And it came to pass, as her soul was in departing, (for she died) that she called his name Benoni: but his father called him Benjamin.
As Rachel was dying and her life was leaving her, she named her son Benoni. But his father Jacob called him Benjamin instead.
This verse describes Rachel's death during childbirth as she names her newborn son, though Jacob chooses a different name for the boy.
📚 Historical Context
In the biblical narrative of Genesis, Jacob and his family were on a journey back to Bethel as God had commanded, and during this trip, Rachel, Jacob's beloved wife, went into labor with her second son near Ephrath. As she was dying from childbirth complications, she named the child Benoni, which means "son of my sorrow," expressing her grief and pain in that moment. Jacob then renamed the child Benjamin, meaning "son of the right hand," likely to shift the focus from mourning to a symbol of strength and future blessing within the family lineage.
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