Twelve Tribes

General Information

Jacob

In the Bible, Jacob was the grandson of Abraham and Sarah, the son of Isaac and Rebecca, and the traditional ancestor of all Israel. Jacob obtained his prominence in the line of Abraham by tricking his elder twin brother Esau out of both his birthright and his paternal blessing (Gen. 25:29-34; 27:1-41). As he fled from the enraged Esau, Jacob had a dream at Bethel of angels ascending and descending a ladder to heaven (Gen. 28:10-22). He married his cousins Rachel and Leah and worked 20 years for their father, Laban, in Haran. He later wrestled with an angel, who gave him the name Israel (Gen. 32:22-32), and was reconciled with Esau. Jacob's 12 sons were the ancestors of the 12 tribes of Israel; Jacob's favorite was Joseph.

Bibliography:
Hendel, R.S., The Epic of the Patriarch (1988); Wiesel, Elie, Messengers of God (1976; repr. 1985).

(NOTE: In Genesis 32:28; 35:10, God told Jacob that his name was no longer Jacob, but Israel. Therefore, his twelve children and their descendents are described as the Twelve Tribes of Israel.)

Originally, the twelve tribes were identified by the names of the twelve sons of Jacob: Joseph, Judah, Issachar, Benjamin, Levi, Naphtali, Gad, Asher, Simeon, Dan, Zebulun, Reuben. Later, Jacob told Joseph that he would treat Joseph's two sons, Manasseh and Ephraim, as his own. At that time, those two tribes replaced Joseph and Levi among the Twelve:

Joseph (Jacob's eleventh son, of Rachel) Joseph was the 11th son of Jacob and the first son of Jacob's favorite wife, Rachel, and he was the biblical hero in the drama of Genesis 37-50. Joseph's favored status and his coat of many colors, a gift from his father, caused his brothers to be jealous, and they staged his accidental "death." Joseph was actually taken to Egypt, where his ability to interpret dreams brought him into favor with the pharaoh. Joseph became a high Egyptian official. When, during a famine, his unsuspecting brothers sought grain in Egypt, the forgiving Joseph--whom his brothers did not at first recognize--arranged a family reunion. Thus the whole family of Jacob moved to Egypt and lived there until the Exodus.

Judah (Deut. 33:7; Judges 1:3; 2Sam. 2:10; 19:11; 1Kings 12:21; Hebrews 7:14; Rev. 5:5; 1Chr. 2:3). (Jacob's fourth son, of Leah)

Issachar (1Chr. 7:1-5; Deut. 33:18); (Jacob's fifth son, of Leah)

Benjamin (1Chr. 7:6-12; 1Chr. 8:1-32). (Jacob's twelfth son, of Rachel) Benjamin was the youngest son of Jacob and the name of the smallest of Israel's twelve tribes. Because Jacob's favorite wife, Rachel, died after Benjamin's birth, the boy was especially dear to his father and to his only full brother, Joseph. Thus Benjamin figures prominently in the Joseph narrative (Gen. 37-50). The name "Benjamin" may mean "son of the south" and refer to the Benjamite tribe's location. King Saul, Jeremiah, and Saint Paul were Benjamites.

Reubenites (1Chr. 5:1) Reuben (Jacob's first born son, of Leah), firstborn of the Twelve.

Levites (Gen. 29:34; 35:23; 49:5; Exod. 6:16; 32:26; Numbers 1:50; 3:6; 3:39; 8:18; 8:24; 18:3; 26:57; 35:2; Deut. 12:19; 1Chr 23:27; more). Levi (Jacob's third son, of Leah). In Jos. 14:3, Moses had distributed the inheritance among the Twelve tribes, but with Joseph now being represented by the two tribes of Manasseh and Ephraim, and with the Levites not receiving an inheritance.

Naphtali (Numbers 2:29; Deut. 33:23; Jos. 19:32; Judges 1:33; 4:6; 6:35; 2Kings 15:29; 1Chr. 7:13). (Jacob's sixth son, of Bilhah)

Manasseh (1Chr. 7:14-19); (Actually from Joseph's eldest son, but later recognized as a separate tribe in Gen. 48:5. Manasseh and Ephraim counted instead of Joseph and Levi.). Moses treated the tribe of Manasseh as two separate halves when he allocated the inheritance as specified by God.

Ephraim (Numbers 1:33; Deut. 33:17; Jos. 16:5; Judges 1:22; 8:1; 12:1; 2Sam. 2:9; 1Chr. 7:20-29; 2Chr. 15:9; 28:7; Isa. 11:13). (Actually from Joseph' second son, but later recognized as a separate tribe in Gen. 48:5. Manasseh and Ephraim counted instead of Joseph and Levi.).

Gadites (Gen. 46:16); Gad (Jacob's seventh son, of Zilpah)

Asher (1Chr. 7:30-40); (Jacob's eighth son, of Zilpah)

Simeon (Numbers 1:22; 25:14; 26:14; Jos. 19:1; Judges 1:3; 1Chr. 4:24); (Jacob's second son, of Leah)

Dan (Numbers 1:39; Jos 19:48; Judges 18:30; Gen. 46:23). (Jacob's ninth son, of Bilhah). Seldom mentioned in the Bible.

Zebulon or Zebulun (Judges 1:30; 4:6; 6:35; 1Chr. 12:33; 2Chr. 30:11; Matt. 4:15; Numbers 1:9; 2:7; Deut. 33:18). (Jacob's tenth son, of Leah). Seldom specifically mentioned in the Bible.

Much of the Old Testament records an assortment of political intrigues among the leaders of the twelve tribes.

From: Home Bible Study Commentary by James M. Gray

Numbers Chapter 1-4

Number and Order of the Tribes

The Tribes Arranged

c. 2 What was the rallying point for each family in the camp (2)? We do not know the colors or forms of these ensigns, but possibly they were copied after Egypt minus their idolatrous symbols, and were of a fan-like form made of feathers, shawls, etc., and lifted on long poles. Some think they were symbols borrowed from Jacob's blessing on the tribes, and that Judah's ensign was a lion, Benjamin's a wolf, and so on. Perhaps the color was determined by the precious stone representing the tribe in the high priest's breastplate. Were the tribes, other than the Levites, allowed to pitch their tents near the tabernacle (2)? Which tribes took the lead on the march (3-9)? What seems to have formed the central company (17)?

The Remaining Tribes

(1 Chronicles Chapter 1-9)

cc. 7-8 These tribes include Issachar (7:1-5); Benjamin (vv. 6-12); Naphtali (v. 13); Manasseh (vv. 14-19); Ephraim (vv. 20-29); Asher (vv. 30-40); the chief men of Benjamin (8:1-32); the house of Saul (vv. 33-40) [?]. Two tribes are omitted, Dan and Zebulon, but why, no one can determine. In the case of Dan, perhaps, it is judicial punishment because of their early and almost total fall into idolatry. They are omitted again in the list of Revelation 8. Zebulon's omission is more difficult to explain. It was a small tribe, especially just before and whose territory included Nazareth where Jesus dwelt.

Tribe

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Tribe of Zeb'ulun

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The Tribe of Zebulun numbered at Sinai (Num. 1:31) and before entering Canaan (26:27). It was one of the tribes which did not drive out the Canaanites, but only made them tributary (Judg. 1:30). It took little interest in public affairs. It responded, however, readily to the summons of Gideon (6:35), and afterwards assisted in enthroning David at Hebron (1 Chr. 12:33, 40). Along with the other northern tribes, Zebulun was carried away into the land of Assyria by Tiglath-pileser (2 Kings 15:29). In Deborah's song the words, "Out of Zebulun they that handle the pen of the writer" (Judg. 5:14) has been rendered in the R.V., "They that handle the marshal's staff." This is a questionable rendering. "The word sopher ('scribe' or 'writer') defines the word shebhet ('rod' or 'pen') with which it is conjoined. The 'rod of the scribe' on the Assyrian monuments was the stylus of wood or metal, with the help of which the clay tablet was engraved, or the papyrus inscribed with characters. The scribe who wielded it was the associate and assistant of the 'lawgivers.'" (Sayce).

(Easton Illustrated Dictionary)

Tribe of Reu'ben

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The Tribe of Reuben, at the Exodus numbered 46,500 male adults, from twenty years old and upwards (Num. 1:20, 21), and at the close of the wilderness wanderings they numbered only 43,730 (26:7). This tribe united with that of Gad in asking permission to settle in the "land of Gilead," "on the other side of Jordan" (32:1-5). The lot assigned to Reuben was the smallest of the lots given to the trans-Jordanic tribes. It extended from the Arnon, in the south along the coast of the Dead Sea to its northern end, where the Jordan flows into it (Josh. 13:15-21, 23). It thus embraced the original kingdom of Sihon. Reuben is "to the eastern tribes what Simeon is to the western. 'Unstable as water,' he vanishes away into a mere Arabian tribe. 'His men are few;' it is all he can do 'to live and not die.' We hear of nothing beyond the multiplication of their cattle in the land of Gilead, their spoils of 'camels fifty thousand, and of asses two thousand' (1 Chr. 5:9, 10, 20, 21). In the great struggles of the nation he never took part. The complaint against him in the song of Deborah is the summary of his whole history. 'By the streams of Reuben,' i.e., by the fresh streams which descend from the eastern hills into the Jordan and the Dead Sea, on whose banks the Bedouin chiefs met then as now to debate, in the 'streams' of Reuben great were the 'desires'", i.e., resolutions which were never carried out, the people idly resting among their flocks as if it were a time of peace (Judg. 5:15, 16). Stanley's Sinai and Palestine. All the three tribes on the east of Jordan at length fell into complete apostasy, and the time of retribution came. God "stirred up the spirit of Pul, king of Assyria, and the spirit of Tiglath-pileser, king of Assyria," to carry them away, the first of the tribes, into captivity (1 Chr. 5:25, 26).

(Easton Illustrated Dictionary)

Tribe of Sim'eon

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The Tribe of Simeon was "divided and scattered" according to the prediction in Gen. 49:5-7. They gradually dwindled in number, and sank into a position of insignificance among the other tribes. They decreased in the wilderness by about two-thirds (comp. Num. 1:23; 26:14). Moses pronounces no blessing on this tribe. It is passed by in silence (Deut. 33). This tribe received as their portion a part of the territory already allotted to Judah (Josh. 19:1-9). It lay in the south-west of the land, with Judah on the east and Dan on the north; but whether it was a compact territory or not cannot be determined. The subsequent notices of this tribe are but few (1 Chr. 4:24-43). Like Reuben on the east of Jordan, this tribe had little influence on the history of Israel.

(Easton Illustrated Dictionary)

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