Book of Mormon Evidence: Wordplay on Benjamin

Matthew L. Bowen has proposed that the early chapters of Mosiah repeatedly feature a wordplay on King Benjamin’s name.1 In Hebrew, ben means “son” (words for “child” and “daughter” also come from this root), and the Hebrew word jamin is traditionally thought to mean “right hand.” Thus the name “Benjamin” (ben-jamin) can appropriately mean “son of the right hand.”² This definition may help explain the focus on children in the early chapters of the book of Mosiah, as well as King Benjamin’s discussion of spiritual rebirth and being enthroned on God’s right hand.³

In Mosiah 1:1–2, King Benjamin and his sons are in introduced to readers in a way that is similar to the introductions given by Nephi, Enos, and other prophets. In each case it appears that the authors used wordplay to connect the introduced characters to the influence and teachings of their fathers.⁴

Nephi, whose name likely stems from an Egyptian word (nfr) meaning “good,” mentioned that he was “born of goodly parents” and that he had a “great knowledge of the goodness and the mysteries of God,”(1 Nephi 1:1).⁵ Enos, whose name is a Hebrew poetic form of the word “man,” similarly drew attention to his father, describing him as a “just man” (Enos 1:1).⁶ In Mosiah 1, the term “sons” is used 9 times, most often by King Benjamin (“son of the right hand“), who specifically used the phrase “my sons” to address his children. These similar wordplays found in similar formulaic introductions are highlighted in the following chart:

Later in Benjamin’s speech, the wordplay on his name is made even more apparent when he taught that those who righteously keep their covenants shall become the “children of Christ, his sons, and his daughters” (Mosiah 5:7) and that eventually they “shall be found at the right hand of God,” (v. 9). This language, as well as several other statements in King Benjamin’s speech, seem to allude to biblical passages, such as Deuteronomy 14:1–2; 2 Samuel 7:14; Psalms 2:7; 110, that deal with ancient Israelite coronation and enthronement contexts.

In doing so, King Benjamin effectively used the enthronement of his own son—the “son of his right hand”—as an occasion to teach about the blessings of heavenly enthronement that await all the righteous.7  Bowen explained, “it is the application of royal coronation/enthronement texts to the people themselves—making them all potentially kings and queens, sons and daughters at the right hand—that makes Benjamin’s speech so revolutionary.”⁸ 

Conclusion

Bowen’s analysis suggests that the author of the early chapters in Mosiah understood both the Hebrew meaning behind Benjamin (“son of the right hand”) and the relevant texts and symbolism pertaining to ancient Israelite coronation and enthronement ceremonies.