SYMBOLS OF TWELVE TRIBES:JOSEPH
(Message by Tanny Keng)
1. Symbols Of Twelve Tribes
1. Symbols Of Twelve Tribes
a) The Symbols of the Tribes are often depicted in Synagogues. The Book of Numbers tells us that each Tribe had its characteristic symbol used in its encampment.
Numbers 2:2
2 “Everyone of the children of Israel shall camp by his own standard, beside the emblems of his father’s house; they shall camp some distance from the tabernacle of meeting.
2. Joseph
a) Joseph is depicted by a sheaf of wheat (Genesis 37:7). This is based on the dream of Joseph when he saw the sheafs of his brothers and family bow down to his sheaf. Joseph is also sometimes depicted by a sheep, or by a palm tree, or by a vine climbing up a wall.
Genesis 49:22-26
22 “Joseph is a fruitful bough,
A fruitful bough by a well;
His branches run over the wall.
23 The archers have bitterly grieved him,
Shot at him and hated him.
24 But his bow remained in strength,
And the arms of his hands were made strong
By the hands of the Mighty God of Jacob
(From there is the Shepherd, the Stone of Israel),
25 By the God of your father who will help you,
And by the Almighty who will bless you
With blessings of heaven above,
Blessings of the deep that lies beneath,
Blessings of the breasts and of the womb.
26 The blessings of your father
Have excelled the blessings of my ancestors,
Up to the utmost bound of the everlasting hills.
They shall be on the head of Joseph,
And on the crown of the head of him who was separate from his brothers.
b) Joseph was divided into Ephraim and Manasseh who were both major tribes in their own right.
Deuteronomy 33:13-17
13 And of Joseph he said:
“Blessed of the Lord is his land,
With the precious things of heaven, with the dew,
And the deep lying beneath,
14 With the precious fruits of the sun,
With the precious produce of the months,
15 With the best things of the ancient mountains,
With the precious things of the everlasting hills,
16 With the precious things of the earth and its fullness,
And the favor of Him who dwelt in the bush.
Let the blessing come ‘on the head of Joseph,
And on the crown of the head of him who was separate from his brothers.’
17 His glory is like a firstborn bull,
And his horns like the horns of the wild ox;
Together with them
He shall push the peoples
To the ends of the earth;
They are the ten thousands of Ephraim,
And they are the thousands of Manasseh.”
i) Ephraim is represented by a bull (Deuteronomy 37:17, Jeremiah 31:18).
a) Joseph is depicted by a sheaf of wheat (Genesis 37:7). This is based on the dream of Joseph when he saw the sheafs of his brothers and family bow down to his sheaf. Joseph is also sometimes depicted by a sheep, or by a palm tree, or by a vine climbing up a wall.
Genesis 49:22-26
22 “Joseph is a fruitful bough,
A fruitful bough by a well;
His branches run over the wall.
23 The archers have bitterly grieved him,
Shot at him and hated him.
24 But his bow remained in strength,
And the arms of his hands were made strong
By the hands of the Mighty God of Jacob
(From there is the Shepherd, the Stone of Israel),
25 By the God of your father who will help you,
And by the Almighty who will bless you
With blessings of heaven above,
Blessings of the deep that lies beneath,
Blessings of the breasts and of the womb.
26 The blessings of your father
Have excelled the blessings of my ancestors,
Up to the utmost bound of the everlasting hills.
They shall be on the head of Joseph,
And on the crown of the head of him who was separate from his brothers.
b) Joseph was divided into Ephraim and Manasseh who were both major tribes in their own right.
Deuteronomy 33:13-17
13 And of Joseph he said:
“Blessed of the Lord is his land,
With the precious things of heaven, with the dew,
And the deep lying beneath,
14 With the precious fruits of the sun,
With the precious produce of the months,
15 With the best things of the ancient mountains,
With the precious things of the everlasting hills,
16 With the precious things of the earth and its fullness,
And the favor of Him who dwelt in the bush.
Let the blessing come ‘on the head of Joseph,
And on the crown of the head of him who was separate from his brothers.’
17 His glory is like a firstborn bull,
And his horns like the horns of the wild ox;
Together with them
He shall push the peoples
To the ends of the earth;
They are the ten thousands of Ephraim,
And they are the thousands of Manasseh.”
i) Ephraim is represented by a bull (Deuteronomy 37:17, Jeremiah 31:18).
ii) Manasseh is an animal called a Ream (Deuteronomy 37:17). The identity of this beast is disputed but the most accepted identification is a unicorn.
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