'Tribe' in the Bible

Now a man of the house of Levi [the priestly tribe] went and took as his wife a daughter of Levi.

“See, I have called by name Bezalel, son of Uri, the son of Hur, of the tribe of Judah.

And behold, I Myself have appointed with him Oholiab, son of Ahisamach, of the tribe of Dan; to all who are wise-hearted I have given the skill and ability to make everything that I have commanded you:

then Moses stood in the gate of the camp, and said, “Whoever is on the Lord’s side, come to me!” And all the sons of Levi [the priestly tribe] gathered together to him.

Then Moses said to the Israelites, “See, the Lord called by name Bezalel son of Uri, the son of Hur, of the tribe of Judah;

He has also put in Bezalel’s heart [the willingness] to teach [others the same skills], both he and Oholiab, son of Ahisamach, of the tribe of Dan.

Now Bezalel the son of Uri, the son of Hur, of the tribe of Judah, made everything that the Lord commanded Moses.

With him was Oholiab the son of Ahisamach, of the tribe of Dan, an engraver and a skillful craftsman and an embroiderer in blue and in purple and in scarlet fabric, and in fine linen.

If a priest’s daughter is married to a layman [one not part of the priestly tribe], she shall not eat the offering of the holy things.

The Israelite woman’s son blasphemed the Name [of the Lord] and cursed. So they brought him to Moses. (Now his mother’s name was Shelomith, the daughter of Dibri, of the tribe of Dan.)

And with you there shall be a man [to assist you] from each tribe, each being the head of his father’s household.

those of the tribe of Reuben numbered 46,500.

those of the tribe of Simeon numbered 59,300.

those of the tribe of Gad numbered 45,650.

those of the tribe of Judah numbered 74,600.

those of the tribe of Issachar numbered 54,400.

those of the tribe of Zebulun numbered 57,400.

those of the tribe of Ephraim numbered 40,500.

those of the tribe of Manasseh numbered 32,200.

those of the tribe of Benjamin numbered 35,400.

those of the tribe of Dan numbered 62,700.

those of the tribe of Asher numbered 41,500.

those of the tribe of Naphtali numbered 53,400.

The Levites, however, were not numbered among them by their fathers’ tribe.

“Only the tribe of Levi you shall not number, nor shall you take their census among the sons of Israel [since they are unavailable to go to war].

When the tabernacle is to go forward, the Levites shall take it down; and when the tabernacle is to [be set up for] camp, the Levites shall set it up. But the layman (non-Levite) who approaches the tabernacle shall be put to death.

Next to Judah [on the east side] the tribe of Issachar shall encamp; and Nethanel the son of Zuar shall lead the sons of Issachar,

Then [also on the east side] the tribe of Zebulun; and Eliab the son of Helon shall lead the sons of Zebulun,

Those who camp next to Reuben [on the south side] shall be the tribe of Simeon; and Shelumiel the son of Zurishaddai shall lead the sons of Simeon,

Then [completing the south side] the tribe of Gad; and Eliasaph the son of Reuel (Deuel) shall lead the sons of Gad,

Beside Ephraim [on the west side] shall be the tribe of Manasseh; and Gamaliel the son of Pedahzur shall lead the sons of Manasseh,

Then [completing the west side shall be] the tribe of Benjamin; and Abidan the son of Gideoni shall lead the sons of Benjamin,

Encamped next to Dan [on the north side] shall be the tribe of Asher; and Pagiel the son of Ochran shall lead the sons of Asher,

Then [completing the north side] comes the tribe of Naphtali; and Ahira the son of Enan shall lead the sons of Naphtali,

“Bring the tribe of Levi near and present them before Aaron the priest, so that they may serve him.

“Do not cut off (eliminate, destroy) the tribe of the families of the Kohathites [who are only Levites and not priests], from among the Levites [by exposing them to the sin of touching the most holy things].

Now the one who presented his offering on the first day was Nahshon the son of Amminadab, of the tribe of Judah;

On the second day Nethanel the son of Zuar, leader [of the tribe] of Issachar, presented [his offering];

and Nethanel the son of Zuar was [commander] over the tribal army of the sons of Issachar;

and Eliab the son of Helon was [commander] over the tribal army of the sons of Zebulun.

and Shelumiel the son of Zurishaddai was [commander] over the tribal army of the sons of Simeon,

and Eliasaph the son of Deuel was [commander] over the tribal army of the sons of Gad.

and Gamaliel the son of Pedahzur was [commander] over the tribal army of the sons of Manasseh,

and Abidan the son of Gideoni was [commander] over the tribal army of the sons of Benjamin.

and Pagiel the son of Ochran was [commander] over the tribal army of the sons of Asher,

and Ahira the son of Enan was [commander] over the tribal army of the sons of Naphtali.

“Send men to spy out the land of Canaan, which I am going to give to the sons of Israel. From each of their fathers’ tribes you shall send a man, every one a leader among them.”

These were their names: from the tribe of Reuben, Shammua the son of Zaccur;

from the tribe of Simeon, Shaphat the son of Hori;

from the tribe of Judah, Caleb the son of Jephunneh;

from the tribe of Issachar, Igal the son of Joseph;

from the tribe of Ephraim, Hoshea [that is, Joshua] the son of Nun;

from the tribe of Benjamin, Palti the son of Raphu;

from the tribe of Zebulun, Gaddiel the son of Sodi;

from the tribe of Joseph, that is, of the tribe of Manasseh, Gaddi the son of Susi;

from the tribe of Dan, Ammiel the son of Gemalli;

from the tribe of Asher, Sethur the son of Michael;

from the tribe of Naphtali, Nahbi the son of Vophsi;

from the tribe of Gad, Geuel the son of Machi.

But bring with you also your brothers, the tribe of Levi, the tribe of your father (ancestor), so that they may join with you and serve you [as assistants], while you and your sons with you are before the Tent of the Testimony [the Holy Place where only priests may go, and the Most Holy Place which only the high priest may enter].

To the larger tribe you shall give the larger inheritance, and to the smaller tribe the smaller inheritance; each tribe shall be given its inheritance according to its numbers.

So out of the thousands of Israel, a thousand from each tribe were selected, twelve thousand armed for war.

Moses sent them, a thousand from each tribe, to the war, and Phinehas the son of Eleazar the priest, to war with them, and the sacred vessels [of the sanctuary] and the trumpets to blow the alarm in his hand.

So Moses gave to them, to the sons of Gad and to the sons of Reuben and to the half-tribe of Manasseh the son of Joseph, the kingdom of Sihon, the king of the Amorites and the kingdom of Og, the king of Bashan, the land with its cities and territories, the cities of the surrounding land.

You shall inherit the land by lot according to your families; to the large tribe you shall give a larger inheritance, and to the small tribe you shall give a smaller inheritance. Wherever the lot falls to any man, that shall be [the location of] his [inheritance]. According to the tribes of your fathers (ancestors) you shall inherit.

You shall take one leader from every tribe to divide the land for the inheritance.

These are the names of the men: From the tribe of Judah, Caleb the son of Jephunneh;

from the tribe of the sons of Simeon, Samuel the son of Ammihud;

from the tribe of Benjamin, Elidad the son of Chislon;

from the tribe of the sons of Dan a leader, Bukki the son of Jogli;

of the sons of Joseph: from the tribe of the sons of Manasseh a leader, Hanniel the son of Ephod;

from the tribe of the sons of Ephraim a leader, Kemuel the son of Shiphtan;

from the tribe of the sons of Zebulun a leader, Elizaphan the son of Parnach;

from the tribe of the sons of Issachar a leader, Paltiel the son of Azzan;

from the tribe of the sons of Asher a leader, Ahihud the son of Shelomi;

from the tribe of the sons of Naphtali a leader, Pedahel the son of Ammihud.”

As for the cities which you shall give from the possession of the Israelites, from the larger tribes you shall take many and from the smaller tribes few; each tribe shall give [at least some] of its cities to the Levites in proportion to [the size of] its inheritance which it possesses.”

But if the daughters marry any of the men from any of the other tribes of Israel, then their inheritance will be taken away from that of our fathers (tribal ancestors) and will be added to the inheritance of the tribe to which they belong; so it will be taken away from our allotted inheritance.

When the [year of] Jubilee of the Israelites comes, then their inheritance will be added [permanently] to that of the tribe to which they belong; so their inheritance will be taken away from that of the tribe of our fathers (tribal ancestors).”

Then Moses commanded the Israelites in accordance with the word of the Lord, saying, “The statement of the tribe of the sons of Joseph is correct.

This is what the Lord commands regarding the daughters of Zelophehad: ‘Let them marry whom they wish; only they must marry within the family of the tribe of their father.’

So no inheritance of the Israelites shall be transferred from tribe to tribe, for every one of the Israelites shall hold to the inheritance of the tribe of his fathers (tribal ancestors).

Every daughter who possesses an inheritance [of land] in any one of the tribes of the Israelites shall marry [only] a man whose family is of her father’s tribe, so that the Israelites may each possess the inheritance of his fathers (tribal ancestors).

So no inheritance shall be transferred from one tribe to another, but each of the tribes of the Israelites shall hold to its own inheritance.”

They married into the families of the descendants of Manasseh the son of Joseph, and their inheritance remained in the tribe of the family of their father.

The plan pleased me and I took twelve of your men, one man from each tribe.

At that time the Lord set apart the tribe of Levi to carry the ark of the covenant of the Lord, to stand before the Lord to serve Him and to bless in His name until this day.

“The Levitical priests, the entire tribe of Levi, shall own [privately] no portion [of land] or inheritance with Israel; they shall eat the Lord’s offerings by fire and His portion.

so that there will not be among you a man or woman, or family or tribe, whose heart turns away today from the Lord our God, to go and serve the [false] gods of these nations; so that there will not be among you a root [of idolatry] bearing poisonous fruit and wormwood (bitterness).

“May [the tribe of] Reuben live and not die out,But let his men be few.”

Of Levi he said,“Your Thummim and Your Urim belong to Your godly man [Aaron],Whom You tested and proved at Massah,With whom You contended at the waters of Meribah;

So now take for yourselves twelve men from the tribes of Israel, one man from each tribe.

“Take for yourselves the twelve men [chosen] from among the people, one man from each tribe,

Then Joshua called the twelve men whom he had appointed from the sons of Israel, one man from each tribe;

The sons of Reuben and the sons of Gad and half the tribe of Manasseh crossed over armed for battle before the [other] sons of Israel, just as Moses had spoken to them;

But the sons of Israel acted unfaithfully and violated their obligation in regard to the things [off limits] under the ban [those things belonging to the Lord], for Achan, the son of Carmi, the son of Zabdi, the son of Zerah, from the tribe of Judah, took some of the things under the ban [for personal gain]. Therefore the anger of the Lord burned against the Israelites.

In the morning you shall come forward by your tribes. And it shall be that the tribe which the Lord chooses by lot shall come forward by families, and the family which the Lord chooses shall come forward by [separate] households, and the household which the Lord chooses shall come forward man by man.

So Joshua got up early in the morning and had Israel come forward by tribes, and the tribe of Judah was chosen [by lot].

He brought his household forward man by man; and Achan the son of Carmi, son of Zabdi, son of Zerah, of the tribe of Judah, was chosen.

It was only to the tribe of Levi that Moses gave no [territory as an] inheritance; the offerings by fire to the Lord, the God of Israel, are their inheritance, as He told him.