Responsibilities of the 12 tribes

[pam]

Can anyone direct me to (if there is) something that would define what the responsibility is of each of the 12 tribes?

[livy111us]

This is what another poster said about it a while ago. I believe it may have been Volgadden.

Genesis 49

Ephraims blessings “Behold, thus saith the Lord: It is a servant in the hands of Christ, who is partly a descendant of Jesse as well as of Ephraim, or of the house of Joseph, on whom there is laid much power.

5 What is the root of Jesse spoken of in the 10th verse of the 11th chapter?

6 Behold, thus saith the Lord, it is a descendant of Jesse, as well as of Joseph, unto whom rightly belongs the priesthood, and the keys of the kingdom, for an ensign, and for the gathering of my people in the last days.(D/C 113:3-6)

V. 32 And there shall they fall down and be crowned with glory, even in Zion, by the hands of the servants of the Lord, even the children of Ephraim.

33 And they shall be filled with songs of everlasting joy.

D/C 133:32-33

–Crown converts with glory as we gather them in.

In the last days, Ephraim’s descendants have the privilege and responsibility to bear the message of the restoration of the gospel to the world and to gather scattered Israel. Encyclopedia or Mormonism

He expresses disappointment in Reuben, his first born for bedding Jacob's wife. The tribe of Reuben were probably worst off of all the tribes when it came to the lands of their inheritance, as they were on the desert frontier and were the first to suffer from nomads as well as from the terrain itself.

Jacob intensely dislikes the company of his sons Levi and Simeon, who, it seems, were always engaged in some secret combination or another.

He curses them for their castration of the nobles of Shechem, which caused their death. They are quite treacherous. As a result, their descendants will have no land of their own. Levi was spread among the various tribes and Simeon was swallowed up in Judah.

Judah's greatness stands out against the background of those three brothers. He is made the chief of the tribes, and the mightiest. The lion is a symbol of royal might. Most of these blessings have to do with Christ, but Judah is promised that they will always have a king, until the Savior (Shiloh) comes.

Herod's son Archelaus was the last semi-independent ruler of Judah. He reigned when Joseph brought his family out of Egypt.

Judah's land will be fertile and the amount of grapes will be so great that they could afford to wash their clothes in wine. A poetic exaggeration, naturaly, but Judah was pretty fertile until the devastation caused by the failed Bar Kochba revolt in 138 AD.

The wine made there was very rich, shown by its deep, dark colour, which is what Jacob means by verse 11.

Zebulon's territory bordered on the coastal plain of Akko (Acre). Jacob doesn't have much to say to him.

The tribe of Issachar will be as complacent as the donkeys bred for carrying heavy loads, who are satisfied with being kept in a pen, as long as they are fed. Issachar as a tribe was very servile and not inclined to fight for their freedom from the Canaanites.

Though not stated here, this is contrast to the onager (a wild ***) which was a symbol of fierce stubborness.

Dan will judge the whole people, as if they were members of his own tribe. To judge in the oldest sense of the word was to save someone from injustice, be it legal or military.

Samson was from Dan.

Dan would be a very dangerous tribe, like a snake lying in wait by the roadside, attacking targets much larger than him.

The caravans of the kingdom of Jerusalem (in the days before David) were regularly ambushed by Dan.

The adder is the shfifon, a snake known for its swift attack. In fact, in Akkadian records, it is a synonym for swift military action.

Asher's food and produce would be rich (oil was a synonym for that). They would also produce remarkeably fine oil, of the kind that kings would use at their table.

Naphthali's blessing is hard to interpret, because the language in Hebrew isn't very clear. The most likely meaning is that the tribe is like a swift deer, when bringing fine offerings to the temple. The offerings were lambs, of course. Naphtali's territory is very good for herding. I live there.

Joseph is like a fertile branch (it is interesting that son originally meant a branch) of a tree planted by a fountain of water.

This is especially interesting when we consider what part his tribes play in the gospel. Christ is the fountain of living waters. Compare this to the allegory of the vine during the last supper.

His branches run over the wall hides a wordplay in Hebrew, which refers to Joseph's running Egypt.

Joseph's enemies will attack him and make his life miserable, but the Lord will strengthen him. I'm sure that this has a lot to do with Joseph Smith, but also with the exodus of the priesthood to Utah. It is interesting that the word translated as mighty meant an ox.

The shepherd and the stone are both terms referring to Christ.

We know that the everlasting hills and the eternal mountains mean the rockies, but there is also a meaning of endless boundaries, which is interesting considering the growth of the priesthood and the church. They are compared to a crown which shall be on the head of Joseph.

Benjamin is the most warlike of the tribes. He is like a wolf who kills enough prey to have much of it left over from breakfast.

The tribe of Benjamin were famed as warriors and archers in the ancient world. The Assyrians even had battalions of Benjamites.

Edited November 5, 2011 by livy111us