Category:Twelve Tribes (subject)
According to Jewish (Christian, and Islamic) traditions, the ancient People of Israel was made of Twelve Tribes. A portion of the Land of Israel was given to the descendants of each of the Twelve Patriarchs (see map), with the exception of the House of Levi who was granted the priesthood, and the House of Joseph, which was divided between his two children, Manasseh and Ephraim.
< Tribe of Reuben -- Tribe of Simeon -- Tribe of Judah -- Tribe of Dan -- Tribe of Naphtali -- Tribe of Gad -- Tribe of Asher -- Tribe of Issachar -- Tribe of Zebulun -- Tribe of Manasseh -- Tribe of Ephraim -- Tribe of Benjamin; see also House of Levi and House of Joseph >
Overview
The Twelve Tribes do not corresponds exactly to the Twelve Patriarchs, sons of Jacob. The picture was complicated by the fact that in Genesis 49, Jacob doomed the Sons of Levi and the Sons of Simeon to be "scattered." Consistently, the Sons of Levi were not regarded as a Tribe (later, it would be conveniently said that they were set apart to serve as priests). The loss of the Tribe of Levi was compensated by doubling the House of Joseph into two Tribes-- the Tribe of Ephraim and the Tribe of Manasseh.
The two censuses of Numbers 1 and 26 provide the standard list of the Twelve Tribes (with Ephraim and Manasseh in place of Levi and Joseph), according to the following order: 1. Tribe of Reuben, 2. Tribe of Simeon, 3. Tribe of Judah, 4. Tribe of Issachar, 5. Tribe of Zebulun, 6. Tribe of Ephraim, 7. Tribe of Manasseh, 8. Tribe of Benjamin, 9. Tribe of Dan, 10. Tribe of Asher, 11. Tribe of Gad, and 12. Tribe of Naphtali.
After the conquest, each Tribe received their portion of the Land of Israel. According to the Book of Joshua, first Moses allotted the Tribe of Reuben, the Tribe of Gad and half of the Tribe of Manasseh their territories "beyond the Jordan." Later Joshua gave their territories to the Tribe of Judah, the Tribe of Ephraim, half of the Tribe of Manasseh, the Tribe of Benjamin, the Tribe of Simeon, the Tribe of Zebulun, the Tribe of Issachar, the Tribe of Asher, the Tribe of Naphtali, and the Tribe of Dan. No territory was given to the House of Levi.
The status of the Sons of Simeon, cursed by Jacob, also remained somehow in limbo. The Second Census in Numbers 26 already signals a dramatic decrease in the numbers of the Sons of Simeon, from 59,300 to 22,200. Still counted as one of the Twelve Tribe, they did not receive a territory of their own but were "scattered" among the Sons of Judah. 2 Chronicles 9 does no longer give them the status of a Tribe after the schism between the Southern Kingdom and the Northern Kingdom. They were "lost" even before the events following the Assyrian and Babylonian exile made all Tribes disappeared, except the Tribe of Judah, the Tribe of Benjamin and the priestly House of Levi. The restoration of the ten Lost Tribes thus became one of the distinctive marks of the eschatological times.
Ezekiel's vision of restoration divides the Land of Israel according to the Twelve Tribes (with Ephraim and Manasseh in place of Levi and Joseph), but the gates of the new Temple are one for each of the Twelve Patriarchs, including Levi and Joseph.
While foretelling the restoration of the Twelve Tribes, the Revelation of John provides a list of the Twelve Tribes that includes Levi, Joseph and Manasseh but quite inexplicably, neither Ephraim nor Dan. The tribes are listed as follows: 1. Tribe of Judah, Tribe of Reuben, Tribe of Gad, Tribe of Asher, Tribe of Naphtali, Tribe of Manasseh, Tribe of Simeon, Tribe of Levi, Tribe of Issachar, Tribe of Zebulun, Tribe of Joseph, and Tribe of Benjamin.
The Twelve Tribes in ancient Sources
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External links
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