The
Twelve Tribes
The Transjordan Tribes
After defeating the Amorites, the Reubenites and Gadites,
who had very large herds and flocks, saw that the lands of Jazer and Gilead
were suitable for livestock. So they
came to Moses and Eleazar the priest and to the leaders of the community, and
asked for allocation of the land. As the
Reubenites and Gadites promised to join in battles with the rest of the
Israelites in the Promised Land, Mosses agreed to their request. (
Numbers 32:1-38 ; Deuteronomy 3:12-13, 16-17 ; Deuteronomy 3:15-28 )
The descendants of Makir son of Manasseh captured Gilead form the Amorites, and they
settled there. Jair,
another descendant of Manasseh, captured their settlements and named them
Havvoth Jair. Nobah
captured Kenath and its surrounding settlements and called it Nobah. ( Numbers 32:39-42 ;
Deuteronomy 3:13-15 ; Deuteronomy 3:29-31 )
The Two and Half
Tribes
The allotment for the tribe of Judah,
according to its clans, extended down to the territory of Edom, to the Desert
of Zin in the extreme south. ( Joshua 15:1 )
The allotment for Joseph ( Ephraim and Manasseh
) began at the Jordan, east of the springs of Jericho, and went up from there
through the desert into the hill country of Bethel. It went on from Bethel
(that is, Luz), crossed over to the territory of the Arkites in Ataroth,
descended westward to the territory of the Japhletites as far as the region of
Lower Beth Horon and on to Gezer, ending at the Mediterranean Sea. (
Joshua 16:1-3 )
The Seven Tribes
The remaining seven tribes divided the rest of the land by casting lots.
The tribe of Benjamin allotted territory
lay between the tribes of Judah and Joseph. ( Joshua 18:11 ) The tribe of Simeon’s land lay within the territory of Judah. (
Joshua 19:1-8 ) The Zebulun get a land between Sea of Galilee and the
Mediterranean Sea. The Issachar occupied south of Zebulun, west boundary to
the Jordan River. The Asher’s territory laid
along the northern shore of Mediterranean Sea.
The Naphtali settled between the Asher
and the Lake Samechonitis. The tribe of Dan’s inheritance sandwiched between the Ephraim and
Judah, west to the Benjamin’s and east to the Mediterranean ( Joshua 18:11 - 19:46 )
United
Monarchy
David was succeeded on his death by his son, Solomon. Under the rule of Solomon, kingdom of Israel
knew unprecedented peace.
832 BC– King Solomon commissioned construction of the Temple.
Divided
Kingdom
Kingdom of Israel
The territory of the Kingdom of Israel comprised the territories of the
tribes of Zebulum, Issachar, Asher, Naphtali, Dan, Manasseh, Ephraim, Reuben
and Gad. Its capital was Samaria.
In circa 732 BC, Tiglath-Pileser III king of Assyria sacked Damascus and
Israel, annexing Aram and territory of the tribes of Reuben, Gad and
Manasseh. People from these tribes were
taken captive and resettled in the Khabur region ( 2Kings 16:9 ).
During the reign of Hosea, Shalmaneser king of Assyria came up to attack
Kingdom of Israel. In circa 722 BC,
Assyria conquered Samaria and deported the Israelites to Assyria (
2Kings 17:1-6), becoming known as the “Lost Tribes of Israel”.
The Samaritans claim to be descended from survivors of the Assyrian
conquest.
Kingdom of Judah
The capital of Kingdom of Judah was Jerusalem.
During Jehoiakim’s reign, Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon invaded
Judah. Jehoiakim became Babylon vassal
for three years. Jehoiakim’s son, Jehoiachin
succeeded as king of Judah in circa 597 BC, only reigned for 3 months,
Nebuchadnezzar captured Jerusalem and raided the Temple. Israelites were taken
hostages and exiled. Jehoiachin was taken captive to Babylon, where he lived
and died. ( 2Kings 24:8-16)
Nebuchadnezzar appointed Jeoiachin’s uncle, Zedekiah as king of Judah (
2Kings 24:17-18).
586 BC - second rebellion erupted against Nebuchadnezzar. Jerusalem was captured, the Temple destroyed, the Israelites exiled. Zedekiah blinded and taken into exile. Judah reduced to a province of the Babylonian
Empire. Gedaliah was appointed governor of the Yehud province (
2Kings 25:1-22)
