originally posted by: Sigismundus
Why are the biblical lists of the 12 tribes of Israel so different from each other?
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What gives?
Jacob (who later became named Israel) had 12 sons(and one daughter) by 2 wives and two of his wifes handmaidens.This is the birth oder:
Reuben -Simeon-Levi-Judah-Dan-Naphtali-Gad-Asher-Issachar-Zebulun-Joseph-Benjamin
However they are not the same as the 12 patriarchs(fathers) who were the heirs of Jacob (Israel) “were” called the nation of Israel.They were
represented by the 12 stones attached to the breast plate worn by Aaron when he entered the Holy of Holies in the Sinai wilderness tabernacle.That is
one reason why there is more than one “list” of the 12 sons. Technically it is drawn from 14 people..the 12 sons plus Josephs 2 sons .The final
count and hierarchy was determined by the time of the exodus from Egypt.It was exemplified by the arrangement of the tents in the wilderness
encampment(for 40 years).
For instance Levi was the 3rd born son yet is not an hier.They were the priests in the Israelites religious rituals.Joseph was the 11th son however he
gave his birthright to his 2 sons(born of an Egyptian mother) Manasseh and Ephraim.That means Levi and Joseph were not heirs and Manasseh and Ephraim
were by replacement making 12 patriarch heirs/tribes of the Nation of Israel.On an important side note right before Jacob(Israel) died he gave the 1st
born birthright(which was Reuben’s) to Ephraim,( Josephs youngest son).Now the nation of Israel and it’s 12 son/patriarch/heirs is:
Reuben -Simeon-Judah-Dan-Naphtali-Gad-Asher-Issachar-Zebulun-Benjamin-Manasseh-Ephraim
The gross misconception of the nation of Israel is they were a special “chosen” nation of people when in fact the Pentateuch is evident they were
not.The purpose of the scriptures was to document what kind of people the Israelites(and later the Jews) were and preserve their names(nature and
character).The bottom line is the nation of Israel “were” the archetype of all of mankind..hence ALL of mankind are called the “chosen people”
of the creator God.Israel means “struggles with Elohim(God’s) which is exactly what ALL of mankind has done.This sonship has NOTHING to do with
genetics and the extreme elitism propagated by the Jewish and Christian religions.
This nonsense about some “tribes” being more evil(sinful) than the others is religious rhetoric speculation because they were ALL screwed up.The
fact is what eventually became the Southern Kingdom of Judah(The Jews) were awaiting a conquering waring Hamashiach(the anointed one) to conquer or
destroy their enemies and to deliver them to a kingdom where they ruled the world.Fortunately that Jewish mashiach never came (nor ever will) however
a mashiach did come in the name of Yahoshua which means Yahweh delivers.However they murdered him and then some religious people made up a religion
about him(Christianity) that John the disciples called antichrist(in place of the mashiach/anointing).Yahoshua warned the disciples of what was to
come when he said:
“Do not be deceived.For MANY will come in my name and “say” they are christ[anointed] and deceive many.”
The fact is the old and new testament are testimonies that testify of Yahoshua(the deliverance from religion).That is the scriptures sole empirical
purpose.It is is not a book to be followed like a manual to live a good life by following a religion!.Anyone emulating the Israelites or the Jews to
live a good life will be doing quite the opposite.The literalism that the religious have applied to these documents have caused far more harm than
good.Thousands to millions of people have been ruthlessly slaughtered in the “name” of their God.A multitude of people were treated like 2nd class
citzens by the religious elitist(and still are)
The upside it has compelled a multitude of people to act more moral and ethical than they are.However this fruit of the tree of the knowledge of good
and evil religion is only a bandaid on cancer.It cannot cure anything and eventually is the death of the person.
The scriptures narrative is essentially a synapses of all of mankind as the nation of Israel whom ”struggle with God’s”..either directly or
through those that believe in God’s.The flipside is the disciples.They were the chosen few that it was “given” to KNOW the mystery of the
kingdom of their heavens(their mind) and had their religion “crucified”.It is not a coincidence that the disciple that betrayed Yahoshua was named
Judah which has been deviously altered by the religious elitist to Judas.
The bottom of the bottom line is life in the material realm is ALL about names which succinctly means the nature and character of the thing or person
named.That is the sum of all things that can be observed.Unfortunately mankinds observational skills through their perception is fatally flawed.The
perceive EVERYTHING through their flawed observation of their Belief System religion which is the metaphorical curse of Cain(gotten one) the 1st born
son of Adam(which means mankind).