Tribal Cheat-Sheet (12 July 2016, 6 Tammuz, 5776)

It may be that both Israelite and non-Israelite elements struggle for pre-eminence in France.
The Israelite segment however does exist and it is dominated by Reuben.

Reuben -Mandrakes - Paris and Romance
Reuben is associated with the mandrake.
The symbol of Reuben was a mandrake (Midrash Numbers Rabah 2;5).
The mandrake has a flower similar to the Lily (fleur-de-lis) traditional symbol of Reuben, still seen on the flag of Quebec, Canada.
Reuben had found mandrakes in the field (Genesis 30:14) and brought them to his mother, Leah, who used it to pay Rachel for a night with her husband.
The mandrake was considered an aphrodisiac.
Reuben is described as acting improperly with Bilhah the concubine of his father.

Genesis 35:
22 It came about while Israel was dwelling in that land, that Reuben went and lay with Bilhah his father's concubine, and Israel heard of it.

These anecdotes suggest romantic proclivities. The French are considered a romantic people. Paris is known as the city of love.

Sunrise
Another symbol of France is the rooster or cock which is associated with the sunrise another symbol of Reuben.
In Jewish synagogues the symbols of the twelve tribes serve as a frequently employed theme of decoration.  More often than not Reuben is accorded the rising sun symbol.
The name Reuben means "See-a -son."  In Aramaic the name for see  ("Chama") is similar to the name for sun ("Chamah").

Tserefat (Obadiah 1:20) is France i.e. the Lost Ten Tribes (Rashi).
In Obadiah 1:20 to mentions Tserefat (also spelt as "Zarephath") which in Hebrew means France.
Zarephath meant France (Rashi) and the north or France and Britain (Abarbanel) together. The verse was understood as saying that the Lost Ten Tribes were in Zarephath (Rashi, Nachmanides).

Obadiah 1:
20  And the exiles of this host of the sons of Israel,
Who are among the Canaanites as far as Tserefat.

Paraphrased according to the Hebrew text and the commentators the verse says:

[Obadiah 1:20] AND THIS FIRST EXILE OF THE TEN TRIBES OF ISRAEL [Rashi] WHO DWELL FROM GERMANY [=CANAANITES, Iben Ezra] AND HOLLAND [Jewish sources quoted by Calvin], EVEN UNTO FRANCE [=ZAREPHATH, Rashi, Iben Ezra, Radak, Abarbanel, Daat Sofrim] AND ENGLAND [= ZAREPHATH, Abarbanel] .

Taking the Classical Commentators as a whole we see that the Lost Ten Tribes were considered to be in the west, especially in France and Britain.
Tserefat in Hebrew Means France! The prophet Obadiah prophesied that the Ten Tribes would be in Tserefat!
The Hebrew text and the commentary of Rashi say that Tserefat was where the Ten Tribes would be in the End Times.

Bible Codes and Reuben.

All the White on Purple lettering deals with Reuben and the Clans of Reuben. The name Tserefath intersects these names at Equidistant intervals of 17.

The name Zerephath (green on brown in vertical alignment) meaning France is clearly dominated by Reuben.

Numbers 26:4-5:
4 Take a census of the people from twenty years old and above, just as the LORD commanded Moses and the children of Israel who came out of the land of Egypt.
5 Reuben was the firstborn of Israel. The children of Reuben were: of Hanoch, the family of the Hanochites; of Pallu, the family of the Palluites.
6 of Hezron, the family of the Hezronites; of Carmi, the family of the Carmites (Numbers 26:4-5).

Bible Codes -Tserefat and Reuben
In Bible Codes the term Tserefat (France) is found at intervals of 17 letters. It intersects the expression [Reuben] First-Born of Israel (Numbers 26:5) and then the families of the sons of Reuben, i.e. the Hanochi, Palui, and Chestroni. That this could happen by chance is almost statistically impossible!

Sons of Reuben: Tribal Names Show National Character
The name Reuben in Hebrew primarily means "See-a-son" (Rue-ben) though it also has connotations of increase ("Ribui") and plenitude.
 Of the sons of Reuben, "Hanoch" means "Inauguration", or "Education"; "Phalu" means "Distinction"; "Hetzron" denotes "Dweller-of -the-Courtyard"; and "Carmi" is derivable from "Cerem" meaning "Vineyard".
 All of the above names acquire an additional significance when considered in the light of French history and culture. The French tend to emphasize high-quality educational requirements and are big on ceremonial: both characteristics being represented by the Hebrew name "Hanoch". They prefer quality to quantity and in some fields really are the best in their area, i.e. "Phallu" = Distinction. The French like distinction and style. French fashion and French perfumes are known for attempts to achieve that little bit "extra" that makes for distinction. The French are famous both for their aristocrats and for their peasants and both types are implied in the Hebrew name "Hetsron" meaning courtyard-dweller. "Carmi" in Hebrew means "My Vineyard".  France is known for its good wines and expert wine-makers. French wines are considered the best in the world. The French consume large amounts of wine and wine is a staple part of French diet. The export of wine and wine-products such as brandy is an import earner of foreign exchange for the French. The names of the sons of Reuben were those of important elements in the early history of France. These names also describe important aspects of the French national character.

Reuben the Firstborn who Lost it!

1-Chronicles 5:
1 Now the sons of Reuben the firstborn of Israel (for he was the firstborn, but because he defiled his father's bed, his birthright was given to the sons of Joseph the son of Israel; so that he is not enrolled in the genealogy according to the birthright. 2 Though Judah prevailed over his brothers, and from him came the leader, yet the birthright belonged to Joseph), 3 the sons of Reuben the firstborn of Israel were Hanoch and Pallu, Hezron and Carmi. 

Genesis 49:
3 Reuben, you are my firstborn;
My might and the beginning of my strength,
]Preeminent in dignity and preeminent in power.
4 Uncontrolled as water, you shall not have preeminence,
Because you went up to your father's bed;
Then you defiled it  - he went up to my couch. 

Reuben was the firstborn but he lost the right to pre-eminence. Even though Reuben was deprived of being considered the firstborn he still enjoyedcertain prerogatives. So too, out of all the Israelite nations the French were the first to become powerful and internationally influential . French culture and influence were very important. Remember Charlemagne who created the Holy Roman Empire; King Louis-9 (d.1270) who led the Crusades; King Louis-14 (d. 1715) known as the "Sun King" who made France the most powerful nation on earth; The French Revolution and its influence all over the world including in North America; Napoleon and his Empire; The French Empire that ruled over a good portion of Africa, and in Asia, Indo-China, and the Pacific and numerous other places; France was always important. France was nearly always in the frontlines of world leadership but usually lagging a little behind. France was seldom the leader but often in 2nd, 3rd, or 4th place. Even today France is important. It is somewhere in the top ten.
The French language  is widely spread and is much appreciated. So too, for French culture.

Reuben from Gilead in Israel
France was originally settled by the Gauls (Galls) and the Galatae. The Galls have a name meaning "rooster" in Latin and the rooster became a symbol of France and is associated with the sunrise.
The Galatae were also known as Galadi and the area of Israel in which Reuben settled was known as Gilead.

"And the children of Reuben and the children of Gad and the half-Tribe of Manasseh returned, and departed from the children of Israel out of Shiloh, which is in the land of Canaan, to go unto the country of Gilead, to the land of their possession, whereof they were possessed..." (Joshua 22:9).

After the Galls and Galatae came the Ripuarian Franks who were also known as "Ribuari" which is another form of the name Reuben.

French Reuben in History
Some points of interest are that: The sons of Reuben were destined (Zohar, VaYechi, 551, Sulam Edition) in the Latter Days to wage war in the LAND OF ISRAEL against (or for) Jerusalem. It was the French  "Franks" who led the Crusaders of Europe (1069-1270) in their attempts to conquer the Holy Land and Jerusalem. The French Emperor, Napoleon Bonaparte in 1799 offered to restore Palestine to the Jews. It was the French together with the British who created the political climate which made possible the Balfour Declaration and ultimately the State of Israel. The British would probably not have issued the Balfour Declaration if it were not for French agreement in principle.
French Gentile volunteers fought on the Jewish side in Israel's War of Independence (1948 -1949). France assisted the State of Israel in its nuclear program and armament in general in the early years after the Israeli Declaration of Independence. At a later stage the French showed that they could also be anti-Semitic and virulent supporters of the "Palestinians" who want to kill all the Jews.
Reports suggest that in Europe support for armed intervention on behalf of the Palestinians and against the Jews in the year 2001 was led by France.
France as a nation contains many non-Israelite elements who frequently obtain dominance. France today contains about 20% Muslims from North Africa, and many others who are descended from Italians, Germans, Poles and others. France like all European countries also contains elements from Edom. Esau, under the name Essuvis, was worshipped as a god in Ancient France (Gaul). From the very beginning in Ancient Gaul the nobles treated their subjects almost as slaves and as belonging to another race.
The nobles of Gaul were admitted to the Roman Senate as equals and this may reflect a racial connection to the Romans who descend in part from Esau. There were elements amongst the French who identified with the Germans.

France in the Bible and Traditional Sources

In early Medieval and Modern Hebrew the country of France is called "Zarephath". Zarephath was originally a Phoenician town, "Zarephath which belongeth to Zidon" (1-Kings 17:9) in which Israelites also dwelt. Throughout ancient Gaul and especially on the northwest coast there are signs of Phoenician or Israelite settlement.
 It may be that France received the name Zarephath for ethnic reasons due to some connection with the mixed Israelite Phoenician center of Zarephath (Daat Sofrim). The name is also recalled in the Book of Obadiah and most of the Classical Commentators said that the intention was to France (Rashi, Radak, Daat Sofrim), or to the North in general (Nachmanides, Sefer HaGeulah), or (according to Abarbanel) France and England together.

Obadiah (1:20) says:

And the captivity of this host of the Children of Israel shall posses that of the Canaanites, even unto Zarephath; and the captivity of Jerusalem, which is in Sepharad, shall possess the cities of the south. 

 The above translation is from the King James (KJ) version. The Hebrew original of the first part of Obadiah 1:20 according to the Commentators may be translated as:
"This first exile [of the Lost Ten Tribes] who reach from the Land of Canaanites [i.e. Germany and Holland] to Zeraphath [France and Britain].."

The Hebrew Bible both according to its simple meaning and in light of tradition may be understood to say that at least a portion of the Lost Ten Tribes will be in Zerapath meaning France or France and Britain together.

The motto of the French Revolution is, "Liberty, Equality, Fraternity", and this has a semi-official status.
These qualities (for both good and bad) were exemplified in the figure of Reuben whose Tribe dominates the Israelite element in France.
LIBERTY: Reuben acted with lack of propriety towards his fathers concubine (Gen.37:22) which was taking "liberty" too far, at the expense of others. Reuben intended to set Joseph free and in effect saved his life (Gen.37:22) which is an application of the principles of both LIBERTY and FRATERNITY.   At the same time Reuben was the first-born and should have acted with more authority; i. e. EQUALITY was misapplied. 

See Also:
REUBEN
http://britam.org/reuben.html

For more details and information concerning ALL the nations of Israel see The Tribes