Israel as the Twelve Tribes

Thomas Dozeman traces the emergence and the decline of the twelve tribes in the postexilic period, coinciding roughly with the rise and the fall of the Persian empire. The twelve tribes are traditionally interpreted as the social structure of »all Israel« in the period of the judges, providing the background for the emergence of the united monarchy. Recent research clarifies the original separation of the northern and southern kingdoms, with the view of one Israelite people emerging only later in their history. The late development of pan-Israelite identity in the monarchic period requires the reevaluation of the twelve tribes, not as an early form of pan-Israelite identity in the period of the judges but as a response to the exile and the loss of the monarchy. The distribution of the two words for »tribe«, šēbet and maṭṭeh, provides the roadmap for describing the varieties of tribal identity in the exilic and early postexilic periods in Ezekiel, Genesis, Numbers, Deuteronomy, and Joshua, and for interpreting the rejection of the twelve tribes in the late postexilic period in Chronicles, Ezra-Nehemiah, and the Judean editing of the Former Prophets.

Introduction

Part 1 Varieties of the Twelve Tribes

Chapter 1 Ezekiel: Returning Exiles as Twelve Tribes
Chapter 2 Deuteronomy: Tribal Society in the Wilderness and at Shechem
Chapter 3 Genesis: Sons of Jacob as Tribal Ancestors
Chapter 4 Numbers: Tribal Theocracy in the Wilderness
Chapter 5 Joshua: Tribal Amphictyonic League at Shechem

Part 2 Rejection of the Twelve Tribes

Chapter 6 Chronicles: Levites and Tribal Identity in Jerusalem
Chapter 7 Ezra-Nehemiah: Contesting Israelite Identity in Yehud
Chapter 8 Judean Editing of the Former Prophets: »none was left but the tribe of Judah alone«

Conclusion