The lost tribes of Israel?”……There are many mysteries, legends, and traditions as to what happened to the 10 lost tribes of the Northern Kingdom. The truth is that the tribes were never lost. Most of the people of the Northern Kingdom were deported to ancient Assyria (2 Kings 17:6). Many of those who remained in […]
The tribe of Judah?”……Each of the twelve sons of Israel received a blessing from their father, Jacob, just before his death. The twelve sons were the progenitors of the twelve tribes of Israel, and the blessing contained prophetic information about the future of each tribe. In the case of the tribe of Judah, Jacob prophesied: […]
“The tribe of Gad?”……Israel's 12 tribes, of which Gad was one, were named for Jacob's children (or grandchildren, in the cases of Ephraim and Manasseh). "Israel" was God's name for Jacob (Genesis 32:22-30); therefore, the phrase "children of Israel" is a way of referring to Jacob's descendants. Jacob's son Gad was one of three children […]
“What should we learn from the tribe of Ephraim?”……Israel's 12 tribes were named for Jacob's children or, in the case of Ephraim (and Manasseh), his grandchildren. Ephraim was born in Egypt to Joseph his wife, Asenath. Joseph named his second-born son "Ephraim" because "God has made me fruitful in the land of my suffering" (Genesis […]
The tribe of Benjamin……In Genesis 49 the patriarch Jacob, sensing his impending death, gathers his sons to his bedside to bless them. Each son became the progenitor of the twelve tribes of Israel. Benjamin, as the youngest, receives his father's blessing last: "Benjamin is a ravenous wolf; in the morning he shall devour the prey, […]
The tribe of Dan……The tribe of Dan was the group of people who descended from the fifth son of Jacob, Dan. Jacob went on to have twelve sons who became the patriarchs of the 12 tribes of Israel. The history of the tribe of Dan is especially instructive to us in that it contains multiple […]
“What should we learn from the tribe of Asher?”……Asher is one of Israel's twelve tribes. In the time of Moses, Asher was divided into five clans: the Imnites; the Ishvites; and the Berites; and, through Beriah, the Berite patriarch, two more clans: the Heberites and the Malkielites. The first three clans were named after Asher's […]