Mosaic of the 12 Tribes of Israel. From Givat Mordechai Etz Yosef synagogue facade.
The Tribes of Israel: Icons and Essence
By Mark Storer
The biblical Jewish people were first blessed by God and commanded to be fruitful even amid their own deep suffering in Egypt, in the desert, and beyond. They were survivors who believed that no matter the chaos and suffering around them, life must continue and one must seek out divinity and God’s place in each person’s heart.
Time has given scholars much to consider about the nature of the twelve tribes of Israel, especially with the loss of ten of those tribes. The two remaining are even today considered the rightful heirs to the ancestors found in the Old Testament and in the Torah. But beyond considering the message of the exiled ten, lies more spiritual understanding, and even explanation for who the tribes of Israel were and what they represented.
Though often spelled in various ways, and at times given other names, the tribes are the original descendants of Jacob, who was called ‘Israel’ by God, and so they are the people of Israel. They are: Reuben, Simeon, Levi, Judah, Dan, Naphtali, Gad, Asher, Issachar, Zebulun, Joseph (Ephraim and Manasseh), and Benjamin. Of those twelve, it is said that only the tribes of Benjamin and Judah survived...
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Time has given scholars much to consider about the nature of the twelve tribes of Israel, especially with the loss of ten of those tribes. The two remaining are even today considered the rightful heirs to the ancestors found in the Old Testament and in the Torah. But beyond considering the message of the exiled ten, lies more spiritual understanding, and even explanation for who the tribes of Israel were and what they represented.
Though often spelled in various ways, and at times given other names, the tribes are the original descendants of Jacob, who was called ‘Israel’ by God, and so they are the people of Israel. They are: Reuben, Simeon, Levi, Judah, Dan, Naphtali, Gad, Asher, Issachar, Zebulun, Joseph (Ephraim and Manasseh), and Benjamin. Of those twelve, it is said that only the tribes of Benjamin and Judah survived...
Subscribe to the New PRS Journal to read on...
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