This week’s Torah reading (Genesis 47:28 – 50:26) highlights again the important biblical lesson that our actions have “consequences.” For example, some astute students of the Bible have asked the following critical question: “Why is it that only Abraham, Isaac and Jacob are called patriarchs, but not the heads of the twelve tribes?” The answer is deceptively simple! Although overall righteous men (having repented of their sins), Jacob’s sons had made some serious errors in judgment and had also taken actions which had the consequence of them not being perceived to be on the same level with Abraham, Isaac and Jacob.
For example: The three-fold blessing of the “firstborn” was for the first time divided up among three of the sons of Jacob (i.e., the priesthood to Levi, the kingship to Judah and the firstborn double material blessing to Joseph). Prior to this, all three aspects of this blessing belonged to the literal “firstborn” son of the primary wife.
Some other examples of this principle are in Jacob’s deathbed blessing of the sons when he says (in Genesis 49:1), “Gather yourselves together, that I may tell you that which shall befall you in the end of days.” According to the Prophets, this phrase “the end of days” is used to refer to the Messianic era.
Reuven is passed over for the firstborn blessing, due to his behavior (the Hebrew word pachaz in verse 49:4 is translated as “unstable,” and has the meaning of “reckless”) and, in particular, the text mentions the incident with his father’s couch. The tribe of Reuven is, afterward, not very much mentioned again, except in rebellion mode (e.g., with Korach).
Simeon and Levi are chided by their father Jacob with respect to the incident at Shechem, but it is their anger that is cursed, not them. Perhaps it was justified for them to go after the prince of the city himself (who had abducted and raped Dinah), and perhaps even the elders (due to not implementing courts of justice). But all the men of Shechem being killed by the sword might have been construed as excessive (and more like Esau than Jacob). A consequence of that behavior was for them to be divided up amongst the land allotted to the other tribes. (Genesis 49:7)
Judah is compared with a lion’s whelp (a lion is a symbol of strength), and in Genesis 49:10 is the famous Messianic prophecy: “The scepter shall not depart from Judah, nor the ruler’s staff from beneath his feet, until Shiloh comes (or until he comes to whom it belongs) and unto him shall the gathering (obedience) of the peoples/nations be.” Judah not only becomes the tribe of the kingship, it is also the name of the Southern Kingdom after the split between north and south.
The term “Jew” comes from the Southern Kingdom of Judah (which was made up of the tribes of Judah, Benjamin and half of Levi). But also, before the Assyrian captivity of the Northern Kingdom, there were some of the people from the North that moved to the Southern Kingdom and made common cause with Judah in being against the North’s idolatry (ref: the Book of Kings for this part of the history). Even the New Testament mentions a prominent person within Judah, who is descended from one of the tribes of the Northern Kingdom, Anna the Prophetess (see Luke 2:36). So the Jews of today believe that the term refers to all the Israelites (all those descended from the 12 tribes) who identified with the Southern Kingdom of Judah (and with the term Jew), thus fulfilling the prophecy that his brothers would acknowledge/praise Judah.
Joseph is mentioned as a fruitful vine. He’s allotted special blessings from God … “By the hands of the Mighty One of Jacob, from thence, from the Shepherd, the Stone of Israel, Even by the God of thy father, who shall help thee, And by the Almighty who shall bless thee …” (Genesis 49:24-25) And indeed, it now looks as though very special blessings were allocated to the Northern Kingdom, the so-called “10 lost tribes.” They were taken away by Assyria and resettled in lands where Judah knew not where they went. But they have been discovered in these days, thought to be living in the lands of the east: Turbekistan, Afghanistan, Ubekistan and all the way over to the border of India and Burma (in a place called Manipur).
There’s an excellent video documentary on this topic produced by Arts & Entertainment called “Quest for the Lost Tribes” which explains how these people kept the knowledge of their Israelite ancestry within the traditions passed down through the centuries and how they kept quite a bit of Israelite customs alive as well.
Some are convinced that these people (mentioned above) are those who will be reunited with Judah (the descendants of the Southern Kingdom) in the prophecy of Ezekiel of the two sticks coming together in the hands of God in the last days. And indeed, this is starting to happen with the B’nai Israel being allowed to make aliyah (immigrate) as Jews into modern day Israel.
Syria and America’s bloody diplomacy
Mike Pottage