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Twelve Tribes of Israel

The Twelve Tribes of Israel (Hebrew: שִׁבְטֵי־יִשְׂרָאֵל‎, romanized: Šīḇṭēy Yīsrāʾēl, lit. 'Tribes of Israel') are, according to Hebrew scriptures, the descendants of the biblical patriarch Jacob (also known as Israel), who collectively form the Israelite nation. The tribes were through his twelve sons through his wives, Leah and Rachel, and his concubines, Bilhah and Zilpah. In modern scholarship, there is skepticism as to whether there ever were twelve Israelite tribes, with the use of the number 12 thought more likely to signify a symbolic tradition as part of a national founding myth,[1] although some scholars disagree with this view.[2]

"Twelve Tribes" redirects here. For other uses, see Twelve Tribes (disambiguation).

The sons of ; Reuben (Jacob's firstborn), Simeon, Levi, Judah, Issachar, and Zebulun

Leah

The sons of ; Joseph and Benjamin (Jacob's last)

Rachel

The sons of , Rachel's handmaid; Dan and Naphtali

Bilhah

The sons of , Leah's handmaid; Gad and Asher

Zilpah

The Tribe of Reuben: Reuben was a member of the Northern Kingdom of Israel until the kingdom was conquered by . According to 1 Chronicles 5:26, Tiglath-Pileser III of Assyria (ruled 745–727 BC) deported the Reubenites, Gadites, and the half-tribe of Manasseh to "Halah, Habor, Hara, and the Gozan River." According to the Moabite Mesha Stele (ca. 840 BCE) the Moabites reclaimed many territories in the second part of the 9th century BCE (only recently conquered by Omri and Ahab according to the Stele). The stele does mention fighting against the tribe of Gad but not the tribe of Reuben, even though taking Nebo and Jahaz which were in the centre in their designated homeland. This would suggest that the tribe of Reuben at this time was no longer recognizable as a separate force in this area. Even if still present at the outbreak of this war, the outcome of this war would have left them without a territory of their own, just like the tribes of Simeon and Levi. This is, according to Richard Elliot Friedman in Who Wrote the Bible?, the reason why these three tribes are passed over in favour of Judah in the J-version of Jacob's deathbed blessing (composed in Judah before the fall of Israel).

Assyria

The Tribe of Simeon: An midrash claims that the tribe was deported by the Babylonians to the Kingdom of Aksum (in what is now Ethiopia), to a place behind the dark mountains.[22]

apocryphal

The Tribe of Ephraim: As part of the , the territory of Ephraim was conquered by the Assyrians, and the tribe exiled; the manner of their exile led to their further history being lost. However, several modern day groups claim descent, with varying levels of academic and rabbinical support. 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.[23]

Kingdom of Israel

The Tribe of Issachar: R' David Kimchi (ReDaK) to I Chronicles 9:1 expounds that there remained from the tribes of Ephraim, Manasseh, Issachar and Zebulun in the territory of Judah after the exile of the ten tribes. This remnant returned with the tribe of Judah after the Babylonian Exile.

[24]

The Tribe of Judah: returned to their original land along with what remained from the tribes of Ephraim, Manasseh, Issachar, and Zebulun that had not been exiled elsewhere, after the Babylonian Exile.

[25]

The Tribe of Zebulun: As part of the , the territory of Zebulun was conquered by the Assyrians, and the tribe exiled; the manner of their exile led to their further history being lost. Israeli Knesset member Ayoob Kara speculated that the Druze are descended from one of the Lost Tribes of Israel, probably Zevulun. Kara stated that the Druze share many of the same beliefs as Jews, and that he has genetic evidence to prove that the Druze were descended from Jews.[26]

Kingdom of Israel

The Tribes of Dan; Gad; Asher and Naphtali: , also known as Beta Israel, claim descent from the Tribe of Dan, whose members migrated south along with members of the tribes of Gad, Asher, and Naphtali, into the Kingdom of Kush, now Ethiopia and Sudan,[27] during the destruction of the First Temple. As noted above the Tribe of Simeon was also deported to the Kingdom of Aksum (in what is now Ethiopia).

Ethiopian Jews

The Tribe of Manasseh: Part of the , the territory of Manasseh was conquered by the Assyrians, and the tribe exiled; the manner of their exile led to their further history being lost. However, several modern day groups claim descent, with varying levels of academic and rabbinical support. Both the Bnei Menashe[28] (the Mizo Jews, whom the modern state of Israel regards as descendants of Manasseh)[23] and the Samaritans claim that some of their adherents are descended from this tribe.

Kingdom of Israel

The Tribe of Benjamin apparently became part of the Tribe of Judah.

In Christianity[edit]

The twelve tribes of Israel are referred to in the New Testament. In the gospels of Matthew (19:28) and Luke (22:30), Jesus anticipates that in the Kingdom of God his disciples will "sit on [twelve] thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel". The Epistle of James (1:1) addresses his audience as "the twelve tribes which are scattered abroad".


The Book of Revelation (7:1–8) gives a list of the twelve tribes. However, the Tribe of Dan is omitted while Joseph is mentioned alongside Manasseh. In the vision of the Heavenly Jerusalem, the tribes' names (the names of the twelve sons of Jacob) are written on the city gates (Ezekiel 48:30–35 & Revelation 21:12–13).


In the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, a patriarchal blessing usually contains a declaration of the lineage of the recipient of blessing in relation to the twelve tribes of Israel.[29]

The (Genesis 49) directly mentions Reuben, Simeon, Levi, Judah, Zebulun, Issachar, Dan, Gad, Asher, Naphtali, Joseph, and Benjamin and especially extolls Joseph over his brothers.

Blessing of Jacob

(Deuteronomy 33) mentions Benjamin, Joseph, Zebulun, Issachar, Gad, Dan, Naphtali, Asher, Reuben, Levi, and Judah, omitting Simeon.

Blessing of Moses

describes the conquest of Canaan; Benjamin and Simeon are mentioned in the section about Judah's exploits, and are listed alongside the Calebites and the Kenites, two Judahite clans. Joseph, Ephraim, Manasseh, Zebulun, Asher, Naphtali and Dan are mentioned, but Issachar, Reuben, Levi and Gad are not.[32][1]

Judges 1

the (Judges 5:2–31), widely acknowledged as one of the oldest passages in the Bible, mentions eight of the tribes: Ephraim, Benjamin, Zebulun, Issachar, Reuben, Dan, Asher, and Naphtali. The people of the Gilead region, and Machir, a subsection of Manasseh, are also mentioned. The other five tribes (Simeon, Levi, Judah, Gad, and Joseph) are not mentioned.[33]

Song of Deborah

The and the Jerahmeelites are also presented as Israelite tribes elsewhere in the Hebrew Bible, but never feature in any list of tribes of Israel.[1]

Rechabites

Asher

Asher

Benjamin

Benjamin

Dan

Dan

Ephraim

Ephraim

Gad

Gad

Issachar

Issachar

Judah

Judah

Manasseh

Manasseh

Naphtali

Naphtali

Reuben

Reuben

Simeon

Simeon

Zebulun

Zebulun

Attributed arms are Western European coats of arms given retrospectively to persons real or fictitious who died before the start of the age of heraldry in the latter half of the 12th century.


Attributed arms of the Twelve Tribes from the Portuguese Thesouro de Nobreza, 1675

Black Judaism

(the modern state, founded in 1948 CE)

Israel

(the northern kingdom, according to scriptural accounts, it existed from 930 to 722 BCE)

Kingdom of Israel

(the southern kingdom, according to scriptural accounts, it existed from 930 to 586 BCE)

Kingdom of Judah

List of Jewish states and dynasties

Ten Lost Tribes

at The Jewish Encyclopedia

The Twelve Tribes

at the Jewish Virtual Library

The Twelve Tribes of Israel