Judah And Joseph
The
book of Joshua confirms the importance of the tribes of Judah and Joseph. Joshua chapter 15
documents Judah's borders while chapters 16 and 17 document the tribal boundaries of
Joseph. Judah and Joseph were the most important tribes in ancient Israel. Their tribal
roles were already indicated by the divinely ordained arrangement of their camps in the wilderness. Judah and its
associated tribes, Issachar and Zebulun, were arrayed on the prestigious eastern flank approaching the Tabernacle,
next to Moses and Aaron. (Num 2:1-9; 3:38) Joseph's camp, composed of the tribes of Ephraim,
Manasseh and Benjamin, was positioned on the western side of the Tabernacle, opposite the sacred enclosure
of the Holy of Holies and next to the priestly family. (Num 2:18-24; 3:23-26)
These two tribes bracketed the
Tabernacle, highlighting their importance and also the tension in their relationship, competing for authority
and leadership over the nation. Four hundred years after the Exodus David succeeded in
uniting the nation, though his achievement was short lived. Soon after the death of his son Solomon, the
ancient tribal rivalries resurfaced, as Judah in the south was pitted against the so-called Kingdom of
Ephraim or Israel in the north. And so the people remained divided until the bitter end: the conquest and
exile of the Northern Kingdom by the Assyrians in the 8th century BC was followed by the destruction of Jerusalem and
the Kingdom of Judah 150 years later by the Babylonians.
Joseph And His Brothers
This ancient conflict can
be traced back in Biblical history to the story of the sons of Jacob who were the progenitors of the tribes.
(Gen 37-46) The two most prominent brothers among the twelve were Joseph and Judah. Joseph
was Jacob's favorite, groomed for greatness by him, indicated by the gift of the coat of many colors
and Joseph's awareness of his precocious talents early on. Though his other brothers may have resented his
pretensions, they knew in their hearts that Josephs dreams foretold his future rise to prominence.
When Joseph unexpectedly fell into their clutches while far from the protective gaze of his
father, the brothers seized the opportunity to plan his death. Though Reuben, the firstborn, won a brief reprieve
for his brother, it was Judah who succeeded in preserving Joseph's life by initiating his sale to the Ishmaelites.
Later it was Judah who argued the case to the Viceroy (Joseph in disguise) in order to secure Benjamin's release, which
led to Joseph's revelation of his true identity and his tearful reunion with his brothers. When Jacob's
household descended to Egypt to survive the famine in Canaan, it was Judah who led the family. Both
brothers demonstrated dynamic leadership and well-placed ambition, both exemplified spiritual maturity and remained true
to their calling.
While the book of Joshua confirms the centrality of the tribes of Judah and Joseph,
the critical function of those two tribes was introduced much earlier, with the account of Joseph and his brothers,
where their respective roles were delineated - Judah designated for leadership and Joseph for success. Their prominence was awarded with
expansive territories, given ahead of any of the other tribes.
While initially Joseph and Judah
were pitted against each other as rivals, in the end they were responsible for reuniting Israel and ensuring
its well being in Egypt. It's not only discord that characterized their relationship, but the
promise of resolution as well.
The
competition that existed between the tribes of Judah and Joseph throughout the Biblical period had its
begining in Jacob's fractured family.
Leah And Rachel
To understand the conflict between Judah
and Joseph, and its eventual settlement, we must look at Jacob's strained marriage to the two sisters Leah
and Rachel. (Gen 29-30) After Jacob fled eastward from the wrath of his brother Esau, he arrived empty-handed
at the well located in the fields outside of Haran, the home of his uncle Laban. There he met the beautiful
Rachel, Laban's daughter, and immediately resolved to marry her. Laban placed a condition of seven years of
tending sheep, to which Jacob readily agreed. However, Laban deviously substituted Leah, the older sister,
and Jacob discovered it too late. While he eventually won Rachel's hand as well, the household was forever
dominated by a bitter rivalry between the two sisters. Leah had six children, including Judah, and Rachel
had only two, Joseph and Benjamin.
Personal Lives - National Life
The story of Leah and Rachel
and their children is much more than an account of their personal lives. It is a description
of the trials and challenges that their descendents would face in their attempts to forge a nation and maintain its unity
and integrity in spite of the tendencies for self-interest.
Leah's children included a number of prominent
players but chief among them was Judah, while Rachel's son, Joseph, was the more significant of her two sons.
Thus Judah became Joseph's most potent rival. The Davidic line descended from Judah, and
Israel's capital, Jerusalem, was established on his borders.
The entire last third of the book of Genesis details
the saga of Joseph, of whom the tribes of Manasseh and Ephraim descended from. The Tabernacle was
housed at Shiloh, (Ephraim's territory) from the time that Israel entered Canaan under Joshua until the dawn of
the monarchy, almost four hundred years. Israel's first king, Saul, was from the tribe of Benjamin.
Judah
and Joseph, and Leah and Rachel represent the two elements in this tribal conflict. Biblical prophecies
refer to them, as Judah and Ephraim/ Israel who gradually drew apart and eventually became two separate peoples. The 'Kingdom
of Ephraim' with Samaria as its capital, was exiled by the Assyrian king Shalmaneser in the 8th century BC.
The 'Kingdom of Judah' with its capital at Jerusalem, enjoyed another 150 years of partial independence until
suffering exile at the hands of Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon.
The animosity and strife between the
two 'sisters'
foreshadowed the struggles that unfolded, as Israel became a nation, alluding to the continued conflicts
molding its development.
Joshua's account of Judah and Joseph is a further instruction to the nation
of Israel to enter Canaan and become one nation with common goals and destiny.
Sadly, Biblical Israel never
succeeded in becoming a unified nation. Even while Joshua was still alive, the tribes
often pulled in different directions and their leaders frequently found it difficult to see beyond tribal limitations.
They were often in competition with each other and occasionally even engaged in open warfare. Even the destruction
of the First Temple did not bring an end to the divisiveness, and the strife of Leah and Rachel was still waiting to
be resolved.
The Prophets who lived through the destruction of the first Jewish State were granted
a comforting vision of a Messianic future, when Israel would be restored to its land and become one people.
"YHVH said to me: Mortal man, take a branch and inscribe upon it 'for Judah and
the children of Israel' and take another branch and inscribe upon it 'for Joseph the tree of Ephraim and all of the House
of Israel'. Draw the branches together to become one in your hand, for thus says YHVH: Behold I will
take the children of Israel from among the lands of their exile, and I will gather them from afar and bring
them to their land. I will make them into a single nation in the land of the mountains of Israel
and they will have one king. They will no longer be two nations and will no longer divide into two kingdoms.
They will dwell in the land that I gave to My servant Jacob, they and their children and their
children's children forever. My presence will be upon them and I will be their Elohim, and they will be My people.
The nations will then know that I am YHVH Who sanctifies Israel, for My Temple shall stand in their midst forever." (Ezk 37)
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