(Gen. 49:27:) BENJAMIN IS A RAVENOUS WOLF. This text is related (to Amos 3:7): SURELY THE LORD GOD DOES NOTHING WITHOUT HAVING REVEALED IT UNTO HIS SERVANTS THE PROPHETS.⁶⁶, Gen. 12:14; also 4:6; Gen. R. 49:2; 97, New Version, on 49:27 (= pp. 1224—1225 in the Theodor-Albeck edition); M. Pss. 25:13. In the beginning the counsel of the LORD was for those who feared him, as stated (in Ps. 25:14): THE COUNSEL OF THE LORD IS FOR THOSE WHO FEAR HIM. Later he gave it to the upright, as stated (in Prov. 3:32): BUT HIS COUNSEL IS WITH THE UPRIGHT. Still later he gave it to the prophets, as stated (in Amos 3:7) SURELY THE LORD GOD DOES NOTHING WITHOUT HAVING REVEALED IT UNTO HIS SERVANTS THE PROPHETS.

footnotes: ⁶⁶ Tanh.

Everything that the righteous do they do through the Holy Spirit. When Jacob blessed Judah, he blessed him with the qualities of a lion, as stated (in Gen. 49:9): JUDAH IS A LION'S WHELP. Thus he paired him off ⁶⁷, Gen. 12:14; Gen. R. 97, New Version, on 49:27 (= pp. 1224—1225 in the Theodor-Albeck edition). against the kingdom of Babylon, of which it is written (in Dan. 7:4): THE FIRST WAS LIKE A LION.⁶⁸ So Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah (descendants of Judah) attacked it (i.e., Babylon). As for Joseph, he paired him off against this present wicked kingdom of Rome. R. Samuel bar Nahman said: There is a tradition handed down that Esau will only fall at the hands of Rachel's children. [Thus it is stated (in Jer. 49:20): SURELY THE YOUNGEST OF THE FLOCK SHALL DRAG THEM⁶⁹ AWAY.] And Moses paired off the tribe of Levi against the kingdom of Greece, since the children of the Hasmoneans stem from Levi. Also Levi is the third tribe, and this kingdom of Greece is the third kingdom .⁷⁰ Moreover, Levi (LWY) has three letters, and Greece (YWN) has three letters. The former sacrifices bulls, and the latter writes on the horn of an ox. They have no portion in the God of Israel. The former are many, and the latter are few. Moses saw them and blessed them, as stated (in Deut. 33:11 with reference to Levi): BLESS, O LORD, HIS VALOR… SMITE THE LOINS OF THOSE WHO RISE UP AGAINST HIM …. And Jacob paired Benjamin off against the kingdom of Media. Thus it is written about the kingdom of Media (in Dan. 7:5): THEN HERE WAS ANOTHER BEAST, A SECOND ONE, LIKE A BEAR.⁷¹. Cf. the parallel versions of Tanh., Gen. 12:14; Gen. R. 97, New Version, on 49:27 (= pp. 1224—1225 in the Theodor-Albeck edition), where dov is written without a vowel letter and so allows one to read the word as dev, which means “wolf.” So here is an analogy with it (Media) over against the tribe of Benjamin to which it is likened, as stated (in Gen. 49:27): BENJAMIN IS A RAVENOUS WOLF. Just as the wolf seizes its prey , so did the tribe of Benjamin seize something , as stated (in Jud. 21:21): WHEN YOU SEE {THE DAUGHTERS OF SHILOH} [AND BEHOLD, IF THE DAUGHTERS OF SHILOH COME OUT]… THEN YOU SHALL COME OUT OF THE VINEYARDS , SEIZE FOR YOURSELVES EACH ONE HIS OWN WIFE FROM THE DAUGHTERS OF SHILOH, AND GO TO THE LAND OF BENJAMIN .

footnotes: ⁶⁷ The bracketed words come from the parallel versions in Tanh. ⁶⁸ Gen. R. 99:2. ⁶⁹ THEM refers to Edom, which had come to be identified with Rome in Jewish tradition. ⁷⁰ According to Dan. 7 as the tradition interprets it. ⁷¹ Aramaic: dov