Ben-ammi is a name recorded in the Book of Genesis that is not a historical figure himself, but a patronymic—a symbolic name given to the son of Lot’s younger daughter. More importantly, he is the ancestral father of the Ammonites, a nation that would perpetually war against Israel and stand as a type of ungodly opposition in the biblical narrative.
I. The Origin of the Name
The name Ben-ammi (Hebrew: בֶּן־עַמִּי) is a deliberate combination of words meaning “son of my people” or “son of my kinsman.” The story surrounding his birth is one of shame and compromise following the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah.
After Lot and his two daughters escaped the fire and brimstone, they retreated to a cave. Fearing their lineage would die out and believing themselves to be the last people on Earth, the younger daughter devised a plan:
“And the younger, she also bare a son, and called his name Ben-ammi: the same is the father of the children of Ammon unto this day.” (Genesis 19:38, KJV).
This name, “Son of my people,” was intended to acknowledge that the child’s father was her own father, Lot, highlighting the tragic and morally compromised circumstances of the Ammonite beginning.
II. The Prophetic Legacy: Father of the Ammonites
Ben-ammi’s sole importance lies in his role as the progenitor of the nation of Ammon (known as the children of Ammon or Ammonites). This nation settled in the territory east of the Jordan River.
- Perpetual Opposition: From the time of the Judges (where Jephthah contended with them) through the monarchy (where they fought Saul and David), the Ammonites were a constant enemy of Israel. Their history is marked by aggression, cruelty, and idolatry.
- Theological Exclusion: Because of their profound hostility and refusal to aid Israel in the wilderness, the Lord issued a lasting decree of exclusion against them: “An Ammonite or Moabite shall not enter into the congregation of the LORD; even to their tenth generation shall they not enter into the congregation of the LORD for ever:” (Deuteronomy 23:3, KJV).
- A Type of the World: The Ammonites serve as a stark reminder that compromise and moral failure (the circumstances of Ben-ammi’s birth) lead to a legacy of antagonism toward the people of God.
Ben-ammi, therefore, is a name that represents the origin of perpetual spiritual opposition rooted in moral compromise, providing a powerful contrast to the pure covenant line of Abraham.