How old was Benjamin?

For the last few days, my morning reading has been about Joseph in Egypt. Yesterday, and today, he tested his brothers when they came to Egypt to buy food (Genesis 42-45). Part of the evaluation was to bring Joseph's younger brother, Benjamin, to Egypt. However, Jacob, Joseph's father, initially refuses to let his youngest son go for fear of something happening to him.

Jacob refers to Benjamin as a boy, or lad, multiple times in this passage. In the times I have read it, I pictured him being anywhere from the age of around 5-12 years old. A child that was no longer a toddler, but had yet to reach puberty. When I carefully read the text though, I realized this wasn't the case at all.

When Joseph's brothers sold him to Egypt, he was 17 years old (Genesis 37:2). After testing and trials, he became the second highest ruler in the country at age 30 (Genesis 41:36). Seven years of plenty then passed and Joseph made himself known to his brothers in the second year of the famine (Genesis 45:6). Looking at these numbers, we can see Joseph had been in Israel 22 years before being reunited with his brothers.

Since Joseph knew, and recognized, Benjamin when he first saw him, he had to have been at least a few years old before Joseph was sold to Egypt. We aren't told exactly what year Benjamin was born, but I would guess he had to be in his upper 20's to early 30's at this point. Therefore, my original thought of a boy he wasn't even a teenager was very incorrect. This is further confirmed when Jacob's family is listed to say who traveled to Egypt, Genesis 46:21 lists Benjamin as having ten sons.

Just casually reading the Bible is a good habit and has many benefits. However, taking time to thoroughly study the text and understand it will open it further and correct possible wrong ideas. This passage shows that no matter what age, we never outgrow being our parents children. It also reminds Christians that as children of God, we always need to look to our Father in heaven for guidance, protection, and forgiveness.