The tribes of Israel, or the tribes of Israel - this is how the descendants of the sons of Jacob are called, whom he had twelve and who, according to the Holy Scriptures, formed the Israelite people.
In the Bible, when we first list all the tribes of Israel, we can read 12 names of the sons of Jacob. A little later, the Bible tells that there were thirteen tribes of Israel. Where did such a figure come from? Jacob instead of Joseph made the ancestors of the independent Israeli tribes the sons of Joseph - Ephraim and Mennashe, therefore, the figure increased from 12 to 13 tribes of Israel.
Almost all lists of the tribes of Israel in the Bible list the names of 13 tribes, but this point is always stipulated, since the tribe of Levi is excluded as dedicated to God and serving him. The tribe of Levi is not counted in the number of combat-ready men, its place is not indicated in the order of enumerating the tribes during the transitions to Canaan, the tribe of Levi does not receive a place and a share in the Promised Land, you can list a lot of events in the Bible, which does not say a word about the thirteenth tribe of Israel.
Consequently, the tribe of Levi, deprived of land, is practically not included in the total number of the Israelite tribes, and separating it from the total number of the main tribes of Israel, to perform those functions that are allowed only to it, recreates the original number of the Israelite tribes - twelve. Prescriptions that refer to the number of tribes without listing their names also speak of the number 12 as a traditional number.
He says that each of the twelve Israelite tribes received their land allotment in the Promised Land. In 928 BC, when the wisest Solomon died, the single state - the Kingdom of Israel was divided into two: the southern one became known as Judea (the territories that belonged to the tribes of Benjamin and Judah), and the northern one - Israel (the lands where the other 10 tribes lived). The divided state lost its power and strength. The Assyrians captured the kingdom of Israel, and most of its population was taken captive and settled in small groups in different parts and regions of a huge power. Since then, the history and fate of the ten tribes of Israel is unknown. Most of the remaining Israelites, descendants of the ten tribes of Israel, gradually assimilated with those peoples in whose neighborhood they lived.
When the period of the Second Temple began, most of the Jews apparently could not prove to which Israelite tribe they belonged.
According to the New Testament, John the Baptist belonged to a priestly family, and the prophetess Anna, mentioned in the New Testament, belonged to the tribe of Asher, the Apostle Paul was a descendant of the tribe of Benjamin.
It must be said that the number of apostles in the Christian church - twelve, also has a symbolic meaning, and, as biblical experts say, is associated with the number of sons of Jacob and, accordingly, with the number of tribes of Israel.
Today, the consciousness of which tribe they are involved in has been preserved only among the great-grandchildren of the tribe of Levi, the same one - the thirteenth. The descendants of the tribe of Levi, the Kohanim, even retained the memory that they descended from the family of Aaron.
The Jewish ethnic groups claim to be the direct descendants of the ten tribes of Israel that once disappeared. They consider themselves descendants of the Israeli tribes of Ashkenazi, Sephardi, Mizrahim Jews, Krymchaks, Yemeni Jews, and others.
The name of the sub-ethnic group of Jews "Ashkenazi" comes from the medieval Semitic name for Germany of the Middle Ages. Ashkenaz - so called this state of the Semites. This place was perceived as a place where the descendants of one of the tribes of Israel settled - the descendants of Askenaz, who is the grandson of Japheth. In the modern world, Ashkenazi Jews are the majority of the Jews of America and Europe, as well as half of the Israeli Jews. Ashkenazim are always opposed to the sub-ethnic group of Jews - the Sephardim. In modern Israel, Ashkenazim speak the so-called Ashkenazi izvod, that is, a dialect. The difference between the Ashkenazi version and modern Hebrew is in the pronunciation of some letters, in particular in the pronunciation of consonants and vowels. The Ashkenazi dialect is used in oral speech for reading prayers in synagogues belonging to the Ashkenazi.
As for the Sephardim, another group that considers itself the descendants of the tribes of Israel, their formation as a separate ethnic group took place in the Iberian Peninsula from those Jews who migrated to the Roman Empire in a stream. The everyday language of the Sephardim is the historically established Ladino language. This language is close in pronunciation to Spanish.
In addition, today, in the modern world, many small tribes claim descent from the ten tribes of Israel. I must say that not all applicants undergo a genetic examination for a haplogroup. These tribes include a small tribe located in the southern latitudes of India in the state of Andhra Pradesh - Bnei Ephraim. This tribe ranks itself among the ancient descendants of the tribe of Ephraim. It communicates in Telugu. In the same India, in the state of Manipur and the state of Mizoram, there is another small tribe that considers itself to be the descendants of one of the ten tribes of Israel - Minasseh. A small group of Jews who live in Bombay and other large cities in India and Pakistan also consider themselves descendants of the ancient tribes of Israel. One of the tribes living in Africa in Zimbabwe, according to a DNA analysis conducted by London scientists, says that representatives of the Lemba tribe have Jewish roots. It is the results of the research that allow scientists to assert that the representatives of the Lemba tribe belong to the ancient tribe of Coens. Ethiopian Jews who call themselves Falasha consider themselves descendants of Dan. Jews living in Bukhara, Persian Jews, consider themselves to be of the tribe of Ephraim. A group of Jews living in Nigeria who call themselves Yingbo consider themselves descendants of Ephraim, Manasseh, Gad, Levi and Zebulun. A small tribe of Samaritans who live in the cities of Holon and Shechem consider themselves to be the tribes of Ephraim and Manasseh, those tribes that were not in exile, but have existed in these places since biblical times. Georgian Jews claim descent from the tribe of Issachar.
12 tribes of Israel - 12 branches of the Jewish people, leading their genealogy from the 12 sons of the forefather Jacob, to whom Gd himself gave the name "Israel", and thus the Jewish people is called Israel and includes 12 tribes of Israel. The division into 12 tribes was preserved during the Exodus from Egypt and wanderings in the wilderness: each Israeli tribe had its own place in the Israeli camp and its own line in the order of movement, its own flag and coat of arms. In the land of Israel, each of the 12 tribes of Israel received its allotment. The tribe of Levi (Levites) - the tribe of priests - as a rule, was considered separately, and the Levites lived in all allotments. Ten northern tribes of Israel in the XIII century. BC e. were captured by Assyria, driven into captivity and scattered among the nations. The mystery of the disappeared 10 tribes of Israel still haunts many researchers who are trying to find traces of the missing tribes of Israel in different parts of the world.
Below we will answer in more detail the questions, where do the tribes of Israel come from, how many tribes are left today, and where, after all, are the rest of the tribes?
Division of Israel into tribes
There were 12 tribes of Israel - according to the number of the sons of Jacob.
But in the distribution of allotments in the land of Israel, the firstborn received a double share. Since Reuven, the first son of Leah, lost the status of the firstborn in this sense, this right passed to the first son of Rachel - Yosef. Therefore, his sons - Ephraim and Menashe - became the ancestors of two tribes.
An interesting thing happened: in cases where the tribe of Levi is “taken into account”, the tribe of Yosef is counted as one, as, for example, on the breastplate of the High Priest. However, in the Land of Israel, where the Levites had no allotment of their own, the tribes of Ephraim and Menashe received two allotments.
The same thing happened during the construction of the sons of Israel in the wilderness: since the Kohanim and Levites went in a separate camp, near the Mishkan, the camp of the Israelites was presented again 12 knees- Ephraim and Menashe separately.
Each tribe under its own flag
As mentioned above, there were 12 tribes in the camp of the Israelites. A strict order in the formation of the tribes was determined: each tribe was given its place in the camp of Israel, and it was also determined when each tribe began to move. In addition, the order was determined and each tribe went under under its own flag ( "degel"), and thus the order in the formation was determined; the whole camp of Israel was divided, in accordance with the number of tribes.
The head of each tribe had its own identification mark: its own banner, the color of which coincided with the color of the precious stone corresponding to this tribe, inserted into the breastplate of the high priest Aaron. It was from here that the various kingdoms borrowed the custom of acquiring a banner of their own colors.
Thus, each tribe went under its own flag ( "degel").
The tribe of Reuven corresponded to a ruby, a stone of red color. His banner was also red, on which the roots of the mandrake were depicted.
Shimon's knee corresponded to topaz, a stone of green color. On the green banner of Shimon was the city of Shechem.
The tribe of Levi corresponded to the emerald. Levi's banner was three-colored - one-third white, one-third black and one-third red. It depicted Urim And tumim(the breastplate of the high priest with precious stones inserted into it, which made it possible to know the will of the Almighty).
The tribe of Yehuda corresponded to a carbuncle. His banner was the color of heaven, and on it was the image of a lion.
The tribe of Issachar corresponded to sapphire. His banner was dark blue. The sun and moon were depicted on it in memory of the words of Scripture: “And from the sons of Issachar, who know how to understand the times” (Divrey ha-yamim I, 12.32).
The knee of Zebulun was matched by a diamond. His banner was white and depicted a ship.
Opal corresponded to the tribe of Dan. The color of his banner was like the color of sapphire, and it had a snake on it.
Agate corresponded to Gad's tribe. The color of his banner was a mixture of white and black. It depicted the camp of Israel.
Amethyst corresponded to the knee of Naftali. Its color was like the color of a transparent red dull wine. It had a doe on it.
Chrysolite corresponded to the tribe of Asher. The color of his banner resembled the color of a precious stone with which women love to adorn themselves. It had an image of an olive tree.
Onyx corresponded to Joseph's knee. The color of his banner was absolutely black. This color belonged to two tribes of the descendants of the sons of Yosef - Ephraim and Menashe, who were born in Egypt.
A bull was depicted on the banner of Ephraim, and an antelope was depicted on the banner of Menashe.
Jasper corresponded to Benjamin's tribe. The color of his banner was a mixture of twelve colors. It had a picture of a wolf on it.
How many tribes of Israel are left today
We do not know today the whereabouts of the ten tribes expelled by Sancherib. True, Gmara reports that the prophet Irmiyahu went to return the exiles, and, perhaps, some of them fled to Judea before the second exile. But these are just guesses. The main population of Judah consisted of the descendants of Judah and Benjamin.
To date, only Kohanim and Levites have been identified, most likely because their origin gives them a special status in Jewish Law, such as receiving trumot and tithes, a challenge to reading the Torah in the first place (for a kohen, and for Levite is immediately invoked by him), etc. This naturally made the family remember the origin of the father and pass on the tradition to the children.
Of the descendants of the other tribes, perhaps no one knows exactly which one of them belongs to, with the exception of those rare families who know for sure that their father is descended in the male line from King David. For obvious reasons, this information was also passed from father to son, respectively, these people know that they come from the tribe of Judah.
Note that throughout history, individuals and even entire communities have appeared who claimed to be descendants of one of the ten tribes, and referred to a continuous tradition. Today there are many such groups, but for the most part they do not have any significant connection with the Jewish tradition. Each such claim is considered separately, and sometimes the group is accepted into the fold of Israel, undergoing conversion [conversion to Judaism] to be sure.
Tribes of Israel are considered to be the tribes of the descendants of the 12 sons of the patriarch Jacob, who formed the Israeli people. That's what the Scripture says.
Tribe of Reuben
Reuben is the first son of the patriarch Jacob and his wife Leah. Birthright determines his leading position in the ancient confederation of Israelite tribes. Reuben is listed first in the list of those sons of Israel who came out of Egypt.
The Ruvinites lived on the plateaus of Gil'ad and further south until the time of the conquest of these lands by the Assyrian army in 733-732. BC e. Like a prophecy, the words from the dying prayer of Moses that Reuben will not die, even if few of his people remain, sound like a prophecy. Nothing is known about the further fate of the Ruvinites. There is an assumption that the Afghan Rabbani are descendants of this tribe.
Tribe of Simeonovo
Simeon (Shimon) is also the son of Jacob and Leah. According to one version, his name comes from the words of his mother at his birth that the Lord heard (shama) that she was unloved and gave her a son. The second version says that in Hebrew in biblical times the word "shimon" meant the name of a wild animal, possibly a hyena.
Simeon had 6 sons, who laid the foundation for tribal offshoots. The Simonites were shepherds without a strong political organization. Having united with the numerous and influential tribe of Yehuda to accelerate the conquest of the country, they were then absorbed by him. Separate clans still existed independently, looking for convenient pastures for livestock.
The representative of this tribe is Judith. Numerous scribes of the Torah were also descendants of Shimon. According to legend, the Shinmari tribe of Pashtuns originates from Shimon.
Tribe of Levi
Levi is the third son of Jacob and Leah. His descendants are called Levites. They were divided into 2 levels. The first is the clergy (cohens), who considered themselves descendants of Aaron. The second - representatives of the tribe of Levi, not related to the descendants of Aaron.
The Levites sang psalms, were musicians, kept order during worship, healed lepers, made up an honorary temple guard, and led the ritual of sacrifice. As a rule, they taught the people the law of the Torah, they were chroniclers.
At first, the tribe of Levi was the only one that did not have its inheritance, but lived among other tribes. However, later they received land allotments near the cities that supported the priesthood with donations, which, after the death of Solomon, led to the uprising of 10 northern tribes and the expulsion of all Levites from the kingdom of Israel.
Tribe of Judah
The fourth son of Jacob and Leah named Judah is considered the ancestor of the next tribe. After his marriage to the daughter of the Canaanite (Phoenician) Shui Bat-Shua, his family continues with three sons, which indicates a mixture of these clans. In the future, there was a branching and joining other tribes to the tribe of Judah.
For the first time in biblical tradition, this group is mentioned after the exodus of the Israelites from Egypt. Some legends tell that the descendants of Judah were the first to enter the Red Sea.
It should be noted that in Judaism, primacy in almost everything is given to representatives of this tribe. Elisheba is considered the mother of all the clergy, Bezalel - the builder of the Tabernacle, Othniel ben Knaz - the first judge, Solomon - the builder of the first Jerusalem Temple. Yes, and all pious kings are descended from the tribe of Judah. Modern Jews are generally considered to be descendants of Judah.
Tribe of Danovo
Dan is the son of Jacob and Rachel's maid Bella, who became his wife. A tribe descended from him, numbering 62,700 representatives during the period of the exodus of the Jews from Egypt. After the conquest of Canaan, this tribe was given a fertile small area in the Jaffa region on the Mediterranean coast. A descendant of Dan is Samson, a hero who courageously fought against the Philistines. In the time of Moses, the tribe of Dan was very numerous.
The Danites had to search early for a new territory for resettlement. The attention of the envoys who set out to search for land was focused on the area near the city of Laisha. There is a version that the ancient Greek Danaans come from this Jewish family. According to Christian mythology, it is from this one of the lost tribes of Israel that the Antichrist will emerge.
Tribe of Naphtali
Naphtali is the brother of Dan, also born of Rachel's maid Valla (Bilha). His tribe was divided into 4 clans, which originated from the sons of Naphtali.
The territory where the Naphthalites lived was considered important both geographically and militarily. She was remarkably fertile. Even in the Bible, all of Galilee is called "the land of Naphtali." From the tribe of Naphtali, on the mother's side, the artist Hiram-Abiy originated, whose father was a Tyrian, which indicates a mixture of tribes.
Jesus Christ spent a lot of time on the lands of the tribes of Naphtali and Zebulun. This knee is one of the missing.
Knee Gadovo
Gad is the seventh son of Jacob, whose mother was the maid Leah Zelpha. His name in Hebrew means "luck" or "army", and it goes back to the Phoenician deity Gad. The Gadites occupied a certain part of Gilead and practically the entire Jordan Valley.
It was a warlike and brave tribe. During the period of wandering in the desert, the tribe had a significant number of warriors - more than 40 thousand. In the early days of their history, the Gadites fought constant wars. And later, the warriors of the tribe of Gadov took an active part, along with other Israeli tribes, in the conquest of Canaan. A descendant of Gad was the Israeli judge Yiftah. After the capture by the Assyrians, the fate of the representatives of this tribe is not known, so it is considered missing.
Knee of Asirov
Asher is the brother of Gad, born of Jacob and the maid Leah Zilpah. Perhaps the name Asir (Asher) comes from the word "happy", reminiscent of the ethnic name of the Assyrians, or from the deity Ashera. Subsequently, this tribe was divided into five branches and had tens of thousands of people who carried weapons. Asher's banner, the color of burning olive oil, depicts an olive tree.
The descendants of the tribe of Asher lived on fertile lands that coincide with the territory of modern Lebanon. They coexisted quite peacefully with their neighbors. The cities of Sidon and Tyre, from which Carthage and other Phoenician colonies in Spain and Africa were subsequently founded, were part of the allotment of Asir.
In the days of David and Hezekiah, the representatives of this tribe enjoyed a good reputation. From it came the prophetess Anna, who praised the Almighty for the birth of Jesus Christ. David's army included 40,000 warriors from the tribe of Asher.
Knee of Issacharovo
Issachar, born in Mesopotamia, is the ninth son of Jacob and the fifth of his wife Leah. His name is interpreted as going back to the name of the Egyptian god Sokar. The four sons of Issachar subsequently became the founders of 4 clans of the Issacharites, who preferred a settled, quiet life. In the blessing of Moses, they are shown as a peaceful tribe. However, at times when it was necessary to defend their native land, the Issacharites showed courage and patriotism.
Representatives of this tribe combined wealth with science. No wonder many of them were scientists, sages. Their lot was the plateau of Lower Galilee, as well as parts of the Jezreel and Jordan valleys up to Mount Tabor. The blue-black banner with the image of the Sun and the Moon symbolized the interest of the descendants of Issachar in astronomy and calendar calculations.
Tribe of Zebulun
Zebulun is the tenth son of Jacob, whose mother was Leah. His tribe had three branches that went back to his three heirs. This tribe is often mentioned along with the tribes of Issachar and Naphtali. According to the Talmudic legend, they lived together, studying the Torah together and delving into divine wisdom.
The Zabulonites lived in the southern part of the Lower Galilee and the northwestern territory of the Jezreel Valley, which were distinguished by fertility and the presence of rich water resources. Therefore, they grew rich crops of bread, figs, grapes, had fat oxen and sheep. The descendants of Zebulun took part in the wars of the era of the Judges of Israel, distinguished by courage and courage. The representative of this tribe is the prophet Jonah.
Due to the uncertainty of the fate of the Assyrians captured by the Assyrians, the knee is among the missing.
Knee of Joseph
Joseph, called the Handsome, is the 11th son of Jacob and the first of Rachel. His two sons, the elder Menashshe and the younger Ephraim, became the founders of independent tribes. Therefore, the concept of the Rod of Joseph (Beit Yosef) is more often used. The lands of the tribe of Joseph were adjacent to the Jordan River. They also contained the cities of Shechem and Shiloh. Generic symbols were wheat sheaf, bull, onyx, unicorn, vine, palm tree.
The Josephites were taken captive by the Assyrians, so they are considered the missing tribe. The Israelis of Britain believe that the descendants of the tribe of Joseph live in the USA and Great Britain.
Knee of Benjamin
Benjamin (Benjamin) is the youngest son of Jacob. His mother is Rachel. The tribe was considered the youngest, therefore it had the smallest territory: from the mountainous region, where the representatives of the tribe of Ephraim lived, to the mountainous region, inhabited by the descendants of Yehuda. However, their lands were famous for their fertility, and nature for a healthy climate.
The tribe of Benjamin was rather warlike. The Benjaminites were brave warriors and well-aimed slingers. In the blessing of Jacob, the founder of the tribe is compared to a ravenous wolf. Perhaps that is why this beast was embroidered on the flag of the tribe.
The Spanish religious philosopher Abraham Bibago believes that Aristotle came from the tribe of Benjamin. It is believed that the apostle Paul was a descendant of Benjamin.
At present, only the Levites have retained the awareness of tribal involvement. Some of them, priests (cohens), keep the memory of their origin from the family of Aaron.
Tribes of Israel. Most of the titles are given in the version of the synodal translation.
Tribes of Israel (שִׁבְטֵי יִשְׂרָאֵל , shivtey israel) - the related tribes of the descendants of Yaakov named in the Bible, which, according to tradition, formed the people of Israel.
Ancestors of the tribes
When the tribes are first listed, the Bible calls them by the names of 12 sons of Jacob (Genesis 49:28), although he already adopted, according to the sequence of the biblical narrative (but, apparently, not historical chronology), Ephraim and Menashe and elevated them to the ancestors of the two tribes instead of their father Yosef (Gen. 48:5; cf. IbN 14:4), which increased the number of tribes to 13.
Most biblical lists of tribes of Israel tend to list the names of all 13 tribes, but always with the proviso to exclude the tribe of Levi as dedicated to cult service. So, it is not included in the account of combat-ready men (Num. 1:47), its place is not indicated in the order of the knees when crossing on the way to Canaan (ibid., 2:33); it does not receive a portion in the Promised Land and in Transjordan (ibid., 26:57, 62, etc.).
The tribe of Levi, deprived of its land allotment, actually, as it were, does not go into the total account, and separating it from the community of tribes to perform only its permitted functions restores the original number of 12 tribes of Israel. The prescriptions for the number of tribes without listing them also list 12 as their traditional number (Ex. 28:9–12, 21).
The position of Bible students in the 19th and early 20th centuries
The scientific school of biblical criticism, seeking to reconcile the need to study the Bible with the atheistic worldview that prevailed in the scientific community, in the absence of archaeological material and methods of correct scientific research (which appeared throughout the 20th century), took the path of putting forward hypotheses of varying degrees of speculativeness.
In the division of the Israelites into 12 tribes, biblical criticism sees a later genealogical construction, designed to explain the common history of the Israelite tribes by their blood connection.
According to one point of view, an alliance of Israelite tribes already existed during the period of wanderings in Sinai, but the conquest of Canaan was carried out by them separately and at different times.
According to another hypothesis, the unification of the tribes arose at the end of the era of the Judges - the beginning of the era of the monarchy, but the consciousness of national unity, based on ethnic proximity and common history, faith and worship, arose even before the penetration of the Israelites into Canaan.
The tradition according to which the 12 tribes of Israel were defined as a people already in the era of the enslavement of the Israelites, aliens from the Land of Canaan, and their descendants in Egypt, is considered historically unfounded in this school. For example, the German scholar Martin Noth, author of the book Das System der zwölf Stämme Israels, 1930, believed that the union of Jewish tribes arose only after the conquest of Canaan, and postulated the unreliability of the narrative in the Torah.
The number 12, adopted in the Bible for the tribes of Israel, is in many archaic traditions (especially the Middle Eastern ones) of a sacral-mythological character and belongs to the numerical patterns most commonly used in mythopoetic cultures, often also adopted in the Bible and for other tribal genealogies (cf. Gen. 22 :20-24; 25:13-16).
Unions of 12 (or 6) tribes are also known among other peoples (in Asia Minor, Italy and Greece) and are called Amphictyons in science. They usually formed around a common cult center and had a stable numerical structure. So, if one of the tribes left the union or was absorbed by another tribe, the number 12 was preserved either by dividing one of the tribes into two, or by accepting a new tribe into the union.
The use of a similar method is noticeable in the Bible. When, for example, the descendants or the tribe of Levi are treated as one of the 12 tribes of Israel, the lineage of Yosef is considered one tribe (Gen. 46:8–25; 49:1–27), but when Levi is not mentioned, the descendants of Yosef are treated as two separate tribes. (Num. 26:5-51). To maintain the twelve-membered structure, the tribe of Shimon is listed as a separate tribe after being absorbed by the tribe of Yehuda (Ibn. 19:1), while the tribe of Menashe continues to be considered one tribe after its actual split into two separate clans.
A textual analysis of the parts of the Pentateuch relating to the formation of the tribes of Israel reveals the opposition of two groups of tribes, the progenitors of which were the two wives of Jacob and their maids:
- on the one hand, Reuven, Shimon, Levi and Yehuda (eldest sons of Leah) and Yosef and Benjamin (sons of Rachel),
- on the other, Issachar and Zvulun (younger sons of Leah), Dan and Naftali (sons of Bilha, Rachel's maid), Gad and Asher (sons of Zilpah, Leah's maid).
Texts believed to be older suggest that the tribes descended from the six sons of the first group were originally the core of the association that became known as the tribes of Israel. According to one theory, the division of the sons of Jacob into groups according to their seniority and the emphasis on descent from different mothers (Gen. to their later penetration into Canaan, and, perhaps, to the fact that already at an early stage there were differences in the status of the tribes within the community.
Perhaps in favor of the hypothesis that the people of Israel originally consisted of a smaller number of tribes, says the Song of Dvorah (Judg. 5), dated to the 12th century. BC e., in which only nine tribes of Israel are named, but from which it follows that only six and a half tribes took part in the war against Yavin, king of Hazor, led by Court.
Most scholars reject the theory that, referring to pagan or mythological elements in the names of sons from maidservants (Gad - the deity of happiness; cf. Isa. 65:11; Asher - the male form from Ashera; Dan - from the ancient Greek mythological Danai), argues that the tribes that arose from them were actually of foreign origin.
knee status
The tribes were autonomous communities governed according to the traditional patriarchal-tribal order. They consisted of clans or clans (mishpakhot), divided into families (batei av). At the head of the tribe was the prince (nasi, rosh mate), at the head of the family - the elder (zaken, aluf).
From time to time, the heads of the tribes and clans were summoned, apparently to administer justice, manage the affairs of the tribes, etc. (Num. 11:16; Ex. 18:21-26; Deut. 1:15-16, etc.). There are references to meetings of tribal leaders and elders during periods of conquest of the country and judges. "The princes of the assembly, the heads of the thousands of Israel", along with the priest Pinhas, negotiated with the Transjordanian tribes on behalf of the whole people. Yehoshua ben Nun called "the elders, heads, judges, rulers of Israel" to make a covenant in Shechem. The elders of Israel, on behalf of the whole country, asked Shmuel to appoint a king.
From the Bible stories about the anointing of David to the kingdom (after the death of Saul, his son was recognized as the new king by all the tribes, except for Yehuda and Shimon, who preferred David) and the refusal of the northern tribes to recognize the rule of Rehavam (II Sam. 2:4; I Ch. 12: 1, 16) it can be concluded that in the early stages of the monarchy, the leaders of the tribes and clans elected and eliminated kings.
After the conquest of the Land of Israel, each tribe was allocated its own territory for settlement. During the period of settlement and the subsequent age of the Judges, there was no definite structure for the leadership of the tribal alliance, although various crises forced the tribes to act together against enemies. Shilo served as a sacred center for all the tribes, there was the Ark of the Covenant. There is scant information about the presence next to it of some kind of administrative institutions common to all tribes.
Along with this, there were regional sanctuaries: in Beersheba and Hebron for the southern tribes, in Shechem and Gilgal-Yeriho (except Shilo) - for the central ones, and in Dan - for the northern ones. This was exacerbated by the fact that Canaanite settlement groups divided the central tribes and separated them from the southern and northern groups.
One of the main duties of the heads of tribal associations was to preserve within the tribe the land allotments of individual families in accordance with the laws of inheritance, which forbade, among other things, the marriage of daughters-heirs to members of another tribe (Num. 27:8-11; 36:7- 9). Along with tribal institutions, intertribal institutions probably existed at the central sanctuaries, but information about them is extremely scarce.
During the period of wandering in the wilderness, the Israelites were led by tribal princes and elders who helped Moses (Ex. 19:7; Numbers 11:16-17; Deut. 27:1, etc.). Meetings of the leaders and elders of the tribes of Israel were also convened during the period of the settlement of Canaan, as well as in the era of the Judges (IbN. 22:30; 24:1; I Sam. 8:4). But in this era, the consciousness of national-religious unity and the intertribal ties of the Israelite tribes were so weakened that they could not unite in order to achieve common military-political goals and even openly feuded with each other (Judges 8:1-17; 12:1-6 ).
Saul's war against Nahash, king of Amun, in which all the tribes acted "as one man, from Dan to Beersheba, with the land of Gilead," proves that the tribes had to come to the aid of any member of the alliance in a difficult situation. Because of the sanctity of the alliance, the wars of the tribes were considered "the wars of the Lord". However, the stories in the book of Judges about the wars that Israel waged against their enemies make it clear that the alliance was rather weak in those days. Dvorah's song gives a clear indication of the lack of solidarity among the tribes It was impossible to organize even a joint war against a common enemy.
There is a point of view that the judges of Israel were separate from the tribes or their groups, and not common to the whole people. Only towards the end of the era of the Judges, when the Israelites experienced military pressure in the west from the Philistines, and in the east - from the trans-Jordanian peoples, or when a blatantly lawless act of people of one tribe aroused the indignation of everyone else, did they unite to conduct joint military or punitive actions (I Sam 11:7; Judg 19-20). Enmity was also forgotten when a tribe was in danger of extinction (Judg. 21:13-23).
Throughout history, the role and place of tribes in the people has changed. Before the conquest of the Land of Israel, the tribe of Reuben was the leader of the people. And already in the era of the Judges, this tribe was inactive, and Dvora dishonored him in her victory song for not participating in the war with the Canaanites. It was on the border of Israel and its very existence as a tribe was in danger. His place in the union of tribes was taken by the house of Yosef, mainly the tribe of Ephraim, from which came Yeshua ben Nun, Dvorah and Shmuel. The tribe of Ephraim led the war of the other tribes against Benjamin at the end of the age of the Judges, when this tribe was almost completely destroyed.
The tribe of Shimon dissolved into the tribe of Yehuda. The tribe of Levi was distributed evenly among the whole people. At the beginning of the kingdoms period, leadership passed to the tribe of Yehuda. This transition of headship is reflected in Chronicles I 5:1-2.
Elimination of the tribal way of life
The monarchy, opposing the traditional separatist communal-tribal structure of the tribes, sought to weaken the tribal consciousness by introducing the idea of a single kingdom ruled by a God-chosen king. David, apparently, was still forced to organize an army and administration, according to the traditional division of the people into 12 tribes (I Chr. 12, 27), but his preference for the tribe of Yehuda caused a number of riots in the country. Solomon placed 12 "rulers" over the people (I Ch. 4:7), setting the boundaries of the territories subject to them without connection with the boundaries of the allotments of the tribes of Israel.
With the withdrawal of ten tribes to Assyria, the division of the people into tribes lost its real significance, although from the text of II Chr. 30:10-12 we can conclude that some part of the population remained in their places. The inhabitants of Judea, who continued to live in their homeland until the Babylonian captivity, for a long time retained evidence of their origin and even in the time of Ezra and Nehemiah they searched (especially the clergy) in the registers of noble families of their ancestors among the heads of the clans mentioned in the Bible (Ez. 2; Neh. 7 :5). In the eschatological vision of Ezekiel, reborn Israel is presented as a people consisting of 12 tribes (47:13; 48:1–7, 23–29), among which, following tradition, the prophet does not include
Formed, according to tradition, the people of Israel.
When the tribes are first listed, the Bible calls them by the names of the 12 sons of Jacob (Gen. 49:28), although he had already adopted, according to the sequence of the biblical narrative (but, apparently, not historical chronology), Ephraim and Menashe and elevated them to the ancestors of the two tribes instead of them father Joseph (Gen. 48:5; cf. IbN 14:4), which increased the number of tribes to 13. Most of the lists of the tribes of Israel in the Bible, as a rule, give the names of all 13 tribes, but always with a clause excluding the tribe of Levi as devoted to worship. So, it is not included in the account of combat-ready men (Num. 1:47), its place is not indicated in the order of the knees when crossing on the way to Canaan (ibid., 2:33); it does not receive a portion in the Promised Land and in Transjordan (ibid., 26:57, 62, etc.). The tribe of Levi, deprived of its land allotment, in fact, does not seem to go into the total account, and its allocation from the community of the tribes to perform only its permitted functions restores the original number of 12 tribes of Israel. The prescriptions for the number of tribes without listing them also list 12 as their traditional number (Ex. 28:9–12, 21).
In the division of the Israelites into 12 tribes, biblical criticism sees a later genealogical construction, designed to explain the common history of the Israelite tribes by their blood connection. According to one point of view, an alliance of Israelite tribes already existed during the period of wandering along Sinai, but the conquest of Canaan was carried out by them separately and at different times. According to another hypothesis, the unification of the tribes arose at the end of the era of the Judges (see the Judges of Israel book) - the beginning of the era of the monarchy, but the consciousness of national unity, based on ethnic closeness and common history, faith and worship, arose even before the penetration of the Israelites into Canaan. The tradition according to which the 12 tribes of Israel were defined as a people already in the era of the enslavement of the Israelites, newcomers from the Land of Canaan, and their descendants in Egypt, is considered historically unfounded.
The number 12, adopted in the Bible for the tribes of Israel, is in many archaic traditions (especially in the Middle East) of a sacred mythological nature and belongs to the most commonly used numerical patterns in mythopoetic cultures, often also adopted in the Bible and for other tribal genealogies (cf. Gen. 22 :20-24; 25:13-16). Unions of 12 (or 6) tribes are also known among other peoples (in Asia Minor, Italy and Greece) and are called Amphictyons in science. They usually formed around a common cult center and had a stable numerical structure. So, if one of the tribes left the union or was absorbed by another tribe, the number 12 was preserved either by dividing one of the tribes into two, or by accepting a new tribe into the union. The use of a similar method is noticeable in the Bible. When, for example, the descendants or the tribe of Levi are treated as one of the 12 tribes of Israel, the lineage of Joseph is considered one tribe (Gen. 46:8–25; 49:1–27), but when Levi is not mentioned, the descendants of Joseph are treated as two separate tribes. (Num. 26:5-51). To maintain the twelve-member structure, the tribe of Shim'on is listed as a separate tribe even after it was absorbed by the tribe of Yeh Uda (Ibn. 19:1), while the tribe of Menashshe continues to be considered one tribe even after its actual split into two separate clans.
The textual analysis of the parts of the Pentateuch relating to the formation of the Israelite tribes reveals the opposition of two groups of tribes, the progenitors of which were the two wives of Jacob and their maids: on the one hand, Reuben, Shim'on, Levi and Yeh ud (the elder sons of Leah), as well as Joseph and Benjamin (sons of Rachel), and on the other - Issachar and Zvulun (younger sons of Leah), Dan and Naftali (sons of Bilh and, Rachel's maids), Gad and Asher (sons of Zilpa, Leah's maids). Texts believed to be older suggest that the tribes descended from the six sons of the first group were originally the core of the association that became known as the tribes of Israel. According to one theory, the division of the sons of Jacob into groups according to their seniority and the emphasis on descent from different mothers (Gen. to their later penetration into Canaan, and, perhaps, to the fact that already at an early stage there were differences in the status of the tribes within the community. Perhaps in favor of the hypothesis that the people of Israel originally consisted of a smaller number of tribes, says the Song of Deborah (Judg. 5), dated to the 12th century. BC e., in which only nine tribes of Israel are named, but from which it follows that only six and a half tribes took part in the war against Yavin, king of Hatzor, led by Deborah. Most scholars reject the theory that, referring to pagan or mythological elements in the names of sons from maidservants (Gad - the deity of happiness; cf. Is. 65:11; Asher - the male form from Ashera; Dan - from the ancient Greek mythological Danai), claims that the tribes that arose from them were actually of foreign origin.
The tribes were autonomous communities governed according to the traditional patriarchal-tribal order. They consisted of clans or clans ( mishpakhot) divided into families ( battey av). At the head of the tribe stood the prince ( nasi, rosh matte), at the head of the clan - an elder ( zaken, alluf). From time to time, the heads of the tribes and clans were summoned, apparently to administer justice, manage the affairs of the tribes, etc. (Num. 11:16; Ex. 18:21-26; Deut. 1:15-16, etc.). From the Bible narratives about the anointing to the kingdom of David and about the refusal of the northern tribes to recognize the rule of Rehav'am (II Sam. 2:4; I Ch. 12:1, 16), we can conclude that in the early stages of the monarchy, the leaders of the tribes and clans elected and eliminated kings. One of the main duties of the heads of tribal associations was to preserve within the tribe the land allotments of individual families in accordance with the laws of inheritance, which forbade, among other things, the marriage of daughters-heirs to members of another tribe (Num. 27:8-11; 36:7- 9). Along with tribal institutions, intertribal institutions probably existed at the central sanctuaries, but information about them is extremely scarce. During the period of wandering in the wilderness, the Israelites were led by tribal princes and elders who helped Moses (Ex. 19:7; Numbers 11:16-17; Deut. 27:1, etc.). Assemblies of the leaders and elders of the tribes of Israel were also convened during the period of the settlement of Canaan, as well as in the era of the Judges (IbN. 22:30; 24:1; I Sam. 8:4). However, in this era, the consciousness of national-religious unity and inter-tribal ties of the tribes of Israel were so weakened that they could not unite in order to achieve common military-political goals and even openly feuded with each other (Judges 8:1-17; 12:1-6 ). Only towards the end of the era of the Judges, when the Israelites experienced military pressure in the west from the Philistines, and in the east - from the peoples beyond the Jordan, or when the flagrantly lawless act of the people of one tribe aroused the indignation of all the rest (see Benjamin and Giv'ah), did they unite to conduct joint military or punitive actions (I Sam. 11:7; Judg. 19-20). Enmity was also forgotten when a tribe was in danger of extinction (Judg. 21:13–23).
The monarchy, opposing the traditional separatist communal-tribal structure of the tribes, sought to weaken the tribal consciousness by introducing the idea of a single kingdom ruled by a God-chosen king. David, apparently, was still forced to organize an army and administration, according to the traditional division of the people into 12 tribes (I Chr. 12, 27), but his preference for the tribe of Yeh Uda caused a number of riots in the country. Solomon placed 12 "rulers" over the people (I Ch. 4:7), setting the boundaries of the territories subject to them without connection with the boundaries of the allotments of the tribes of Israel. With the withdrawal of ten tribes to Assyria (cf.
