Who were they?

The twelve tribes of Israel descended from the twelve sons of Jacob. 

The Lord God gave Jacob a new name after he had wrestled with the "Man" at the river Jabbok. 

The name Israel means, the man who fights with God.

Genesis 35:10   "And God said unto him,  Thy name is Jacob:  thy name shall not be called anymore Jacob,  but Israel shall be thy name:  and He called his name Israel."   

Jacob called the place where God spoke with him,  Bethel.

These are the names of Jacob's twelve sons: 

REUBEN was the eldest son of Jacob and Leah. He tried to save Joseph when his brothers tried to kill him. Years later he offered his own two sons to guarantee Benjamin's safety   (Genesis 29:32, 37:21-22, 42, 49:3).

SIMEON was the second son of Jacob and Leah. When Jacobs sons went to buy corn in Egypt, his brothers left him behind in Egypt as a hostage, to make sure that they would bring  Benjamin back with them the next time they came to buy corn (Genesis 35:23-26). 

LEVI was the third son of Jacob and Leah. His descendents were chosen to serve God in the tent of worship and later in the temple (Genesis 29:34, 34:25, 49:5, Numbers 3:5-2). 

JUDAH was the fourth son of Jacob and Leah. Judah was the son who persuaded his brothers  to sell Joseph to passing traders on the way to Egypt,  instead of killing him. Jacob's last words to Judah was the promise of a future kingdom. (Genesis 29:35, 37:26-27, 38:49:9-10).   

ISSACHAR was the fifth son of Jacob and Leah  (Genesis 35:23).

ZEBULUN was the sixth son of Jacob and Leah  (Genesis 30:19).

GAD was the seventh a son of Jacob and Zilpah.  When Leah  realized that she could not have any more children she allowed Jacob to marry her maid Zilpah  (Genesis 30:9-11).  

ASHER was the eighth son of Jacob and Zilpah. (Genesis 30:12-13). 

DAN was the first son of  Jacob and Bilhah.  Bilhah was the maid of Rachel. Rachel named the child Dan because she said, God has answered my prayer. (Genesis 30:4).

NAPHTALI was a second son of Jacob and Rachel's ' maid, Bilhah. Rachel named this boy Naphtali because she said, I have struggled hard with my sister, and I have won. (Genesis 30:7-8).

JOSEPH was the first son of Jacob and Rachel. Joseph was the object of discrimination. His father loved him and this increased his brothers hatred against him (Genesis 37).

BENJAMIN was the second son of Jacob and Rachel.  Rachel died at the birth of Benjamin (Genesis 35:17–18]

Jacob told his sons what would happen to them in the future.

REUBEN,  the first born son,  shall not excel because he went to his fathers bed and defiled it  (Genesis 49:2-4).

SIMEON, and 

LEVI,  are both instruments of cruelty.  In their anger they slew a man and they disabled oxen. (Genesis 49:5-7).

JUDAH,  his brethren shall praise him,  he is a lion,  the scepter shall not depart from him until the Messiah reigns. (Genesis 49:8-12).

ZEBULUN,  shall dwell in the haven of the sea (Genesis 49:13).  

ISSACHAR,  is a strong ass crouching down between two burdens and he shall be a servant. (Genesis 49:14-15).

DAN, shall  judge his people.  He shall be a serpent, an adder in the path, that biteth the horse heels, so that his rider shall fall backward (Genesis 49:16-17).

GAD, a troop shall overcome him;  but he shall overcome at the last (Genesis 49:19).

ASHER,  his bread shall be rich, and fat,  and he shall yield royal dainties. (Genesis 49:20).

NAPHTALI, is a hind let loose,  he giveth beautiful words (Genesis 49:21).

JOSEPH, is a fruitful bough,  even a fruitful bough by a well,  whose branches run over the wall.  His arms were made strong by the hands of the mighty God.  Blessings shall be on his head, on the crown of the head of him who was separate from his brethren (Genesis 22-26). 

BENJAMIN,  shall consume as a wolf;  in the morning he shall devour the prey,  and at night he shall divide the spoil (Genesis 49:27).

All these are the twelve tribes of Israel and these are the words that their father spoke unto them,  and he blessed them.  

Jacob died and Joseph took his body and buried it in a cave that was in the field of Machpelah,  which is before Mamre,  in the land of Canaan. 

Abraham had purchased the field from the children of Heth.  

He and his wife Sarah,  Isaac and his wife Rebekah and Leah were all buried there as well.

The story of ancient Israel begins in Genesis 11 and tells the story of the Patriarchs,  Abraham to Joseph,  who were the fathers of the nation, who were called to be God's people in a special sense.  

In the Book of Exodus God rescues His people from slavery,  under the leadership of Moses.  God gave them His Laws at Mt Sinai and established a pattern of worship  -  the tabernacle  -  His special tent. 

The people's disobedience led them to camp in the desert  for forty years before God led them into the promised land of Canaan. 

The Book of Joshua describes the conquest of the land and its division amongst the family clans of Israel.  

The Book of Judges records a low-point of national life, and the heroes God sent to their rescue.  The prophet Samuel heralds the monarchy   -  Israel's first kings, Saul,  David, and Solomon.

The golden age of Solomon, when the temple was built in Jerusalem, ends and the nation splits in two:  ten northern breakaway tribes from Israel and two Southern tribes with Jerusalem as the capital form Judah. 

Great powers rise to the North: Assyria in the ninth century BC and Babylon a century later. 

Greedy for empire,  they swallow up the smaller nations.  Israel falls to Assyria,  Judah to Babylon - and the people were taken into exile. 

God brought judgement on His people because of their constant disobedience and failure to listen to the prophets.

Persia conquered Babylon and the exiled Jews returned to rebuild Jerusalem and its temple and re-establish God's worship. 

Here the Old Testament narrative ends,  with the Book's of Ezra,  Nehemiah and Ester.  

The events in this 1500 year saga are played out against the background of a world centered on the eastern Mediterranean,  stretching south to include Egypt and east through Persia (Iran).

The people of Israel entered the long night of four hundred years until the coming of Christ.

Micah 3:6  "Therefore night shall be unto you,  that ye shall not have a vision;  and it shall be dark unto you,  that ye shall not divine;  and the sun shall go down over the prophets,  and the day shall be dark over them." 

The main reason for the rise of false prophets was the unpopular character of the message of the true prophets,  who called the nation back to God. 

Micah  said that there would be gross darkness that the false prophets would make fools of themselves because their prophecies would not come to pass. 

King Ahab discovered this,  but only too late,  all of the false prophets told him to go and fight in the war but one of God's true prophets,  Micaiah,  told him that if he went to war, he would be slain and he would not come back.  It is too bad that Ahab did not listen to him because he went to war and he was slain. (1 Kings 22:1-28). 

God's true men always tell the truth, they tell it like it is.

Amen!

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THIS PAGE UPDATED:  7-10-2008.