There [is] little Benjamin [with] their ruler, the princes of Judah [and] their council, the princes of Zebulun, [and] the princes of Naphtali.
Ver. 27. There is little Benjamin with their ruler] Though before they had stood out for Saul and his house, yet now they bore a part in this solemn celebrity, as being next unto the sanctuary. Of this tribe was St Paul, Tricubitalis ille homuncio, sed insatiabilis Dei cultor, as Chrysostom calleth him, little in stature, but in labours more abundant. The first precious stone in the foundation of the New Jerusalem is a jasper, Revelation 21:19, which in Aaron's breastplate was the last, Exodus 28:20, on which Benjamin's name was graven. This intimateth, saith Ainsworth, the last now to be first, and chief in Christian Churches.
The princes of Judah and their council] Or company, or purple-arrayed ones. Beza rendereth it, Lapidatores eorum, the stoners of the enemies. The word is found here only; and Forsterus thinketh that our Saviour alludeth to it when, as Mark 3:17, he calleth James and John Boanerges.
The princes of Zebulun] Sic absolvitur pompa triumphalis. These are mentioned as most remote, bringing up the rear. In those tribes Christ walked, and therehence he called sundry of his disciples.