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Naphtali - Twelve Tribes of Israel
 The
Hebrew Tribe of Naphtali "My wrestling", was founded
by Naphtali, son of Jacob. On this tribe Jacob
pronounced the patriarchal blessing, "Naphtali is a hind
let loose: he giveth goodly words" (Gen. 49:21). It was
intended thus to set forth under poetic imagery the
future character and history of the tribe.
At the time of the Exodus this tribe numbered 53,400
adult males (Num. 1:43), but at the close of the
wanderings they numbered only 45,400 (26:48-50).
Along with
Dan and Asher, they formed "the camp of Dan," under a
common standard (2:25-31), occupying a place during the
march on the north side of the tabernacle.
The possession assigned to this tribe is set forth in
Josh. 19:32-39. It lay in the north-eastern corner of
the land, bounded on the east by the Jordan River and
the lakes of Merom and Galilee, and on the north it
extended far into Coele-Syria, the valley between the
two Lebanon ranges. It comprehended a greater variety of
rich and beautiful scenery and of soil and climate than
fell to the lot of any other tribe. The territory of
Naphtali extended to about 800 square miles (2072 kmē),
being the double of that of Issachar. The region around
Kadesh, its most prominent town, was originally called
Galil, a name afterwards given to the whole northern
division of Canaan.
Naphtali
was the most powerful of the northern tribes: Deborah's
general Barak, who defeated Sisera, was a member of this
tribe. Nevertheless, its remoteness made it subject to
many other invasions throughout its history. Naphtali
was also the first to suffer from the invasion of
Benhadad, king of Syria, in the reigns of Baasha, king
of Israel, and Asa, king of Judah (1 Kings 15:20; 2 Chr.
16:4). In the reign of Pekah, king of Israel, the
Assyrians under Tiglath-Pileser III swept over the whole
north of Israel, and carried the people into captivity
(2 Kings 15:29). Thus the kingdom of Israel came to an
end (B.C. 722). |
