Stick of Joseph
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[edit] The Stick of Joseph & The Stick of Judah
[edit] Judaic Definition
Hebrew translation of "Stick"
עץ (‛êts) - Strong's #: H6086
Brown-Driver-Briggs' Hebrew Definitions: 1) tree, wood, timber, stock, plank, stalk, stick, gallows 1a) tree, trees 1b) wood, pieces of wood, gallows, firewood, cedar-wood, woody flax
In Judaism, the Stick of Joseph is a figurative reference to the Northern Kingdom of Israel, which was heavily populated by Joseph's descendants. If you add up the tribe of Ephraim and the tribe of Manasseh (Joseph's two sons), together they are by far the most numerous of the ten northern tribes.
The Stick of Judah is a reference to the Southern Kingdom of Judah, which was most heavily populated by Judah's descendants. The tribe of Benjamin and the tribe of Judah were the only land inheritors in the Southern Kingdom, even though the tribe of Levi and the tribe of Simeon were scattered in their midst.
Verses in question: Ezekiel 37:16-19 (TS98)
(16) “And you, son of man, take a stick for yourself and write on it, ‘For Yehudah and for the children of Yisra’el, his companions.’ Then take another stick and write on it, ‘For Yoseph, the stick of Ephrayim, and for all the house of Yisra’el, his companions.’
(17) “Then bring them together for yourself into one stick, and they shall become one in your hand.
(18) “And when the children of your people speak to you, saying, ‘Won’t you show us what you mean by these?’
(19) say to them, ‘Thus said the Master יהוה, “See, I am taking the stick of Yoseph, which is in the hand of Ephrayim, and the tribes of Yisra’el, his companions. And I shall give them unto him, with the stick of Yehudah, and make them one stick, and they shall be one in My hand.” ’
After King Solomon died in approximately 931 BCE, the twelve tribes of Israel divided into two political entities. The two kingdoms fought several devastating wars against each other, making them both more vulnerable to their common enemies. By 740 BCE, Assyria began numerous invasions, deporting the Northern Kingdom of Israel for approximately 18 years. Sumaria, the capital of Israel, finally fell to Assyria in 722 BCE, taking an estimated 27,000 captive. Many thousands more were deported prior to the final defeat. And many likely fled to safety in the Southern Kingdom of Judah, while others fled to Phoenician and Israelite settlements via the Mediterranean Sea. Phoenician cities, allied to Israel since the days of King David, were being attacked by Assyria as well.
Reading on - Context Defines - Ezekiel 37:20-28 (TS98)
(20)“And the sticks on which you write shall be in your hand before their eyes.
(21) “And speak to them, ‘Thus said the Master יהוה, “See, I am taking the children of Yisra’el from among the nations, wherever they have gone, and shall gather them from all around, and I shall bring them into their land.
(22) “And I shall make them one nation in the land, on the mountains of Yisra’el. And one sovereign shall be sovereign over them all, and let them no longer be two nations, and let them no longer be divided into two reigns.
(23) “And they shall no longer defile themselves with their idols, nor with their disgusting matters, nor with any of their transgressions. And I shall save them from all their dwelling places in which they have sinned, and I shall cleanse them. And they shall be My people, and I be their Elohim,
(24) while Dawid My servant is sovereign over them. And they shall all have one shepherd and walk in My right-rulings and guard My laws, and shall do them.
(25) “And they shall dwell in the land that I have given to Ya'aqob, My servant, where your fathers dwelt. And they shall dwell in it, they and their children and their children’s children, forever, and My servant Dawid be their prince forever.
(26) “And I shall make a covenant of peace with them – an everlasting covenant it is with them. And I shall place them and increase them, and shall place My set-apart place in their midst, forever.
(27) “And My Dwelling Place shall be over them. And I shall be their Elohim, and they shall be My people.
(28) “And the nations shall know that I, יהוה, am setting Yisra’el apart, when My set-apart place is in their midst – forever.” ’ ”
Also see History of Ancient Israel and Judah, Two House Messianic Movement.
[edit] External links
[edit] Mormon Definition
In Mormonism, the Stick of Joseph is a reference to the Book of Mormon, taken from a passage in the King James Version of the Bible, Ezekiel 37:16-19:
16 Moreover, thou son of man, take thee one stick, and write upon it, For Judah, and for the children of Israel his companions: then take another stick, and write upon it, For Joseph, the stick of Ephraim, and for all the house of Israel his companions:
17 And join them one to another into one stick; and they shall become one in thine hand.
18 And when the children of thy people shall speak unto thee, saying, Wilt thou not shew us what thou meanest by these?
19 Say unto them, Thus saith the Lord GOD; Behold, I will take the stick of Joseph, which is in the hand of Ephraim, and the tribes of Israel his fellows, and will put them with him, even with the stick of Judah, and make them one stick, and they shall be one in mine hand.
In this passage, the term "stick", refers to a scroll (or book), and, in particular, the "stick of Joseph" is believed to refer to the Book of Mormon, while the "stick of Judah" is believed to refer to the Bible.
Mormons view this passage as a prophecy of the coming forth of the Book of Mormon, which tells of the prophet Lehi and his family, who, according to the text, are descendants of the biblical Joseph, son of Jacob. The Book of Mormon and the Bible, a record of the Jews (that is, the tribe of Judah), are viewed as scripture by adherents of Mormonism. The two books together are seen as fulfilling the prophecy, becoming "one stick".
Also see Record of the Nephites.
