The tribes of Israel come from Jacob, the son of Isaac, the son of Abraham. That is the story…
Jacob
The primary use of the identify Israel within the Bible is in Genesis 32:28, when it’s given as one other identify for Jacob. Jacob was the youthful of the twins born to Isaac and Rebecca, and Isaac was the second son of Abraham.
Israel a reputation for Jacob
Genesis 32 tells the story of Jacob wrestling with a person whom Hosea later recognized as an angel (Hosea 12:4). The determine mentioned, 'Your identify will not be Jacob, however Israel, as a result of you’ve wrestled with God and with males and have gained.' In Genesis 35:10, God informed him, 'Your identify is Jacob, however you shall not be known as Jacob; your identify shall be Israel.” Thereafter, Jacob is called each Jacob and Israel, and the 2 names continued for use interchangeably.
Little kids of Israel
Jacob, alias Israel, had many youngsters. His identify Israel got here for use as a household identify or surname. He had twelve sons named The youngsters who have been named have been, so as of beginning, Reuben, Simeon, Levi, Judah, Dan, Naphtali, Gad, Asher, Issachar, Zebulun, Dinah, Joseph, and Benjamin. Different daughters are talked about (Genesis 34:9; 37:34-35; 46:5-7; 46:15), however we have no idea what number of he had. Dinah is the one daughter named (Genesis 30:21).
Israel in Egypt
Jacob and his household settled in Goshen, Egypt at Joseph's invitation attributable to a famine (Genesis 47:27). The primary point out of the 'tribes of Israel' seems within the final chapter of Genesis, chapter 49, after the demise of Jacob (Israel). In keeping with the Bible, Jacob lived in Egypt for 17 years earlier than he died there. Joseph and the Israelites then lived in Goshen in peace for a lot of generations. They weren’t enslaved till someday after Joseph died, about 80 years later (Exodus 1:6-10). The textual content is just a little obscure about when slavery started, and appears to recommend that it was throughout a brand new dynasty that knew nothing of them (Exodus 1:8), so that they will need to have lived there for a century or extra earlier than being enslaved, thus by the point the twelve tribes of Israel had grown in quantity.
The tribes of Israel leaving Egypt
Moses and his brother Aaron and sister Miriam have been born within the tribe of Levi. Moses led the tribes of Israel out of Egypt as informed within the guide of Exodus. As they have been about to cross over the Jordan into their new land, the land was divided for them by tribe as described within the guide of Joshua.
Two varieties of strains
It's a bit sophisticated once we discuss concerning the tribes of Israel. The tribe of Levi was thought of a priestly tribe and had no tribal land, however the two sons of Joseph known as Ephraim and Manasseh have been thought of half tribes with separate territories. Thus there have been twelve patriarchs forming the ancestral tribes (together with Joseph and Levi) and twelve land tribes (excluding the Levites, however together with Ephraim and Manasseh), making in actuality 13 tribes.
The territory of Israel
Later the tribes of Israel settled and fashioned their very own nation. For a number of centuries the land of Israel was dominated by judges. After the judges, the land of Israel turned a kingdom dominated by kings and queens. The primary kings have been Saul, David and Solomon. Through the reigns of David and Solomon, territories exterior the tribal lands of Israel have been conquered.
Northern tribes
After the demise of King Solomon, he turned King Rehoboam. Throughout his reign, the dominion of Israel cut up into two components. Rehoboam remained king of the southern tribes known as the Kingdom of Judah. The northern tribes established a brand new kingdom beneath King Jeroboam, which retained the identify Israel.
Typically these northern tribes are mistakenly known as the “ten tribes”, when in truth they have been primarily the seven full tribes of Asher, Dan, Gad, Issachar, Naphtali, Reuben and Zebulun and the 2 half tribes of Manasseh and Ephraim. The Northern Kingdom of Israel fell to Assyria round 722 BC. At the moment, many Israelites from the northern kingdom moved south to the dominion of Judah.
Southern tribes
Though the southern kingdom was known as the dominion of Judah, it included not solely the tribe of Judah, but in addition the tribes of Benjamin and the tribe of Simeon, which was surrounded by the tribe of Judah, and the southern a part of the tribe of Dan. . The Kingdom of Judah additionally included a lot of the tribe of Levi, because the Levites carried out spiritual duties within the Temple in Jerusalem. Over time, these tribes have been joined by Israelites from the northern tribes who sought refuge amongst them (2 Chronicles 15:9). All of them remained there till a lot of them have been taken to Babylonia, throughout three deportations starting round 597 BC.
Tribes in Exile
The time period Jew was used to seek advice from the exiled Judean individuals taken to Babylonia from the Kingdom of Judah, no matter whether or not or not they have been of the tribe of Judah. The Jews remained in exile till they have been freed by a decree of Cyrus the Nice in 538 BC. Ezra and Nehemiah inform the story of the Jews who returned from exile.
Tribes within the New Testomony
Within the New Testomony, there may be nonetheless the concept that the individuals of Israel are made up of twelve tribes, and a few individuals are nonetheless recognized as being from a sure tribe. Zacharias and Elizabeth have been from the tribe of Levi (Luke 1:3). Jesus is described as being from the tribe of Judah. The prophet Anna is described as being of the tribe of Asher (Luke 2:36). Paul is known as the tribe of Benjamin (Romans 11:1; Philippians 3:5). In John's imaginative and prescient in Revelation 7:4-8, he identifies 144,000 Israelites as 12,000 from every ancestral tribe. That's in figurative language.
