Israelite
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
historical debates about the origins of the Hebrews/Israelites.
The English word
Israelite derives from
ישראל ("Upright (with)
God",
Standard Hebrew Yisraʾel,
Tiberian Hebrew Yiśrāʾ"l); see the article
Israel for details on the word's definition.
Please read this entry in conjunction with the entries on:*
History of ancient Israel and Judah*
Children of Israel*
Ten Lost TribesAccording 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.
Twelve tribes of Israel are listed in the
Tanakh (
Hebrew Bible,
Old Testament).
 |
1759 map of the tribal allotments of Israel |
*
Tribe of Reuben**
ראובן,
Standard Rəʾuven,
Tiberian Rəʾûḇ"n**
ראובני, Standard
Ruʾuveni, Tiberian
Ruʾûḇ"nî*
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
L"wî*
Tribe of Judah**
י"ו"", Standard
Yəhuda, Tiberian
Yəhûḏāh**
י"ו"י, Standard
Yəhudi, Tiberian
Yəhûḏî*
Tribe of Dan**
"ן, Standard
Dan, Tiberian
Dān**
"ני, Standard
Dani, Tiberian
Dānî*
Tribe of Naphtali**
נפתלי, Standard
Naftali, Tiberian
Nap̄tālî*
Tribe of Gad**
'", Standard
Gad, Tiberian
Gāḏ**
'"י, Tiberian Standard
Gadi,
Gāḏî*
Tribe of Asher**
אשר, Standard
Ašer, Tiberian
ʾĀš"r**
אשרי, Standard
Ašeri, Tiberian
ʾĀš"rî*
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
Yôs"p̄**
יוספי, Standard
Yosefi, Tiberian
Yôs"p̄î** containing the tribes of his sons:
***
Tribe of Manasseh****
מנש",
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 Benjamin**
בנימין, Standard
Binyamin, Tiberian
Binyāmîn**
בן־"ימיני Standard
Ben haYmini, Tiberian
Ben-haYmînîDivisions
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 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:
| Traditional division:#Reuben#Simeon#Levi#Judah#Issachar#Zebulun#Dan#Naphtali#Gad#Asher#Joseph#Benjamin | Division according to apportionment of land in Israel:#Reuben#Simeon#Judah#Issachar#Zebulun#Dan#Naphtali#Gad#Asher#Benjamin#Ephraim (son of Joseph)#Manasseh (son of Joseph) |
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
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.
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 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 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
Benjamin and
Judah and the
Levi who eventually became the modern day Jews.
See also Bnai Israel.Babylonian captivity
In
586 BCE the nation of Judah was conquered by
Babylon. About 50 years later, in
539 BCE, the
Persians (who had recently conquered Babylon) allowed Jews to return to
Jerusalem 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.
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 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 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 tribes seem to have abandoned their individual identities.
Jewish religious texts from the first century BCE to the present time consistently refer to Jews as "Yisrael", or "Israelites", rather than "Yehudi", the more specific
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
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
religious conversion to Judaism and married with the descendants of the Judaic Hebrews.
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 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, and regard themselves as the descendants of
Aphrime (
Ephraim) and
Manatch (
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 has many sects, some of which accept the core doctrines of
Christianity (doctrines disputed within Christianity itself) and some which do not or 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, 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 believe they have been "grafted in" to the tribes of Israel, thus, believing they are "Jewish" and/or "Israelite", in a similar way
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.
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
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
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) (For more details, see
Mormonism and Judaism and this
guide to LDS scriptural references on Israel.)
"
Gentile" is sometimes used informally by Mormons to refer to non-Mormons.
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.
Anti-Semitic Groups
A number of
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
supersede them. See
British-Israel-World Federation.
*
Shavei Israel*
Kingdom of Israel*
Kingdom of Judah*
History of ancient Israel and Judah*
Gentile*
Bible and
The Bible and history.
* 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.
*
The Israelite census, of the book of numbers, in isolation, at wikisource
