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Joseph - Twelve Tribes of Israel
The Tribe of Joseph
is not usually listed with the Hebrew tribes
although Joseph is one of Jacobs twelve sons, the eldest
of Rachel. It is sometimes referred to as the House of
Joseph.
Rather, the two tribes founded by his sons Ephraim and
Manasseh are listed separately. This is so because, upon
his death-bed, Jacob grants the privilege of the Hebrew
first-born upon Joseph (Rachel's eldest and not to
Reuben who is Leah's eldest). According to Torah law,
the first born receives a "double portion" (pi sh'tayim)
relative to his siblings. Thus Joseph is entitled to two
tribes who will have rights to two portions of land in
the Land of Israel. This also fits in with the fact that
because the Levites do not receive any portion in the
land (they are to tend to the service of the Jewish
Temple in Jerusalem) that when the Tribe of Levi is
omitted, the number of tribes still comes to twelve. See
Tribe of Ephraim, Tribe of Manassah.
Exile and Descendants
However, both the Tribe
of Ephraim and the Tribe of Manassah are listed as part
of the Lost Tribes of Israel that were exiled by the
Assyrian Empire after they conquered the Kingdom of
Israel some 2,700 years ago.
Some groups have claimed to be the descendents of the
lost Tribes, namely the Tribe of Manassah. Groups known
to have alleged ancestry with these groups are the
Pathans (Pashtuns) of Afghanistan and Pakistan, as well
as the Mizos of the Indian states Mizoram and Manipur. |
