Twelve Tribes of Israel

Biblical References

A tribe is a branch of a people descended from a common ancestor. Jacob receives the name "Israel" in Genesis 32:28, and the births of his twelve sons are recounted in Genesis 29–30 and 35:22-26. The principal passages dealing with the twelve tribes are the following:

• Jacob's blessing of his sons: Genesis 49
• The census and arrangement of the camp in the wilderness: Numbers 1–2
• The blessing of Moses: Deuteronomy 33
• The allotment of the land under Joshua: Joshua 13–19

The Twelve Tribes

The mothers of the twelve sons were Leah and Rachel and the two handmaids Bilhah and Zilpah.

• Reuben: Although he was the firstborn, he lost the birthright (Genesis 49:3-4; 1 Chronicles 5:1).
• Simeon: Received its inheritance within the territory of the tribe of Judah (Joshua 19:1, 9).
• Levi: Instead of land, it was entrusted with service at the tabernacle and received forty-eight cities scattered among the other tribes (Numbers 35:7). See the article Levites.
• Judah: Genesis 49:10 declares that "the sceptre shall not depart from Judah." The dynasty of David later arose from this tribe.
• Issachar and Zebulun: The fifth and sixth sons of Leah.
• Dan: Unable to take possession of its original allotment, it migrated northward (Judges 18).
• Naphtali: The second son of Bilhah.
• Gad: Settled east of the Jordan together with the tribe of Reuben and the half-tribe of Manasseh (Numbers 32).
• Asher: Anna, the prophetess in the New Testament, belonged to this tribe (Luke 2:36).
• Joseph: Jacob adopted Ephraim and Manasseh, the two sons of Joseph, as his own sons (Genesis 48). Consequently, in the allotment of the land each became a separate tribe. Because Levi received no territory, the number of land-holding units remained twelve.
• Benjamin: Both the first king, Saul (1 Samuel 9:1-2), and Paul (Philippians 3:5) came from this tribe.

The Tribes in History

After the entry into Canaan, the tribes functioned as units for the division of the land, and during the period of the judges they were also political units. The high priest's breastplate bore twelve precious stones engraved with the names of the twelve tribes (Exodus 28:21). After the death of Solomon the kingdom split in two: ten tribes followed Jeroboam and formed the northern kingdom of Israel, while Judah and Benjamin remained as the southern kingdom of Judah (1 Kings 11:31-36; 12). See the article Division of the Kingdom. The northern kingdom of Israel was destroyed by Assyria (2 Kings 17). Even afterward, Ezekiel 48 portrays the allotment of land to the restored twelve tribes.

Significance in the New Testament

Jesus' appointment of the Twelve Disciples is commonly interpreted as signifying a renewal of the twelve tribes. Jesus said that the disciples would sit on twelve thrones, judging the twelve tribes (Matthew 19:28). James 1:1 addresses its recipients as "the twelve tribes which are scattered abroad." Revelation 7:4-8 lists the 144,000 sealed from each tribe; in this list Dan is omitted, while both Joseph and Manasseh are included. In Revelation 21:12-14, the names of the tribes are inscribed on the twelve gates of the New Jerusalem, and the names of the apostles on its twelve foundations.

Interpretation and Debate

Interpretations of the 144,000 in Revelation 7 differ. Dispensationalism generally reads them as the literal ethnic nation of Israel, whereas many interpreters in the Reformed tradition regard them as a symbol of the whole people of God, including the church. The text does not explain why Dan is omitted from the list, and various conjectures have been offered.

Accounts claiming that the "lost ten tribes" became particular peoples are traditions from outside the Bible. Some passages, such as 2 Chronicles 30 and Luke 2:36, show members of the northern tribes still appearing after the fall of the northern kingdom.

Shincheonji is known for dividing its organization into twelve groups it calls tribes and for teaching that the 144,000 are connected with its own organization. Several denominations have declared this group heretical.