Benjamin (right) embracing his brother, Joseph

Benjamin (Hebrew: בִּנְיָמִין, Modern Binyamin Tiberian Binyāmîn) was the last-born of Jacob's twelve sons, and the second and last son of Rachel in Jewish, Christian and Islamic tradition. He was the founder of the Israelite Tribe of Benjamin. In the Biblical account, unlike Rachel's first son, Joseph, Benjamin was born in Canaan. He died in Egypt on the 11th of Marcheshvan (which was also his birthday) 1443 BC at the age of 111.^{[citation needed]}. In the Qur'an, Benjamin is referred to as righteous young child, who remained with Jacob when the older brothers plotted against Joseph.

Name[link]

According to the Torah, Benjamin's or in some countries Biniam's name arose when Jacob deliberately corrupted the name Benoni, the original name of Benjamin, since Benoni was an allusion to Rachel's dying just after she had given birth, as it means son of my pain.^[1] Textual scholars regard these two names as fragments of naming narratives coming from different sources - one being the Jahwist and the other being the Elohist.^[2]

Portuguese sketch.

The etymology of the name Benjamin is a matter of dispute, though most agree that it is composed of two parts - ben and jamin - the former meaning son of. The literal translation of Benjamin is son of right (as opposed to left), generally interpreted as meaning son of my right hand, though sometimes interpreted as son of the right side. Being associated with the right hand side was traditionally a reference to strength and virtue (cf sinister, which derives from the latin for left). This is, however, not the only literal translation, as the root for right is identical to that for south, hence Benjamin also literally translates as son of the south. This meaning is advocated by several classical rabbinical sources, which argue that it refers to the birth of Benjamin in Canaan, as compared with the birth of all the other sons of Jacob in Aram.^[3] Modern scholars have instead proposed that, with the eponymous Benjamin being just a metaphor, son of the south/son of the right are references to the tribe's being subordinate to the more dominant tribe of Ephraim.^[3]

In the Samaritan Pentateuch, the name is consistently written as בן ימים, with a terminal mem, making it Benjamim, and would literally translate as son of days. Some classical rabbinical literature argues that this was the original form of the name and was a reference to the advanced age of Jacob when Benjamin was born.^[3]

According to classical rabbinical sources, Benjamin was only born after Rachel had fasted for a long time, as a religious devotion with the hope of a new child as a reward. By then Jacob had become over 100 years old.^[3] Benjamin is treated as a young child in most of the Biblical narrative,^[3] but at one point is abruptly described as the father of ten sons.^[4] Textual scholars believe that this is the result of the genealogical passage, in which his children are named, being from a much later source than the Jahwist and Elohist narratives, which make up most of the Joseph narrative, and which consistently describe Benjamin as a child.^[3]

Israelites in Egypt[link]

Illustration from the Morgan Bible of Benjamin being returned to Egypt (Genesis 44).

The Torah's Joseph narrative, at a stage when Joseph is unrecognised by his brothers, describes Joseph as testing whether his brothers have reformed, by secretly planting a silver cup in Benjamin's bag, then publicly searching the bags for it, and after finding it in Benjamin's possession, demanding that Benjamin become his slave as a punishment.^[5] The narrative goes on to state that when Judah (on behalf of the other brothers) begged Joseph not to enslave Benjamin and instead enslave him, since enslavement of Benjamin would break Jacob's heart. This caused Joseph to recant and reveal his identity.^[5] The midrashic book of Jasher argues that prior to revealing his identity, Joseph asked Benjamin to find his missing brother (i.e. Joseph) via astrology, using an astrolabe-like tool;^[3] it continues by stating that Benjamin divined that the man on the throne was Joseph, so Joseph identified himself to Benjamin (but not the other brothers), and revealed his scheme (as in the Torah) to test how fraternal the other brothers were.^[3] However, some classical rabbinical sources argue that Joseph identified himself for other reasons.^[3] In these sources, Benjamin swore an oath, on the memory of Joseph, that he was innocent of theft, and, when challenged about how believable the oath would be, explained that remembering Joseph was so important to him that he had named his sons in Joseph's honour;^[3] these sources go on to state that Benjamin's oath touched Joseph so deeply that Joseph was no longer able to pretend to be a stranger.^[3]

In the narrative, just prior to this test, when Joseph had first met all of his brothers (but not identified himself to them), he had held a feast for them;^[6] the narrative heavily implies that Benjamin was Joseph's favorite brother, since he is overcome with tears when he first meets Benjamin in particular,^[7] and he gives Benjamin five times as much food as he apportions to the others.^[8] According to textual scholars, this is really the Jahwist's account of the reunion after Joseph identifies himself, and the account of the threat to enslave Benjamin is just the Elohist's version of the same event, with the Elohist being more terse about Joseph's emotions towards Benjamin, merely mentioning that Benjamin was given five times as many gifts as the others.^[3]

Benjamin in Islam[link]

The Qur'an, in the narrative of Joseph, refers to Benjamin as the righteous youngest son of Jacob.^[9] Muslim tradition, however, fleshes out the details regarding Benjamin and refers to him as being born from Jacob's wife Rachel, and further links a connection, as does Jewish tradition, between the names of Benjamin's children and Joseph.^[10]

Origin[link]

Exterior view of a Mamluk Caravanserai complex, including the mausoleum of Nabi Yamin, traditionally believed to be the tomb of Benjamin, at present located outside Kfar Sava, Israel.

Biblical scholars regard it as obvious, from their geographic overlap and their treatment in older passages, that originally Ephraim and Manasseh were considered one tribe, that of Joseph.^[11] According to several biblical scholars, Benjamin was also originally part of this single tribe, but the biblical account of Joseph as his father became lost.^[11][12] The description of Benjamin being born after the arrival in Canaan is thought by some scholars to refer to the tribe of Benjamin coming into existence by branching from the Joseph group after the tribe had settled in Canaan.^[12] A number of biblical scholars suspect that the distinction of the Joseph tribes (including Benjamin) is that they were the only Israelites which went to Egypt and returned, while the main Israelite tribes simply emerged as a subculture from the Canaanites and had remained in Canaan throughout.^[12][13] According to this view, the story of Jacob's visit to Laban to obtain a wife originated as a metaphor for this migration, with the property and family which were gained from Laban representing the gains of the Joseph tribes by the time they returned from Egypt;^[12] according to textual scholars, the Jahwist version of the Laban narrative only mentions the Joseph tribes, and Rachel, and does not mention the other tribal matriarchs whatsoever.^[12][14]

Benjamin's sons[link]

According to Genesis 46:21, Benjamin had ten sons: Bela, Becher, Ashbel, Gera, Naaman, Ehi, Rosh, Muppim, Huppim, and Ard. The name of his wife/wives are not given. Classical rabbinical tradition adds that each son's name honors Joseph:^[3]

• Belah (meaning swallow), in reference to Joseph disappearing (being swallowed up)
• Becher (meaning first born), in reference to Joseph being the first child of Rachel
• Ashbel (meaning capture), in reference to Joseph having suffered captivity
• Gera (meaning grain), in reference to Joseph living in a foreign land (Egypt)
• Naaman (meaning grace), in reference to Joseph having graceful speech
• Ehi (meaning my brother), in reference to Joseph being Benjamin's only full-brother (as opposed to half-brothers)
• Rosh (meaning elder), in reference to Joseph being older than Benjamin
• Muppim (meaning double mouth), in reference to Joseph passing on what he had been taught by Jacob
• Huppim (meaning marriage canopies), in reference to Joseph being married in Egypt, while Benjamin was not there
• Ard (meaning wanderer/fugitive), in reference to Joseph being like a rose

See also[link]

• Benjamin (disambiguation)
  • For a list of persons with the given name Benjamin see All pages beginning with "Benjamin"
• Kever Benjamin
• Tribe of Benjamin

Citations[link]

References[link]

• This article incorporates text from Easton's Bible Dictionary (1897), a publication now in the public domain.

External links[link]

• The Jewish Encyclopedia, 1908: Benjamin. Material on the tribe, its territory, Rabbinical tradition and Islam.

See also Björn Gustafson.

This biographical article needs additional citations for verification. Please help by adding reliable sources. Contentious material about living persons that is unsourced or poorly sourced must be removed immediately, especially if potentially libelous or harmful. (April 2009)

Björn Gustafsson
Born	Lars Björn Gustafsson (1986-02-19) 19 February 1986 (age 26) Romelanda, Sweden[1][2]
Occupation	actor, comedian
Years active	2005–present
Website
http://www.bjorngustafsson.se/

Lars Björn Gustafsson (born in Romelanda on 19 February 1986) is a Swedish comedian and actor. Björn was born in Romelanda, Sweden. He is known from TV-shows such as Parlamentet and Stockholm Live.^[3][4]

Early and personal life[link]

Björn studied at the Calle Flygares Theater School in Stockholm to become an actor.^[1] He has among other things been in the Swedish movie Beck – Flickan i jordkällaren. But before his debut as an actor, he had already debuted in 2005 as a stand-up comedian at Bungy Comedy, a Swedish club for stand-up beginners. In 2006 he enrolled at Standup Star, a stand-up school, where among others, Özz Nûjen and Jakob Öqvist, two of the most well-known comedians in Sweden, have attended.^[1]

Career[link]

As of 2008, his most notable appearance was in Melodifestivalen 2008, the Swedish selections for the Eurovision Song Contest. For example, he sang a song to Kristian Luuk's (the host) girlfriend Carina Berg. In his song he explained his love to her. Afterward, Berg said that she had to hide her cheeks so people couldn't see that she was blushing.

Gustafsson gained a certain degree of international fame following a World of Warcraft (WoW) joke in Parlamentet, talking about people wasting time on the internet by not contributing to their party's effort by playing inefficiently, using so much internal WoW terminology himself that he was incomprehensible to non-players.^{[citation needed]} The scene was spread over the Internet, mainly on YouTube, where translations into other languages could also be found.

In 2008, Björn received big media attention by great efforts in Parlamentet and as an entertainment in the breaks to Melodifestivalens and he also got voted as the Sweden's funniest man by Aftonbladet's readers on 6 March 2008. He also read the Swedish votes at the Eurovision Song Contest 2008. He continued his "stand-up" shows at the big stage, in the Guldbaggegalan 2009 together with Johan Glans, and with Robert Gustafsson in the Svenska idrottsgalan 2009 (Swedish athletics awards). He was also named the nominated rookie of the year by the Swedish athletics.

Movies[link]

• Kronjuvelerna
• Beck – Flickan i jordkällaren
• Les grandes personnes
• Kenny Begins
• Björn Gustafsson: A life's Work

Television Shows[link]

• Eurovision Song Contest 2008
• Melodifestivalen
• Parlamentet
• Extra! Extra!
• Tack gode gud
• Morgonsoffan
• Sverige pussas och kramas
• Stockholm Live
• Sweden
• Hål i väggen
• Kontoret

Awards[link]

• Swedish Funniest Man 2008 by the newspaper Aftonbladet

References[link]

External links[link]

• Official website (Swedish)
• Björn Gustafsson at the Internet Movie Database

This article about a comedian or humorist is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it. v t e

This biographical article needs additional citations for verification. Please help by adding reliable sources. Contentious material about living persons that is unsourced or poorly sourced must be removed immediately, especially if potentially libelous or harmful. (April 2011)

Benjamin R. Barber
Benjamin R. Barber in 2010
Born	(1939-08-02) August 2, 1939 (age 72) New York City
Occupation	Academic
Nationality	American
Genres	Political theory
Influences Thomas Jefferson, Jean-Jacques Rousseau, John Dewey, Walt Whitman, Hannah Arendt
Influenced Howard Dean
www.benjaminrbarber.com

Benjamin R. Barber (born August 2, 1939) is an American political theorist and author perhaps best known for his 1996 bestseller, Jihad vs. McWorld.

Career[link]

Barber held the positions of Gershon and Carol Kekst Professor of Civil Society and Distinguished University Professor at the University of Maryland, College Park School of Public Policy, and he is Walt Whitman Professor Emeritus at Rutgers University; he is currently president and director of the Interdependence Movement and the NGO "CivWorld" at Demos, and its annual Interdependence Day event on September 12. He is a ^[1] distinguished senior fellow at Demos.^[2] As a political theorist, Barber argues for a renewed focus on civil society and engaged citizenship as tools for building effective democracy, particularly in the post-Cold War world. His current work focuses on global democratic governance and the relationship between the arts and democracy. Benjamin Barber has been a Senior Fellow at the USC Center on Public Diplomacy since 2005. He was an outside adviser to President Bill Clinton, a foreign policy adviser to Howard Dean's 2004 Presidential campaign and continues to counsel political leaders in America and abroad.

Barber was educated at Grinnell College (B.A., 1960) and Harvard University (M.A., 1963; Ph.D., 1966), after earning certificates at Albert Schweitzer College (1959) and the London School of Economics (1957).

According to Foreign Policy Barber "was among a small group of democracy advocates and public intellectuals... working under contract with the Monitor Group consulting firm to interact with Col. Muammar al-Qaddafi on issues of democracy and civil society".^[3] Barber says, "we thought -- and I think Monitor thought -- it was an opportunity to work at internal reform."^[4]

The son of theater people, he has also been active as a playwright, lyricist (libretto for George Quincy's opera Home and the River) and film-maker (The Struggle for Democracy, with Patrick Watson; Music Inn, with Ben Barenholtz).

Honors[link]

Barber's honors include a knighthood from the French Government (Palmes Academiques/Chevalier) (2001), the Berlin Prize of the American Academy in Berlin (2001) and the John Dewey Award (2003). He has also been awarded Guggenheim, Fulbright, and Social Science Research Fellowships, honorary doctorates from Grinnell College, Monmouth University and Connecticut College, and has held the chair of American Civilization at the Ecole des Hautes Etudes Commerciales in Paris.

Bibliography[link]

• Superman and Common Men: Freedom, Anarchy and the Revolution (1971)
• The Death of Communal Liberty: A History of Freedom in a Swiss Mountain Canton (1974)
• Liberating Feminism (1976)
• Marriage Voices (1981 novel)
• Strong Democracy: Participatory Politics for a New Age (1984)
• The Conquest of Politics: Liberal Philosophy in Democratic Times (1988)
• An Aristocracy of Everyone: The Politics Of Education and the Future of America (1992)
• America Skips School (1993) appeared in Harper's Magazine
• Jihad vs. McWorld: How Globalism and Tribalism Are Reshaping the World (1996)
• A Place for Us: How to Make Society Civil and Democracy Strong (1998)
• A Passion for Democracy: American Essays (2000)
• The Truth of Power: Intellectual Affairs in the Clinton White House (2001)
• Fear's Empire: War, Terrorism, and Democracy in an Age of Interdependence (2003)
• Strong Democracy: Participatory Politics for a New Age (Twentieth Anniversary Revision 2004)
• Consumed: How Markets Corrupt Children, Infantilize Adults, and Swallow Citizens Whole (2007)

References[link]

External links[link]

Wikiquote has a collection of quotations related to: Benjamin Barber

• Official website
• CivWorld
• A Conversation on American Political Culture with Benjamin Barber
• Barber discusses his new book, Consumed: How markets corrupt.... Audio on Media Matters April 15, 2007 UIUC.EDU
• Benjamin Barber's blog on the Huffington Post
• Benjamin Barber on Twitter
• Hertie School of Governance
• Interview with Benjamin R. Barber by JK Fowler for The Mantle March 19, 2011
• A film clip "The Open Mind - A New Requirement for the Educated Person: Community Service (1990)" is available for free download at the Internet Archive [more]

This article relies on references to primary sources or sources affiliated with the subject, rather than references from independent authors and third-party publications. Please add citations from reliable sources. (March 2011)

Benjamin Fulford (古歩道ベンジャミン 1961–) is a Canadian journalist living in Japan.

He is the great-grandson of George Taylor Fulford.^[1]

In the early 1980s he went to Japan to study at Sophia University. After receiving a B.A. from the University of British Columbia, he returned to Japan in the mid-1980s to pursue a career in journalism.

On July 14, 2009 the Tokyo District Court awarded American broadcast journalist Steven L. Herman more than Yen 1,700,000 (17K euro) in the civil libel case brought against Fulford and his publisher (Herman vs. Fulford, Fusosha & M. Katagiri).^[2]

After the 2011 Tōhoku earthquake and tsunami, Fulford claimed on Japanese television that "[t]he American government in cooperation with [the] Federal Reserve, the Rockefellers, and other powerful groups, they are planning the eruption of Mt. Fuji Volcano. The earthquake and the tsunami was March 11th, 2011, 03.11.11. The Mt. Fuji Eruption they are planning is for April 11th, 2011." Fulford attributed the earthquake, tsunami and his predicted eruption of Mt. Fuji to HAARP, a scientific facility used by physicists to research the upper atmosphere. There has been no such eruption of Mt. Fuji since 1708.^[3][4][5]

Publications[link]

• 9.11テロ捏造 -日本と世界を騙し続ける独裁国家アメリカ (9.11 fake terrorism -Dictatorial America cheating Japan and the world) ISBN 4-19-862195-0
• 暴かれた9.11疑惑の真相 (Exposed truth of 9.11 suspicion) ISBN 978-4-594-05228-7
• ヤクザ・リセッション: さらに失われる10年 (Yakuza recession: Another lost decade) ISBN 4-334-93323-8
• 泥棒国家の完成 (Completion of Kleptocracy) ISBN 4-334-93332-7
• 日本マスコミ「臆病」の構造 (Japan's chicken journalism) ISBN 4-7966-4375-3
• 石井紘基議員刺殺事件について (About the assassination of Koki Ishii)
• ドル消滅の仕組み (The mechanism of dollar collapse)

etc.

References[link]

External links[link]

• benjaminfulford.net
• benjaminfulford.com (Japanese)
• benjaminfulford.com (English)
• Benjamin Fulford's Blog (Japanese/English)

Aaron Wilson
Born	(1980-10-20) October 20, 1980 (age 31) Kitchener, ON, CAN
Position	Forward
Height	5 ft 9 in (1.75 m)
Weight	175 pounds (79 kg)
NLL Team F. Teams	Edmonton Rush Rochester Knighthawks Toronto Rock Minnesota Swarm
Nationality	Canada
Pro Career	2003–present
Shoots	Right
Nickname	Wild Man

Aaron Wilson (born October 20, 1980 in Kitchener, Ontario) is a lacrosse player for the Edmonton Rush in the National Lacrosse League.

Wilson began his career with the Toronto Rock. After six seasons with the Rock, including a Championship in 2005, Wilson was traded to the Rochester Knighthawks. After only six games with the Knighthawks, Wilson was traded again, this time to the Minnesota Swarm for former rookie of the year Craig Point and Dean Hill.^[1]

Following the 2011 season, Wilson was traded to the Edmonton Rush along with Ryan Cousins and Kevin Croswell for a number of draft picks.^[2]

Statistics[link]

NLL[link]

References[link]

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