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Shalom friends,
The crowded Jewish holiday season is behind us, and we are now entering the short Israeli fall, soon to become winter. We will be starting a series of newsletters about the twelve tribes of Israel: the founding fathers of each tribe and the biblical stories about them. We will also discuss what we learn of the tribe in the later biblical books. Some of the tribes are less central, and therefore will appear in a joined newsletter with additional tribes.
Today we begin with a general introduction about the tribes.
Jacob, son of Isaac and grandson of Abraham, the founder of monotheism, is considered the founding father of the Israelite nation. The nation is named after him: Jacob's name was changed to Israel, a change we are told of on two occasions. The first is in Genesis 32. Jacob, upon returning to the Land of Canaan after a long exile in Mesopotamia, meets with an angel by the Jabbok ford. He fights with him all night and prevails. When the angel asks to go, Jacob requests a blessing of him - and his name
| is changed to Israel, |
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, explained according to the Hebrew root |
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"For you have striven with God and with humans, and have prevailed"
(Genesis 32: 29)
Jacob Wrestles with the Angel, Gustave Doré
This renaming is confirmed by God when he reveals himself to Jacob upon entering Canaan and gives him a blessing of fruitfulness, in Bethel (Genesis 35: 9-15).
One of the big differences between a family and a nation is in the number of its members, and obviously, having had twelve sons contributes to Jacob's status as the founding father.
Jacob's twelve sons and one daughter were born to him by four wives. Jacob angered Esau by receiving the blessing of the first born, and then fled to his mother's brother, Laban, in Mesopotamia (Genesis 27-28). There he met his cousin, Rachel, and fell in love with her. Jacob worked for Laban for seven years, being promised that after that he would marry Rachel. We are told that he loved Rachel so much, that the seven years were to him "but a few days because of the love he had for her" (Genesis 29:20).
Jacob meets Rachel, Gustave Doré
However, Rachel was the younger of Laban's two daughters, and Laban did not want her to marry before his older daughter, Leah. Therefore, he gave him as his wife Leah instead of Rachel, a switch which Jacob only discovered in the morning. He then demanded that he be given Rachel as well, and committed to an additional seven years of work in return for Rachel. Each of the two sisters had a maid: Zilpah was Leah's maid, and Bilhah was Rachel's maid.
Because Rachel was beloved, and Leah not, God opened Leah's womb and closed Rachel's. Leah at first bore four sons to Jacob: Reuben, Simeon, Levi and Judah. Rachel, seeing that she did not conceive, gave her maid, Bilhah, to Jacob, and Bilhah bore him two sons: Dan and Naphtali. Leah, seeing that she had ceased to bear children, gave her maid, Zilpah, to Jacob. Zilpah bore him two sons: Gad and Asher.
Leah then bore three additional children: Issachar, Zebulun, and a daughter, Dinah. God then remembered Rachel, and she bore two sons: Joseph and Benjamin. The reasoning and explanations for each of the names will be given when we discuss the specific tribe.
The twelve sons of Jacob are usually listed not according to their time of birth, but according to their mothers: either first Leah's sons, then Rachel's, then Bilhah's and finally Zilpah's (as in Genesis 35:23-26), or, more commonly, first Leah's sons, then Ziplah's, then Bilhah's and then Rachel's.
Despite the fact that these are the twelve sons of Jacob, when discussing the tribes and their lots in the Land of Canaan, the list is somewhat different: the tribe of Levi is not allotted a piece of land of its own, and yet, the land is divided in twelve. Ephraim and Manasseh, the two sons of Joseph who were born in Egypt, are each regarded as a tribe.
A map of the lots of the tribes (via www.rapturechrist.com)
Ephraim and Manasseh have a special status among Jacob's grandsons because of Jacob's statement to Joseph, when blessing Joseph's sons before he dies:
"And now, your two sons who were born to you in the Land of Egypt before I came to you to Egypt, are mine; Ephraim and Manasseh will be to me like Reuben and Simeon" (Genesis 48:5).
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The fate of the different tribes, other than specific stories about them, is told on a few occasions. The important ones to mention are:
The blessing of Jacob - before Jacob's death, he gathers his children and blesses them, revealing to them what will happen in their future. From this blessing we learn of the characteristics of each of the tribes and some information about their fate. The blessing appears in Genesis 49, and will be elaborated upon for each tribe separately.
The blessing of Moses - before his death, Moses blesses the children of Israel. This blessing too teaches us about the different tribes. It appears in Deuteronomy 33.
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Deborah's Song - In Judges 5, the Prophetess Deborah sings a song of praise after having defeated the army of Sisera, the commander of the Canaanite army from Hazor. Deborah mentions many of the tribes of Israel and the role they played in the war, commending some for their central role while criticizing others for not participating.
Have a great week!
The Biblical Hebrew Online Team.
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Transcription: Mishpaxa
Literal Meaning: Family
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Mishpaxa is usually used in the bible as a general term for the extended family or clan.
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Transcription: Shevet
Literal Meaning: Tribe
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Each of the tribes of Israel is given this title. It is important to note that the exact same spelling is also used for another word, meaning "staff, scepter".
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