Tribe of Naphtali
Encyclopedia
The Tribe of Naphtali was one of the Tribes of Israel.
Following the completion of the conquest of Canaan
by the Israelite
tribes after about 1200 BCE, Joshua
allocated the land among the twelve tribes. The Tribe of Naphtali was allocated the eastern side of the Galilee (on the immediate west of the Sea of Galilee
), in the areas now known as the Lower Galilee, and Upper Galilee
, and was bordered on the west by Asher
, in the north by Dan
, in the south by Zebulun
, and by the Jordan River on the east. The most significant city was Hazor.
In this region, bordering the Sea of Galilee, was the highly fertile plain of Gennesaret
, characterised by Josephus
as the ambition of nature, an earthly paradise, and with the southern portion of the region acting as a natural pass
between the highlands of Canaan
, several major roads (such as those from Damascus
to Tyre and Acre
) ran through it. The prosperity this situation brought is seemingly prophesied
in the Blessing of Moses
, though textual scholars
view this as a postdiction
, dating the poem to well after the tribe had been established in the land.
From after the conquest of the land by Joshua until the formation of the first Kingdom of Israel in c. 1050 BC, the Tribe of Naphtali was a part of a loose confederation of Israelite tribes. No central government existed, and in times of crisis the people were led by ad hoc leaders known as Judges
(see the Book of Judges
). With the growth of the threat from Philistine incursions, the Israelite tribes decided to form a strong centralised monarchy to meet the challenge, and the Tribe of Naphtali joined the new kingdom with Saul
as the first king. After the death of Saul, all the tribes other than Judah remained loyal to the House of Saul, but after the death of Ish-bosheth
, Saul's son and successor to the throne of Israel, the Tribe of Naphtali joined the other northern Israelite tribes in making David
, who was then the king of Judah, king of a re-united Kingdom of Israel. However, on the accession of Rehoboam
, David's grandson, in c. 930 BC the northern tribes split from the House of David
to reform a Kingdom of Israel as the Northern Kingdom.
In c. 732 BCE, Pekah
allied with Rezin
, king of Aram
, threatened Jerusalem, and Ahaz
, king of Judah, appealed to Tiglath-Pileser III
, the king of Assyria
, for help. After Ahaz paid tribute to Tiglath-Pileser, Tiglath-Pileser sacked Damascus and Israel, annexing Aram and a large part of Israel, "including all the land of Naphtali." According to and , the population of Aram and the annexed part of Israel was deported to Assyria. The kingdom of Israel continued to exist until c. 723 BC, when it was again invaded by Assyria
and the rest of the population deported.
From that time, the Tribe of Naphtali has been counted as one of the Ten Lost Tribes
of Israel.
, the tribe consisted of descendants of Naphtali
, a son of Jacob
and Bilhah
, from whom it took its name. However, Biblical scholars
view this as a postdiction
, an eponym
ous metaphor
providing an aetiology of the connectedness of the tribe to others in the Israelite confederation.
is featured in Naphtali's history. In the ancient Song of Deborah, Naphtali is commended, along with Zebulun, for risking their lives in the fight against Sisera
; in the prose account of the event, which textual scholars
regard as a much later narrative based on the poem, there is the addition that Barak
, the leader of the anti-Sisera forces, hails from the tribe of Naphtali. In the Gideon narrative Naphtali are one of the tribes which join in an attack against Midian
ite invaders, though textual scholars regard the Gideon narrative as being spliced together from at least three earlier texts, the oldest of which describes only personal vengeance by Gideon and 300 men of his own clan, not a battle in which the rest of the northern tribes join him. In the Blessing of Jacob
, which textual scholars date to 700-600 BC - and thus a postdiction, Naphtali is compared to a hind
let loose, and commended for giving goodly words.
The territory allotted to the tribe in Canaan
was in the extreme north, and was bordered on the north by the Litani River
, on the east by the River Jordan until it was 12 miles (19.3 km) south of the Sea of Galilee
, on the west by the tribes of Asher
and Zabulon; and on the south by the tribe of Issachar
.
and Israel, Naphtali was persecuted by Ben-Hadad
, the king of Aram-Damascus, on behalf of Asa
, the king of Judah, and desolated. Centuries later, the Assyrians invaded Israel, which, though it had been a tributary
, had also defaulted
, and so Naphtali, one of the most northerly tribes, became one of the first to be conquered. With the land taken, the tribe were exiled; the manner of their exile led to their further history being lost.
The symbol of the tribe is a gazelle-a very quick animal. The people of Naftali were famous for being great runners.
There has been speculation that the Bukharian Jews of Central Asia are the descendants of the Naphtali tribe.
Following the completion of the conquest of Canaan
Canaan
Canaan is a historical region roughly corresponding to modern-day Israel, Palestine, Lebanon, and the western parts of Jordan...
by the Israelite
Israelite
According to the Bible the Israelites were a Hebrew-speaking people of the Ancient Near East who inhabited the Land of Canaan during the monarchic period .The word "Israelite" derives from the Biblical Hebrew ישראל...
tribes after about 1200 BCE, Joshua
Joshua
Joshua , is a minor figure in the Torah, being one of the spies for Israel and in few passages as Moses's assistant. He turns to be the central character in the Hebrew Bible's Book of Joshua...
allocated the land among the twelve tribes. The Tribe of Naphtali was allocated the eastern side of the Galilee (on the immediate west of the Sea of Galilee
Sea of Galilee
The Sea of Galilee, also Kinneret, Lake of Gennesaret, or Lake Tiberias , is the largest freshwater lake in Israel, and it is approximately in circumference, about long, and wide. The lake has a total area of , and a maximum depth of approximately 43 m...
), in the areas now known as the Lower Galilee, and Upper Galilee
Upper Galilee
The Upper Galilee is a geographical-political term in use since the end of the Second Temple period, originally referring to a mountainous area overlapping the present northern Israel and southern Lebanon, its borders being the Litani river in the north, the Mediterranean Sea in the west, the Beit...
, and was bordered on the west by Asher
Tribe of Asher
According to the Hebrew Bible, the Tribe of Asher! was one of the Tribes of Israel.Following the completion of the conquest of Canaan by the Israelite tribes after about 1200 BCE, Joshua allocated the land among the twelve tribes...
, in the north by Dan
Tribe of Dan
The Tribe of Dan, also sometimes spelled as "Dann", was one of the Tribes of Israel. Though known mostly from biblical sources, they were possibly descendants of the Denyen Sea Peoples who joined with Hebrews...
, in the south by Zebulun
Tribe of Zebulun
According to the Hebrew Bible, the Tribe of Zebulun was one of the Tribes of Israel....
, and by the Jordan River on the east. The most significant city was Hazor.
In this region, bordering the Sea of Galilee, was the highly fertile plain of Gennesaret
Gennesaret
Gennesaret was a town alloted to the tribe of Naphtali, called "Kinnereth" , sometimes in the plural form "Kinneroth" . In later times the name was gradually changed to Genezareth, Genezar and Gennesaret...
, characterised by Josephus
Josephus
Titus Flavius Josephus , also called Joseph ben Matityahu , was a 1st-century Romano-Jewish historian and hagiographer of priestly and royal ancestry who recorded Jewish history, with special emphasis on the 1st century AD and the First Jewish–Roman War, which resulted in the Destruction of...
as the ambition of nature, an earthly paradise, and with the southern portion of the region acting as a natural pass
Mountain pass
A mountain pass is a route through a mountain range or over a ridge. If following the lowest possible route, a pass is locally the highest point on that route...
between the highlands of Canaan
Canaan
Canaan is a historical region roughly corresponding to modern-day Israel, Palestine, Lebanon, and the western parts of Jordan...
, several major roads (such as those from Damascus
Damascus
Damascus , commonly known in Syria as Al Sham , and as the City of Jasmine , is the capital and the second largest city of Syria after Aleppo, both are part of the country's 14 governorates. In addition to being one of the oldest continuously inhabited cities in the world, Damascus is a major...
to Tyre and Acre
Acre, Israel
Acre , is a city in the Western Galilee region of northern Israel at the northern extremity of Haifa Bay. Acre is one of the oldest continuously inhabited sites in the country....
) ran through it. The prosperity this situation brought is seemingly prophesied
Prophecy
Prophecy is a process in which one or more messages that have been communicated to a prophet are then communicated to others. Such messages typically involve divine inspiration, interpretation, or revelation of conditioned events to come as well as testimonies or repeated revelations that the...
in the Blessing of Moses
Blessing of Moses
The Blessing of Moses is the name sometimes given to a poem that appears in Deuteronomy . The poem presents an opinion of the merits and attributes of each of the Tribes of Israel, and so can be compared with the Blessing of Jacob, which has the same theme...
, though textual scholars
Textual criticism
Textual criticism is a branch of literary criticism that is concerned with the identification and removal of transcription errors in the texts of manuscripts...
view this as a postdiction
Postdiction
According to critics of paranormal beliefs, postdiction is an effect of hindsight bias that explains claimed predictions of significant events, such as plane crashes and natural disasters...
, dating the poem to well after the tribe had been established in the land.
From after the conquest of the land by Joshua until the formation of the first Kingdom of Israel in c. 1050 BC, the Tribe of Naphtali was a part of a loose confederation of Israelite tribes. No central government existed, and in times of crisis the people were led by ad hoc leaders known as Judges
Biblical judges
A biblical judge is "a ruler or a military leader, as well as someone who presided over legal hearings."...
(see the Book of Judges
Book of Judges
The Book of Judges is the seventh book of the Hebrew bible and the Christian Old Testament. Its title describes its contents: it contains the history of Biblical judges, divinely inspired prophets whose direct knowledge of Yahweh allows them to act as decision-makers for the Israelites, as...
). With the growth of the threat from Philistine incursions, the Israelite tribes decided to form a strong centralised monarchy to meet the challenge, and the Tribe of Naphtali joined the new kingdom with Saul
Saul
-People:Saul is a given/first name in English, the Anglicized form of the Hebrew name Shaul from the Hebrew Bible:* Saul , including people with this given namein the Bible:* Saul , a king of Edom...
as the first king. After the death of Saul, all the tribes other than Judah remained loyal to the House of Saul, but after the death of Ish-bosheth
Ish-bosheth
According to the Hebrew Bible, Ish-bosheth also called Eshbaal , Ashbaal or Ishbaal, was one of the four sons of King Saul, born c. 1047 BC...
, Saul's son and successor to the throne of Israel, the Tribe of Naphtali joined the other northern Israelite tribes in making David
David
David was the second king of the united Kingdom of Israel according to the Hebrew Bible and, according to the Gospels of Matthew and Luke, an ancestor of Jesus Christ through both Saint Joseph and Mary...
, who was then the king of Judah, king of a re-united Kingdom of Israel. However, on the accession of Rehoboam
Rehoboam
Rehoboam was initially king of the United Monarchy of Israel but after the ten northern tribes of Israel rebelled in 932/931 BC to form the independent Kingdom of Israel he was king of the Kingdom of Judah, or southern kingdom. He was a son of Solomon and a grandson of David...
, David's grandson, in c. 930 BC the northern tribes split from the House of David
Davidic line
The Davidic line refers to the tracing of lineage to the King David referred to in the Hebrew Bible, as well as the New Testament...
to reform a Kingdom of Israel as the Northern Kingdom.
In c. 732 BCE, Pekah
Pekah
Pekah was king of Israel. He was a captain in the army of king Pekahiah of Israel, whom he killed to become king. Pekah was the son of Remaliah ....
allied with Rezin
Rezin
King Rezin of Aram or Rasin of Syria in DRB ruled from Damascus during the 8th century BC. During his reign he was a tributary of King Tiglath-pileser III of Assyria....
, king of Aram
Aram (Biblical region)
Aram is the name of a region mentioned in the Bible located in central Syria, including where the city of Aleppo now stands.-Etymology:The etymology is uncertain. One standard explanation is an original meaning of "highlands"...
, threatened Jerusalem, and Ahaz
Ahaz
Ahaz was king of Judah, and the son and successor of Jotham. He is one of the kings mentioned in the genealogy of Jesus in the Gospel of Matthew....
, king of Judah, appealed to Tiglath-Pileser III
Tiglath-Pileser III
Tiglath-Pileser III was a prominent king of Assyria in the eighth century BC and is widely regarded as the founder of the Neo-Assyrian Empire. Tiglath-Pileser III seized the Assyrian throne during a civil war and killed the royal family...
, the king of Assyria
Assyria
Assyria was a Semitic Akkadian kingdom, extant as a nation state from the mid–23rd century BC to 608 BC centred on the Upper Tigris river, in northern Mesopotamia , that came to rule regional empires a number of times through history. It was named for its original capital, the ancient city of Assur...
, for help. After Ahaz paid tribute to Tiglath-Pileser, Tiglath-Pileser sacked Damascus and Israel, annexing Aram and a large part of Israel, "including all the land of Naphtali." According to and , the population of Aram and the annexed part of Israel was deported to Assyria. The kingdom of Israel continued to exist until c. 723 BC, when it was again invaded by Assyria
Assyria
Assyria was a Semitic Akkadian kingdom, extant as a nation state from the mid–23rd century BC to 608 BC centred on the Upper Tigris river, in northern Mesopotamia , that came to rule regional empires a number of times through history. It was named for its original capital, the ancient city of Assur...
and the rest of the population deported.
From that time, the Tribe of Naphtali has been counted as one of the Ten Lost Tribes
Ten Lost Tribes
The Ten Lost Tribes of Israel refers to those tribes of ancient Israel that formed the Kingdom of Israel and which disappeared from Biblical and all other historical accounts after the kingdom was destroyed in about 720 BC by ancient Assyria...
of Israel.
Origin
According to the TorahTorah
Torah- A scroll containing the first five books of the BibleThe Torah , is name given by Jews to the first five books of the bible—Genesis , Exodus , Leviticus , Numbers and Deuteronomy Torah- A scroll containing the first five books of the BibleThe Torah , is name given by Jews to the first five...
, the tribe consisted of descendants of Naphtali
Naphtali
According to the Book of Genesis, Naphtali was the second son of Jacob with Bilhah. He was the founder of the Israelite Tribe of Naphtali. However, some Biblical scholars view this as postdiction, an eponymous metaphor providing an aetiology of the connectedness of the tribe to others in the...
, a son of Jacob
Jacob
Jacob "heel" or "leg-puller"), also later known as Israel , as described in the Hebrew Bible, the Talmud, the New Testament and the Qur'an was the third patriarch of the Hebrew people with whom God made a covenant, and ancestor of the tribes of Israel, which were named after his descendants.In the...
and Bilhah
Bilhah
In the Book of Genesis, Bilhah is Rachel's handmaid who becomes a wife of Jacob and bears him two sons, Dan and Naphtali....
, from whom it took its name. However, Biblical scholars
Biblical criticism
Biblical criticism is the scholarly "study and investigation of Biblical writings that seeks to make discerning judgments about these writings." It asks when and where a particular text originated; how, why, by whom, for whom, and in what circumstances it was produced; what influences were at work...
view this as a postdiction
Postdiction
According to critics of paranormal beliefs, postdiction is an effect of hindsight bias that explains claimed predictions of significant events, such as plane crashes and natural disasters...
, an eponym
Eponym
An eponym is the name of a person or thing, whether real or fictitious, after which a particular place, tribe, era, discovery, or other item is named or thought to be named...
ous metaphor
Metaphor
A metaphor is a literary figure of speech that uses an image, story or tangible thing to represent a less tangible thing or some intangible quality or idea; e.g., "Her eyes were glistening jewels." Metaphor may also be used for any rhetorical figures of speech that achieve their effects via...
providing an aetiology of the connectedness of the tribe to others in the Israelite confederation.
Character
MilitarismMilitarism
Militarism is defined as: the belief or desire of a government or people that a country should maintain a strong military capability and be prepared to use it aggressively to defend or promote national interests....
is featured in Naphtali's history. In the ancient Song of Deborah, Naphtali is commended, along with Zebulun, for risking their lives in the fight against Sisera
Sisera
Sisera was commander of the Canaanite army of King Jabin of Hazor mentioned in the of the Hebrew Bible. After being defeated by Barak, Sisera was killed by Jael, who hammered a tent peg into his temple....
; in the prose account of the event, which textual scholars
Textual criticism
Textual criticism is a branch of literary criticism that is concerned with the identification and removal of transcription errors in the texts of manuscripts...
regard as a much later narrative based on the poem, there is the addition that Barak
Barak
Barak , Al-Burāq the son of Abinoam from Kedesh in Naphtali, was a military general in the Book of Judges in the Bible. He was the commander of the army of Deborah, the prophetess and heroine of the Hebrew Bible...
, the leader of the anti-Sisera forces, hails from the tribe of Naphtali. In the Gideon narrative Naphtali are one of the tribes which join in an attack against Midian
Midian
Midian , Madyan , or Madiam is a geographical place and a people mentioned in the Bible and in the Qur'an. It is believed to be in northwest Saudi Arabia on the east shore of the Gulf of Aqaba and the northern Red Sea...
ite invaders, though textual scholars regard the Gideon narrative as being spliced together from at least three earlier texts, the oldest of which describes only personal vengeance by Gideon and 300 men of his own clan, not a battle in which the rest of the northern tribes join him. In the Blessing of Jacob
Blessing of Jacob
The Blessing of Jacob is a poem that appears in Genesis at . Jacob had twelve sons, each of whom is mentioned.The poem presents an opinion of the merits and attributes of each of the Tribes of Israel, and so can be compared with the Blessing of Moses, which has the same theme...
, which textual scholars date to 700-600 BC - and thus a postdiction, Naphtali is compared to a hind
Deer
Deer are the ruminant mammals forming the family Cervidae. Species in the Cervidae family include white-tailed deer, elk, moose, red deer, reindeer, fallow deer, roe deer and chital. Male deer of all species and female reindeer grow and shed new antlers each year...
let loose, and commended for giving goodly words.
The territory allotted to the tribe in Canaan
Canaan
Canaan is a historical region roughly corresponding to modern-day Israel, Palestine, Lebanon, and the western parts of Jordan...
was in the extreme north, and was bordered on the north by the Litani River
Litani River
The Litani River is an important water resource in southern Lebanon. The river rises in the fertile Beqaa Valley valley, west of Baalbek, and empties into the Mediterranean Sea north of Tyre. Exceeding 140 km in length, the Litani River is the longest river in Lebanon and provides an average...
, on the east by the River Jordan until it was 12 miles (19.3 km) south of the Sea of Galilee
Sea of Galilee
The Sea of Galilee, also Kinneret, Lake of Gennesaret, or Lake Tiberias , is the largest freshwater lake in Israel, and it is approximately in circumference, about long, and wide. The lake has a total area of , and a maximum depth of approximately 43 m...
, on the west by the tribes of Asher
Asher
Asher , in the Book of Genesis, is the second son of Jacob and Zilpah, and the founder of the Tribe of Asher.-Name:The text of the Torah argues that the name of Asher means happy/blessing, implying a derivation from the Hebrew term osher ; the Torah actually presents this in two variations—beoshri...
and Zabulon; and on the south by the tribe of Issachar
Issachar
Issachar/Yissachar was, according to the Book of Genesis, a son of Jacob and Leah , and the founder of the Israelite Tribe of Issachar; however some Biblical scholars view this as postdiction, an eponymous metaphor providing an aetiology of the connectedness of the tribe to others in the Israelite...
.
Fate
As part of the Kingdom of Israel, during one of the several wars between the kingdoms of JudahKingdom of Judah
The Kingdom of Judah was a Jewish state established in the Southern Levant during the Iron Age. It is often referred to as the "Southern Kingdom" to distinguish it from the northern Kingdom of Israel....
and Israel, Naphtali was persecuted by Ben-Hadad
Ben-Hadad I
Ben-Hadad I was the king of Aram Damascus between 885 BCE and 865 BCE. He was the son of Tabrimmon and grandson of Hezion and a contemporary of Kings Baasha of Israel and Asa of Judah. Asa called on Ben-Hadad I to aid him in attacking northern Israel while Baasha was restricting access to...
, the king of Aram-Damascus, on behalf of Asa
Asa of Judah
Asa was the third king of the Kingdom of Judah and the fifth king of the House of David. He was the son of Abijam, grandson of Rehoboam, and great-grandson of Solomon. The Hebrew Bible gives the period of his reign as 41 years. His reign is dated between 913-910 BCE to 873-869 BCE. He was...
, the king of Judah, and desolated. Centuries later, the Assyrians invaded Israel, which, though it had been a tributary
Tributary
A tributary or affluent is a stream or river that flows into a main stem river or a lake. A tributary does not flow directly into a sea or ocean...
, had also defaulted
Default (finance)
In finance, default occurs when a debtor has not met his or her legal obligations according to the debt contract, e.g. has not made a scheduled payment, or has violated a loan covenant of the debt contract. A default is the failure to pay back a loan. Default may occur if the debtor is either...
, and so Naphtali, one of the most northerly tribes, became one of the first to be conquered. With the land taken, the tribe were exiled; the manner of their exile led to their further history being lost.
The symbol of the tribe is a gazelle-a very quick animal. The people of Naftali were famous for being great runners.
There has been speculation that the Bukharian Jews of Central Asia are the descendants of the Naphtali tribe.