The Tribes of Israel

The Tribes of Israel, in the Bible, the Hebrew people who, after the death of Moses, took possession of the Promised Land of Canaan under the leadership of Joshua. Because the tribes were named after sons or grandsons of Jacob, whose name was changed to Israel after he wrestled an angel of the Lord, the Hebrew people became known as Israelites.

Jacob’s first wife, Leah, bore him six sons: Reuben, Simeon, Levi, Judah, Issachar, and Zebulun. Each was the father of a tribe, though Levi’s descendants (among whom were Moses and Aaron), the priests and temple functionaries, were dispersed among the other tribes and received no tribal land of their own. Two other tribes, Gad and Asher, were named after sons born to Jacob and Zilpah, Leah’s maidservant. Two additional tribes, Dan and Naphtali, were named after sons of Jacob born of Bilhah, the maidservant of Rachel, Jacob’s second wife. Rachel bore Jacob two sons, Joseph and Benjamin. The tribe of Benjamin provided Israel with its first king, Saul, and was later assimilated into the tribe of Judah. While no tribe bore the name of Joseph, two tribes were named after Joseph’s sons, Manasseh and Ephraim. The 10 tribes that settled in northern Palestine and were carried into captivity by the Assyrians became known as the Ten Lost Tribes of Israel.

The fact that there were 13 tribes of Israel is vastly overlooked because Jacob had 12 sons. Joseph was separated from his brothers when they sold him as a slave in Egypt.  When Joseph had two boys, Ephraim and Manasseh there in Egypt, Jacob said that instead of Joseph, his two sons will be counted among the 12 tribes; and Levi was not given an inheritance because they were a nation of Priests for all 12.  The tribe of the priesthood. The tribe of Levi stood by Moses (a Levite) during the golden calf incident at Mount Sinai (Exodus 32:25–29), and later took their place as ministers to the tabernacle, and later the Temple. Levi had no tribal territory—the Lord was the tribe’s inheritance (Numbers 18:19–20)—though they did receive pasture lands for their cattle (Joshua 21). Levitical duties were extensive (read Leviticus!), but Moses gives a brief summary of their significance in his blessing for the tribe (Deuteronomy 33:8–11).

 

The tribes are as follows:

  1. Reuben
  2. Simeon
  3. Judah
  4. Dan
  5. Issachar
  6. Zebulun
  7. Benjamin
  8. Levi
  9. Naphtali
  10. Gad
  11. Asher
  12. Joseph
  13. Ephraim
  14. Manasseh

Thus, if one tribe were to withdraw from the union or to be absorbed into another, the number twelve would be preserved, either by splitting one of the remaining tribes into two or by accepting a new tribe into the union. For example, when the tribe of Levi is considered among the twelve tribes, the Joseph tribes are counted as one. However, when Levi is not mentioned, the Joseph tribes are counted separately as Manasseh and Ephraim. For the same duodecimal considerations, Simeon is counted as a tribe even after having been absorbed into Judah, and Manasseh even after having split in two, is considered one.

 

In Revelation 7, the tribe of Dan was replaced by Manasseh, Ephraim was also not included, here is why!

 

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