the exile to Babylon) that this Benjaminite family disappeared from the records, mighty warriors
though its last representatives may have been (1 Chronicles 8:40).1
Yet disaster and adversity alone do not mark the fortunes of this tribe. In 1 Chronicles 9:3 we are clearly told that the tribe of Benjamin joined other Jews in resettling the Persian province of Judah and rebuilding the city of Jerusalem. The records of Ezra and Nehemiah confirm the role of Benjamin in the restoration community (Ezra 1:5; Nehemiah 11:4, Nehemiah 11:7–9). Was this simply a stroke of good luck? Was it perhaps the never-say-die attitude of the Benjaminites who through sheer grit and perseverance were natural overcomers? Or did the tribe of Benjamin overcome adversity by the gracious help of the sovereign God of Israel?2
The Chronicler himself does not give us an answer to these rhetorical questions. The answer to these life-challenging questions will only be found by moving from the unknown of the present situation into the arena of that which is known. The question is, What do the rest of the Sscriptures teach in regard to these circumstances?
The readers are therefore encouraged to do biblical theology by remembering other portions of Scripture applicable to the theme of hope for a restored Israel especially in times of deep discouragement and the seeming forsakenness by God. Texts like Psalm 42:5, Psalm 42:11, and Psalm 43:5 may indeed come to mind: Why are you cast down, O my soul?… Hope in God; for I shall again praise him.
Otherwise, remembering the dreadful reality of the exile and the slow progress of the restoration process in postexilic Judah, the Chronicler would want his readers to remember the words of Lamentations 3:21–24.
6 These are the sons of Ehud (they were heads of fathers’ houses of the inhabitants of Geba, and they were carried into exile to Manahath):