Rachel and Jacob's 2nd AND Last Child, Benjamin, the 12th Son

 Nadene Goldfoot                                         

Rachel and Jacob conceived Benjamin during Jacob's depressive state when he had found out that his first son with Rachel had been kidnapped.  He feared he would never see him again and this was his favorite son out the 11.              

     This is an ancient depiction of giving birth.  Rachel may or may not have had a chance to be in this position.  In primitive times, women hunched themselves over a hole in the ground, standing on bricks or stones placed at either side. They gave birth in a squatting position, with relatives and friends taking turns to support them.

To top off his joy after so much grief, Rachel died in childbirth with Benjamin. Rachel had died on a journey from Beth-el going to Ephrath when she had gone into labor and had difficulty in her childbirth.  The midwife was with her.  Rachel was able to name her new son Ben Oni, and she was buried on the road to Ephrath, which is Bethlehem.  Jacob set up a monument over her grave. Jacob called the newborn, Benjamin.  (Gen 35:16-21).  Benjamin was the only son born in Canaan.                                    

        Mother of Benjamin: Rachel, sister of Leah, 1st wife of Jacob

 His 11 aunts, or at least Leah, probably took care of him as she was Leah's sister.  

The exceptionally strong mutual devotion of Jacob and Benjamin developed played a prominent part in the events which ended with Jacob's migration to Egypt during a time of famine.  

Benjamin was not part of the conspiracy concocted by his ten older brothers to kill their brother Joseph (coat of many colors inspired jealousy). Later, when the brothers had to travel to Egypt to seek food during a famine, Jacob’s love for his youngest son compelled him to keep Benjamin home “because he was afraid that harm might come to him” (Genesis 42:4). The other brothers traveled to Egypt and met with the governor of Egypt (Joseph, whom his brothers did not recognize). Joseph tested his brothers by accusing them of spying and demanding that they prove their honesty by bringing Benjamin back with them: “You will not leave this place unless your youngest brother comes here” (Genesis 42:15). Joseph shut them all in prison for three days and then released all but Simeon. The others returned home with the grain they had purchased—and the money that Joseph had secretly returned to them (verse 25).

Back in Canaan, Jacob laments his predicament: “You have deprived me of my children. Joseph is no more and Simeon is no more, and now you want to take Benjamin. Everything is against me!” (Genesis 42:36). For a while, Jacob refused to allow Benjamin to make the trip back to Egypt (verse 38). He later relented when they ran out of grain and Judah promised to personally guarantee Benjamin’s safe return (Genesis 43:8–9).

 Joseph, as he greeted the brothers this second time, “looked about and saw his brother Benjamin, his own mother’s son, [and] he asked, ‘Is this your youngest brother, the one you told me about?’ And he said, ‘God be gracious to you, my son.’ Deeply moved at the sight of his brother, Joseph hurried out and looked for a place to weep” (Genesis 43:29–30).

Years later in Egypt, as Jacob prepared to die, he blessed Benjamin, saying, “Benjamin is a ravenous wolf; in the morning he devours the prey, in the evening he divides the plunder” (Genesis 49:27). Benjamin: Jacob’s youngest son would be a warrior, producing many of Israel’s military leaders, such as Ehud, Saul, and Jonathan. His tribe would be known for its warring characteristics (Judges 5:14; 20:16; 1 Chronicles 8:40).

The Blessing of Moses, portrayed in the Bible as a prophecy by Moses about the future situation of the twelve tribes, describes Benjamin as "dwelling between YHWH's shoulders," in reference to its location between the leading tribe of the Kingdom of Israel (Ephraim), and the leading tribe (Judah) of Kingdom of Judah.

(Judg 20:13)Benjamin's refusal: " But the children of Benjamin refused to heed the voice of their brothers, the Children of Israel.  The children of Benjamin were gathered together from the cities to Gibeah, to go out to war with the Children of Israel.  The children of Benjamin from the cities were numbered that day at 26,000 sword-wielding men, besides the inhabitants of Gibeah, who were numbered at 700 choice men.  among all these people there were 700 choice left-handed men, all of whom could sling a stone at a hair and not miss.  Besides Benjamin, the men of Israel were numbered at 400,000 sword-wielding men, all these were warriors." (This story has more to come-you'll see as you go on.)

The tribe of Benjamin became famous for their skill in battle and warlike nature. We learn more about Benjamin and the tribe of Benjamin throughout the books of Numbers, Deuteronomy, Joshua, and Judges. 

During the Exodus, the 1st census showed that Benjamin had 35,400 men.  In the 2nd and last census, they had 45,600 showing an increase of 10,200 men.  

This  shows the total entering Canaan to have been 601,730.  They had lost during the 40 year exodus a total of 1,820 men from the time they had started with 603,550.       

 The tribe of Benjamin occupied a little territory between Ephraim and Judah which included Jerusalem.  Jericho is also included.  Saul, the 1st king of Israel, was a Benjamite.  The territory was a bone of contention between the kingdoms of the north-Israel, and the south-Judah after the division of the kingdom when Solomon died in 920 BCE.  Eventually the land of Israel and Judah was partitioned between the two kingdoms.  

According to the Hebrew Torah, following the completion of the conquest of Canaan by the Israelite tribes, Joshua allocated the land among the twelve tribes. Kenneth Kitchen dates this conquest to just after 1200 BCE. I have King David reigning already from 1010-970 BCE. 

The Bible recounts that Joshua assigned to Benjamin the territory between that of Ephraim to the north and Judah to the south, with the Jordan River as the eastern border, and included many historically important cities, such as Bethel, Gibeah, and encroached on the northern hills of Jerusalem. (Joshua 18:11–28)

According to rabbinical sources, only those towns and villages on the northernmost and southernmost territorial boundary lines, or purlieu, are named in the land allocation, although, in actuality, all unnamed towns and villages in between these boundaries would still belong to the tribe of Benjamin.  The Babylonian Talmud names three of these cities, all of which were formerly enclosed by a wall, and belonged to the tribe of Benjamin: Lydda (Lod), Ono (Kafr 'Ana), and Gei Ha-ḥarashim. Marking what is now one of the southernmost butts and bounds of Benjamin's territory is "the spring of the waters of Nephtoah" (Josh. 18:15), a place identified as Kefar Lifta (كفر لفتا), and situated on the left-hand side of the road as one enters Jerusalem. It is now an abandoned Arab village. The word Lifta is merely a corruption of the Hebrew name Nephtoah, and where a natural spring by that name still abounds.

Although Jerusalem was in the territory allocated to the tribe of Benjamin (Joshua 18:28), it remained under the independent control of the Jebusites. Judges 1:21 points to the city being within the territory of Benjamin, while Joshua 15:63 implies that the city was within the territory of Judah. In any event, Jerusalem remained an independent Jebusite city until it was finally conquered by David in c. 11th century BC and made into the capital of the united Kingdom of Israel.

 After the breakup of the United Monarchy when Solomon died in 920 BCE, Jerusalem continued as the capital of the southern Kingdom of Judah.

The ownership of Bethel is also ambiguous. Though Joshua allocated Bethel to Benjamin, by the time of the prophetess Deborah, Bethel is described as being in the land of the Tribe of Ephraim (Judges 4:5). Then, some twenty years after the breakup of the United Monarchy, Abijah, the second king of Kingdom of Judah, defeated Jeroboam of Israel and took back the towns of Bethel, Jeshanah and Ephron, with their surrounding villages. Ephron is believed to be the Ophrah that was also allocated to the Tribe of Benjamin by Joshua.

 On one occasion, it was almost exterminated in a war with the other tribes (Judg. 19-21).  "The children of Benjamin heard that the Children of Israel had gone up to Mizpah.  The children of Israel said, "Tell us;  how did this outrage happen?"  The Levite man, the husband of the murdered woman, answered and said, "I arrived with my concubine at Gibeah of Benjamin, to spend the night.  The inhabitants of Gibeah rose up against me and surrounded the house against me all night.  They proposed to kill me, and they tormented my concubine so that she died. He performed an atrocity I shall not repeat here: but you can read about it later yourselves.  Legally in that period, there had been no capital offense committed.  The concubine was not a married woman and her death was unintended.  The nation, however, was appalled at the unprecedented atrocity.  They wished to exercise the right to act extralegally in an emergency situation.  The Benjamites refused to cooperate, for several reasons; (1) the crime committed, heinous though it was, was not a capital offense;  (2) the other tribes were acting high-handedly, without consulting Benjamin;  and (3) the responsibility to take action lay exclusively in the hands of the high court of the tribe of Benjamin.  All parties acted wrongly, and G-d allowed them to suffer heavy casualties as a result.  The tribes should not have gone to war before consulting Benjamin, and Benjamin should not have turned a blind eye to the atrocity.  (This decision was from Rambam).  

                                                

Descendants of Benjamin include Ehud, one of the judges who saved Israel from the oppression of Eglon, king of Moab (Judg.3). ; Saul, Israel’s first king; and Queen Esther.

Resource:

Tanakh, Stone Edition

The New Standard Jewish Encyclopedia

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joseph_(Genesis)

https://www.gotquestions.org/Jacobs-prophecies.html

Rachel and Jacob's Son, Joseph, Envied Son of His Brothers: The 11th Son For Jacob

 Nadene Goldfoot                                             

Joseph, a son from Jacob's first and strongest love, Rachel, was his 11th son, a son strongly longed for.  It of course, was Rachel's first son;  one she thought she'd never produce.   Rachel had long ago thought she was barren.  

Because of such desire and waiting on the part of Joseph's parents, when he arrived his parents showed him much favoritism.  Joseph grew up to also have strong ambitions for himself.  This had aroused his brothers' jealousy.                           

Jacob was so enamored with Joseph that he thoughtlessly made him a coat of many colors; having never done such a thing for his 10 other sons, who were now furious with their baby brother to see such special attention given to him.  Joseph stood out in any crowd wearing such an enviously beautiful coat.  To make such a coat, Jacob had to buy many dyes from solicitors, but in small quantities as they would cost much, only enough for one coat-and such experimentation would not be wasted on others -only Joseph who would show him much gratitude!  

Jacob never realized what a situation he was setting up-a child psychologist he was not.  One has to remember that these 10 older brothers had already started to see each of themselves as the future leader of their clan; the replacement of their father.  As many people 4,000 some years ago, they not only were peeved, they were wild with fury!                                             

The 10 sons, with their jealousy riled to the hilt, wanted to actually kill Joseph, but one of them calmed the rest down and talked them into selling Joseph to some passing Beduin Ishmaelites on their way to a sale in Egypt.  Joseph must have been in total shock to suddenly be thrust about and tied up by his brothers!  He might have even thought he was going through some rite of age in the family.                                                      

Arriving in Egypt, no doubt as a package on one of their camels, he was bought as a slave by Potiphar, chief of Pharaoh's household.  Then, he ended up being imprisoned on a false accusation brought by Potiphar's wife.  He had in the meantime, gained a reputation as an interpreter of dreams.  this eventually reached the king who released him from prison.  He was so impressed with the interpretation Joseph had given himself about a very disturbing dream he had had that he appointed Joseph as his VICEROY.  

In the meantime, Jacob was extremely depressed over his favorite son's disappearance.  He had been inconsolable ever since he had disappeared.  Rachel could not bring him out of it easily, but did one time when she conceived once more.  None of his wives could make him happy again.  Jacob was gruff with all his sons after that since they were the last to see him and had no reasonable explanation.  Rachel then was able to give birth to Benjamin, his 12th son, and that made Jacob happy again.                                 

One day the band had reason to travel into Egypt being their own land was suffering from a famine, and they needed supplies.   A special event happened that joined Joseph to his father and his 11 brothers, one of which was a full brother that he did not know about.  Joseph had power, extreme power and in his joy to be rejoined to his family, he was able to give grazing land that was in Goshen to his family for a resettlement.  This was the start of Israelite settlement in Egypt. (Genesis 37, 39-45).                                                

Joseph had married in Asenath, the daughter of Poti-phera, the priest of ON in Egypt and had 2 sons, Manasseh and Ephraim , Jacob's grandsons. (gen. 41:45-50).  Asenath's name is Egyptian and apparently connected with the goddess, Neith.  

When Jacob lie dying and blessing each of his sons, the 2 sons of Joseph were also there with them;  Manasseh and Ephraim.  Joseph had them live with his father and brothers from then on.  Jacob blessed them as well, conferring on them an equal portion with his own sons in the division of Canaan since Joseph would not be able to partake and leave Egypt.  

During the Exodus, Manasseh's tribe had 32,200 men in the first census, and at the end in the 2nd and last census would arrive with 52,700 men showing a gain of 20,500 men.  

Ephraim's tribe had in the 1st census 40,500 men and in the 2nd, had only 32,500, showing a loss of 8,000 men.  

The fact is that the tribes from Joseph totaled 85,200 men entering  Canaan with the rest who were half Israelites and half Egyptians.  They had shared the 40 years of shared knowledge with Moses that the others had shared.  They were 1st cousins to all the others once removed. 

                                               

Manasseh's tribe was divided into 7 families or clans.  One was called Machir and the other 6 were of kinship with Gilead, that land area in Transjordan.  Half of Manasseh went with those of Reuben and Gad who all wanted territory in Transjordan, which was granted by Moses on condition that they help out in the conquest of the land as scouts preceding the main body of their fighters.   After entering Canaan, the other half of Manasseh received territory in the West around the Valley of Jezreel.  Both areas were highly fertile.  

In 721 BCE, the Assyrians of Tiglath-Pileser II and Sargon exiled much of the population from both sections but part were able to remain. 

 A Jewish population, partly descended from the tribe of Simeon, still existed in the West Manasseh region in the earlier 2nd Temple period.  

Ephraim was given land alongside Manasseh.  Their land included the hill country in central Eretz Yisrael  and was noted for its fertility. 

 In the period of the Judges before King Saul's day, Ephraim claimed priority among the Israelite tribes, partly because their religious center was situated at Shiloh in its territory.,  The  secession of the northern tribes after Solomon's death centered on the tribe of Ephraim to which Jeroboam, the first 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.  

Joseph died at age 110, and his body was later brought by the Israelites to Eretz Yisrael for reburial.  This story of Joseph has been dated during the Hyksos domination of Egypt which started in the 18th to 16th centuries BCE.  

There are numerous mentions of Joseph in Bahá'í writings. These come in the forms of allusions written by the Báb and Bahá'u'lláh. In the Kitáb-i-Aqdas, Bahá'u'lláh states that "from my laws, the sweet-smelling savour of my garment can be smelled" and, in the Four Valleys, states that "the fragrance of his garment blowing from the Egypt of Baha," referring to Joseph.

Bahá'í commentaries have described these as metaphors with the garment implying the recognition of a manifestation of God. In the Qayyumu'l-Asma', the Báb refers to Bahá'u'lláh as the true Joseph and makes an analogous prophecy regarding Bahá'u'lláh suffering at the hands of his brother, Mírzá Yahyá.

Resource:

Tanakh, Stone Edition

Zilpah and Jacob's son, Asher, Who Was Jacob's 8th son.

Nadene Goldfoot                                              

Asher was the 2nd son of Zilpah and Jacob but Jacob's 8th son.  Leah, Jacob's 1st wife, was very happy about it.  Leah declared, "In my good fortune!  for women have deemed me fortunate!"  So she called his name Asher. Here, as the important mother, Leah got to name the baby.   Zilpah, here, is not considered a wife but still Leah's maidservant.  Leah had stopped becoming pregnant, and so had given Zilpah to her husband to take over her duty of bearing children. In this generation's thinking, it was okay and the important thing for women was to bear children.  In this way, they gained status in the community.

On the Exodus, Ashur's count on the 1st census was 41,500, and on the 2nd and last census count, they had 53,400 with a plus of 11,900.  

                                              

Painting by Francisco de Zurbarán (from Jacob and his twelve sons, c. 1640–45)

On his deathbed, Jacob blesses Asher by saying that "his bread will have richness,  and he will provide kingly delicacies." (Gen. 49:20). Moses said of Asher: "May Asher be blessed above other sons; may he be esteemed by his brothers; may he bathe his feet in olive oil." (Deuteronomy 33:24).

 Washing one’s feet in oil was a sign of prosperity, and Jacob’s reference to Asher’s food being “rich” indicated that Asher would possess fertile lands. In Joshua 19:24-31, we learn that Asher received land along the Mediterranean coast.      

 However, it's not the only blessing the Tribe of Asher would receive. Moses also gave a blessing to each of the twelve tribes. Moses' blessing said that Asher would be blessed with sons, pleasing to his brothers, and have his foot immersed in oil.               

Despite all its blessings, the tribe of Asher failed to drive out the Canaanites, and “because of this the people of Asher lived among the Canaanite inhabitants of the land” (Judges 1:31-32). In the time of Deborah and Barak, “Asher remained on the coast and stayed in its coves” rather than join the fight against Jabin, a Canaanite king (Judges 5:17). This failure to aid their fellow tribes could indicate a lack of reliance on God, a lack of effort, a fear of the enemy, or a reluctance to upset those with whom they did business. Thus, the example set here is a negative one: although Asher was richly blessed, they did not behave admirably; when the time for action came, they failed to trust in God and honor His plan."

Later in Judges, Asher does respond to Gideon’s call to repel the Midianites, Amalekites, and others from the East (Judges 6:35). In another important gesture, Asher accepts Hezekiah’s invitation to the tribes from the Northern Kingdom to join the Passover celebration in Jerusalem (2 Chronicles 30:11). This was considered an act of humility, proof of a contrite heart before God.

The Tribes of Israel were often identified with the personalities and character traits of their founders, so let's start by getting to know Asher himself. Asher was characterized as happy, intelligent, intuitive, open to others, and a little bit impetuous. In fact, his name means ''happy one''.

Thus, the Tribe of Asher was known to be the happiest of the Twelve Tribes. This happiness partly came from the fact that they were also amongst the most prosperous of the tribes. They were described as enjoying all that life has to offer, particularly in terms of fine dining, even if that made them a little more wasteful than the other tribes.

In the end, we find that Asher received many great blessings from God. Having received a blessing, they were expected to obey the Lord’s commands. 

The text of the Torah states that the name of Asher means "happy" or "blessing", implying a derivation from the Hebrew term osher in two variations—beoshri (meaning in my good fortune), and ishsheruni, which some textual scholars who embrace the JEDP hypothesis attribute to different sources—one to the Yahwist and the other to the Elohist. The Bible states that at his birth Leah exclaimed, "Happy am I! for the daughters will call me happy: so she called his name Asher", meaning "happy" (Genesis 30:13). Some scholars argue that the name of Asher may have to do with a deity originally worshipped by the tribe, either Asherah, or Ashur, the chief Assyrian deity; the latter possibility is cognate with Asher.

Asher was one of six tribes (Reuben Gad, Zebulun, Dan and Naphtali) chosen by Moses to stand on Mount Ebal and pronounce blessings and curses (Deuteronomy 27:13) and 28:blessings. Through these curses, the people promised God they would refrain from bad behavior. For example, one curse says, “Cursed is the man who dishonors his father or his mother” (Deuteronomy 27:16). Another states, “Cursed is the man who leads the blind astray on the road” (Deuteronomy 27:18). Still another: “Cursed is the man who sleeps with his mother-in-law” (Deuteronomy 27:23). In all, Asher delivered twelve admonishments (Deuteronomy 27:15-26).  Those chosen happened to be the 1st and 6th sons of Leah, and the 4 sons of the two handmaids. 

Resource:

Tanakh, Stone Edition

The New Standard Jewish Encyclopedia

https://www.generations.org/devotionals/169

https://www.gotquestions.org/tribe-of-Asher.html

https://study.com/academy/lesson/tribe-of-asher-history-symbol-descendants.html

Zilpah and Jacob's son, Gad, Who Was Jacob's 7th Son

 Nadene Goldfoot                          

                                                 

Zilpah was the handmaid of Leah, Jacob's 1st wife,  in yellow.   The Biblical account shows Zilpah's status as a handmaid change to that of an actual wife of Jacob (Genesis 30:9,11). "When Leah saw that she had stopped giving birth, she took Zilpah, her maidservant, and gave her to Jacob as a wife.  Zilpah, Leah's maidservant, bore Jacob a son, and Leah declared, "Good luck has come!"  so she called his name, Gad.  

Her handmaid status is regarded by some biblical scholars as indicating that the authors saw the tribe of Gad as being not of entirely Israelite origin; many scholars believe that Gad was a late addition to the Israelite confederation, as implied by the Moabite Stone, which seemingly differentiates between the Israelites and the tribe of Gad. Gad by this theory is assumed to have originally been a northwards-migrating nomadic tribe, at a time when the other tribes were quite settled in Canaan.

Leah bore Jacob 6 sons;  Reuben, Simeon, Levi, Judah, Issachar, and Zebulun, and a daughter, Dinah.  Leah was given Zilpah as a gift from her father when she married Jacob.  Leah was known to have weak eyes, and it was her sister, Rachel who had all the  beauty.  When Rachel thought she couldn't conceive, she gave her handmaid, Bilhah, to Jacob to bear a child.  Now, Leah must have decided to keep her numbers as the highest and gave Zilpah to Jacob to bear more children for Leah for credit to her name as the main mother of the family.

On the Exodus's first census, Gad had 45,650 men.  On their 2nd and last census, they had 40,500 with a loss of 5, 150.  

                                             

Gad was Joseph's 7th son.  (Gen.30:10-11).  This tribe was settled by Joshua in Gilead and Central Transjordan where they gained a warlike reputation. (Num. 32: Josh. 13:24).  They flourished during the rule of King Saul(11th century BCE-1st king of Israel)  and their position was consolidated under King David (1010-970 BCE).  

The text of the Book of Genesis implies that the name of Gad means luck/fortunate, in Hebrew. 

After the split in the kingdom with King Solomon's death in 922 BCE, Gad belonged to the Northern kingdom of Israel now called Samaria as the capital was in Samaria, and they suffered severely from Syrian attacks.                                                                   

                                                                    

Painting by Francisco de Zurbarán (from Jacob and his twelve sons, c. 1640–45)

In 732 BCE, the region was devastated by Tiglath-Pileser III and most of its inhabitants were exiled by the Assyrians in 721 BCE.  Later, it was occupied by the Ammonites, who worshipped fertility gods, the chief being Milkom.                              

When Jacob lay on his deathbed and was giving prophecies to each son, he went from Bilhah's older son, Dan, to Zilpah's oldest, Gad.  He said, "Gad will recruit a regiment and it will retreat on its heel."  "Gad, a troop shall overcome him: but he shall overcome at the last."

  Although the Gadites' territory was on the east of the Jordan, they crossed the river to assist their brothers in conquering the land.  Jacob prophesied that after the conquest, Gad would return safely on its heel; that is, by the same roads and paths upon which it had initially traveled;  and not one of the troops would be lost.  This was explained by Rashi. 

Gad: Verse 9: some men of the Gadites defected to David, to the stronghold in the wilderness---mighty warrior, soldier, who wielded shields and bucklers;  their faces were like the face of lion, and they were fleet as deer on the mountains:  

Verse 15:  Thee were the heads of the army from the children of Gad, the least was equal to a hundred men and the greatest to a thousand men.  These were the ones who crossed the Jordan during the first month, when it was overflowing all of its banks, and they chased away all the residents of the valleys, to the east and to the west...

Verse 19 simply notes Gad would be effective in military struggles. It is difficult to link this to any direct fulfillment due to the brevity of the prophecy. Some have seen a fulfillment of this prediction in the great number of troops who served King David from the tribe of Gad (1 Chronicles 12).

According to classical rabbinical literature, Gad was born on 10 Cheshvan, and lived 125 years. 

These sources go on to state that, unlike his other brothers, Joseph didn't present Gad to the Pharaoh, since Joseph didn't want Gad to become one of Pharaoh's guards, an appointment that would have been likely had the Pharaoh realized that Gad had great strength.

There are two tombs traditionally attributed to Gad: one at Nevei Ganda, Rehovot, Israel, and a Muslim one at Ain Al-Jadur (lit. "Spring of Jadur", whereas Jadur is the Arabic name of Gad), west of Salt, Jordan.

It's known that Gad was part of the northern tribes that were exiled in 721 BCE by the Assyrians, but possibly some had escaped this and remained on the eastern side of the Jordan River.  The map seems to show this possibility.  They were men you wouldn't want to mess around with.  It seems unlikely they could have been subdued by the Assyrians very easily.  They were all Rambos!  

Resource:

Tanakh (Stone Edition)

the New Standard Jewish Encyclopedia

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gad_(son_of_Jacob) 

Jacob and Bilhah's 2nd and Last Child, Naphtali but 6th Son For Jacob

Nadene Goldfoot                                                      

Naphtali was the 6th son of Jacob, but the 2nd and last child by Bilhah.  Her first was Dan.  Most children in olden days were born 2 years apart which was the time they would need to nurse a child and then stop.  During nursing, a woman cannot get pregnant.  

Their count on the first census of the Exodus was 53,400 men.  At the last census, it was down to 45,400, a loss of 8,000.    

After Joshua led the people of Israel into the Promised Land, he divided the new territory among the 12 tribes, assigning a region northwest of the Sea of Galilee to the tribe of Naphtali.

The inheritance of the tribe descended from him was in the Northern part of Canaan, including the entire Eastern coast of the Sea of Galilee and the mountains of Galilee.  it was a large section of land.  

The tribe was active in the war against General Sisera of Jabin, a Canaanite king who lived in Hazor. (I have a friend who lives there, ever since about 1983) and Gideon's campaign against the Midianites.  Gideon was from the tribe of Manasseh, and he defeated the Midianites near En Harod using a group of picked volunteers.  The Midianites were a Beduin tribe related to  Abraham (Gen. 25:2).  

At the end of the Exodus, Naphtali belonged to the northern kingdom of Israel after the split-when Solomon died in920 BCE.  This was the group attacked by the Assyrians in 721 BCE who took them away as slaves.   

Before in 743-2 BCE, the Aramean states in Syria had been overthrown  and turned into Assyrian dependencies, rebellions  being punished by the deportation of the inhabitants to distant countries.  Naphtali was overrun by the Arameans in  the time of King Baasha of Israel (908-885 BCE) , while a large section of its inhabitants was exiled by Tiglath-Pileser III; King of Assyria (745-726 BCE). He introduced the policy of exiling hostile inhabitants from conquered country.  In 743 BCE he invaded N. Syria and levied tribute on King Menahem of Israel(744-735 BCE).  In 734 BCE he also invaded Philistia (Philistia was a confederation of cities in the Southwest Levant. Its appearance follows the invasion of Egypt by the foreign sea People, of which Philistines or Peleset are part, and their alleged relocation to the southern abandoned coast of Canaan by Ramesses III following his victory over them., conquering Damascus in 733 BCE and seized a large part of the kingdom of Israel, banishing the population of Galilee to Transjordania.  He then exacted tribute from King Ahaz of Judah (735-720 BCE) (who had appealed to him for aid against Israel and Aram"Syria") and from Ammon, Moab, and Edom.  Later, he gained control of Babylon where he ruled under the name of Pul.                                             

                              Painting by Francisco de Zurbarán (from Jacob and his twelve sons, c. 1640–45)

From the survivors were derived many of the Jews living in Galilee (N. Israel), occupied by the tribes of Naphthali and Asher, it was separated from Israel by Tiglath-Pileser II of Assyria in 732 BCE but remained largely Jewish in population in the 2nd Temple times.   Much later the Galilee became the main center of Judaism in Palestine.

The 2nd Temple was destroyed in 586 BCE by Nebuchadnezzar who also took this group away, but to Babylon. Some were able to return by 538 BCE because of the king at that time who was most interested in them rebuilding the Temple.               

 Jacob's prophecy about Naphtali was that he said Naphtali is a hind let loose who delivers beautiful sayings.  He said this after having blessed Zilpah's  sons.  Jacob then blessed Bilhah's younger son, Naphtali, and thus concluded the blessings of the sons of the maidservants.  According to the Targum Pseudo-Jonathan, Naphtali was a swift runner, though this appears to have been inferred from the Blessing of Jacob, which equates Naphtali to a hind. However, Biblical scholars believe this to actually be a description of the tribe of Naphtali.  Naphtali is listed in Deuteronomy 34.2 when God takes Moses up to the mountain of Nebo and shows him the extent of the land which he had promised to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob.  This happened before 721 BCE.  

Militarism is featured in Naphtali's history. In the ancient Song of Deborah, Naphtali is commended, along with Zebulun, for risking their lives in the fight against Sisera; in the prose account of the event, which Arthur Peake regards as a much later narrative based on the poem, there is the addition that Barak,son of Abinoam,  the leader of the anti-Sisera forces, hails from the tribe of Naphtali. Bar is Aramaic/Hebrew for son, like ben.  Also, Barak was a ruler of Ancient Israel. As military commander in the biblical Book of Judges, Barak, with Deborah, from the Tribe of Ephraim, the prophet and fourth Judge of pre-monarchic Israel, defeated the Canaanite armies led by Sisera.

In the Gideon (aka Jerubaal) a Judge of Israel for 40 years of tribe of Manasseh, defeated Midianites near En Harod using a group of picked volunteers)   narrative, Naphtali are one of the tribes which join in an attack against Midianite invaders,(Beduin tribe related to Abraham (Gen. 25;2)  who traveled with caravans of incense from  Gilead to Egypt, and later to other countries.; closely connected with the Israelites.  though Arthur Peake regards the Gideon narrative as being spliced together from at least three earlier texts, the oldest of which describes only personal vengeance by Gideon and 300 men of his own clan, not a battle in which the rest of the northern tribes join him. 

The territory allotted to the tribe in Canaan was in the extreme north, and was bordered on the north by the Litani River, on the east by the River Jordan until it was 12 miles (19 km) south of the Sea of Galilee, on the west by the tribes of Asher and Zebulon; and on the south by the tribe of Issachar. The symbol of the tribe is a gazelle-a very quick animal. The people of Naftali is traditionally thought of as swift (swift runners).

As part of the Kingdom of Israel, during one of the several wars between King Asa (915-875 BCE) of the kingdoms of Judah and King Baasha (908-885 BCE) of Israel, the tribe of Naphtali was persecuted by Ben-Hadad, the king of Aram-Damascus, on behalf of Asa, the king of Judah, and desolated. 

Again, in the reign of King Pekah (735-730 BCE) of Israel, possibly of Gileadite origin,  this tribe was among the first to feel the iron hand of Assyria and to suffer the deportation of many captives (1 Kings 15:20; 2 Kings 15:20). In a reference to this incident (Isaiah 9:1–2) the prophet Isaiah anticipates that the same region will see the dawn of the Messianic deliverance. Naphtali, one of the most northerly tribes, became one of the first to be conquered. With the land taken, the tribe was exiled; the manner of their exile led to their further history being lost. One of the famous battles of the Maccabean war was fought near Kedesh-Naphtali about B.C. 150, when Jonathan defeated Demetrius, King of Syria (1 Maccabees 11:63–73; Josephus, "Ant." xiii. 5, § 6).There has been speculation that the Bukharian Jews of Central Asia are the descendants of the Naphtali tribe.

Nordisk Israel identify the Tribe of Naphtali with Norway.

Others have speculated that Pacific Islanders (Samoan, Hawaiian, Tongan, Fijian etc) are descended from the lost Tribe of Naphtali.^[21]

According to Genesis 46:24, Naphtali had four sons: Jahzeel, Guni, Jezer, and Shillem. The name of his wife/wives are not given. He and his family migrated to Egypt, with the rest of the clan, where they remained until the Exodus.  

Israelites who were deported into slavery and those who remained behind were gradually assimilated by other peoples. The tribe of Naphtali thus lost its identity and became known in Jewish legend as one of the Ten Lost Tribes of Israel.

Resource:

Tanakh, Stone Edition

The New Standard Jewish Encyclopedia

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Naphtali

https://www.britannica.com/topic/Naphtali-Hebrew-tribe

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Barak