Chapter XXI: Section VII: Benjamin

When the long-desired ‘addition,’ the second son, was given to Rachel, and in the words of Jacob she “died by him when there was but a little way to come to Ephrath,” she called the infant who had cost her life Ben-oni (son of my sorrow); but this was changed by his father into Ben-Yamin (son of my right hand, _i. e._ prosperous).

In spite of Rare Ben Jonson, Benjamin is an essentially Puritan and Jewish name; such a feminine as Benjamina has even been perpetrated. Oddly enough the Bretons call Benjamin Benoni.

Benoni, “the child of sorrow,” and Ichabod, “the glory is departed,” were so frequent among the Puritans of the time of James I. that Mr. Bardsley thinks that they could not have been so much allusions to family distress as to the afflictions of the Puritan sect. Benoni occurs in the rate of six to one compared with Benjamin in the registers of the period.

Afterwards the place of Ben was taken by the Syriac Bar, the earliest instance being that of old Barzillai, the Gileadite, whose name signified the son of iron. It seems as though under the Herodean kingdom the custom was coming in that forms the first surnames, that of calling the son by his patronymic almost in preference to his own individual appellation, and thus arose some of the double titles that confuse us as to the identity of the earlier saints. Thus, the “Israelite without guile,” is first introduced as Nathanael, the same as the ancient Nethaneel, captain of the tribe of Issachar, and meaning the gift of God, being compounded of the Divine Word and nathan (a gift). Nathan was the name of the prophet who rebuked David, and of the son whose descendants seem to have taken the place of the royal line. Elnathan occurs as father to the wife of one of the kings, and Jonathan has exactly the same meaning, the gift of God. In the list of apostles, Nathanael is called by his patronymic Bartholomaios, as it stands in the Greek, and Tholomaios is referred to Talmai (furrows), which occurs in the list of the sons of Anak, and also as belonging to the King of Geshur, Absalom’s grandfather.

In the uncertainty whether it was really the apostle, Nathanael was left unused until those English took it up, by whom it was made into Nat.

The other form, though not popular, is of all nations, and from its unwieldy length has endless contractions, perhaps the larger number being German, since it is most common in that central Teutonic land.

┌────────────────┬────────────────┬────────────────┬────────────────┐ │ English. │ German. │ Dutch. │ Swiss. │ │Bartholomew │Bartholomaus │Bartelmês │Bartleme │ │Bart │Bertel │ │Bartli │ │Bartley │Barthol │ │ │ │Bat │Mewes │ │ │ │ │Bartold │ │ │ ├────────────────┼────────────────┼────────────────┼────────────────┤ │ Bavarian. │ French. │ Danish. │ Spanish. │ │Bartlmê │Bartholomieu │Bartholomeuis │Bartolome │ │Bartl │Bartolomée │Bartel │Bartolo │ │Wawel │Tolomieu │Bardo │ │ │Wabel │ │ │ │ │Wabm │ │ │ │ ├────────────────┼────────────────┼────────────────┼────────────────┤ │ Portuguese. │ Italian. │ Russian. │ Polish. │ │Bartolomeu │Bartolomeo │Varfolomei │Bartlomiej │ │Bartolomeo │Bortolo │ │Bartek │ │Bortolo │ │ │ │ │Meo │ │ │ │ ├────────────────┼────────────────┼────────────────┼────────────────┤ │ Illyrian. │ Lusatian │ Esthonian │ Lithuanian │ │Bartuo │Bartolik │Partel │Baltras │ │Barteo │Barto │Pert │Baltramejus │ │Jernij │Batram │ │ │ │Vratolomije │ │ │ │ └────────────────┴────────────────┴────────────────┴────────────────┘