Israelite
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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 historical debates about the origins of the Hebrews/Israelites.
The English word Israelite derives from ישראל (Standard Yisraʾel Tiberian Yiśrāʾēl, "Upright (with) God"); see the article Israel for details on the word's definition.
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[edit] Israelites in Biblical times
According to the Hebrew Bible, the Israelites were the descendants of the sons of Jacob, later known as Israel. His twelve male children were Reuben, Simeon, Levi, Judah, Issachar, Zebulun, Dan, Gad, Naphtali, Asher, Joseph, and Benjamin.
| Sons of Jacob by wife in order of birth (D = Daughter) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Leah | Reuben (1) | Simeon (2) | Levi (3) | Judah (4) | Issachar (9) | Zebulun (10) | Dinah (D) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Rachel | Joseph (11) | Benjamin (12) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Bilhah (Rachel's servant) | Dan (5) | Naphtali (6) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Zilpah (Leah's servant) | Gad (7) | Asher (8) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Twelve tribes of Israel are listed in the Tanakh (Hebrew Bible, Old Testament).
- Tribe of Reuben
- 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 Yiśśâḵār
- יששכרי, Standard Yissaḫari, Tiberian Yiśśâḵārî
- 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 Manatch, Standard Mənašše, Tiberian Mənaššeh
- מנשי, Standard Mənašši, Tiberian Mənaššî
- Tribe of Ephraim
- אפרים, Samaritan Afrime, Standard Efráyim, Tiberian ʾEp̄ráyim / ʾEp̄rāyim
- אפרתי, Standard Efrati, Tiberian ʾEp̄rāṯî
- Tribe of Manasseh
- Tribe of Benjamin
- בנימין, Standard Binyamin, Tiberian Binyāmîn
- בן־הימיני Standard Ben haYmini, Tiberian Ben-haYmînî
[edit] Divisions
The twelve sons comprise the Twelve Tribes of Israel. These tribes were recorded on the vestments of the Kohen Gadol (high priest). However, when the land of Israel was apportioned among the tribes in the days of Joshua, the Tribe of Levi, being guardians and priests, did not receive land. Therefore, when the tribes are listed in reference to their receipt of land, as well as to their encampments during the 40 years of wandering in the desert, the Tribe of Joseph is replaced by the tribes of Ephraim and Manasseh (the two sons of Joseph by his Egyptian wife Asenath, whom Jacob elevated to the status of full tribes).
Thus, the two divisions of the tribes are:
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Traditional division:
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Division according to apportionment of land in Israel:
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[edit] The Northern Kingdom of Israel and the Ten Lost Tribes
According to the Torah, 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 Zebulun, Issachar, Asher, Naphtali, Dan, Manasseh, Ephraim, Reuben and 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 curse of Jacob and simply assimilated into the bigger and more dominant tribe 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, most of Benjamin, some of Levi (who acted as priests and guardians at the Temple of Jerusalem) and also remnants of Simeon who probably were assimilitaed into the tribe of Judah early on.
In 722 BCE the 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. The Ten Lost Tribes are those who were deported. In Jewish popular culture, the ten tribes disappeared from history, leaving only the tribes of Benjamin and Judah and the Levi who eventually became the modern day Jews. See also Bnai Israel.
[edit] Babylonian captivity
In 607 BCE the nation of Judah was conquered by Babylon. 70 years later, the Persians (who had recently conquered Babylon) allowed Jews to return to Jerusalem in 537 BCE and rebuild the Temple. By the end of this era, members of the tribes seem to have abandoned their individual identities in favor of a common one.
[edit] 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 BCE, when the Assyrians conquered the northern Kingdom of Israel and sent its populace into exile. Individual tribes intermarried with other Israelite tribes extensively throughout their history. Many Israelites from the northern kingdom fled to the Southern Kingdom of Judah. At this point in time the Israelite tribes living in the Kingdom of Judah melded into a single people from all the Israelite tribes. In 586 BCE the nation of Judah was conquered by Babylon. About 50 years later, in 539 BCE the Persians, (who conquered Babylon), allowed Jews to move back to Jerusalem. By the end of this era, members of the individual Israelite tribes seem to have abandoned their individual identities.
[edit] "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 believe themselves to be the modern descendants of the Israelites. Such groups include the Latter-day Saints, adherents of British Israelism, the Two House Movement, and even some anti-semitic groups, denying the Jewish people their ancestry. (See also supersessionism.)
[edit] 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 five books of the Torah and the Book of Joshua (but no other books), and hold that the only prophet is Moses. They also preserve their own unique form of Hebrew, and regard themselves as the descendants of Aphrime (Ephraim) and Manatch (Manasseh), though that identification has been challenged by Jews since the 6th century BC. Many regard them as a sect of Judaism, but they regard themselves as distinct from Jews, and do not refer to themselves as Jews.
[edit] Messianic Judaism
See also Messianic Judaism
Messianic Judaism considers Jesus to be the Messiah and exists in many sects, some of which accept the core doctrines of Christianity and some which do not or only in degrees. Adherence to the precepts of the Torah, the foundation of Judaism, is also variable depending on the group. It is frequently spear-headed by ethnic Jews[citation needed], but many non-Jews are flocking to their synagogues or meeting places, especially those embracing the Two House Movement. Many of its non-Jewish converts consider themselves as "grafted in" to the tribes of Israel, thus, believing they are "Jewish" and/or "Israelite", in a similar way to Caleb and Ruth (great grandmother of King David), both non-Jews, joined themselves to ancient Israel.
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.
[edit] 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. They also require tekhelet in their Tzitzit, contrary to Halacha. 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.
[edit] 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 of more than 12 million members. Almost half of all Latter-day Saints — those in The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints — 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 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. They believe that the House of Joseph (Ephraim and Manasseh) takes a prominent role in the spread of the gospel to all of scattered Israel in the last days as a fulfillment of many Old Testament prophecies, and that the House of Judah has a prominent role in the last days and during the Millennium. (Isaiah 2:2-4, Isaiah 11:10-13)
[edit] Rastafarians
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 African descent into a promised land of full emancipation and divine justice.
One Rasta sect, called the Twelve Tribes of Israel, imposes an metaphysical 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.
[edit] Anti-Semitic Groups
A number of 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, and these groups are openly hostile to Jews and Judaism in their attempts to supersede them. See British-Israel-World Federation.
[edit] See also
- Shavei Israel
- Kingdom of Israel
- Kingdom of Judah
- Noahides - The "Strangers at your gate" mentioned in Torah
- History of ancient Israel and Judah
- Gentile
- Bible and The Bible and history.
- Israelis
- Anusim
[edit] External links
| The Biblical and Historical Israelites |
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| Children of Israel · Twelve Tribes of Israel · Ten Lost Tribes
History of ancient Israel and Judah · Land of Israel · Kingdom of Israel · Kingdom of Judah · United Monarchy Tanakh · Bible · Hebrew Bible · Old Testament · The Bible and history |
