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Israelite
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{{Tribes of Israel}}
{{redirect|The Twelve Tribes}}
:''For the song by Desmond Dekker see
Israelites (song).''
An '''Israelite''' is a member of the '''Twelve Tribes of Israel''', descended from the twelve sons of the Biblical
patriarch Jacob who was renamed
Israel by God in the book of
Genesis, 32:28. The '''Israelites''' were a group of
Hebrews, as described in the
Hebrew Bible. There are modern
History historical debates about the origins of the Hebrews/Israelites.
The English word ''Israelite'' derives from '''ישראל''' ("Struggled with
Elohim God",
Standard Hebrew '''Yisraʾel''',
Tiberian Hebrew '''Yiśrāʾēl''').
''Please read this entry in conjunction with the entries on:''
*
History of ancient Israel and Judah
*
Children of Israel
*
Lost Ten Tribes
*
Bnai Israel
Israelites in Biblical times
{{main|History of ancient Israel and Judah}}
According to the
Hebrew Bible, the '''Israelites''' were the descendants of the children of
Jacob, later known as ''Israel''. His twelve male children were
Reuben (Bible) Reuben,
Simeon,
Levi,
Judah (biblical figure) Judah,
Issachar,
Zebulun,
Dan (biblical figure) Dan,
Gad,
Naphtali,
Asher,
Joseph (dreamer) Joseph, and
Benjamin. Twelve tribes of Israel are listed in the
Tanakh (Hebrew Bible,
Old Testament).
Image:1759_map_Holy_Land_and_12_Tribes.jpg thumb|300px|1759 map of the tribal allotments of Israel
*
Tribe of Reuben
** '''ראובן''',
Standard Hebrew Standard '''Rəʾuven''',
Tiberian Hebrew Tiberian '''Rəʾûḇēn'''
** '''ראובני''', Standard '''Ruʾuveni''', Tiberian '''Ruʾûḇēnî'''
*
Tribe of Simeon
** '''שמעון''', Standard '''Šimʿon''', Tiberian '''Šimʿôn'''
** '''שמעני''', Standard '''Šimʿoni''', Tiberian '''Šimʿônî'''
*
Tribe of Levi (This is a special case; see further below)
** '''לוי''', Standard '''Levi''', Tiberian '''Lēwî'''
*
Tribe of Judah
** '''יהודה''', Standard '''Yəhuda''', Tiberian '''Yəhûḏāh'''
** '''יהודי''', Standard '''Yəhudi''', Tiberian '''Yəhûḏî'''
*
Tribe of Dan
** '''דן''', Standard '''Dan''', Tiberian '''Dān'''
** '''דני''', Standard '''Dani''', Tiberian '''Dānî'''
*
Tribe of Naphtali
** '''נפתלי''', Standard '''Naftali''', Tiberian '''Nap̄tālî'''
*
Tribe of Gad
** '''גד''', Standard '''Gad''', Tiberian '''Gāḏ'''
** '''גדי''', Tiberian Standard '''Gadi''', '''Gāḏî'''
*
Tribe of Asher
** '''אשר''', Standard '''Ašer''', Tiberian '''ʾĀšēr'''
** '''אשרי''', Standard '''Ašeri''', Tiberian '''ʾĀšērî'''
*
Tribe of Issachar
** '''יששכר''', Standard '''Yissaḫar''', Tiberian '''YiśśÃ¢ḵār'''
** '''יששכרי''', Standard '''Yissaḫari''', Tiberian '''YiśśÃ¢ḵārî'''
*
Tribe of Zebulun
** '''זבולן''', Standard '''Zəvúlun''', Tiberian '''Zəḇûlun'''
** '''זבולני''', Standard '''Zəvuloni''', Tiberian '''Zəḇûlōnî'''
*
Tribe of Joseph
** '''יוסף''', Standard '''Yosef''', Tiberian '''Yôsēp̄'''
** '''יוספי''', Standard '''Yosefi''', Tiberian '''Yôsēp̄î'''
** containing the tribes of his sons:
***
Tribe of Manasseh
**** '''מנשה''',
Samaritan Hebrew Samaritan '''Manatch''', Standard '''Mənašše''', Tiberian '''Mənaššeh'''
**** '''מנשי''', Standard '''Mənašši''', Tiberian '''MənaššÃ®'''
***
Tribe of Ephraim
**** '''אפרים''', Samaritan '''Afrime''', Standard '''Efráyim''', Tiberian '''ʾEp̄ráyim''' / '''ʾEp̄rāyim'''
**** '''אפרתי''', Standard '''Efrati''', Tiberian '''ʾEp̄rāṯî'''
*
Tribe of Benjamin
** '''בנימין''', Standard '''Binyamin''', Tiberian '''Binyāmîn'''
** '''בן־הימיני''' Standard '''Ben haYmini''', Tiberian '''Ben-haYmînî'''
The Northern Kingdom of Israel and the Ten Lost Tribes
According to the Hebrew Bible, after the civil war in the time of
Solomon's son
Rehoboam, ten tribes split off the
United Monarchy to create the northern kingdom of Israel.
These were the nine landed tribes
Tribe of Zebulun Zebulun,
Tribe of Issachar Issachar,
Tribe of Asher Asher,
Tribe of Naphtali Naphtali,
Tribe of Dan Dan,
Tribe of Manasseh Manasseh,
Tribe of Ephraim Ephraim,
Tribe of Reuben Reuben and
Tribe of Gad Gad, and some of Levi which had no land allocation. The Bible makes no reference at this point to the
tribe of Simeon, and we might conjecture the author had in mind that that tribe had already disappeared due to the
Tribe of Simeon curse of Jacob.
Kingdom of Judah Judah, the southern kingdom, had Jerusalem as its capital and was led by King Rehoboam. It was populated by the tribes of Judah and Benjamin (and also some of Levi and remnants of Simeon).
In
722 BC the
Assyrian people Assyrians under
Shalmaneser V and then under
Sargon II conquered the northern
Kingdom of Israel, destroyed its capital
Samaria and sent the Israelites into exile and captivity in Khorason, now part of eastern
Iran and western
Afghanistan. The
Ten Lost Tribes are those who were deported. In Jewish popular culture, the ten tribes disappeared from history, leaving only the tribes of
Tribe of Benjamin Benjamin and
Tribe of Judah Judah and the
Tribe of Levi Levi who evolved into the modern day Jews. ''See also
Bnai Israel.''
Babylonian captivity
{{main|Babylonian captivity}}
In
586 BC the nation of Judah was conquered by
Babylon. About 50 years later, in
539 BC, the
Persians (who had recently conquered Babylon) allowed Jews to return to
Jerusalem and rebuild the
Temple in Jerusalem Temple. By the end of this era, members of the tribes seem to have abandoned their individual identities in favor of a common one.
Jews as Israelites
Whatever the historical origin of the Israelite tribes, each tribe had a distinct identity inherited from one's father as recently as 722 BC, when the Assyrians conquered the northern Kingdom of Israel and sent its populace into exile. Individual tribes intermarried extensively throughout history. Many Israelites from the northern kingdom fled to the Southern Kingdom of Judah. At this point in time the tribes living in the Kingdom of Judah melded into a single people from all the Israelite tribes. In 586 BC the nation of Judah was conquered by Babylon. About 50 years later, in 539 BC the Persians (who conquered Babylon) allowed Jews to move back to Jerusalem. By the end of this era, members of the tribes seem to have abandoned their individual identities.
Judaism Jewish religious texts from the first century BC to the present time consistently refer to Jews as "Yisrael", or "Israelites", rather than "Yehudi", the more specific
Hebrew language Hebrew term for "Jew". This usage was adopted in secular Jewish writing of
Hungary in the 1920s and 1930s; Stephen Roth writes, "The word 'Israelite' denoted only religious affiliation and was free from the ethnic or national conotation attached to the word 'Jew', which
History of the Jews in Hungary Jews in Hungary therefore regarded almost as a derogatory term."
[Roth, 1992, 132]
Today's
Jews are mostly descended from the Hebrews of the Kingdom of Judah, as well as those who joined them via
Giur religious conversion to Judaism and married with the descendants of the Judaic Hebrews.
"Israelite" traditions outside mainstream Judaism
Some modern religions maintain that its followers are "Israelites" or "Jews" although the meaning of these claims differs widely.
Some outside traditional practice of the
Law of Moses and with no proven historical connection to the Israelites believe themselves to be the modern descendants and inheritors of the Israelites. Such groups include the
Latter-day Saint theology Latter-day Saints, adherents of
British Israelism and even some
Anti-Semitism anti-semitic groups, denying the
Jew Jewish people their ancestry. See also
supersessionism.
Samaritans
Samaritans are a very small ethnic group (not more than about 700 persons) and religious sect living in the
State of Israel and the
West Bank with many beliefs in common with
Judaism. They accept the canonization of the five books of the
Torah and the Book of
Joshua (but no other books), and that the only prophet is
Moses. They also preserve their own unique form of
Hebrew language Hebrew, and regard themselves as the descendants of ''Aphrime'' (
Tribe of Ephraim Ephraim) and ''Manatch'' (
Tribe of Manasseh Manasseh). Many regard them as a sect of
Judaism, but they regard themselves as distinct from Jews, and do not refer to themselves as Jews.
Messianic Judaism
Messianic Judaism is a sect which accepts the core doctrines of
Christianity, and stresses adherence to some precepts of the
Torah, a feature of
Judaism. It is comprised of mostly
gentile adherents, although some ethnic Jews have joined the movement. Many of its non-Jewish converts believe they have been "grafted in" to the tribes of Israel, thus, that they are "Jewish". Not surprisingly the
Southern Baptist Convention and the
Assemblies of God movement, actively participate in establishing Messianic congregations as part of their efforts to evangelize the Jewish people.
Karaite Judaism
Karaite Judaism, relies on the
Tanakh as the sole scripture and rejects the Oral Law (the
Mishnah and the
Talmuds). It does not require its adherents to wear
Tefillin in any form, wear
Tzitzit, etc. There are approximately 50,000 adherents of Karaite Judaism, most of whom reside in Israel. However, exact numbers are not known, as most Karaites have not participated in any religious censuses. Like the Samaritans, the division goes back many hundreds of years.
Latter-day Saints
The
Latter Day Saint movement (
Mormons) consists of a group of religious denominations derived from that started by
Joseph Smith, Jr., of which the largest by far is the
Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints LDS Church of nearly 12 million members. Almost half of all
Latter-day Saints — those in the LDS Church — live in the
United States, and the rest are scattered in countries on every continent all over the world. They believe that through
baptism and receiving the Gift of the
Holy Ghost, they become "regathered" Israelites, either as recovered from the scattered seed of Israel, or as
Gentile Gentiles adopted and grafted into Israel, and thus becoming part of the
chosen people of God. LDS Israelite belief is not strictly ethnic, and as such, Latter-day Saints do not consider themselves to be
Jews, but rather as "Israelites" of many different cultures occasionally including Jews. (For more details, see
Latter-day Saint theology and Judaism and this [http://scriptures.lds.org/gsi/israel guide to LDS scriptural references on Israel].)
"
Gentile" is sometimes used informally by Mormons to refer to non-Mormons.
Rastafarians
Rastafari movement Rastafarians believe that the black races are the true Children of Israel, or Israelites, as they like to call themselves. Using the
Bible they also conclude that
Haile Selassie of Ethiopia is the returned
messiah who will lead the world's peoples of
Afrocentrism African descent into a promised land of full
emancipation and
divine justice.
One Rasta sect, called the
Twelve Tribes of Israel (Rastafari) Twelve Tribes of Israel, imposes an
astrology astrological system whereby
Aries is Reuben,
Aquarius is Joseph, etc. With his famous early
reggae song ''The Israelites''
Desmond Dekker immortalised the Rastafarian concept of themselves as the Children of Israel.
Anti-Semitic Groups
A number of
Anti-Semitism anti-semitic groups claim to be the only "''true'' Israelites". Such groups generally do not recognize the validity of Jews or any other group that claims Israelite descent. Mainstream historians, as well as religious and secular authorities, dismiss such claims since these groups are openly hostile to Jews and Judaism in their attempts to
supersessionism supersede them. See
British-Israel-World Federation.
See also
*
Shavei Israel
*
Kingdom of Israel
*
Kingdom of Judah
*
History of ancient Israel and Judah
*
Gentile
*
Bible and
The Bible and history.
References
* Roth, Stephen, "Memories of Hungary", in Riff, Michael, ''The Face of Survival: Jewish Life in Eastern Europe Past and Present''. Valentine Mithcell, London, 1992, 125-141, ISBN 0853032203.
External links
-
Ten Tribes blog
-
Brit Am Israel
-
Origin of Nations
*
Wikisource:Bible, English, King James, Documentary Hypothesis, Priestly source, Census The Israelite census, of the book of numbers, in isolation, at wikisource
Category:Ancient peoples
Category:Jewish history
Category:Tribes of Israel *
cs:Izraelský národ
de:Israeliten
eo:Izraelidoj
et:Iisraellased
he:שבטי ישר×?ל
ja:イスラエルの失われた10部族
nl:Israëlieten
pt:Tribos de Israel
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