tribes of Israel
Twelve ancestral clans
The tribes of Israel are the twelve divisions of the ancient Israelites, traditionally descended from the twelve sons of Jacob (also called Israel).
Each tribe—Reuben, Simeon, Levi, Judah, Dan, Naphtali, Gad, Asher, Issachar, Zebulun, Joseph (often split into Ephraim and Manasseh), and Benjamin—received territorial allotments in Canaan.
The ten lost tribes refers to those scattered after Assyrian conquest, a concept that has spawned considerable speculation and mythology.
- Ark of the CovenantGold-plated acacia reliquary
- LeahBiblical matriarch's name
- ReubenEldest of twelve brothers
- JacobMale given name
- SimeonHebrew patriarch's name
Rachel · Levi · Babylonian captivity · Judah · Benjamin · chosen people · Joseph · Ephraim · Dan · Manasseh · Asher · covenant · Torah · tabernacle · sacrifices · Promised Land · land of milk and honey · Hebrew
- Ancient IsraelJerusalem, Judea, Judah, Hebrews, Levi
- Hebrew BibleTanakh, Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers
- Jewish HistoryHolocaust, Abraham, Moses, David, Solomon
- TorahGenesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, Deuteronomy
- Biblical agricultureplowing, sowing, harvesting, reaping, threshing
- ExodusMoses, burning bush, ten commandments, Red Sea, ten plagues