Bible Difficulties (23 page)

A careful reading of Genesis 31:22-48 indicates the following background to this remarkable verse: "The LORD watch between me and thee, when we are absent one from another." Laban had caught up to Jacob after he had surreptitiously fled from Padan-aram, and he rebuked Jacob for leaving without giving him a chance even to say goodbye to his daughters, Leah and Rachel. Laban then made a thorough but unsuccessful search for his missing teraphim (idols or family gods), which actually had been stolen by Rachel. Jacob, unaware of this theft, then proceeded to rebuke his father-in-law sternly, recalling how many times Laban had tried to cheat him in the years gone by, continually changing the employment contract in his own (Laban's) favor.

The result was a stand-off between the two; so they decided to erect a pile of rocks as a witness to a new compact of mutual nonaggression. Laban gave it the Aramaic name of

"Jegarsahadutha" (rockpile of witness); and Jacob gave it the Hebrew equivalent

"Galeed" (Gilead). They also called it "Mizpah" (watchtower), saying, "The LORD watch

[a form of the verb
sapah
, from which the term
mispah
is derived] between me and thee, when we are absent from one another." This served as a testimony that neither Laban nor 96

Jacob would pass beyond this boundary marker with intent to do the other any harm (Gen. 31:52).

Since the two sons of Jacob--Ephraim and Manasseh--were listed with the twelve
tribes of Israel, the true number of tribes involved seems to have been thirteen.

Why, then, does the Bible continue to speak of them as the Twelve Tribes rather
than the Thirteen? Which tribe was left out in this reckoning?

There were actually only twelve sons of Jacob, not thirteen. But in Genesis 48:22 Jacob granted to Joseph a double portion of his inheritance rather than the single portion that each of Jacob's other eleven sons was to receive. This meant that, in effect, while there would be no tribe of Joseph as such, there would be two Joseph tribes: the tribe of Ephraim and the tribe of Manasseh. In other words, Ephraim was tribe A of Joseph and Manasseh was tribe B of Joseph.

On the other hand, the tribe of Levi was to serve as the priestly tribe and was to care for the spiritual welfare of all the rest of the tribes. Therefore, the tribe of Levi was to receive no tribal territory as such (Levites were distributed in designated cities and towns throughout Canaan after its conquest). This would have meant that there would be only eleven tribal territories rather than twelve, were it not for the fact that there were two Joseph tribes to make up for the subtraction of Levi from the number of landholding tribes. Yet it was God's purpose that Israel should consist of twelve tribes rather than merely eleven. The double honor granted to Joseph by giving him--through his sons--a double inheritance came to him because of his outstanding services in preserving his whole family from death in time of famine and for supplying them with a haven of refuge in the land of the Nile.

How are the blessings and predictions in Genesis 49 and Deuteronomy 33 to be
harmonized with each other?

Genesis 49 was a divine revelation to Jacob near the end of his life (ca. 1860 B.C.).

Deuteronomy 33 was composed by Moses 455 years later (ca. 1405). Therefore Jacob's prophecy reflected a longer span of years than that of Moses, so far as the future career of Israel was concerned. Furthermore, Moses' song of blessing contained for the most part prayers for future blessing that expressed his hopeful desires but fell short of the status of actual predictions. These factors should be borne in mind as we compare the two passages in their bearing on each of the Twelve Tribes. For the sake of convenience, we shall follow the order of Genesis 49 in dealing with the various tribes, rather than the somewhat different order in Deuteronomy 33, which is the later oracle.

Reuben

Reuben's tribe is not to enjoy preeminence over the other tribes, despite his status of primogeniture (Gen. 49:4). Moses offers a prayer for his future survival as a tribe, and the hope that his descendants will be numerous enough to stand their ground (Deut. 33:6). As a matter of fact, the tribe of Reuben was one of the first to be overcome; for it was 97

apparently subjugated by Moab in the ninth century, as the Mesha Stone inscription makes clear (ANET, Pritchard, p. 320). Medeba, Baal-meon, Kiryathaim, and Dibon were all in the tribe of Reuben according to the original apportionment under Joshua.

Simeon

This tribe will, along with Levi, be dispersed or scattered among the other tribes (Gen.

49:5-7). There is no mention of Simeon at all in Deuteronomy 33. Although the population of Simeon was quite substantial (59,300 men at arms) at the time of the Exodus (Num. 1:23), it later proved unable to maintain its strength and numbers after settlement in the semiarid region assigned to it south and southwest of Judah. It therefore was, for all practical purposes, absorbed by Judah as its defender and ally even before the reign of King Saul. And yet its original identity was not completely forgotten, since even in David's time there was a Shephatiah placed by him in charge of the Simeonites (1

Chron. 27:16).

Levi

Jacob included Levi with Simeon in a common prediction of dispersion among the tribes of Israel (Gen. 49:5-7). As it turned out, however, the Levites were scattered throughout all Israel in forty-eight Levitical cities, in order to teach the twelve land-possessing tribes the statutes of the Lord. It was by no means the result of attrition and declining numbers that they were so scattered but rather part of the Lord's plan for the spiritual nourishment of the whole commonwealth. Deuteronomy 33 exalts the holy status of the tribe of Levi as the priestly tribe--an exaltation that Jacob apparently did not foresee--charged with the responsibility of teaching Israel the law of the Lord and of presenting incense and burnt offerings before Him. (There is no contradiction between these two prophecies but only a gracious transmutation of Levi's landless condition into a matter of high privilege as the leading tribe in the spiritual life of the nation.)
Judah

Genesis 49:8-12 portrays Judah as a lionlike battle champion and as the tribe ordained to royal status as ruler over the whole nation, starting from the time of the first Judean king (namely David) until the coming of Shiloh, the Messiah. Deuteronomy 33 contains no predictions concerning Judah's future but only a prayer that the Lord will help him to overcome his adversaries.

Zebulun

Genesis 49:13 foretells the location of this tribe near the shore, affording a convenient passage for the cargoes of the ships unloading at the docks of the Mediterranean coast for transport to the Sea of Galilee and transshipment up to Damascus and beyond. (While Zebulun was located on neither coast, the Valley of Jezreel afforded an excellent highway for imported goods to be conveyed to the most important inland markets. Its northern border would point in the direction of the great commercial cities of Phoenicia, of which 98

Sidon was then the leading emporium. As for Deuteronomy 33:18-19, nothing more definite is said of Zebulun than he will "rejoice" in his "going forth."

Issachar

Genesis 49:14-15 foresees the time when the hardworking, industrious people of this tribe will be subjected to foreign servitude--along with the rest of Israel and Samaria--

which took place in 732 B.C., when Tiglath-pileser III annexed this territory to the Assyrian Empire and made it directly subservient to Assyrian rulers (cf. 2 Kings 15:29; Isa. 9:1). Deuteronomy 33:18-19 looks forward to an earlier and more glorious stage of Issachar's future, when Deborah and Barak--who were natives of this tribe (Judg. 5:15)--

would summon Israel's defenders to gather on the mountain (i.e., Mount Tabor [Judg.

4:12]), from which they would charge down against the armies of Jabin and Sisera and put them to flight. Like Zebulun, Issachar would also enjoy the benefits of being located along the major trade route of the Valley of Jezreel, thus dealing with the commerce of the Mediterranean as well as the good fishing of the Sea of Galilee ("the abundance of the seas"). But, of course, this prosperous condition of Issachar prior to the period of the Assyrian invasions had to give way to a new era of servitude, after the capitulation of Samaria to the Assyrians in 732. Ten years later Samaria was captured and consigned to destruction, and Israel was dragged away into permanent exile in the Middle East (2

Kings 17:6).

Dan

Genesis 49:16-18 foretells the career of Samson (although he is not mentioned by name, of course) as one of the best-known "judges" of Israel. (The name "Dan" comes from the root
din
, "to judge.") But then it mentions the vicious aggression that Dan--or at least a migrating portion of it--would display, snapping at its victims like a poisonous serpent.

This refers to that rather sordid episode related in Judges 18, where a Danite expeditionary force of six hundred robbed Micah the Ephraimite of his silver idol and his hired priest and took them off with them northward. They then fell on the city of Laish, without provocation or warning of any sort, and butchered all its inhabitants before taking over the city for their own, renaming it Dan. As for Deuteronomy 33:22, it simply describes Dan as a leaping lion--which certainly has been illustrated above.

Gad

Genesis 49:19 indicates that Gad in its Transjordanian location will be subject to invasions and raids but will summon up the strength to put the aggressors to flight.

Deuteronomy 33 enlarges on the theme of successful resistance and represents the Gadite warriors as bold like lions and as the instruments of God's justice inflicted on the guilty.

The principal fulfillment in view here must have been that freebooter turned patriot named Jephthah. It was he who later turned back the Ammonite invaders and meted out severe punishment to those Ephraimite warriors that had sent no help during the Ammonite invasion. These Ephraimites felt so aggrieved that they had not been especially summoned to help out in routing the Ammonites that they made an issue of it 99

before Jephthah, and they ended up being slaughtered by the fords of the Jordan (Judg.

12:4-6).

Asher

Genesis 49:20 speaks only of the future prosperity of this northern tribe; they will enjoy rich food, even "royal dainties." Deuteronomy 33:24-25 enlarges on this theme of prosperity, speaking of their abundance of oil and their fine gate-bars fashioned of bronze and iron (which were the most expensive kind). They will, in fact, surpass all the other tribes in their material plenty; and they will enjoy freedom from the devastation of war.

(It was not until the debacle of 732 that Asher was invaded and taken over by the Assyrian Empire.)

Naphtali

Genesis 49:21 states that Naphtali will be like a doe let loose and will enjoy the eloquence of words. In other words, this tribe will enjoy a relatively free and easy life and cultivate the arts of literature and public speech. Deuteronomy 33:23 lays more emphasis on the enrichment from fishing and commerce--largely that which came from the Sea of Galilee and the inland route from Phoenicia in the north. They will extend their influence to the regions south of them (i.e., Zebulun, Issachar, and Manassah). Presumably this involved happy trade relationships with their kinsmen to the south.

Joseph

It is interesting that in both passages the tribes of Ephraim and Manasseh (which itself was subdivided into two half-tribes) should have been treated as a single tribe, both in the predictions of Jacob and in the Song of Moses. Since the division into three separate tribal holdings took place after the conquest under Joshua, it may reasonably be concluded that neither chapter was composed after the tribal division had taken place (as liberal scholars unthinkingly assume). It should be remembered, however, that this establishment of Joseph's two sons as tribal progenitors was occasioned by the blessing of Jacob himself, as recorded in Genesis 48. It was his decision to give Joseph the double portion of his inheritance, rather than to Reuben his first born (Gen. 48:13-22).

Genesis 49:22-26 predicts the future prosperity and fruitfulness of the Joseph tribes, as they successfully cope with their Canaanite enemies in securing their alloted portions in the forested uplands of the center of Palestine. The "archers" who shoot at Joseph may refer to the chariot troops of the coastal Canaanites as well as those who were headquartered in Beth-shean (Josh. 17:15-18). Judges 1:22-25 tells of the successful attack by the Ephraimites against Bethel (whose walls were doubtless manned by many an archer). Another possibility, favored by some writers, is that the "archers" were invading Egyptian troops who kept control of the most important trade routes and strategic fortress cities at various times during the period of the Judges, particularly during the reigns of Seti I (1320-1300) and Rameses the Great (1299-1234). In the earlier Tell el-Amarna correspondence (1400-1370), the Canaanite kings continually plead for 100

the Pharaoh to send them "archers" (
pi-da-ti
) from his regular army in order to bolster their defenses against the invading Habiru (or SA.GAZ) (cf. Pritchard, ANET, p. 488).

Whatever explanation we adopt for these archers, they were to be successfully dealt with by the men of Ephraim through the help of the Lord. The Ephraimites would also be blessed with a good rainfall and abundant crops ("blessings of the deep that lies beneath"

[Gen. 49:25]). Ephraim is to be a tribe notably distinguished above his brethren, a promise fulfilled by the splendid leadership of Joshua the son of Nun, an Ephraimite.

(This verse by itself demonstrates the impossibility of dating Gen. 49 at any time later than the reign of Solomon, since no Judean author would have included such high praise of the arch rival of Judah in any such fashion as this.)

As for Deuteronomy 33:13-17, Moses predicts that Joseph's land will be blessed by the Lord with abundant rain and crops from a fertile soil. The surrounding hills will pour down their streams on the plowed fields to give them good harvests. By the special favor of the God who spoke to Moses from the burning bush, the warriors of Ephraim and Manasseh will be enabled to repel and subdue their foes. Thus we see an essential agreement between the two chapters in regard to the future of these two tribes.