Israelite Tribes and their Animate Symbols
Contents:
1. Research: A Need for both Certain Results and Temporarily Conjectural Ones.
2. Tribal Symbols - Animate and Inanimate.
3. Animal Symbols.
4. The Four Beasts of Ezekiel.
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1. Research: A Need for both Certain Results and Temporarily Conjectural Ones.
Bri-Am researches the whereabouts of the 10 Tribes and related matters. We use the Bible and numerous other sources.
Some of our results are absolutely certain, or almost so, and definitely confirmed by Scripture. In other cases, we are still searching for confirmatory evidence.
This means that alongside Absolute Biblically Reliable sources we also on occasion indulge in conjecture and speculation. Often this pans out and helps us reach firm conclusions.
It may happen however that in some cases we will however to modify our findings,
Nevertheless, on the whole our methods are true ones and in an overall sense very reliable.
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2. Tribal Symbols - Animate and Inanimate.
Concerning Tribal Symbols, a correspondent, Mark McGee of Georgia, USA, pointed out to us that in the Book of Job chs. 38 and 39 Twelve Animals are mentioned. He suggested that they represented the 12 Tribes of Israel.
This seems to be the case.
The Midrash Rabah lists some of the Tribal Symbols. Some of them are animals while others are not. Another source (quoted by Rashi) says each Tribe had its own representative animal. It quotes the Bible which only gives a portion of them.
Indications are that each Tribe had its own symbols. For each Tribe the symbols included at least one living being (animal, bird, or human, etc), and some other object. In some cases more than one symbols (animal or inanimate) was used.
The different Tribal symbols could also be interchanged under some conditions from one Tribe to another but how this worked is not clear.
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3. Animal Symbols.
Animal symbols expressly mentioned in the Bible include Judah - a Lion; Issachar - a donkey; Dan - snake, lion; Naphtali - a hind (female deer); Joseph - a bull; Ephraim - a bull calf; Manasseh - a Raem (Unicorn); Benjamin - a wolf.
Here are the Animate Tribial Symbols as given by Scripture and other sources.
Judah - a Lion.
Genesis (NKJV) 49:
9 Judah is a lion's whelp [Hebrew: Gur Arye]; From the prey, my son, you have gone up. He bows down, he lies down as a lion [Hebrew: Aryeh]; And as a lion [ Hebrew: Lavi], who shall rouse him?
There stages in the developments of the lion are mentioned here;
a. lion's whelp [Hebrew: Gur Arye]- a young lion.
b. lion [Hebrew: Aryeh] - a mature but youngish male lion.
c. a lion [ Hebrew: Lavi],- a full-grown lion.
Issachar - a donkey.
Genesis 49 (NKJV):
14 Issachar is a strong donkey, Lying down between two burdens.
Dan, snake, lion, dragon, bee
Genesis (NKJV) 49:
17 Dan shall be a serpent by the way, A viper by the path, That bites the horse's heels So that its rider shall fall backward.
Deuteronomy (NKJV) 33:
22 And of Dan he said: 'Dan is a lion's whelp [Hebrew: Gur Arye]-; He shall leap from Bashan.'
Dan is sometimes represented as a dragon. The Camp of Dan had a griffon. Samson from the Tribe of Dan killed a lion out of whose flesh a swarm of bees made its home. The bee has been suggested as symbolic of Dan.
Naphtali - a hind (female deer)
Genesis (NKJV) 49:
21 Naphtali [Hebrew: "ayalah", female deer] is a deer let loose; He uses beautiful words.
Gad - lion.
Deuteronomy (NKJV) 33:
20 And of Gad he said: 'Blessed is he who enlarges Gad; He dwells as a lion [ Hebrew: Lavi,- a full-grown lion], And tears the arm and the crown of his head.
Gad has a name connoting ("gedi") a young goat or sheep.
Benjamin - a wolf.
Genesis (NKJV) 49:\
27 Benjamin is a ravenous wolf; In the morning he shall devour the prey, And at night he shall divide the spoil.
Joseph - a bull
Ephraim - a bull calf.
Manasseh - a Raem (Unicorn)
Deuteronomy (NKJV) 49:
13 And of Joseph he said:...
17 His glory is like a firstborn bull,
And his horns like the horns of the wild ox [Hebrew: "raem" meaning auroch, or unicorn];
Zebulon - a pigeon?
The Prophet Yonah (Jonah) has a name meaning pigeon.
He was according to tradition from the Tribe of Zebulon.
Reuben in Jewish Synagogue art is often represented as a rising sun which is associated with the rooster.
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4. The Four Beasts of Ezekiel.
Ezekiel (chapter 1) describes a vision of a sacred chariot. It included four living creatures with the face of human, a lion, a bull, and an eagle.
Ezekiel 1:10 As for the likeness of their faces, each had the face of a man; each of the four had the face of a lion on the right side, each of the four had the face of a bull on the left side, and each of the four had the face of an eagle.
These figures parallel the Israelites Tribes. In the Encampment around the Tabernacle and in their order of Marching the 12 Tribes were divided into 4 groups of 3 Tribes each. This is described in Numbers ch.2.
On the east side, under the banner of Judah, are the tribes of Judah, Issachar, and Zebulun. - Symbol of the Lion.
Qn the south side, under the banner of Reuben, are the tribes of Reuben, Simeon and Gad. - Symbol of a Man.
On the west side, under the banner of Ephraim, are the tribes of Ephraim, Manasseh and Benjamin. - Symbol of a Bull.
On the north side, under the banner of Dan, are the tribes of Dan, Asher and Naphtali. - Symbol of an Eagle.
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The Constellations (as given by Fishel Mael) may also indicate something.