Bible Verses About The Tribes of Israel

It was while Isra'el was living in that land that Re'uven went and slept with Bilhah his father's concubine, and Isra'el heard about it. Ya'akov had twelve sons.

The sons of Le'ah were Re'uven Ya'akov's firstborn, Shim'on, Levi, Y'hudah, Yissakhar and Z'vulun.

The sons of Rachel were Yosef and Binyamin.

The sons of Bilhah Rachel's slave-girl were Dan and Naftali.

And the sons of Zilpah Le'ah's slave-girl were Gad and Asher. These were Ya'akov's sons, born to him in Paddan-Aram.

Now your two sons, who were born to you in the land of Egypt before I came to you in Egypt, are mine; Efrayim and M'nasheh will be as much mine as Re'uven and Shim'on are.

"Re'uven, you are my firstborn, my strength, the firstfruits of my manhood.

Though superior in vigor and power you are unstable as water, so your superiority will end, because you climbed into your father's bed and defiled it -he climbed onto my concubine's couch!

"Shim'on and Levi are brothers, related by weapons of violence.

Let me not enter their council, let my honor not be connected with their people; for in their anger they killed men, and at their whim they maimed cattle.

Cursed be their anger, for it has been fierce; their fury, for it has been cruel. I will divide them in Ya'akov and scatter them in Isra'el.

"Y'hudah, your brothers will acknowledge you, your hand will be on the neck of your enemies, your father's sons will bow down before you.

Y'hudah is a lion's cub; my son, you stand over the prey. He crouches down and stretches like a lion; like a lioness, who dares to provoke him?

The scepter will not pass from Y'hudah, nor the ruler's staff from between his legs, until he comes to whom [obedience] belongs; and it is he whom the peoples will obey.

Tying his donkey to the vine, or: until Shiloh comes his donkey's colt to the choice grapevine, he washes his clothes in wine, his robes in the blood of grapes.

His eyes will be darker than wine, his teeth whiter than milk.

"Z'vulun will live at the seashore, with ships anchoring along his coast and his border at Tzidon.

"Yissakhar is a strong donkey lying down in the sheep sheds.

On seeing how good is settled life and how pleasant the country, he will bend his back to the burden, and submit to forced labor.

"Dan will judge his people as one of the tribes of Isra'el.

Dan will be a viper on the road, a horned snake in the path that bites the horse's heels so its rider falls off backward.

I wait for your deliverance, ADONAI.

"Gad [troop]- a troop will troop on him, but he will troop on their heel.

"Asher's food is rich -he will provide food fit for a king.

"Naftali is a doe set free that bears beautiful fawns.