Category Archives: Israel

Tribes of Israel – Joseph

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Joseph is the twelfth child of Jacob and the first son of Rachel; he was the last child born in Paddan Aram. The NIV Bible says the name means “may He add” Rachel believed to have another son. He is the first-born son of the “loved” wife and it showed when he met Esau; Rachel and Joseph were in the back far away from the first attack (Genesis 33:2).Joseph as a slave

Deuteronomy 33: 13 About Joseph he said: “May the Lord bless his land with the precious dew from heaven above and with the deep waters that lie below; 14 with the best the sun brings forth and the finest the moon can yield; 15 with the choicest gifts of the ancient mountains and the fruitfulness of the everlasting hills; 16 with the best gifts of the earth and its fullness and the favor of him who dwelt in the burning bush. Let all these rest on the head of Joseph, on the brow of the prince among his brothers. 17 In majesty he is like a firstborn bull; his horns are the horns of a wild ox. With them, he will gore the nations, even those at the ends of the earth. Such are the ten thousands of Ephraim; such are the thousands of Manasseh.” (NIV)

Genesis 49:22 “Joseph is a fruitful vine, a fruitful vine near a spring,
whose branches climb over a wall. 23 With bitterness archers attacked him; they shot at him with hostility. 24 But his bow remained steady, his strong arms stayed limber, because of the hand of the Mighty One of Jacob, because of the Shepherd, the Rock of Israel, 25 because of your father’s God, who helps you, because of the Almighty, who blesses you with blessings of the heavens above, blessings of the deep that lies below, blessings of the breast and womb. 26 Your father’s blessings are greater than the blessings of the ancient mountains, than the bounty of the age-old hills. Let all these rest on the head of Joseph, on the brow of the prince among his brothers. (NIV)

Jacob and Moses in their blessings pretty much gave it all to Joseph and his children.  I really don’t have a lot to say about Joseph because I think every pastor has at least two Joseph sermons. He has all kind of types and shadows from being a type of Jesus to a picture of blessing and faithfulness in hard times.

In Genesis 47 Joseph does his job and gives all of the lands of Egypt to Pharaoh. Oh, we are supposed to do an excellent job for a heathen boss. This is done in the last five years of the famine after his family has joined him.

It is interesting that Jacob continues the “second son” being first in Genesis 48; he was the second son, Joseph is the “second son” and was placed before even Judah as noted in Genesis 48:22 and 1 Chronicles 5:2. Ephraim’s children do live up to all the predictions and play important roles in Israel’s history.  In Amos and Obadiah the children are grouped again under the name of Joseph and in Revelation 7 Manasseh is mentioned by name but Ephraim is not and instead, it is the “tribe of Joseph.”

joseph-dreams of wheatAll told Joseph must have been an amazing person who understood his destiny and believed God was going to get him there even when he sold as a slave and put into prison.

Pictures from: http://www.freebibleimages.org/photos/joseph-dreams/ 

Tribes of Israel – Dan and Naphtali

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Bilhah and Her Boys

Bilhah is Rachel’s servant; her other claim to fame is that she was unfaithful with Rueben. The other time she is mentioned is in 1 Chronicles 7:13 where the children of Naphtali are identified as her descendents; Dan is mentioned but his descendents are listed. (see List)

I have to think about this a little more but Dan is the first of four “slave children.” Even though the customs mentioned here in Paddan Aram are not stated again in the Bible (first-born daughter marrying first and raising a family by a slave), “slave” children are not treated as equals at other times in Scripture (ex. Jephthah, in Judges). I don’t see these four boys being treated differently by the other brothers but it should be noted that they are on the “Mount of Curses” after they enter the Promise Land and Jacob put her and Zilpah with their children at the head of the column when he was about to meet Esau (first killed/captured).

Dan is Jacob’s fifth child and Bilhah’s first. The name Dan sounds like “vindicated or judged” and was given by Rachel (she also named Naphtali).

Deuteronomy 33: 22 About Dan he said: “Dan is a lion’s cub, springing out of Bashan.”

Genesis 49: 16 “Dan will provide justice for his people as one of the tribes of Israel.
17 Dan will be a serpent by the roadside, a viper along the path, that bites the horse’s heels so that its rider tumbles backward. 18 “I look for your deliverance, O Lord. (NIV) Several sources consider this a play on words with the meaning of his name.

Dan’s big story is in Judges 17 &18, unfortunately it is not a good one. Even though they were a large tribe they could not take their inheritance and move their allotment to the north. As a tribe they “steal” a priest and idols, kill a peaceful village and take their land. They make most of other highlights of tribal list including an allotment in Ezekiel but they are not listed in 1 Chronicles or Revelations. I have often thought that had to do with the idol worship that continued to the Exile of the Northern Kingdom but other “brothers” messed up just as bad and still made the list. Dan shown here is where he was suppose to be according to Joshua.TwelveTribesofIsraelebible

Naphtali is Jacob’s sixth child and Bilhah’s second; his name means “wrestling.”

Deuteronomy 33: 23 About Naphtali he said: “Naphtali is abounding with the favor of the Lord and is full of his blessing; he will inherit southward to the lake.”

Genesis 49:21 “Naphtali is a doe set free that bears beautiful fawns. (NIV)

Not much is known of Naphtali as a person and the tribe does show-up at important times but was not a major player. The tribe can be noted for supplying warriors for both Deborah and Gideon. With Zebulun their territory included Nazareth where Jesus grew up.

Map from http://www.biblestudytools.com/resources/maps/twelve-tribes-of-israel-map.html and eBibleTeacher.com.

Tribes of Israel – Benjamin

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Benjamin is the thirteenth child of Jacob or the first child of Israel and the second child of Rachel. He is definitely the only son born in the Promise Land.

Deuteronomy 33: 12 About Benjamin he said: “Let the beloved of the Lord rest secure in him, for he shields him all day long, and the one the Lord loves rests between his shoulders.”

Genesis 49:27 “Benjamin is a ravenous wolf; in the morning he devours the prey,
in the evening he divides the plunder.” (NIV)

The prophecy by Moses in Deuteronomy is started with Jonathan (King Saul’s son) and David in 1 Samuel 18. It continues in 1 Kings 12 when a rather arrogant Rehoboam is used to split the Kingdom; ten tribes follow Jeroboam and only Judah and Benjamin stay true to the royal line of David. (Jerusalem was in the land allotted to Benjamin.)

The prediction of Jacob in Genesis 49 paints an interesting picture of his youngest son. A wolf is relentless and calculating when it pursues what it wants and violent in its attacks but it also sets an example of a supportive family. I think it is safe to assume that when Joseph was “no more” that Benjamin became his favored son. This is reflected by his unwillingness to let him go to Egypt even though the whole clan could have died of starvation.

Since Rachel died in childbirth who raised Benjamin? Bilhah should have been the likely choice since she was Rachel’s slave but she slept with Reuben and I cannot image Jacob trusting her much. So the other choice would have been faithful Leah.

The story in Judges 19,20,21 about Benjamin defending some of their own even though they had clearly crossed several lines of moral behavior sets the stage for Saul and his kingship. (See Why Hide a Grandson There)

http://www.angelfire.com/mn/wolf1/images/pack.gif

Tribes of Israel – Zebulun and Dinah

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Zebulun the 10th child of Jacob and 6th of Leah, Dinah the 11th child of Jacob and the 7th of Leah.

Zebulun

Just like Issachar there is not much written about Zebulun. He and Issachar are usually listed together and their land allotments were next to each other after the Conquest. It does not seem that he made it to the ocean by looking at the map; an article in the Zondervan Pictorial Encyclopedia of the Bible does provide possible explanations on how the prophecy might have played out. They include merging economics with other tribes and land extensions to the Mediterranean.

Deuteronomy 33: 18 About Zebulun he said: “Rejoice, Zebulun, in your going out,
and you, Issachar, in your tents.
19 They will summon peoples to the mountain and there offer sacrifices of righteousness; they will feast on the abundance of the seas, on the treasures hidden in the sand.”

Genesis 49:13 “Zebulun will live by the seashore and become a haven for ships; his border will extend toward Sidon. (NIV)

The two notable things about his extended family are Eglon, a Judge, (Judges 12:11+12) and that Nazareth, which was Jesus’ hometown, is in Zebulun’s land.

Dinah

Other than the short story of her abduction in Shechem nothing else is written about her. But could you image living with her brothers; they were slightly over protective.

Map from http://www.biblestudytools.com/resources/maps/twelve-tribes-of-israel-map.html and eBibleTeacher.com.

Tribes of Israel – Issachar

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Issachar is the fifth son of Leah and the ninth child of Jacob.

Deuteronomy 33: 18 About Zebulun he said: “Rejoice, Zebulun, in your going out,
and you, Issachar, in your tents.
Genesis 49:14 “Issachar is a rawboned (strong) donkey lying down among the sheep pens. 15 When he sees how good is his resting place and how pleasant is his land,
he will bend his shoulder to the burden and submit to forced labor. (NIV)

Like most of the other sons Issachar does not have a lot documented about his life. We know that he was involved in looting Shechem, selling Joseph and the trips to Egypt but that is about it for the story of his life. His family is also pretty quiet but he does have a few standouts in his linage and they are mentioned when all the tribes come together or are being assigned things to do by David or Solomon. They are included in some of the revivals in the latter part of Chronicles.

Tola, a judge mentioned in Judges 10:1+2 is from Issachar and Deborah includes them in her song in Judges 5:15.

Baasha, a king of the Northern Tribes (Israel) is found in 1 Kings 15:27 – 16:7; the NIV mentions that the name may mean “bad” and he lived down to the meaning as he killed the previous king and his entire family. (That seemed to be standard practice for the day.)

Issachar with Zebulun and Judah formed the leading edge of the Camp during the Exodus; in fact those three appear together many times. I feel it is because they are the three “blessed” sons of Leah. Reuben, Simeon and Levi all incurred Jacob’s wrath during his lifetime. I also feel that they were the “true” children of a wife instead of a concubine. (Judah was not a poster child for good as he starts the selling of Joseph and had the trouble with his daughter-in-law.)

He and Zebulun are often mentioned together and were allotted land next to each other after the conquest. But like most of the Northern Tribes they go into Exile under the Assyrians and you loose track of them after that.

Another Issachar connection has to do with Gideon.  He was in Ophrah that was actually in the land of Issachar.  Several sources I have read refer to Manasseh mingling with both Issachar and Zebulun; a map in my Holman Bible puts much of his story in those lands.

Map from http://www.biblestudytools.com/resources/maps/twelve-tribes-of-israel-map.html and eBibleTeacher.com.