Benjamin

This map of Benjamin’s allotment situates Israel’s smallest tribe on a strategic ridge of the central hill country, a mere bridge between Judah to the south and Ephraim to the north. The cartography follows Joshua’s boundary list: starting west of Jericho, “the border went up through the mountains to Bethel” (Joshua 18:13) and wound southward past Luz and Ataroth, then edged the Valley of Hinnom outside Jerusalem before bending east toward the Jordan. Marked are fortress-towns such as Gibeon, Mizpah, and Gibeah-Saul’s hometown-whose elevated overlooks controlled north-south caravan routes and the approach to the Benjamin Plateau. By plotting wadis that plunge 3,000 feet from Ramah to the Jordan plain and the ascent of Adummim climbing toward the Mount of Olives, the map reveals why Benjamin functioned as both shield and gateway for the united monarchy, why pilgrims ascended from Jericho to worship in Zion, and how prophets could declare that “out of Benjamin shall come a ruler” (Hosea 5:8—10; 1 Samuel 9). Visualizing these contours helps readers appreciate the tribe’s outsized role-as battleground, pilgrimage corridor, and royal cradle-amid Israel’s covenant story.