Unbeknownst to Jacob’s sons, the Egyptian ruler they end up dealing with is Joseph, their long-lost brother whom they sold into slavery. Jacob doesn’t seem to be a fan of that name, and changes it to “Benjamin,” which means a more upbeat “son of my right hand.” (Gen 35:18)īenjamin comes up a lot during the famine, when Jacob sends his sons to Egypt to find food. Rachel dies in childbirth bearing Benjamin, giving him the name “Ben-Oni”-meaning “son of my suffering”-just before she breathes her last. Rachel’s second son, and Jacob’s youngest, Benjamin, is mentioned 69 times in Genesis: once by another name. Jacob had twelve sons-two of them by his wife Rachel. Take a look at whose names show up the most in Genesis. For those who are curious, I also added what each name means.Ī few of the results surprised me. Sometimes characters are called by several different names, and I joined those counts together. I took a look at how many times each person in Genesis is mentioned by name.

Hint: none of those five are even in the top ten! But who does the first book of the Bible really talk about the most?

If you were to ask yourself who the main characters of Genesis are, Adam & Eve, Noah, or Cain & Abel might jump to mind.

Genesis 8 characters