Land of Each Tribe of Our 12 Tribes of Israel

 Nadene Goldfoot                                                                                                              

The Promised Land was 17,500 sq miles of which 45% was Transjordan reaching from the arm of the Nile Delta , the Gulf of Elath, and the Euphrates River opposite Aleppo in the East.  It included most of Syria, covering 58,000 sq. miles.  This entire area was occupied by the Israelites under kings David and his son, Solomon.  There were generally gentile enclaves within Jewish territory.  By 1949 in today's world, the armistice agreements left Israel with 8,000 sq miles with complicated borders.  

    1967 War of Egypt attacking Israel led to Israel's win (a repeat) By beating the odds and winning, they won land that was eluded to be theirs in the first place.  

          1973 and Yom Kippur War with Sadat trying again

The 12 tribes of (Jacob/Israel) left Egypt after living there for 400 years. That's 16 generations of families that had lived in Egypt.  Mostly, they were Egyptians after living there for all these years but a special group that had been isolated in slave quarters.  They were a people breaking away from their "mother" country who had used them, such as Ukraine has done with Russia. 

Parting of the sea for Israelites being chased by Egyptian soldiers

 They left a life of slavery and had to learn to adjust to depending on themselves. They were a people deprived of education; only Moses, raised as a prince of Egypt, was educated and could read and write. They followed the teachings of Moses, which have remained with the Jewish people for the past 4,000 years.   They must have been bilingual, speaking Egyptian and Hebrew.   

Moses leading the way, over 80 years old and walking.  That's why he's so capable.  Sandals are horrible for walking. However did they manage without hiking boots?   Sand can be so hot!  

 Moses, son of Amram and Jochebed of the tribe of Levi,  led the way with Hoshea/Joshua of the tribe of Ephraim.  Joshua was the commander and successor of Moses.  

Joshua and Caleb were the only ones out of the 12 that brought back an encouraging report when on a scouting mission in Canaan. 

    Joshua and Caleb saw huge grapes, luscious fruit being carried 

They tried to convince the Israelites that they could conquer the land: Then Caleb silenced the people before Moses and said, "We should go up and take possession of the land, for we can certainly do it." Caleb was a member of the Kenizzite family (possibly a  central Syrian people mentioned in Egyptian and Hittite inscriptions.  ;  one of the leaders of the tribe of Judah. He must have married into the Kenizzites, an ancient nation in Canaan. Caleb would have been a slave in Egypt as well.   

Joshua was the leader in the war against the Amaleks, nomads who attacked the Israelites in the desert near Rephidim, preying on the weak and weary of the 603,550.  Amaleks became their eternal foe, perhaps a sign that there would always be someone who resents their presence. Haman was an Amalek.  Hitler was an Amalek.  

 Joshua's father was Nun of the tribe of Ephraim.  Nun /ˈnʊn/ (Hebrew: נוּן Nūn, 'Perpetuity'), in the Hebrew Bible, was a man from the Tribe of Ephraim, grandson of Ammihud, son of Elishama, and father of Joshua (1 Chronicles 7:26–27). 

We know very little about Joshua’s early life, except that he was born in Goshen, in the land of Egypt; he was the son of Nun, an Ephraimite; he was in the twelfth generation from Joseph; and he was about forty years old at the time of the Exodus. He is styled as the ‘servant of Moses’, and following Moses’ death is appointed by God to lead the children of Israel into the Promised Land. In the call and commission of Joshua, God gives him two promises: (1) that he would possess the land of Canaan, and (2) that God would be with him and would never forsake him. The Lord directs him (Josh. 1:8) to the secret of success—meditation in the Word of God. It was this more than any other single thing that made Joshua the great leader he proved to be.

It was Joshua who divided the land for the 12 tribes by lot, not by the size of the tribe.    Moses had asked Joshua, laying his hands on him,  to lead the Israelites in the Conquest of Canaan.  He was successful, capturing most of the land except for the valley areas and the coast.  Joshua had all the responsibility of leading, winning in battles to get there, and in selecting land for them to live in.  

                       Egyptian army on the march after Israelites

 7.Gad        8.Asher,     9.Issachar, Zebulun, 11.Joseph   12.Benjamin   

Judah , (4th son of Jacob and Leah), was the largest most populous tribe to enter Canaan with Joshua.  This tribe started in Egypt with 74,600.  By the time they arrived, they had 76,500, a gain of 1,900.  In 933BCE after the death of King Solomon, they were left alone except for most of Benjamin and  it presumably absorbed the tribe of Simeon as well.  They are the remaining tribe to this day, now called the Jewish people.  

The tribe of Dan* (5th son of Jacob, and Bilhah, handmaid of Rachel), was 2nd largest starting with 62,700.  They ended with 64,400, a gain of 1,700.  They were allotted a portion south of Jaffa. The Amorites forced them into hill country so only part of the tribe remained along the coast.  Most were forced north  and took land from the Phoenicians around Laish.  Then the Philistines arrived, causing them to lose land.  Their northern land was the site of a Temple, a chief cult center for tribe of Ephraim.  By 900 BCE, Syria had taken their land.  The great hero of the Danites was Samson, who, until his betrayal by Delilah, used his mighty strength against the Philistine invaders.

The 3rd largest tribe was Simeon, (2nd son of Jacob and Leah),  with 59,300 members.  By the time they arrived, they were almost wiped out having lost 37,100.  They were left with 22,200.  Their lot was 2 areas within Judah in the Negev Desert.  During Hezekiah's reign, they took land from Arabs of Seir.  Some settled in the mountains of Ephraim.  It had been Simeon and Levi attacked Shechem for sister Dinah's name, overly zealous young men.  

The 4th largest tribe was Zebulun,(6th son of Jacob and Leah)    with 57,400. They had 60, 500 when they arrived, having gained 3,100.   They had a central but  small northern piece from the lot, the Valley of Jezreel.  Their descendants were into trade.  The tribe supported the scholars of Issachar.  

The 5th largest tribe was Issachar, (5th son of Jacob and Leah)  with 54,400.   By the time they arrived, they had 64,309 and were the 3rd largest tribe.  Their lot was land between Mt. Tabor and the Jordan River including much of the fertile Valley of Jezreel.  Evidently some of the tribe was saved from the Assyrian exile in 721 BCE and the men answered Hezekiah's summons to celebrate Passover in Jerusalem.  

The 6th largest tribe was Naphtali*, (6th son of Jacob with Bilhah) with 53,400.  When they arrived, they had lost 8,000 leaving them with 45,400.  Their lot was in the northern section of Canaan including the entire East Coast of the Sea of Galilee.  The tribe fought in the war with Sisera and Gideon's campaign against the Midianites.  The land was overrun by the Arameans during the time of Baasha.  Many were exiled by Tiglath-Pileser in 721 BCE.  The survivors lived in the Galilee during 2nd Temple Times 597-538 BCE.  

The 7th largest tribe was Reuben (1st son of Jacob and Leah)  with 46,500 .  They had lost 2,770 by the time they arrived with 43,730.  Reuben had opposed all his brothers in the plot against Joseph.  Another sign of leadership was that he volunteered as surety for Benjamin during the latter's visit to Egypt.  Reuben's tribe had requested and received  land in Moab (Transjordan) which was fertile but came with political problems, eventually in Moabite and Ammoniate hands.  They were one of 10 tribes exiled to Assyria in 721 BCE.  Because of their isolate position, Reuben played little part in the history of the Israelite tribes after the settlement in Canaan.  

The 8th largest tribe was Gad* (son of Jacob and Zilpah) with 45,650 who lost 5,150 and arrived with 40,500.  Their lot was to settle in Gilead and Central Transjordan where they gained a warlike reputation.  They flourished during the rule of Saul , and their position was consolidated under David.  Gad then belonged to Samaria, the northern kingdom and suffered severely from Syrian attacks.  In 732 BCE, the region was devastated by the Assyrians and most of its inhabitants were exiled, later was occupied by the Ammonites.  

The 9th largest tribe was Asher* (8th son of Jacob and Zilpah's 2nd) with 41,500 and  gained 11,900 in the 40 year trek, arriving with a whopping 53,400.  Their lot was fertile territory extending from Western Galilee to the Southern part of Carmel.                                       

       Joseph and Asenath, daughter of Poti-phera, priest of On. 

Jacob couldn't marry Rachel until 14 years had passed after marrying Leah as he had to wait for 7 years to gain Leah when he thought he was marrying Rachel, then had to work another 7 years for Rachel.  By the time Joseph's older brothers sold him to the passing camel caravan, the brothers were older teenagers, jealous teenagers to have done such a horrible thing to Joseph, their father's pride and joy.     

The 3rd smallest tribe was Ephraim (2nd son of Joseph and Asenath) with 40,500 but they lost 8,000 and arrived with only 32,500, and their lot was for  the more northern of the 2 Israelite kingdoms of Ephraim and Israel.  Ephraim included the hill-country in central Eretz and was noted for its fertility.  In the period of the Judges, Ephraim claimed priority among the Israelite tribes, partly because their religious center was situated at Shiloh in its territory. 

The prophets later spoke of the House of Judah and the House of Ephraim, as representing the two branches of the Hebrew people.  What happened to such an important historical group?  The Samaritans claim that some of their adherents are descended from this tribe, and many Persian Jews claim to be descendants of Ephraim.Further afield, in India the Telugu Jews claim descent from Ephraim, and call themselves Bene Ephraim, relating similar traditions to those of the Mizo Jews, whom the modern state of Israel regards as descendants of Manasseh.

The Pashtuns have a proud oral history that talks of descending from the Israelites. Their tribal groupings have similar names, including Yusufzai, which means sons of Joseph; and Afridi, thought by some to come from Ephraim. Some customs and practices are said to be similar to Jewish traditions: lighting candles on the sabbath, refraining from eating certain foods, using a canopy during a wedding ceremony and some similarities in garments.

In 930 BCE,  the tribe of Ephraim led the 10 northern tribes in a successful revolt against the south and established the Kingdom of Israel in (933-912), with Jeroboam I, an Ephraimite, as king. He was Solomon's superintendent, no relation to Solomon.  He had led the revolt, so became their king.   Actually, Solomon died 10 years later.  At the same time,  Rehoboam (son of Solomon of the tribe of Judah  and his Ammonite wife, Naamah) was crowned king of Judah (933-917) which was now on its own in this split from Israel. Judah and Israel even fought against each other at times.  The split was all over high taxes and being forced to labor on the Temple without pay. These reasons were real, but Solomon  was frantic to finish the Temple before he died and this was his only way.  Rehoboam had kept these unreasonable demands on the people.  

The 2nd smallest tribe was Benjamin (the 12th son of Jacob and Rachel's 2nd and last) with 35,400 and arrived with 45,600, a gain of 10,200.  There was a strong connection between Jacob and Benjamin which ended with Jacob's migration to Egypt.  The tribe of Benjamin occupied territory between Ephraim and Judah which included Jerusalem.  On one occasion, it was almost exterminated in a war with the other tribes.  Saul, 1st king of Israel was  Benjamite.  The territory was a bone of contention between the kingdoms of Israel and Judah after the division of the kingdom and eventually, was partitioned between the two.  The land was so small.                                       

                       Joseph, Viceroy of Egypt, son of Jacob all due to understanding others' dreams 

The very smallest tribe was Manasseh (1st son of Joseph and Asenath) with 32,200 and arrived with 52,700, a gain of a whopping 20,500.  The trek agreed with them!  The tribe was divided into 7 families.  One was Machir and the other 6 claimed kinship with Gilead.  Half the tribe with Reuben and Gad asked for territory in Transjordania, which was granted by Moses on condition that they go with the remaining tribes in the conquest of the land as scouts preceding the main body.  This half-tribe received Gilead, Gashan, and Argob.  After the conquest of Canaan, the other half received land in the west of the country around the Valley of Jezreel.  Both these areas were highly fertile.  The Assyrians exiled much of the population from both sections but part remained.  A Jewish population (partly descended from the tribe of Simeon) still existed in the West Manasseh region in the earlier 2nd Temple Period.  

Resource:

Tanakh, Stone Edition

The New Standard Jewish Encyclopedia

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kingdom_of_Israel_(Samaria)