Topical Bible: Tribal

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Topical Encyclopedia

The term "tribal" in the context of the Bible primarily refers to the twelve tribes of Israel, which are foundational to the narrative of the Old Testament. These tribes are descendants of the twelve sons of Jacob, whose name was changed to Israel (Genesis 32:28). The tribes are Reuben, Simeon, Levi, Judah, Dan, Naphtali, Gad, Asher, Issachar, Zebulun, Joseph (often represented by his sons Ephraim and Manasseh), and Benjamin.

Formation and Significance

The tribal system was established during the patriarchal period, with each tribe named after one of Jacob's sons. This system played a crucial role in the social, political, and religious life of ancient Israel. The tribes were not only family groups but also political entities that held land and had specific roles within the nation. The division of the land among the tribes is detailed in the Book of Joshua, where each tribe received its inheritance in the Promised Land (Joshua 13-21).

Religious and Cultural Identity

The tribal identity was central to the Israelites' understanding of themselves as God's chosen people. Each tribe had its own leaders, and the tribal system provided a framework for governance and military organization. The tribes would gather for religious festivals and other significant events, reinforcing their collective identity as the people of God.

The Levites, one of the tribes, were set apart for religious duties. They did not receive a territorial inheritance like the other tribes but were given cities scattered throughout Israel (Numbers 18:20-24). The tribe of Judah gained prominence as the royal tribe, from which King David and ultimately Jesus Christ descended (Matthew 1:1-16).

Tribal Alliances and Conflicts

Throughout the history of Israel, tribal alliances and conflicts were common. The period of the Judges, for example, was marked by inter-tribal strife and cooperation against common enemies. The tribes often acted independently, which sometimes led to civil discord, as seen in the conflict between the tribe of Benjamin and the other tribes in Judges 20.

The division of the united monarchy after Solomon's reign into the northern kingdom of Israel and the southern kingdom of Judah was also along tribal lines. The northern kingdom consisted of ten tribes, while Judah and Benjamin formed the southern kingdom (1 Kings 12).

Prophetic and Eschatological Significance

The prophets often addressed the tribes collectively and individually, calling them to repentance and faithfulness to the covenant. In the eschatological visions of the prophets, the restoration and reunification of the tribes are significant themes. Ezekiel's vision of the valley of dry bones, for example, symbolizes the reunification and revival of the whole house of Israel (Ezekiel 37:15-28).

In the New Testament, the tribal concept is spiritualized. The Book of Revelation speaks of the 144,000 sealed from every tribe of the sons of Israel (Revelation 7:4-8), symbolizing the completeness and perfection of God's people.

Tribal Legacy

The legacy of the tribes of Israel continues to be a subject of theological reflection and study. The tribal system illustrates the diversity and unity within the people of God, serving as a model for understanding the Church as a community of believers with varied gifts and roles, yet united in Christ.

Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary

(a.) Of or pertaining to a tribe or tribes; as, a tribal scepter.

Greek

1481. ethnarches -- an ethnarch, a governor (not king) of a ...
... a province. Part of Speech: Noun, Masculine Transliteration: ethnarches Phonetic
Spelling: (eth-nar'-khace) Short Definition: an ethnarch, tribal lord Definition ...
//strongsnumbers.com/greek2/1481.htm - 6k

3828. Pamphulia -- Pamphylia, a province of Asia Minor
... Pamphylia. From a compound of pas and pura; every-tribal, ie Heterogeneous (chora
being implied); Pamphylia, a region of Asia Minor -- Pamphylia. see GREEK pas. ...
//strongsnumbers.com/greek2/3828.htm - 6k

Strong's Hebrew

4294. matteh -- a staff, rod, shaft, branch, a tribe
... NASB Word Usage branch (3), branches (1), half-tribe* (13), rod (18), rods (6),
scepter (2), spears (1), staff (33), staffs (1), supply (1), tribal (8), tribe ...
/hebrew/4294.htm - 6k

5983. Ammon -- a people living East of the Jordan
... Ammon, Ammonites. From am; tribal, ie Inbred; Ammon, a son of Lot; also his posterity
and their country -- Ammon, Ammonites. see HEBREW am. 5982, 5983. ...
/hebrew/5983.htm - 6k

Library

Chapter xii
... One of the most popular methods, of dealing with patriarchal history is to approach
it on the basis of the so-called tribal theory (Stammtheorie). ...
//christianbookshelf.org/leupold/exposition of genesis volume 1/chapter xii.htm

The Early Training of a Race.
... How far has this characteristic survived to the glory of the Jewish race? The tribal
organization also cherished the freedom of each individual. ...
/.../kent/the making of a nation/study xi the early training.htm

King Herod's Enrollment
... Obviously, the best way to soothe the Jewish sentiment was to give the enrollment
a tribal character and to number the tribes of Israel, as had been done by ...
/.../ramsay/was christ born in bethlehem/chapter 9 king herods enrollment.htm

The Criminal and his Relation to Society.
... disciples on seeing a blind man by the wayside, raised the question: "Did this man
sin or his parents?" Among the Arabs of the desert the tribal mark, either ...
/.../kent/the making of a nation/study iii the criminal and.htm

The Sacrifice
... known form of sacrifice is the killing of the sacred animal of the tribe, the animal
which was held to be the representative of the tribal god, followed by the ...
//christianbookshelf.org/beibitz/gloria crucis/viii the sacrifice.htm

After Prayer Jesus Selects Twelve Apostles.
... It unquestionably had reference to the twelve tribes of Israel, over whom the apostles
were to be tribal judges or viceroys (Luke 22:30), and we find the ...
/.../mcgarvey/the four-fold gospel/xli after prayer jesus selects.htm

The Question at Issue
... Augustus, there was made an enrollment, or numbering, of the population of Herod's
kingdom; and this was made according to households and tribal descent and ...
/.../ramsay/was christ born in bethlehem/chapter 5 the question at.htm

How to Split a Kingdom
... 1 Kings 9:22); but probably the severity was exaggerated in these complaints, which
were plainly the pretext for a revolt of which tribal jealousy was the main ...
/.../maclaren/expositions of holy scripture f/how to split a kingdom.htm

Chapter x
... v.13, Ludim, Anamim, Lehabim, etc., all plural nouns). But even the tribal or national
name may be derived from the actual ancestor. But if names. ...
//christianbookshelf.org/leupold/exposition of genesis volume 1/chapter x.htm

The Book of God
... Suppose that Jehovah was at the beginning just a tribal Deity. The difference
between Jehovah and other tribal deities was that ...
/.../mcconnell/understanding the scriptures/chapter iv the book of.htm

Thesaurus

Tribal (25 Occurrences)
... Noah Webster's Dictionary (a.) Of or pertaining to a tribe or tribes; as, a tribal
scepter. Multi-Version Concordance Tribal (25 Occurrences). ...
/t/tribal.htm - 13k

Circumcision (98 Occurrences)
... (2) It was a tribal mark. ... The tribal mark enabled one member of the tribe to recognize
another and thus avoid injuring or slaying a fellow-tribesman. ...
/c/circumcision.htm - 53k

Reuben (73 Occurrences)
... 2. Tribal History: At the first census in the wilderness Reuben numbered 46,500
men of war (Numbers 1:21); at the second they had fallen to 43,730; see NUMBERS ...
/r/reuben.htm - 46k

Issachar (40 Occurrences)
... Later this place was held by Igal ben-Joseph, the tribal representative among the
spies (Numbers 13:7). The prince chosen from Issachar to assist in the ...
/i/issachar.htm - 26k

Persians (6 Occurrences)
... Persian Parsa, name of both country and people; does not occur in Avesta): I. AFFINITY
1. Three Classes 2. Tribal and Clan Divisions 3. Achemenian Dynasty II. ...
/p/persians.htm - 20k

Ahira (5 Occurrences)
... He was the hereditary "prince" of the tribe; he made the tribal offering (Numbers
2:29; Numbers 7:78; compare Numbers 7:83), and was commander of the tribal...
/a/ahira.htm - 8k

Bethshemesh (19 Occurrences)
... 2. Beth-shemesh of Issachar: In the description of the tribal limits, it is said
of Issachar (Joshua 19:22), "And the border reached to Tabor, and Shahazumah ...
/b/bethshemesh.htm - 19k

Beth-shemesh (19 Occurrences)
... 2. Beth-shemesh of Issachar: In the description of the tribal limits, it is said
of Issachar (Joshua 19:22), "And the border reached to Tabor, and Shahazumah ...
/b/beth-shemesh.htm - 20k

Marriage (74 Occurrences)
... was regarded as the most important. It was a step that led to the gravest
tribal and family consequences. In case of a daughter, if ...
/m/marriage.htm - 62k

Authority (326 Occurrences)
... BIBLICAL TEACHING 1. Old Testament Teaching (1) Earliest Form Patriarchal (2) Tribal
and Personal Authority (3) See rs and Priests (4) Kings and Established ...
/a/authority.htm - 69k

Resources

What is Santeria? | GotQuestions.org

Summary of the Book of Joshua - Bible Survey | GotQuestions.org

Why did God command the Israelites to completely destroy the Midianites in Numbers 31:17? | GotQuestions.org

Tribal: Dictionary and Thesaurus | Clyx.com

Bible Concordance • Bible Dictionary • Bible Encyclopedia • Topical Bible • Bible Thesuarus

Concordance

Tribal (25 Occurrences)

Genesis 25:16
These are the sons of Ishmael, and these are their names, by their villages, and by their encampments: twelve princes, according to their nations.
(See NIV)

Numbers 4:18
'Cut ye not off the tribe of the families of the Kohathites from among the Levites;
(See NIV)

Numbers 7:2
that the princes of Israel, the heads of their fathers' houses, offered--these were the princes of the tribes, these are they that were over them that were numbered.
(See NIV)

Numbers 10:15
And over the host of the tribe of the children of Issachar was Nethanel the son of Zuar.
(See NAS)

Numbers 10:16
And over the host of the tribe of the children of Zebulun was Eliab the son of Helon.
(See NAS)

Numbers 10:19
And over the host of the tribe of the children of Simeon was Shelumiel the son of Zurishaddai.
(See NAS)

Numbers 10:20
And over the host of the tribe of the children of Gad was Eliasaph the son of Deuel.
(See NAS)

Numbers 10:23
And over the host of the tribe of the children of Manasseh was Gamaliel the son of Pedahzur.
(See NAS)

Numbers 10:24
And over the host of the tribe of the children of Benjamin was Abidan the son of Gideoni.
(See NAS)

Numbers 10:26
And over the host of the tribe of the children of Asher was Pagiel the son of Ochran.
(See NAS)

Numbers 10:27
And over the host of the tribe of the children of Naphtali was Ahira the son of Enan.
(See NAS)

Numbers 25:15
And the name of the Midianitish woman that was slain was Cozbi, the daughter of Zur; he was tribal head of a father's house in Midian.
(DBY NIV)

Numbers 36:4
And when the jubilee of the children of Israel shall be, then will their inheritance be added unto the inheritance of the tribe whereunto they shall belong; so will their inheritance be taken away from the inheritance of the tribe of our fathers.'
(See NIV)

Numbers 36:6
This is the thing which the LORD hath commanded concerning the daughters of Zelophehad, saying: Let them be married to whom they think best; only into the family of the tribe of their father shall they be married.
(See NIV)

Numbers 36:7
So shall no inheritance of the children of Israel remove from tribe to tribe; for the children of Israel shall cleave every one to the inheritance of the tribe of his fathers.
(See NIV)

Numbers 36:8
And every daughter, that possesseth an inheritance in any tribe of the children of Israel, shall be wife unto one of the family of the tribe of her father, that the children of Israel may possess every man the inheritance of his fathers.
(See NIV)

Deuteronomy 1:15
So I took the heads of your tribes, wise men, and full of knowledge, and made them heads over you, captains of thousands, and captains of hundreds, and captains of fifties, and captains of tens, and officers, tribe by tribe.
(See NIV)

Joshua 11:23
So Joshua took the whole land, according to all that the LORD spoke unto Moses; and Joshua gave it for an inheritance unto Israel according to their divisions by their tribes. And the land had rest from war.
(See RSV NIV)

Joshua 12:7
And these are the kings of the land whom Joshua and the children of Israel smote beyond the Jordan westward, from Baal-gad in the valley of Lebanon even unto the bare mountain, that goeth up to Seir; and Joshua gave it unto the tribes of Israel for a possession according to their divisions;
(See NIV)

Joshua 14:1
And these are the inheritances which the children of Israel took in the land of Canaan, which Eleazar the priest, and Joshua the son of Nun, and the heads of the fathers' houses of the tribes of the children of Israel, distributed unto them,
(See NIV)

Joshua 18:10
And Joshua made the distribution for them in Shiloh by the decision of the Lord, marking out the land for the children of Israel by their divisions.
(See NIV)

Joshua 19:51
These are the inheritances, which Eleazar the priest, and Joshua the son of Nun, and the heads of the fathers' houses of the tribes of the children of Israel, distributed for inheritance by lot in Shiloh before the LORD, at the door of the tent of meeting. So they made an end of dividing the land.
(See NIV)

Joshua 21:1
Then came near the heads of fathers' houses of the Levites unto Eleazar the priest, and unto Joshua the son of Nun, and unto the heads of fathers' houses of the tribes of the children of Israel;
(See NIV)

Joshua 22:14
and with him ten princes, one prince of a fathers' house for each of the tribes of Israel; and they were every one of them head of their fathers' houses among the thousands of Israel.
(See RSV)

Ezekiel 48:8
By the border of Judah, from the east side to the west side, shall be the offering which you shall offer, twenty-five thousand reeds in breadth, and in length as one of the portions, from the east side to the west side: and the sanctuary shall be in its midst.
(See RSV NIV)

Subtopics

Tribal

Related Terms

12000 (7 Occurrences)

Allotted (54 Occurrences)

Zeb'ulun (41 Occurrences)

Ko'hathites (19 Occurrences)

Kenites (8 Occurrences)

Kohathite (18 Occurrences)

Bezer (5 Occurrences)

Sealed (31 Occurrences)

Pasturelands (42 Occurrences)