Chieftain of the tribe of Benjamin during the wilderness wanderings
L’ExodeTribal chieftain (nasi)Leader of the tribe of BenjaminRepresentative at the censusOffering bearer at the dedication of the altarActive c. 1450–1410 BC
Abidan, son of Gideoni, was appointed by God as tribal leader (nasi) for Benjamin during the Israelites' wilderness journey. As one of twelve leaders, he assisted Moses in the first census, where the tribe of Benjamin included 35,400 men fit for battle from twenty years old and upward. In the camp arrangement around the tabernacle, the tribe of Benjamin was positioned on the west side under the banner of Ephraim, together with Ephraim and Manasseh – a grouping that reflects their kinship through their common matriarch Rachel. At the dedication of the tabernacle altar, Abidan brought his offering on the ninth day, identical to the offerings of the other leaders, as an expression of the tribes' equality in worshiping the God of Israel. When the people broke camp from Sinai, Abidan marched with the tribe of Benjamin as part of the third division in the order of departure. His service testifies to how God organized his people through appointed leaders responsible for civil, military, and cultic duties.
Abidan, son of Gideoni, was appointed by God as chief (nasi) and representative of the tribe of Benjamin, with the task of assisting Moses in the census.
36The descendants of Benjamin: all the men twenty years old and upward who were fit for military service were listed by name, according to their genealogy, by clan and family.
Abidan and the tribe of Benjamin were placed on the west side of the tabernacle under the banner of Ephraim, together with the tribes of Ephraim and Manasseh.
On the ninth day, Abidan brought his offering at the dedication of the tabernacle's altar. His gift included a silver plate, a silver bowl, both filled with fine flour mixed with oil, a gold bowl full of incense, a bull, a ram, a one-year-old lamb for a burnt offering, a male goat for a sin offering, and animals for a peace offering – identical to the gifts of the other chiefs.
61His offering was one silver plate weighing a hundred and thirty shekels and one silver basin of seventy shekels, by the sanctuary shekel, both of them filled with fine flour mixed with oil for a grain offering;
65and for the fellowship offering, two oxen, five rams, five male goats, and five male lambs a year old. This was the offering of Abidan son of Gideoni.
67His offering was one silver plate weighing a hundred and thirty shekels and one silver basin of seventy shekels, by the sanctuary shekel, both of them filled with fine flour mixed with oil for a grain offering;
71and for the fellowship offering, two oxen, five rams, five male goats, and five male lambs a year old. This was the offering of Ahiezer son of Ammishaddai.
When the Israelites broke camp from the wilderness of Sinai, Abidan and the tribe of Benjamin marched as part of the third division in the order of march.