Twelve Tribes of Israel


The Twelve Tribes of Israel are described in the Hebrew Bible as being the descendants of Jacob, a Hebrew patriarch who was a son of Isaac and thereby a grandson of Abraham. Jacob, later known as Israel, had a total of twelve sons, from whom each tribe's ancestry and namesake is derived: Reuben, Simeon, Levi, Judah, Dan, Naphtali, Gad, Asher, Issachar, Zebulun, Joseph, and Benjamin. Collectively known as the Israelites, they inhabited a part of Canaan—the Land of Israel—during the Iron Age. Their history, society, culture, and politics feature heavily in the Abrahamic religions, especially Judaism.
In the biblical narrative, after Moses oversaw the Israelites' departure from Egypt, he died and was succeeded by Joshua, who led the conquest of Canaan and subsequently allotted territory for all but the Tribe of Levi, which was instead dedicated 48 cities. This development culminated in the establishment of Israel and Judah, purportedly beginning with a Kingdom of Israel and Judah before splitting into the Kingdom of Israel in the north and the Kingdom of Judah in the south.
Wars with neighbouring Near Eastern powers eventually resulted in the destruction of both Israel and Judah: the Assyrian conquest of Israel resulted in the mass displacement of most of the Israelites, giving rise to the legacy of the Ten Lost Tribes; and the Babylonian conquest of Judah resulted in the mass displacement of much of the remaining Israelites, who belonged to the Tribe of Judah and the Tribe of Benjamin.
In modern scholarship, there is skepticism as to whether the Twelve Tribes of Israel actually existed, with the use of "12" thought more likely to signify a symbolic tradition as part of a national founding myth, although some academics disagree with this view.

Biblical narrative

Genealogy

Jacob, later called Israel, was the second-born son of Isaac and Rebecca, the younger twin brother of Esau, and the grandson of Abraham and Sarah. According to biblical texts, he was chosen by God to be the patriarch of the Israelite nation. From what is known of Jacob, he had two wives, sisters Leah and Rachel, and two concubines, Bilhah and Zilpah. The twelve sons form the basis for the twelve tribes of Israel, listed in the order from oldest to youngest: Reuben, Simeon, Levi, Judah, Dan, Naphtali, Gad, Asher, Issachar, Zebulun, Joseph, and Benjamin. Jacob was known to display favoritism among his children, particularly for Joseph and Benjamin, the sons of his favorite wife, Rachel, and so the tribes themselves were not treated equally in a divine sense. Joseph, despite being the second-youngest son, received double the inheritance of his brothers, treated as if he were the firstborn son instead of Reuben, and so his tribe was later split into two tribes, named after his sons, Ephraim and Manasseh.

Sons and tribes

The Israelites were the descendants of twelve sons of the biblical patriarch Jacob. Jacob also had at least one daughter, Dinah, whose descendants were not recognized as a tribe. The sons of Jacob were born in Padan-aram from different mothers, as follows:
  • The sons of Leah; Reuben, Simeon, Levi, Judah, Issachar, and Zebulun
  • The sons of Rachel; Joseph and Benjamin
  • The sons of Bilhah, Rachel's handmaid; Dan and Naphtali
  • The sons of Zilpah, Leah's handmaid; Gad and Asher
lists the twelve tribes:
  • Reuben
  • Simeon
  • Levi
  • Judah
  • Issachar
  • Zebulun
  • Dan
  • Naphtali
  • Gad
  • Asher
  • Benjamin
  • Joseph, later split into two tribes:
  • * Ephraim
  • * Manasseh
Jacob elevated the descendants of Ephraim and Manasseh to the status of full tribes in their own right. Joseph received Reuben's birth right because of the latter's transgression with Bilhah.
In the biblical narrative the period from the conquest of Canaan under the leadership of Joshua until the formation of the United Kingdom of Israel passed with the tribes forming a loose confederation, described in the Book of Judges. Modern scholarship has called into question the beginning, middle, and end of this picture and the account of the conquest under Joshua has largely been abandoned. The biblical depiction of the "period of the Judges" is widely considered doubtful. The extent to which a united Kingdom of Israel ever existed is also a matter of ongoing dispute.
Living in exile in the sixth century BC, the prophet Ezekiel has a vision for the restoration of Israel, of a future in which the twelve tribes of Israel are living in their land again. In its account of the completion of the Second Temple in Jerusalem after the return of the exiles, the Book of Ezra states that the dedication of the temple was accompanied by the sacrifice of 12 he-goats as a sin offering for the twelve tribes.

Land allotment

According to Joshua 13–19, the Land of Israel was divided by lots into twelve sections corresponding to the twelve tribes of Israel. There is a contractual aspect of the division of the land according to the tribes. According to the Babylonian Talmud, the lots did not actually function as a legal allocation of property but only clarified the division. Rather, the legal allocation of property took effect when the tribes actually settled on the land and worked the land.
The tribes receiving an allotment were:
  • Reuben
  • Simeon
  • Judah
  • Issachar
  • Zebulun
  • Dan
  • Naphtali
  • Gad
  • Asher
  • Joseph, divided into two tribes, receive two allotments:
  • *Ephraim
  • *Manasseh
  • Benjamin
The Tribe of Levi received no land appropriation but had six Cities of Refuge under their administration.

Descendants

  • The Tribe of Reuben: Reuben was a member of the Northern Kingdom of Israel until the kingdom was conquered by Assyria. According to 1 Chronicles 5:26, Tiglath-Pileser III of Assyria deported the Reubenites, Gadites, and the half-tribe of Manasseh to "Halah, Habor, Hara, and the Gozan River." According to the Moabite Mesha Stele the Moabites reclaimed many territories in the second part of the 9th century BCE. The stele does mention fighting against the tribe of Gad but not the tribe of Reuben, even though taking Nebo and Jahaz which were in the centre in their designated homeland. This would suggest that the tribe of Reuben at this time was no longer recognizable as a separate force in this area. Even if still present at the outbreak of this war, the outcome of this war would have left them without a territory of their own, just like the tribes of Simeon and Levi. This is, according to Richard Elliot Friedman in Who Wrote the Bible?, the reason why these three tribes are passed over in favour of Judah in the J-version of Jacob's deathbed blessing.
  • The Tribe of Simeon: An apocryphal midrash claims that the tribe was deported by the Babylonians to the Kingdom of Aksum, to a place behind the dark mountains.
  • The Tribe of Issachar: R' David Kimchi to I Chronicles 9:1 expounds that there remained from the tribes of Ephraim, Manasseh, Issachar and Zebulun in the territory of Judah after the exile of the ten tribes. This remnant returned with the tribe of Judah after the Babylonian Exile.
  • The Tribe of Judah: returned to their original land along with what remained from the tribes of Ephraim, Manasseh, Issachar, and Zebulun that had not been exiled elsewhere, after the Babylonian Exile.
  • The Tribe of Zebulun: As part of the Kingdom of Israel, the territory of Zebulun was conquered by the Assyrians, and the tribe exiled; the manner of their exile led to their further history being lost. Israeli Knesset member Ayoob Kara speculated that the Druze are descended from one of the Lost Tribes of Israel, probably Zevulun. Kara stated that the Druze share many of the same beliefs as Jews, and that he has genetic evidence to prove that the Druze were descended from Jews.
  • The Tribes of Dan; Gad; Asher and Naphtali: Ethiopian Jews, also known as Beta Israel, claim descent from the Tribe of Dan, whose members migrated south along with members of the tribes of Gad, Asher, and Naphtali, into the Kingdom of Kush, now Ethiopia and Sudan, during the destruction of the First Temple. As noted above the Tribe of Simeon was also deported to the Kingdom of Aksum.
  • The Tribe of Ephraim: As part of the Kingdom of Israel, the territory of Ephraim was conquered by the Assyrians, and the tribe exiled; the manner of their exile led to their further history being lost. However, several modern day groups claim descent, with varying levels of academic and rabbinical support. The Samaritans claim that some of their adherents are descended from this tribe, and many Persian Jews claim to be descendants of Ephraim. Further afield, in India the Telugu Jews claim descent from Ephraim, and call themselves Bene Ephraim, relating similar traditions to those of the Mizo Jews, whom the modern state of Israel regards as descendants of Manasseh.
  • The Tribe of Manasseh: Part of the Kingdom of Israel, the territory of Manasseh was conquered by the Assyrians, and the tribe exiled; the manner of their exile led to their further history being lost. However, several modern day groups claim descent, with varying levels of academic and rabbinical support. Both the Bnei Menashe and the Samaritans claim that some of their adherents are descended from this tribe.

    Symbols

Symbols have been attributed to the twelve tribes:
  • Reuben: water
  • Simeon: the gates of Shechem
  • Levi: Thummim and Urim
  • Judah: lion
  • Issachar: donkey or sun, moon, and stars
  • Zebulun: ship
  • Dan: snake
  • Naphtali: deer
  • Gad: military encampment/tent
  • Asher: oil or an olive tree
  • Benjamin: two hills
  • Joseph: bull
  • *Ephraim:
  • *Manasseh:

    In the New Testament

The twelve tribes of Israel are referred to in the New Testament. In the gospels of Matthew and Luke, Jesus anticipates that in the Kingdom of God his disciples will "sit on thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel". The Epistle of James addresses his audience as "the twelve tribes which are scattered abroad".
The Book of Revelation gives a list of the twelve tribes, which omits Dan, includes Simeon and Levi and lists Joseph alongside Manasseh. In the vision of the Heavenly Jerusalem, the tribes' names are written on the city gates.