Category Archives: Out of Egypt

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 – Predications of Genesis 49

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I have been writing about the boys and referencing Genesis 49 but it is interesting to look at the inspiration for Jacob’s words.

  • 1. Reuben – turbulent water   The water that Jacob would have know was a swollen Jordan River or the flooded, rushing gullies in the wilderness after a thunderstorm. He understood the violence and power of moving water; so he recognizes Reuben’s strength, power and abilities.
  • 4. Judah – lion    Lions were common in Palestine usually living near the Jordan River. In Africa the male lion’s roars can be heard up to five miles away. Their stately appearance and raw strength has apparently inspired respect for thousands of years. A modern moniker for Jesus is the “Lion of Judah” directing our thoughts to the strength and power of a risen, glorified Jesus.
  • 5. Dan – snake/viper     Eerdman’s sites that there are harmless snakes in that region but that all biblical references refer to venomous snakes. They site the Carpet or Saw-scaled viper (Palestine viper) as a possible candidate and the Arkive Organization attest to its quick strike and the amount of human attacks.  The tribe of Dan in Judges 18 where they stole “gods” and then killed off a quiet people and took a northern most position in Israel show their violent nature and is a good picture of what Jacob must have seen in his son.
  • 6. Naphtali – a doe    According to Eerdman’s the possible animals may have been the Fallow Deer, Gazelle or the Nubian Ibex. I am not sure that the specific animal is important but the symbolism; a doe and its fawns are such a tranquil picture. So I would assume that Naphtali did not have the temper of Simeon or Levi.
  • 9. Issachar – a strong donkey   A strong donkey shows his usefulness and his tendency to be like Jacob, a “home-body.” Interestingly he was not called a wild-donkey because they are the exact opposite; they are free roaming and very hard to get along with.
  • 12. Joseph – a fruitful vine   The only choice of plants here is the grape and the picture would be like the cluster of grapes the spies brought back in the Exodus story. Besides the words for Judah this is the only one that I could call a blessing; Jacob here gives it all to Joseph and calls for the supplying of all his needs and ask special favor of God to take notice of Joseph.
  • 13. Benjamin – a wolf    They are a social yet fierce predator that takes care of family.  So I still think that Jacob was recognizing a loyal yet mean side to his youngest son. There were other predators that could have been chosen like foxes, bears or jackals so him picking the wolf is interesting.
  • 2. Simeon and 3. Levi  – still after all the years that lapsed Jacob had nothing good to say about these two.
  • 10. Zebulun – he will live by a seashore
  • 7. Gad – he would be attacked and then fights back
  • 8. Asher – that he would have and make awesome food

The last three are hard to track down in the Bible so I wonder if they may not have been words about their life in Egypt.

references: Eerdman’s Handbook to the Bible,                                                              about the viper http://www.arkive.org/palestine-saw-scaled-viper/echis-coloratus/                             picture of viper http://www.flickriver.com/photos/aviadbar/2616597272/                   picture of wolf http://www.cosmosmith.com/arabian_wolves.html                               picture of the flood http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Ein_Avdat_Flood_1.JPG

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 – A timeline

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This is a new timeline of Jacob and Joseph. I now understand how hard it is to make an accurate line from a verbal description. To do this I started at the end (Jacob’s life) and moved to Joseph’s birth and the twenty years of service; transition/travel times also add error into my dates. The numbers surprised me, I have always thought that Jacob left around forty years of age because Esau’s age is mentioned when he married (Genesis 26: 34) and the text moves right to Isaac being tricked and Jacob leaving. My first timeline is wrong, especially when it comes to Isaac and Jacob and Isaac’s death. So please accept my “close” and use it that way. I used Excel and took screenshots to get my graphics so you will need to double click on them to view them.

The Tribes of Israel – How Old Were These Guys

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If you have watched movies about the Old Testament you may have the idea that the sons of Jacob must have been “old” just because of Jacob’s age. Now Jacob did have some age on him and the boys are always pictured as “older.”

Lets put a time line together.

Jacob works seven years and gets Leah instead of Rachael. Now he had to wait a week before he got her and then he worked off the other seven years. So let’s put Reuben being born about year 8 into the 20 years Jacob stayed with Laban. The first four children came one after another so when they left Laban to go back to Canaan that would make

  • 1 Reuben* 12 years old and maybe 14 or 15 when they got to Shechem
  • 2 Simeon – 11
  • 3 Levi – 10
  • 4 Judah – 9
  • 5 Dan* – 8 or 9
  • 6 Naphtali – one year younger than Dan
  • 7 Gad* – possible 8
  • 8 Asher – one year younger than Gad – 7
  • 9 Issachar – possibly 7
  • 10 Zebulun – 6
  • 11 Dinah – 5
  • 12 Joseph*  – I cannot find a reference for this but I always think he is two when they leave.
  • 13 Benjamin – was not born until they had been Canaan for a while. (Genesis 35)

Let’s give them a two-year trip back to Canaan. We don’t know how long Jacob camped/owned land in Shechem before Dinah got violated but lets add eight years to everyone’s age making Dinah thirteen and Simeon (19 yrs.) and Levi (18 yrs.) when they killed all the males in Shechem. It may have been longer so they would have been older but we don’t know.

The next definite age we have is Joseph at seventeen in Genesis 37.  So adding fifteen years to everyone makes Reuben twenty-seven when Joseph was sold. (He slept with Bilhah before this in Genesis 35.) That would make Judah twenty-five/six years old when he moved out in Genesis 38. From here we will need to use Joseph and seven good and bad years to reference ages.

Joseph was thirty when he became Governor of Egypt; that will make Reuben forty and Judah thirty-eight years old. Joseph reveals himself to his brothers in Genesis 45 and says there are five years of famine left so that is another nine years making Joseph 39, Reuben 49 and Judah 47.

Remember, Judah marries raises three sons and is tricked by his daughter-law in this time period. Some of this drama very possibly was taking place right around the trips to Egypt. (Reuben had two sons at this time – Genesis 42:37.)

Jacob died at 147 years old (Genesis 47:9 and 28). Honestly, I thought that Jacob was forty when he left for Paddan-aram but after reading (Genesis 26 -28) it several times all it says was that Esau married at 40 and then Isaac was old. I did a Patriarch timeline and will have to up-date it soon.