Genesis 49:27

Benjamin is a strong tribe, (like) the wolf (with) his prey. In his land will dwell the Shekina of the Lord of the world, and the house of the sanctuary be builded in his inheritance. In the morning will the priests offer the lamb continually until the fourth hour, and between the evenings the second lamb, and at eventide will they divide the residue remaining of the offering, and eat, every man, his portion.

בנימין זאב יטרף, Yaakov prophesies concerning the first crowned Jewish King, Sha-ul, member of the tribe of Binyamin. He would successfully deal with the enemies surrounding Israel as documented in Samuel I 14,47בכל אשר יפנה ירשיע, “wherever he turned he defeated them.” The tribe of Binyamin also remained loyal to the dynasty of David when the ten tribes split under Jerobam. When King Assa conducted wars against surrounding enemy states, Binyamin supported him. The same held true under the reign of the kings Yehoshaphat and Chizkiyah, both Kings of the Davidic dynasty.

ולערב יחלק שלל. It is customary for wolves (who raid in packs) to wait with distributing their spoils until evening. Jeremiah 5,6 and Tzefaniah 3,3 confirm this.

זאב יטרוף, it is the custom of wolves to attack either early in the morning or in the evening, both periods when there is not much light. We find support for this in Chabakuk 1,8. Binyamin’s rise to power also occurred at the dawn of Jewish monarchies in the person of King Sha-ul, and once more near the end of Jewish one man rule under Mordechai. Subsequently, there was never again a true Jewish political independence, and the religious leadership was in the hands of the אנשי כנסת הגדולה, a college of 120 elders.

בנימין זאב יטרף, he will be comparable to a ravenous wolf which tears apart its victims whether domestic animals or predators. The wolf is more courageous than other wild animals, not being afraid to invade human habitations. The members of the tribe of Binyamin demonstrated this quality of fearlessness on many occasions during their long history. In Judges chapter 20 they took on single-handedly the armies of all the other tribes in a tragic civil war. Also in Chronicles I 12,2 they joined the persecuted David who commanded only a small number of men, in what must have appeared as a hopeless undertaking. In verse 19 there we read that David placed these Binyaminites at the head of his small band.

בבוקר יאכל עד ולערב יחלק שלל. He will outdo the wolves, which have to wait until evening to eat any part of their prey. Binyamin will consume the foe in the morning and the loot in the evening following. Compare Tzefaniah 3,3 for confirmation of this. The word עד is equivalent to the word שלל, loot, booty. The Aramaic term for the word שלל is עדאה. This also contains an allusion to the war of Sha-ul, of the tribe of Binyamin against the Amelekites as well as against other nations as we know from Samuel I 14,47. Also Mordechai, who was descended from Binyamin , won against all the Antisemites including Haman and thus brought a great salvation to his people. The reason why the wars of Sha-ul are referred to by Yaakov as בוקר, morning, is because they occurred at the very beginning of the years during which the Jews had a crowned head as their leader. Mordechai’s “war,” by comparison was called ערב, evening, seeing that during his time the Jews were in exile, something compared to evening.

יחלק שלל, you may ask that we read in the Book of Esther 9,15 that the Jews did not pocket any of the loot. The meaning of that line was that seeing the King had given to Mordechai all that had belonged to Haman, such belongings could not longer be described as “loot.”