A Popular Dictionary of Judaism
The traditional division of the *Israelites. According to the *Pentateuch, each tribe was descended from one of the sons of *Jacob, except for *Ephraim and Manasseh who were the two sons of Joseph.
Each tribe except *Levi had a particular territory—Reuben, Issachar, Zebulun, Simeon, Dan, Naphtali, Gad, Asher, Ephraim and Manasseh (see *TEN LOST TRIBES) were in the *Northern Kingdom. Judah and Benjamin were in the *Southern Kingdom. Most modern scholars do not accept the traditional explanation for the origin of the tribes, but the tribal structure was important to the Israelites’ understanding of themselves as a nation.
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