Nadene Goldfoot
Our Patriarchs, Abraham, Isaac and Jacob probably lived around the 17th century BCE. They were a nomadic shepherd clan who arrived in Eretz Yisrael from Mesopotamia (today's Iraq). They believed in One G-d. Jacob was given the name "Israel" by G-d.
According to Numbers Chapter 1 to Number Chapter 26 in "The Old Testament" or Torah, we see what happened to the population of each of the 12 Tribes of Israel, fathered by Jacob.
1. Judah, always the largest from 74,600 to 76,500 showing a growth of 1,900.
2. Dan, ........................... ........62,700 to 64,400.........................of.... .1,700.
3. Simeon................................. 59,300 to 22,200.............. ........ ....... loss of .37,100.
4. Zebulun 57,400 to 60,500...............a growth of 3,100
5. Issachar 54,400 to 64,300................................ 9,900
6. Naphtali 53,400 to 45,400.................................................loss of... 8,000
7. Reuben 46,500 to 43,730.................................................loss of ...2,770
8. Gad 45,650 to 40,500.................................................loss of....5,150
9. Asher 41,500 to 53,400 ............a growth of 11,900
10. Ephraim 40,500 to 32,500................................................loss of... 8,000
11. Benjamin (youngest) 35,400 to 45,600.............a growth of 10,200
12. Manasseh 32,200 to 52,700............a growth of 20,500
Totals 603,500 to 601,730 with a net loss of 1,820.
Simeon: 2nd son of Jacob. He was concerned about the good name of his sister, Dinah, so he and Levi tricked the people of Shechem, captured the town, killed the males and took the women and children captive. Jacob didn't approve and was angry about his actions. and prophesied the dispersion of his descendants and of Levi having to live among the other tribes. Simeon received territory in Eretz Yisrael within the lot of Judah in 2 separate places of the Negev Desert and was of minor importance. During the reign of Hezekiah they took possession of the Arab areas of Seir. Some apparently settled in the Mountains of Ephraim.
Naphtali: 6th son of Jacob, the 2nd son of Bilhah the handmaid of Rachel. He was given the northern part of Canaan including the entire eastern coast of the Sea of Galilee and the mountains of Galilee. They were active in war against Sisera and Gideon's campaign against the Midianites. They belonged to the northern kingdom of Israel after the split. It was overrun by Arameans in the time of Baasha. Large section of its people were exiled by Tiglath-Pileser of Assyria in 721 BCE. From the survivors were derived many of the Jews living in Galilee in 2nd Temple times.
Reuben: 1st son of Jacob; Oldest son of Jacob and Leah, He argued with his brothers about their plot against their brother Joseph and did not want to sell Joseph to traders. He later volunteered to be kept for ransom for Benjamin during his visit to Egypt. This was his good side. On his bad side, he had had incestuous relations with his father's concubine, Bilhah., so Jacob gave away Reuben's rights as first-born to Joseph. The heads of the tribe when they were on the Exodus with Moses were were Dathan, Abiram and On. They had tried to claim the right to serve as priests but failed. When the tribes settled in Canaan, the tribe of Reuben asked and received territory in Moab (Transjordan), which was fertile but presented political problems, and eventually much of their territory fell into the hands of the Moabites or Ammonites. Reuben was one of the 10 tribes exiled to Assyria by Tiglath-Pileser in 721 BCE. They played a minor part in the settlement.
Gad: son of Jacob and Zilpah the handmaid of Leah, had settled in Gilead and Central Transjordan where they gained a warlike reputation. They flourished during the rule of Saul, 1st king of Israel and their position was consolidated under King David (1010 -970 BCE) After the split in the kingdom, Gad belonged to the northern kingdom (Samaria) and suffered severely from Syrian attacks. In 732 BCE, the region was devastated by Tiglath-Pileser III of Assyria and most of the people were exiled. It was later occupied by the Ammonites. The Assyrians kept taking people of the northern tribes from 721-715 BCE.
Ephriam: Younger son of Joseph who was a son of Jacob. It was the more northern of the 2 Israelite kingdoms. It included the hill-country in central Eretz Yisrael and was noted for its fertility. In the period of the Judges, Ephraim claimed priority among the Israelite tribes because their religious center was at Shiloh in the territory of Ephraim. The secession of the northern tribes after Solomon's death centered on the tribe of Ephriam, to which Jeroboam, the 1st king of the northern kingdom of Israel belonged. The prophets later spoke of the House of Judah and the House of Ephraim as representing the 2 branches of the Hebrew people. Ephriam and Manassah had been the tribe of Joseph originally but were divided in half to make 12 tribes since the tribe of Levi was chosen to be the priestly officials and had no land. they would live among all twelve in the work of teaching. Twelve was a sacred number.
What Land All 12 Tribes Received
Joshua gave Reuben, Gad and half the tribe of Manasseh land in Transjordan.
Naphtali and Asher got land on the Sidonian frontier in Galilee.
Issachar and Zebulun got land in the Valley of Jezreel area.
Ephraim and the other half of Manasseh were given land in the mountains of Samaria.
Benjamin was to Ephraim's south and Dan was along the seacoast around Jaffa. Dan couldn't hold the land and were expelled by the Amorites and so moved to the sources of the Jordan River.
Simeon was in the Negev. Changes were later made.
Levi: 3rd son of Jacob and Leah received no land: He and Simeon had avenged the dishonoring of their sister, Dinah. They had received Jacob's rebuke who then forecast their descendants would be scattered throughout Israel. During the 2nd Temple Period, the act of Levi and Simeon was extolled. :Levi had a daughter, Jochebed who was mother of Moses. and 3 sons; Gershom, Kohath whose son Amram was the father of Moses, and Merari. Levi died in Egypt. Levites are 2nd in line after the Cohens to read from the Torah in the synagogue.
The last Judean exiles of the tribe of Judah from 597 to 586 BCE by Nebuchadnezzar had been deported to areas adjacent to the place of exile, Babylon, and taken to many of the same places the 10 Tribes had been taken which were in Media, Assyria and Mesopotamia. While some of the Lost 10 tribes remained in their land of Eretz Yisrael, some of their descendants preserved their identity among the Jewish population and others were assimilated.
70CE: The fall of Jerusalem to the Romans and destruction of the 2nd Temple. .
Reference: Tanach, The Stone Edition
The New Standard Jewish Encyclopedia
Facts About Israel 1973 Division of Information, ministry for foreign affairs, Jerusalem
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