Tim Maas Retired Quality Assurance Specialist with the U.S. Army

The nation of Israel originated as descendants of the twelve sons of Jacob (also known as Israel (Genesis 32:28)). Although those descendants were collectively a nation, they also retained their identities according to which of Jacob's individual sons had been their ancestor, identifying themselves as members of a tribe named after that son.

These tribal identities served as the basis for the allotment of land in Canaan following the nation of Israel's exodus from Egypt, as described in Joshua 14-17.

After the death of King Solomon (the son of King David) in 1 Kings 12, the ten northernmost tribes revolted against Solomon's son (Rehoboam) and broke away from the nation (although retaining the name "Israel"), with their capital at Samaria. The two other tribes (Judah and Benjamin) remained loyal to the line of royal descent from David through Solomon, and were collectively referred to as Judah, with their capital at Jerusalem. (This division had been brought about by God as a judgment against Solomon's apostasy during the latter part of his reign, as described in 1 Kings 11.)

(It was from the tribe of Judah that Jesus was humanly descended, as recorded in Luke 2:23-33, and in fulfillment of prophecies such as Genesis 49:10, 2 Samuel 7:16, and 1 Chronicles 17:10-14.)

December 09 2019 • 0 responses • Vote Up • Share • Report