How many tribes of Israel exist today? Tribes of Israel - modern data and history

12 tribes of Israel - 12 branches of the Jewish people, descending from the 12 sons of the forefather Jacob, to whom G-d himself gave the name “Israel”, and thus Jewish people called Israel and includes the 12 tribes of Israel. The division into 12 tribes was preserved during the Exodus from Egypt and wanderings in the desert: each Israeli tribe had its own place in the Israeli camp and its own turn in the order of movement, its own flag and coat of arms. In the land of Israel, each of the 12 tribes of Israel received their own allotment. The tribe of Levi (Levites) - the tribe of priests - as a rule, was considered separately, and the Levites lived in all plots. Ten northern tribes of Israel in the 13th century. BC e. were captured by Assyria, taken captive and scattered among the nations. The mystery of the disappeared 10 tribes of Israel still haunts many researchers today who are trying to find traces of the missing tribes of Israel in different parts of the world.

Below we will answer in more detail the questions where the origin of the tribe of Israel comes from, how many tribes remain today and where, after all, are the remaining tribes?

The division of Israel into tribes

There were 12 tribes of Israel, according to the number of sons of Jacob.

But when allotments were distributed in the land of Israel, the firstborn received a double share. Since Reuven, Leah's first son, lost the status of firstborn in this sense, this right passed to Rachel's first son, Yosef. Therefore, his sons - Ephraim and Menashe - became the ancestors of two tribes.

An interesting thing happened: in cases where the tribe of Levi is “taken into account,” the tribe of Yosef is counted as one, as, for example, on the breastplate of the High Priest. However, in the Land of Israel, where the Levites did not have their own allotment, the tribes of Ephraim and Menashe received two allotments.

The same thing happened during the formation of the sons of Israel in the desert: since the Kohanim and Levites marched in a separate camp, near the Mishkan, the Israelite camp was represented again 12 knees- Ephraim and Menashe separately.

Each tribe has its own flag

As mentioned above, there were 12 tribes in the Israelite camp. A strict order in the formation of the tribes was determined: each tribe was assigned its own place in the camp of Israel, and it was also determined when each tribe began to move. In addition, the order was determined and each tribe marched under its own flag ( "degelem"), and thus the order of formation was determined, the entire camp of Israel was divided according to the number of tribes.

The head of each tribe had its own identification mark: its own banner, the color of which coincided with the color corresponding to this tribe gemstone, inserted into the breastplate of the high priest Aaron. It was from here that various kingdoms borrowed the custom of acquiring a banner of their own colors.

Thus, each tribe marched under its own flag ( "degelem").

The tribe of Reuven corresponded to a ruby, a red stone. His banner was also red, with mandrake roots depicted on it.

The tribe of Shimon corresponded to topaz, a green stone. Shimon's green banner depicted the city of Nablus.

The tribe of Levi corresponded to an emerald. Levi's banner was three colors - one third white, one third black and one third red. It depicted Urim And let's slow down(the breastplate of the high priest with precious stones inserted into it, which made it possible to know the will of the Almighty).

Yehuda's knee corresponded to a carbuncle. His banner was the color of heaven and featured a lion.

The sapphire corresponded to the tribe of Issachar. His banner was dark blue. The sun and moon were depicted on it in memory of the words of Scripture: “And from the sons of Issachar, who know how to understand the times” (Divrei Ha-Yamim I, 12:32).

The tribe of Zebulun corresponded to a diamond. His banner was white, and it showed a ship.

Opal corresponded to the Tribe of Dan. The color of his banner was the color of sapphire, and it featured a snake.

Agate corresponded to the Tribe of Gad. The color of his banner was a mixture of white and black. It showed an Israeli camp.

The amethyst corresponded to Naphtali's tribe. Its color was like the color of a clear, dull red wine. It showed a doe.

The Tribe of Asher corresponded to chrysolite. The color of his banner resembled the color of a precious stone that women love to decorate themselves with. It showed an olive tree.

Onyx corresponded to the tribe of Yosef. The color of his banner was completely black. This color belonged to two tribes of the descendants of Yosef’s sons - Ephraim and Menashe, who were born in Egypt.

Ephraim's banner depicted a bull, Menashe's banner depicted an antelope.

The tribe of Benjamin corresponded to jasper. The color of his banner was a mixture of twelve colors. It depicted a wolf.

How many tribes of Israel are there today?

We do not know today the whereabouts of the ten tribes expelled by Sancheriv. True, Gmara reports that the prophet Yirmiyah went to return the exiles, and, perhaps, some of them fled to Judea before the second exile. But these are just guesses. The main population of Judea consisted of the descendants of Judah and Benjamin.

To date, mainly only Kohanim and Levites have been identified, most likely because their origin gives them a special status in Jewish Law, such as receiving trumot and tithes, calling for reading the Torah in the first place (for a Kohen, and for he immediately calls a Levite), etc. This naturally forced the family to remember the origin of the father and pass on the tradition to the children.

Of the descendants of the remaining tribes, perhaps no one knows exactly which of them belongs to, with the exception of those rare families who know for sure that their father comes from male line from King David. For obvious reasons, this information was also passed down from father to son, so these people know that they come from the tribe of Judah.

Let us note that throughout history there have been individuals and even entire communities who claimed to be descendants of one of the ten tribes and referred to an unbroken tradition. Today there are many such groups, but for the most part they do not have any significant connection with Jewish tradition. Each such claim is considered separately, and sometimes the group is accepted into the fold of Israel, having undergone conversion [conversion to Judaism] to be sure.

Tribes of Israel. Most of the names are given in the version of the Synodal translation.

Tribes of Israel (שִׁבְטֵי יִשְׂרָאֵל , Shivtei Israel) - the related tribes of the descendants of Jacob named in the Bible, who, according to tradition, formed the Israeli people.

The ancestors of the tribes

When first listing the tribes, the Bible calls them by the names of the 12 sons of Yaakov (Genesis 49:28), although he had already adopted, according to the sequence of the biblical narrative (but apparently not historical chronology), Ephraim and Menashe and elevated them to be the ancestors of two tribes instead of their father Joseph (Gen. 48:5; cf. Ib. 14:4), which increased the number of tribes to 13.

Most lists of the Tribes of Israel in the Bible tend to list the names of all 13 tribes, but always with a caveat that excludes the tribe of Levi as dedicated to cultic service. Thus, it is not included in the count of combat-ready men (Num. 1:47), its place in the order of the tribes during transitions on the way to Canaan is not indicated (ibid., 2:33); it does not receive an inheritance in the Promised Land and in Transjordan (ibid., 26:57, 62, etc.).

The tribe of Levi, deprived of its land allotment, actually does not count towards the general account, and its separation from the community of tribes to perform only the functions permitted to it restores the original number of 12 tribes of Israel. Precepts concerning the number of tribes without listing them also indicate 12 as their traditional number (Ex. 28:9–12, 21).

Position of Bible scholars of the 19th - early 20th centuries

The scientific school of biblical criticism, which sought to reconcile the need to study the Bible with the atheistic worldview that dominated the scientific community, in the absence of archaeological material and methods of correct scientific research(which appeared throughout the 20th century), followed the path of putting forward hypotheses of varying degrees of speculativeness.

In the division of the Israelites into 12 tribes, biblical criticism sees a later genealogical construction designed to explain the common history of the Israeli tribes by their blood connection.

According to one point of view, the union of the Israelite tribes already existed during the period of wanderings in Sinai, but the conquest of Canaan was carried out by them separately and in different time.

According to another hypothesis, the unification of the tribes arose at the end of the era of the Judges - the beginning of the era of the monarchy, but the consciousness of national unity, based on ethnic proximity and commonality of history, faith and cult, arose even before the Israelites entered Canaan.

The tradition according to which the 12 tribes of Israel were defined as a people already in the era of the enslavement of the Israelites, newcomers from the Land of Canaan, and their descendants in Egypt, is considered historically unfounded in this school. For example, the German scholar Martin Noth, author of the book “Scheme of the 12 Tribes of Israel” (Das System der zwölf Stämme Israels, 1930), believed that the union of the Jewish tribes arose only after the conquest of Canaan, and postulated the unreliability of the narrative in the Torah.

The number 12, adopted in the Bible for the tribes of Israel, has a sacred-mythological character in many archaic traditions (especially the Middle East) and belongs to the most common numerical patterns in mythopoetic cultures, often also accepted in the Bible for other tribal genealogies (cf. Gen. 22 :20–24; 25:13–16).

Unions of 12 (or 6) tribes are also known among other peoples (in Asia Minor, Italy and Greece) and are called amphictyony in science. They usually developed around a common cult center and had a stable numerical structure. Thus, if one of the tribes left the union or was absorbed by another tribe, the number 12 was maintained either by dividing one of the tribes into two, or by admitting a new tribe into the union.

The use of a similar method is noticeable in the Bible. When, for example, the descendants or tribe of Levi are considered as one of the 12 tribes of Israel, the line of Yosef is considered one tribe (Gen. 46:8–25; 49:1–27), but when Levi is not mentioned, the descendants of Yosef are considered as two separate tribes. (Num. 26:5–51). To maintain the twelve-member structure, the tribe of Shimon is listed as a separate tribe even after it was absorbed into the tribe of Judah (Ib. 19:1), while the tribe of Menashe continues to be considered one tribe after its actual split into two separate clans.

A textual analysis of parts of the Pentateuch related to the formation of the tribes of Israel reveals a contrast between two groups of tribes, whose ancestors were the two wives of Jacob and their maidservants:

• on the one hand, Reuven, Shimon, Levi and Yehudah (eldest sons of Leah), as well as Yosef and Binyamin (sons of Rachel),
• on the other - Issachar and Zebulun (younger sons of Leah), Dan and Naphtali (sons of Bilkha, Rachel's maidservant), Gad and Asher (sons of Zilpah, Leah's maidservant).

Texts believed to be older suggest that the tribes descended from the six sons of the first group formed the original core of the group that became known as the tribes of Israel. According to one theory, the division of Jacob's sons into groups according to their seniority and the emphasis on descent from different mothers (Gen. 29:32–30:24; 35:16–18) seems to indicate the later inclusion of some tribes into the community or to their later penetration into Canaan, and, possibly, to the fact that already at an early stage there were differences in the status of the tribes within the community.

Perhaps in favor of the hypothesis that the people of Israel originally consisted of smaller number knees, says the Song of Dvora (Judges 5), dating back to the 12th century. BC e., in which only nine tribes of Israel are named, but from which it follows that only six and a half tribes took part in the war against Yabin, king of Hazor, led by Dvora.

Most scholars reject the theory, which, citing pagan or mythological elements in the names of sons from maidservants (Gad - the deity of happiness; cf. Is. 65:11; Asher - the masculine form of Asherah; Dan - from the ancient Greek mythological Danai), argues that the tribes that arose from them were in fact of foreign origin.

Knee status

The tribes were autonomous communities governed according to a traditional patriarchal-tribal structure. They consisted of clans or clans (mishpahot), divided into families (batei av). At the head of the tribe was the prince (nasi, rosh mate), at the head of the clan was the elder (zaken, aluf).

From time to time, the heads of tribes and clans were convened, apparently, to administer justice, manage the affairs of the tribes, etc. (Num. 11:16; Exod. 18:21–26; Deut. 1:15–16, etc.). There are references to meetings of tribal leaders and elders during the periods of the conquest of the country and judges. "The princes of the congregation, the heads of the thousands of Israel", along with the priest Pinhas, negotiated with the Transjordanian tribes on behalf of the entire people. Yeshua ben Nun called upon the "elders, the chiefs, the judges, the rulers of Israel" to make a covenant in Nablus. The elders of Israel turned on behalf of the entire country with a request to Shmuel to appoint a king.

From the Bible's narratives about the anointing of David to the kingdom (after the death of Saul, his son was recognized as the new king by all tribes except Judah and Shimon, who preferred David) and the refusal of the northern tribes to recognize the rule of Rehabam (II Sam. 2:4; I Ts. 12: 1, 16) we can conclude that in the early stages of the monarchy, the leaders of the tribes and clans elected and eliminated kings.

After the conquest of the Land of Israel, each tribe was allocated its own territory for settlement. During the period of settlement and the subsequent era of the Judges, there was no specific leadership structure for the tribal alliance, although various crises forced the tribes to act together against enemies. Shiloh served as a sacred center for all tribes, where the Ark of the Covenant was located. There is scant information about the presence near it of some administrative institutions common to all tribes.

Along with this, there were regional sanctuaries: in Beersheba and Hebron for the southern tribes, in Nablus and Gilgal-Yericho (except Shilo) for the central ones, and in Dan for the northern ones. This was made worse by the fact that the Canaanite settlement groups divided the central tribes and separated them from the southern and northern groups.

One of the main responsibilities of the heads of tribal associations was to preserve the land plots of individual families within the tribe in accordance with the laws of inheritance, which prohibited, among other things, the marriage of heir daughters to members of another tribe (Num. 27:8–11; 36:7– 9). Along with the tribal ones, intertribal institutions probably existed at the central sanctuaries, but information about them is extremely scarce.

During the period of wanderings in the desert, the Israelites were led by tribal princes and elders who helped Moshe (Ex. 19:7; Num. 11:16–17; Deut. 27:1, etc.). Meetings of the leaders and elders of the Israelite tribes were convened both during the settlement of Canaan, as well as during the era of the Judges (Ibn. 22:30; 24:1; I Sam. 8:4). But in this era, the consciousness of national-religious unity and inter-tribal ties of the Israelite tribes weakened so much that they could not unite to achieve common military-political goals and even openly fought with each other (Judges 8:1-17; 12:1-6 ).

Saul's war against Nachash, king of Amun, in which all the tribes acted "as one man, from Dan to Beersheba, with the land of Gilead," proves that the tribes were expected to come to the aid of any member of the alliance who found themselves in a difficult situation. Because of the sanctity of the alliance, the wars of the tribes were considered "the wars of the Lord." However, the accounts in the book of Judges of the wars that Israel waged against her enemies make it clear that the alliance was quite weak in those days. The Song of the Courts gives a clear picture of the lack of solidarity among the tribes it was impossible to organize even a joint war against a common enemy.

There is a point of view that the judges of Israel were individual among the tribes or their groups, and not common to the entire people. Only towards the end of the Age of Judges, when the Israelites were under military pressure in the west from the Philistines, and in the east from the peoples beyond Jordan, or when a flagrantly lawless act of people of one tribe caused the indignation of all the others, did they unite in joint military or punitive actions (I Sam. 11:7; Jud. 19–20). Enmity was also forgotten when a tribe was in danger of extinction (Judges 21:13–23).

Throughout history, the role and place of tribes among the people has changed. Before the conquest of the Land of Israel, the tribe of Reuben was the leader of the people. And already in the era of the Judges, this tribe was inactive, and Dvora disgraced it in her victory song for not participating in the war with the Canaanites. It found itself on the border of Israel and its very existence as a tribe was in danger. His place in the league of tribes was taken by the house of Yosef, mainly the tribe of Ephraim, from which Yeshua ben Nun, Dvorah and Shmuel came. The tribe of Ephraim led the other tribes in the war against Benjamin at the end of the Age of Judges, when the tribe was almost completely destroyed.

The tribe of Shimon dissolved into the tribe of Yehuda. The tribe of Levi was distributed evenly among all the people. At the beginning of the period of kingdoms, leadership passed to the tribe of Judah. This transition of leadership is reflected in I Chronicles 5:1-2.

Elimination of tribalism

The monarchy, opposing the traditional separatist communal-tribal way of life of the tribes, sought to weaken tribal consciousness by introducing the idea of ​​a single kingdom ruled by God's chosen king. David, apparently, was still forced to organize the army and administration, according to the traditional division of the people into 12 tribes (I Chron. 12:27), but his preference for the tribe of Yehuda caused a number of riots in the country. Solomon installed 12 “rulers” over the people (I Ts. 4:7), establishing the boundaries of the territories under their control regardless of the boundaries of the allotments of the tribes of Israel.

With the removal of the ten tribes to Assyria, the division of the people into tribes was lost real value, although from the text of II Chron. 30:10–12 we can conclude that some of the population remained in their places. The inhabitants of Judah, who continued to live in their homeland until the Babylonian captivity, retained evidence of their origin for a long time and even in the times of Ezra and Nehemiah they looked (especially the clergy) in the registers of noble families for their ancestors among the heads of the clans mentioned in the Bible (Ez. 2; Neh. 7 :5). In Ezekiel's eschatological vision, the reborn Israel is presented as a people consisting of 12 tribes (47:13; 48:1–7, 23–29), among which, following tradition, the prophet does not include

Here are their names: Reuven, Shimon, Levi, Yehudah, Zebulun, Issachar, Dan, Gad, Asher, Naphtali, Yosef, Binyamin.
Have you recalculated? Twelve? But not everything is as simple with arithmetic as it seems. Yosef's sons, Menashe and Ephraim, made rapid careers. Jacob adopted his grandchildren and “appointed” the ancestors of two independent tribes instead of their father. Thus, there were thirteen knees. Probably in order to preserve what is sacred for many Middle Eastern ( but not only) cultures, the number 12 is intact, one of the tribes - Levi - began to be kept “in mind”. The Bible explains this by saying that the descendants of Levi were assigned to serve in the tabernacle, and therefore, unlike the other tribes, they did not receive an inheritance in the Promised Land.

2. After the death of King Solomon (about 928 BC), the Jewish state was divided into two: Judah and Israel. The tribes of Yehuda and Benjamin ended up in Judah, and the remaining ten tribes made up the population of Israel. In 721 BC. Assyrian king Sargon II captured the capital Kingdom of Israel Samaria and drove its inhabitants into captivity. From that moment on, ten of the twelve tribes of Israel disappeared from the historical scene. Tragic fate the lost tribes are explained both in the Bible and in later tradition as just retribution for sins. However, the hope for their return has not died for almost three thousand years. One, two, three, four, five... let's go look.

3. Some ancient authors showed an enviable knowledge of the fate of the lost tribes and argued that the exile contributed to their correction. Thus, the apocryphal Book of Ezra mentions that they live beyond the Euphrates River in the country of Arsareph, strictly observing the Law.
Jewish historian Josephus Flavius ​​in " Jewish antiquities” writes that “ten tribes still live on the other side of the Euphrates and are so numerous that they cannot be numbered.” And the Roman writer Pliny the Elder reports that the Sambation River with its rapid flow prevents the lost tribes from returning from exile. On Saturday, the river bed dries up, “but you cannot cross it, so as not to violate the Law on Saturday afternoon, when it is forbidden to travel long distances, and when you try to cross it on Saturday, the river begins to boil with a terrible noise. Therefore, the ten tribes of Israel cannot be reunited with the two tribes; only with the coming of the Messiah will this become possible.”

4. The sages of the Mishnah and Talmud, who, as is known, rarely show unanimity on any issue, did not betray themselves in in this case. “Just as this day passes and does not return, so the tribes of Israel have gone and will not return,” argued Rabbi Akiva. “It gets dark and it gets light. So are the ten tribes: at first they were in darkness, but then there will be light for them,” Rabbi Eliezer objected to him. The ten tribes “will not return if their deeds are the same as on that day (i.e., before their exile), but they will return if their deeds (now) are not the same,” summarized Rabbi Shimon ben Yehuda.

5. The Jewish “Baron Munchausen” Eldad Danit (IX century), in his book replete with amazing details, tells that he himself comes from the tribe of Dan, and next to the Danites in the “Golden Country” near the Red Sea, other lost people “live in peace and harmony” tribes - Naphtali, Gad and Asherah:

“There they found good land for themselves, fertile, spacious, replete with gardens, parks, fields and vineyards. And the Kushites began to pay tribute to the newcomers, because they were afraid of them. The named tribes had gold in abundance; very, very many sheep, cattle, camels, horses and donkeys; they sow, reap and live in tents, roam from border to border. They have as many children as there is sand on the seashore, and all the men are very warlike...”

The descendants of the lost tribe of Issachar, Eldad wrote, live “in the mountains, on the seashore, at the end of the Persian and Median lands; They live peacefully, calmly and carelessly, engage in cattle breeding, speak sacred language and study Torah." To the south of the tribe of Issachar, the tribe of Zebulun is located in tents: “between them there is peace, love, brotherhood and friendship.” And the tribe of Ephraim and half the tribe of Menashe live in South Arabia, near Mecca - they are “very strong and warlike, so that one is able to defeat a thousand people.” And the tribe of Shimon and half the tribe of Menashe “dwell in the country kuzarim(Khazar)‚ at a distance of six months' journey from Jerusalem; they are innumerable and take tribute from 25 kingdoms. The Ishmaelites pay them tribute because of their fearsome appearance and bravery.”

6. Having learned about the existence of a “Jewish” state in distant Khazaria, a high-ranking official at the court of the Arab caliphs in Spain, Hasdai ibn Shaprut (10th century), was incredibly inspired:

“Through this we raised our heads, our spirit came to life and our hands became stronger. The kingdom of my master has become for us (a justification) to open our mouths boldly. Oh that this message would receive greater power, since through it our exaltation will increase. Blessed be the Lord, the God of Israel, who did not deprive us of an intercessor and did not abolish the torch and the kingdom from the tribes of Israel!

Question No. 2377

Who are the Jews from the tribe of Dan? Do Jews have 12 or 13 tribes? Or do the 13th tribe include non-blooded Jews (Khazars, Masons, Kabbalists)?

Igor V. Kuchaev , Nicosia, Cyprus
19/11/2006

Hello, Father Oleg!

Reading the interpretations of the Apocalypse of the Holy Fathers, as well as your Interpretation, one question always arose, to which I have not yet found a sensible answer anywhere. Who are the Jews from the tribe of Dan? Do Jews have 12 or 13 tribes? Or do the 13th tribe include non-blooded Jews (Khazars, Masons, Kabbalists)? The 12 tribes come from the 12 sons of Jacob, if I'm not mistaken. And from whom does the tribe of Dan come?

Thank you in advance,
God bless you!

Answer from Father Oleg Molenko:

Non-blooded Jews have nothing to do with the 12 tribes of Israel.

About these tribes, with a list of the names of each patriarch, after whom the tribe was called, we read in the book of Genesis:

Genesis 49:
" 1 And Jacob called his sons and said: Gather yourselves together, and I will tell you what will happen to you in the days to come;
2 Come together and listen, you sons of Jacob, listen to Israel your father.
3 Reuben, (first knee; comments in parentheses are mine throughout) my firstborn! you are my strength and the beginning of my strength, the height of dignity and the height of power;
4 But you raged like water, you will not prevail, for you ascended to your father’s bed, you have defiled my bed [on which] you ascended.
5 Simeon(second knee) and Levi(third tribe) brothers, their instruments of cruelty are swords;
6 Let not my soul enter into their council, nor let my glory be added to their assembly, for in their anger they killed the man and, at their whim, cut the sinews of the calf;
7 Cursed is their anger, for it is cruel, and their wrath, for it is fierce; I will divide them in Jacob and scatter them in Israel.
8 Judas! (fourth knee) Your brothers will praise you. Your hand is on the back of your enemies; the sons of your father will worship you.
9 The young lion Judah, my son, rises from the prey. He bowed down, lay down like a lion and like a lioness: who will raise him?
10 The scepter will not depart from Judah, nor the lawgiver from between his feet, until the Reconciler comes, and to Him is the subjection of the nations.
11 He binds to grapevine his donkey's colt and his donkey's son to the vine of the best grape; he washes his clothes in wine and his garments in the blood of grapes;
12 His eyes were shining with wine, and his teeth were white with milk.
13 Zebulun(the fifth tribe) will live by the seashore and by the ship's pier, and its border will be as far as Sidon.
14 Issachar(sixth knee) a strong donkey lying between the channels of water;
15 And he saw that the rest was good, and that the land was pleasant: and he bowed his shoulders to bear the burden, and began to work to pay the tribute.
16 Dan(the seventh tribe) will judge his people as one of the tribes of Israel;
17 Dan will be a serpent in the road, an adder in the way, biting the horse's foot, so that his rider falls backward.
18 I hope for your help, Lord!
19 Gad, (eighth knee) - the crowd will press him, but he will push it back on its heels.
20 For Asira(ninth tribe) - his bread is too fat, and he will deliver royal dishes.
21 Naphtali(tenth tribe) – terebinth is tall, spreading beautiful branches.
22 Joseph (eleventh knee)– branch of a fruit-bearing tree, branch of a fruit-bearing tree above the source; its branches extend over the wall;
23 They upset him, and the archers shot and fought against him,
24 But his bow remained strong, and the muscles of his hands were strong, from the hand of the mighty God of Jacob. From there is the Shepherd and the stronghold of Israel,
25 from God your father, who will help you, and from the Almighty, who will bless you with the blessings of heaven above, with the blessings of the deep that lies below, with the blessings of the breasts and the womb,
26 The blessings of your father, which exceed the blessings of the ancient mountains and the delights of the everlasting hills; let them be on the head of Joseph and on the crown of the chosen one among his brothers.
27 Benjamin, (twelfth knee) a predatory wolf, in the morning it will eat the catch and in the evening it will divide the prey.
28 Here are all twelve tribes of Israel; and this is what their father said to them; and blessed them, and gave them a blessing, each his own."

So, the names of all 12 tribes of Israel are given, each of which goes back to one of the sons of Saint Jacob. It turns out that your question about the origin of the tribe of Dan is inappropriate, for it is clear that this tribe comes from Dan, the son of Saint James - the son of Saint Isaac and the grandson of Saint Abraham.

Jews from the tribe of Dan come from Dan, his sons, grandsons, etc.

There is also a mention of the 12 tribes of Israel by the holy Apostle John in the book of Revelation:

Rev.7:
" 4 And I heard the number of those who were sealed: those who were sealed were one hundred and forty-four thousand from all the tribes of the children of Israel.
5 Of tribe of Judah(1) twelve thousand sealed; from tribe of Reuben(2) twelve thousand were sealed; from tribe of Gad(3) twelve thousand were sealed;
6 of tribe of Asher(4) twelve thousand were sealed; from tribe of Naphtali(5) twelve thousand were sealed; from tribe of Manasseh(6) twelve thousand were sealed;
7 of tribe of Simeon(7) twelve thousand were sealed; from tribe of Levi(8) twelve thousand were sealed; from tribe of Issachar(9) twelve thousand were sealed;
8 of tribe of Zebulun(10) twelve thousand were sealed; from tribe of Joseph(11) twelve thousand were sealed; from tribe of Benjamin(12) twelve thousand were sealed."

For ease of perception, I will give in two columns the names of the tribes mentioned in the book of Genesis and in the Book of Revelation, in the order as indicated in them. In the third column (far right) I will give a list of tribes from the book of Revelation, consistent in order with the list of the book of Genesis.

Genesis (order by seniority of brothers)		Book of Revelation (order by spiritual meaning)		Ordered Revelation (procedure agreed upon same names)
1. Reuben		1. Tribe of Judah		1. Tribe of Reuben
2. Simeon		2. Tribe of Reuben		2. Knee Simeonovo
3. Levi		3. Knee of Gadovo		3. Knee of Levi
4. Judas		4. Tribe of Asher		4. Tribe of Judah
5. Zebulun		5. Tribe of Naphtali		5. Tribe of Zebulun
6. Issachar		6. Tribe of Manasseh		6. Tribe of Issachar
7. Dan		7. Knee Simeonovo		7. Tribe of Manasseh
8. Gad		8. Tribe of Levi		8. Knee of Gadovo
9. Asher		9. Tribe of Issachar		9. Tribe of Asher
10. Naphtali		10. Tribe of Zebulun		10. Tribe of Naphtali
11. Joseph		11. Tribe of Joseph		11. Tribe of Joseph
12. Benjamin		12. Tribe of Veniamin		12. Tribe of Veniamin

From this comparison it is clear that the Apostle John the Theologian, at the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, omitted the mention of the tribe of Dan (from which the Antichrist-beast will come), replacing it with the first son of Joseph the Beautiful with Manasseh.

Gen.41.31:"AND Joseph called the name of his firstborn Manasseh because [he said] God has made me forget all my misfortunes and all my father’s house.”

Gen.49.17: "Dan will be a serpent on the road, asp on the way piercing the horse's leg, so that its rider falls back."

THE TWELVE TRIBES OF ISRAEL
According to biblical tradition, the ancient Jews, descendants of Jacob (Israel), were divided into 12 tribes ("tribes"), bearing the names of the sons of Jacob (with the exception of the tribes of Manasseh and Ephraim, which are descendants of Joseph, the son of Jacob, and bear the names of Joseph's two sons ). The descendants of Jacob's son Levi are not included in the number of 12 tribes, since the tribe of Levi, dedicated to serving the Lord, did not have its own land allotment in Canaan and was scattered throughout the country. Usually, in lists of tribes, the latter are grouped according to their maternal origin: the tribe of Leah: Reuben, Simeon, Levi, Judah, Issachar, Zebulun; the tribes of Zilphin: Gad and Asher; the tribes of Rachel: Ephraim, Manasseh and Benjamin; Tribes of Vallin: Dan and Naphtali. A tribe consisted of a group of families united by blood ties and forming a social and political community. Over time, the stronger knees began to absorb the weaker ones. After the establishment of the monarchy, the tribes ceased to exist as independent social units and basically lost their individuality, but the very concept of the “12 tribes of Israel” was preserved and appears in relatively later Jewish literature. Modern scientific point The view of the Israelite tribes differs significantly from the traditional one. According to this point of view, Jewish nation originated as a confederation of nomadic pastoral tribes that invaded Canaan at various times, although in each case they may have been groups of several tribes; and it is absolutely incredible that all these tribes descended from one person - Jacob.
LITERATURE
Christianity. encyclopedic Dictionary, vol. 1-3. M., 1993-1995 Bible Encyclopedia. M., 1996

Collier's Encyclopedia. - Open Society. 2000 .

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THE TWELVE TRIBES OF ISRAEL, the biblical division of the Jews into tribes bearing the names of the sons of Jacob (see JACOB) (with the exception of the tribes of Manasseh and Ephraim, two sons of Joseph). The descendants of Jacob's son Levi are not included in the 12 tribes because... ... encyclopedic Dictionary

Judaism basic concepts Portal Judaism ... Wikipedia

Judaism basic concepts Portal Judaism ... Wikipedia

- (Greek apostle άπόστολος, “messenger”), in Christian traditions, the “collegium” of his closest disciples chosen by Jesus Christ, which formed the core of the early Christian community. List of D. a. (often they are simply called “twelve” or “disciples”) is given... ... Encyclopedia of Mythology

- (Greek apostle “messenger”), the “collegium” chosen by Jesus Christ of His closest disciples, which formed the core of the early Christian community. A list of D.A. (often called simply “the twelve” or “disciples”) is given in the Synoptic Gospels (Matthew 10:2... Encyclopedia of Cultural Studies

According to Old Testament traditions, the sons of the biblical patriarch Jacob (Israel): Reuben, Simeon, Levi, Judah, Issachar, Zebulun, Dan, Naphtali, Gad, Asher, Joseph, Benjamin; six of them were born of Jacob from his cousin Leah, two from the other... ... Encyclopedia of Mythology

IN Old Testament sons of the patriarch Jacob (Israel): Reuben, Simeon, Levi, Judah, Issachar, Zebulun, Dan, Naphtali, Gad, Asher, Joseph, Benjamin; six of them were born to Jacob from his cousin Leah, two from another cousin Rachel (Joseph... ... Historical Dictionary

Twelve sons of Jacob- in the Old Testament, the sons of Patriarch Jacob (): Reuben, Simeon, Levi, Judah, Issachar, Zebulun, Dan, Naphtali, Gad, Asher, Joseph, Benjamin; six of them were born to Jacob from his cousin Leah, two from another cousin Rachel (), the rest ... ... Encyclopedic Dictionary of World History

12 twelve 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 Factorization: 2×2×3 Roman notation: XII Binary: 1100 Octal: 14 Hexadecimal ... Wikipedia

Books

• Biblical Images: Stories from the Old and New Testaments, Nettelhorst R.P. Who are the twelve tribes of Israel? What did Jezebel and Judas do to become household names for infidelity and betrayal? Who once had to fight with...
• Biblical images. Stories from the Old and New Testaments, R. P. Nettelhorst. 192 pp. Who are the twelve tribes of Israel? What did Jezebel and Judas do to become household names for infidelity and betrayal? Who once had the opportunity to fight with...