Israel's history is one of the most detailed and well kept histories
of any nation. The nation of Israel was first promised to Abraham. He was told
that through his decedents a great nation would be born and those people would
be God's chosen people. It was through Abraham's son Isaac that the lineage
of the Jewish people was established.
Isaac had two sons, Jacob and Esau. Through Jacob the nation of Israel was
born. Jacob then had 12 sons and one daughter, through his two wives and two
concubines. Leah, his first wife gave birth to six sons, they were Zebulun,
Issachar, Reuben, Simon, Levi, and Judah. Rachel his most beloved wife had two
sons Joseph and Benjamin. His concubine Zilpah had Asher and Gad, and Dan and
Naphtali were born to Bilhah.
When Jacob was on his death bed he gathered all of his sons together and gave
each son his inheritance and a specific blessing. He also included the two grandsons
he had from his favorite child, Joseph. This is where the twelve tribes of Israel
originates.
It was not until many years later, after Moses freed the Jewish people and
they actually entered into the promise land that the land was divided according
to their tribes and heritage. The land was divided by tribe at a meeting held
in Shiloh where all twelve tribe were gathered and Joshua cast lots. He then
assigned land areas accordingly.
There is often some confusion about the twelve tribes of Israel. If Jacob had
twelve sons and included his 2 grandsons then it would stand to reason that
Israel would be divided fourteen ways, but this is not the case. The tribe of
Levi was never given any land; they were instead given the responsibility to
be the caretakers of the religion. There is no actual tribe of Joseph because
his two sons were included he was elevated to a patriarch and not a landowner.
The extra territory he would normally have received for receiving a blessing
normally reserved for the first born son, was divided between his two sons,
Ephraim and Menasseh.
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