We the Tribes | Voices on Sefaria

We the Tribes

Parshat Bamidbar: We the Tribes explores the census as constitutional politics, tribal federalism, and covenantal nationhood.

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במדבר א׳:א׳-ד׳

(א) וַיְדַבֵּ֨ר יהוה אֶל־מֹשֶׁ֛ה בְּמִדְבַּ֥ר סִינַ֖י בְּאֹ֣הֶל מוֹעֵ֑ד בְּאֶחָד֩ לַחֹ֨דֶשׁ הַשֵּׁנִ֜י בַּשָּׁנָ֣ה הַשֵּׁנִ֗ית לְצֵאתָ֛ם מֵאֶ֥רֶץ מִצְרַ֖יִם לֵאמֹֽר׃ (ב) שְׂא֗וּ אֶת־רֹאשׁ֙ כׇּל־עֲדַ֣ת בְּנֵֽי־יִשְׂרָאֵ֔ל לְמִשְׁפְּחֹתָ֖ם לְבֵ֣ית אֲבֹתָ֑ם בְּמִסְפַּ֣ר שֵׁמ֔וֹת כׇּל־זָכָ֖ר לְגֻלְגְּלֹתָֽם׃ (ג) מִבֶּ֨ן עֶשְׂרִ֤ים שָׁנָה֙ וָמַ֔עְלָה כׇּל־יֹצֵ֥א צָבָ֖א בְּיִשְׂרָאֵ֑ל תִּפְקְד֥וּ אֹתָ֛ם לְצִבְאֹתָ֖ם אַתָּ֥ה וְאַהֲרֹֽן׃ (ד) וְאִתְּכֶ֣ם יִהְי֔וּ אִ֥ישׁ אִ֖ישׁ לַמַּטֶּ֑ה אִ֛ישׁ רֹ֥אשׁ לְבֵית־אֲבֹתָ֖יו הֽוּא׃

Numbers 1:1-4

(1) On the first day of the second month, in the second year after the exodus from the land of Egypt, GOD spoke to Moses in the wilderness of Sinai, in the Tent of Meeting, saying: (2) Take up the head-count [Take up the head-count: Others, “Take a census,” “calculate the total.”] of the entire community [Alternatively, “assembly.” The term eda can mean either the ruling council or the entire people (with a focus on the males, in both cases).] of the Children of Israel,

by their clans, by their Fathers’ Houses, [clans … Fathers’ Houses: Units of social organization in ancient Israel.]

according to the number of names,

every male per capita; [per capita: The English/Latin expression for “by the head”; Heb. “by their skulls.”]

(3) You and Aaron shall record them by their groups, from the age of twenty years up, all those in Israel who are able to bear arms. (4) Associated with you shall be a representative from every tribe, each one the head of his ancestral house.

אברבנאל על תורה, במדבר א׳:א׳:ב׳

(ב) השאלה הא' באמרו במדבר סיני באהל מועד באחד לחדש השני. והיא שאם נאמרה הפרשה הזאת בהר סיני כשאר המצות איך אמר כאן שנאמרה באהל מועד ואם נאמרה באהל מועד ולא בסיני איך אמר כאן במדבר סיני וידוע היה שבמדבר היו עדין כי לא באו עד כה אל המנותה ואל הנחלה. והנה בתחלת סדר ויקרא נאמר ויקרא אל משה וידבר יהוה אליו מאהל מועד ולא אמר שם שהיה במדבר סיני גם שם לא אמר באיזה יום וחדש ושנה היה הדבור ולמה א"כ אמר כאן שהי' זה באחד לחודש השני בשנה השנית וגו':

Abarbanel on Torah, Numbers 1:1:2

The first question concerns the verse: “In the wilderness of Sinai, in the Tent of Meeting, on the first day of the second month…”

The difficulty is this: if this section was spoken at Mount Sinai, like the other commandments, why does it say here that it was spoken “in the Tent of Meeting”? But if it was spoken in the Tent of Meeting and not at Sinai, why does it say here “in the wilderness of Sinai”? It was already known that they were still in the wilderness, since they had not yet arrived at their resting place and inheritance.

Furthermore, at the beginning of the Book of Leviticus it says: “And He called to Moses, and the Lord spoke to him from the Tent of Meeting,” yet it does not say there that it was in the wilderness of Sinai. Nor does it specify there the day, month, or year in which that communication took place. Why then does it say here that this occurred “on the first day of the second month, in the second year,” and so forth?

A principal purpose of the Jacob and Joseph stories is to explain the foundation of the twelve tribes of Israel. ... While those twelve sons of Jacob may have been the ancestors (real or eponymous) of the original twelve tribes of Israel, in fact history indicates that while the number remained the same, the identities of the twelve tribes shifted. The beginnings of the shift are described in Bereshith. In the process we have the final dimension of covenant developed in Bereshith, namely the establishment of the basis for a covenantal polity, a tribal federation.

In keeping with the organic character of the twelve-tribe kinship group, before Sinai the tribes were governed by customary law. Through the Sinai Covenant God changes the moral basis of the Israelites’ obligations and rights as much as He changes their content.

See: Covenant and Polity in Biblical Israel: Volume 1, Biblical Foundations and Jewish Expressions: Covenant Tradition in Politics (The Covenant Tradition in Politics) Kindle by Daniel J. Elazar

במדבר ב׳:ב׳-ג׳

(ב) אִ֣ישׁ עַל־דִּגְל֤וֹ בְאֹתֹת֙ לְבֵ֣ית אֲבֹתָ֔ם יַחֲנ֖וּ בְּנֵ֣י יִשְׂרָאֵ֑ל מִנֶּ֕גֶד סָבִ֥יב לְאֹֽהֶל־מוֹעֵ֖ד יַחֲנֽוּ׃ (ג) וְהַחֹנִים֙ קֵ֣דְמָה מִזְרָ֔חָה דֶּ֛גֶל מַחֲנֵ֥ה יְהוּדָ֖ה לְצִבְאֹתָ֑ם וְנָשִׂיא֙ לִבְנֵ֣י יְהוּדָ֔ה נַחְשׁ֖וֹן בֶּן־עַמִּינָדָֽב׃

Numbers 2:2-3

(2) The Israelites shall camp each [household] with its standard, under the banners of their ancestral house; they shall camp around the Tent of Meeting at a distance. (3) Camped on the front, or east side: the standard of the division of Judah, troop by troop. Chieftain of the Judahites: Nahshon son of Amminadab.

רש"י על במדבר א׳:ב׳:ג׳

לגלגלתם. עַ"יְ שְׁקָלִים — בֶּקַע לַגֻּלְגֹּלֶת:

Rashi on Numbers 1:2:3

לגלגלתם BY THEIR POLLS — i. e. by means of shekels — “a beka a head (לגלגלת)”, as was prescribed on a previous occasion (Exodus 38:26).

אבן עזרא על במדבר א׳:ב׳:ג׳

לגלגלותם. פירשתיו:

Ibn Ezra on Numbers 1:2:3

BY THEIR POLLS. I have already explained the meaning of gulgelotam (their polls). *The word gulgelotam (their polls) literally means their skulls. In his short commentary (S.C.) on Exodus, I.E. explains that the word gulgolet means a head. The head is so called because it is round. Compare, galgal (wheel, i.e., a round object). See I.E. on Ex. 16:16 (S.C.).

העמק דבר על במדבר א׳:ד׳

(א)ראש לבית אבותיו הוא. ... אלא צ״ל כמש״כ להלן ז׳ א׳ דהנשיאים היו מכבר בהסכמות השבט שהוא ראוי להיות להם לראש. וכאן הקב״ה הסכים על ידם. ומנה אותם בדבר יהוה. וזהו כונת המקרא איש ראש לבית אבותיו הוא מכבר. המה יעמדו על הפקודים עפ״י יהוה....

Haamek Davar on Numbers 1:4

(1)Head of his fathers’ house. The tribal leaders were already agreed upon by each tribe as worthy to be the head. Here, God agreed with their selection and appointed them with His word. And this is what the verse means, “Each man shall be the head of his fathers’ house” — the man who was already the head will be appointed to take charge of the counting by God’s command. ...

במדבר א׳:י׳

(י) לִבְנֵ֣י יוֹסֵ֔ף לְאֶפְרַ֕יִם אֱלִישָׁמָ֖ע בֶּן־עַמִּיה֑וּד לִמְנַשֶּׁ֕ה גַּמְלִיאֵ֖ל בֶּן־פְּדָהצֽוּר׃

Numbers 1:10

(10) From the sons of Joseph: from Ephraim, Elishama son of Ammihud; from Manasseh, Gamaliel son of Pedahzur.

Key Variations in the 12-Tribe Lists
Scholars note that several tribes are "swapped in and out" of the 12-tribe roster across different biblical passages. Common variations include:

Levi: Often excluded from land-allocation lists because they served as a specialized priestly class, which brought the total down to 11.

במדבר א׳:מ״ז-מ״ט

(מז) וְהַלְוִיִּ֖ם לְמַטֵּ֣ה אֲבֹתָ֑ם לֹ֥א הׇתְפָּקְד֖וּ בְּתוֹכָֽם׃ {פ}(מח) וַיְדַבֵּ֥ר יהוה אֶל־מֹשֶׁ֥ה לֵּאמֹֽר׃ (מט) אַ֣ךְ אֶת־מַטֵּ֤ה לֵוִי֙ לֹ֣א תִפְקֹ֔ד וְאֶת־רֹאשָׁ֖ם לֹ֣א תִשָּׂ֑א בְּת֖וֹךְ בְּנֵ֥י יִשְׂרָאֵֽל׃

Numbers 1:47-49

(47) The Levites, however, were not recorded among them by their ancestral tribe. (48) For GOD had spoken to Moses, saying: (49) Do not on any account enroll the tribe of Levi or take a census of them with the Israelites.

Joseph & The Sons of Joseph: To keep the sacred number 12, Joseph is sometimes counted as a single tribe, but more often split into two distinct tribes: Ephraim and Manasseh.

שמות א׳:א׳-ה׳

(א) וְאֵ֗לֶּה שְׁמוֹת֙ בְּנֵ֣י יִשְׂרָאֵ֔ל הַבָּאִ֖ים מִצְרָ֑יְמָה אֵ֣ת יַעֲקֹ֔ב אִ֥ישׁ וּבֵית֖וֹ בָּֽאוּ׃ (ב) רְאוּבֵ֣ן שִׁמְע֔וֹן לֵוִ֖י וִיהוּדָֽה׃ (ג) יִשָּׂשכָ֥ר זְבוּלֻ֖ן וּבִנְיָמִֽן׃ (ד) דָּ֥ן וְנַפְתָּלִ֖י גָּ֥ד וְאָשֵֽׁר׃ (ה) וַֽיְהִ֗י כׇּל־נֶ֛פֶשׁ יֹצְאֵ֥י יֶֽרֶךְ־יַעֲקֹ֖ב שִׁבְעִ֣ים נָ֑פֶשׁ וְיוֹסֵ֖ף הָיָ֥ה בְמִצְרָֽיִם׃

Exodus 1:1-5

(1) These are the names of the sons of Israel who came to Egypt with Jacob, each coming with his household: (2) Reuben, Simeon, Levi, and Judah; (3) Issachar, Zebulun, and Benjamin; (4) Dan and Naphtali, Gad and Asher. (5) The total number of persons that were of Jacob’s issue came to seventy, Joseph being already in Egypt.

Gad, Asher, Dan, & Naphtali: These tribes appear and disappear in varying configurations in early poems (such as the Song of Deborah) versus later genealogical lists.

Judges 5:14–18

Mentioned:
Ephraim
Benjamin
Machir (Manasseh)
Zebulun
Issachar
Reuben
Gilead (often Gad/Manasseh region)
Dan
Asher
Naphtali
Tribes Missing

Notably absent:
Judah
Simeon
Levi

Daniel Judah Elazar (August 25, 1934 – December 2, 1999) was a political scientist known for his seminal studies of political culture of the US states. He was professor of political science at Bar-Ilan University in Israel and director of the Center for the Study of Federalism and Professor of Political Science at Temple University and the founder and president of the Jerusalem Center for Public Affairs. In 1986, President Reagan appointed him a citizen member of the U.S. Advisory Commission on Intergovernmental Relations, the major intergovernmental agency dealing with federalism issues. He was appointed for a second term in 1988 and a third in 1991.[citation needed]

Elazar was the author or editor of more than 60 books. His books in the area of federalism include The American Partnership (1962); American Federalism: A View from the States (1966); The American Mosaic (1994); and Exploring Federalism (1987). He was also the author of a multi-generational study of the development of civil community in midwestern cities. The research produced Cities of the Prairie (1970), Cities of the Prairie Revisited (1986) and Cities of the Prairie: Opening Cybernetic Frontiers (2004).

He writes:

The fourth book of the Torah, Numbers (in Hebrew, BaMidbar, literally: In the Desert), continues the constitutional corpus and is understood in the Jewish tradition to be an indivisible part of the original constitution. Numbers is an elaboration of aspects of the regime. It concentrates on the operational dimensions of the governance of the tribal confederation.

The list of subjects included is revealing:
1. The national census by tribes and the federal means by which the census is taken (chap. 1);
2. The manner of forming the tribes around the Tent of Assembly (chap. 2);
3. The divisions of the tribe of Levi and their responsibilities in the Tabernacle (chaps. 3-4);
4. Operational rules for managing the camp (e.g., the removal of lepers and corpses (5:2-4) and rendering judgments (e.g., restitution for trespasses against the Lord—chaps. 5 and 6);
5. The order of tribal sacrifices (chap. 7);
6. Technical details for preparing the Levites for service in the Tabernacle (chap. 8);
7. The trumpet calls for public assembly (10:1-10);
8. Provisions for sacrificial offerings (15:1-3);
9. Implementation of the death penalty for Sabbath violation (15:32-36); 10. Commandment for all Israelites to fringe their garments as another sign of their covenantal obligations (15:37-41);
11. Prerogatives of the priestly families (chap. 18);
12. Purification rituals (chap. 19);
13. Provision for division of the land of Canaan once it is occupied by Israel (chaps. 26-27);
14. Provision for the succession after Moses (27:12-23, see also 11:16-17 and 24-30);
15. Seasonal, Sabbath, and festival offerings to the Lord (chaps. 28-29);
16. Adjudication of vows (chap. 30);
17. Division of the spoils of war (chap. 31);
18. Provision for the settlement of 2 1/2 tribes in territories east of the
19. Jordan River in return for their commitment to assist the entire federation in conquering the west bank (chap. 32);
20. Rules for conquering the west bank (33:15-56);
21. The borders of the land of the twelve tribes (chap. 34);
22. An allocation for the Levites (35:1-5);
23. The establishment of cities of refuge and the rules relating to refuge in them (35:6-34);
24. Rules regarding the tribal lands inherited by women (chap. 36).

This is a book filled with the day-to-day stuff of government and politics worth a political commentary in its own right. In that sense it is an excursus on the Book of the Covenant and the other constitutional laws of Exodus and Leviticus. If the Decalogue is the covenant and the Book of the Covenant is the basic constitution, Numbers provides several organic laws designed to implement the covenant and the constitution in the real world occupied by the Israelites both in the desert and in what was to become the historic land of the twelve tribes on both banks of the Jordan.

Federalism has to do with the need of people and polities to unite for common purposes yet remain separate to preserve their respective integrities. It is rather like wanting to have one's cake and eat it too.

The federal idea itself rests on the principle that political and social institutions and relationships are best established through covenants, compacts, or other contractual arrangements.

The federal idea itself rests on the principle that political and social institutions and relationships are best established through covenants, compacts, or other contractual arrangements, rather than, or in addition to, simply growing organically; in other words, that humans are able to make constitutional choices.

The term “federal” is derived from the Latin foedus, which, like the Hebrew term brit, means covenant.

There have been three critical federal experiments in the history of humanity to date.
The Israelite tribal federation described in the Bible was the first. More than three thousand years ago, it formulated the founding principle of federalism by transforming the vassel treaty among unequals into a covenant among equal partners (equal at least for the purposes of the covenant) that led to the establishment of a polity of tribes maintaining their liberties within the framework of a common constitution and law. Although external pressures ultimately brought about the demise of the tribal federation as a regime, the Jewish people lived on as the first federal people, and they have continued to use federal principles in their internal organization to the present day.

Since its beginnings, political science has identified three basic ways in which polities come into existence: conquest (force, in the words of Federalist No. 1), organic development (for the Federalist, accident), and covenant (choice).

Conquest tends to produce hierarchically organized regimes ruled in an authoritarian manner: power pyramids with the conqueror on top, his agents in the middle, and the people underneath the governing structure. The original expression of this form of polity was the Pharaonic state of ancient Egypt.

The organic model has proved most attractive to political philosophers precisely because at its best it seems to reflect the natural order of things.

Covenantal foundings emphasize the deliberate coming together of humans as equals to establish bodies politic in such a way that all reaffirm their fundamental equality and retain their basic rights.

See: Exploring Federalism by Daniel J. Elazar

The biblical grand design for humankind is federal in three ways:

1. It is based upon a network of covenants beginning with those between God and man, which weave the web of human, especially political, relationships in a federal way; that is, through pact, association, and consent.

2. The classic biblical commonwealth was a fully articulated federation of tribes instituted and reaffirmed by covenant to function under a common constitution and common laws. Any and all constitutional changes in the Israelite polity were introduced through covenanting and even after the introduction of the monarchy, the federal element was maintained until most of the tribal structures were destroyed by external forces. The biblical vision of the restored commonwealth in the Messianic era envisages the reconstitution of the tribal federation (Ezek. 47:13-48:35).

יחזקאל מ״ז:י״ב-י״ג

(יב) וְעַל־הַנַּ֣חַל יַעֲלֶ֣ה עַל־שְׂפָת֣וֹ מִזֶּ֣ה ׀ וּמִזֶּ֣ה ׀ כׇּל־עֵֽץ־מַ֠אֲכָ֠ל לֹא־יִבּ֨וֹל עָלֵ֜הוּ וְלֹֽא־יִתֹּ֣ם פִּרְי֗וֹ לׇחֳדָשָׁיו֙ יְבַכֵּ֔ר כִּ֣י מֵימָ֔יו מִן־הַמִּקְדָּ֖שׁ הֵ֣מָּה יוֹצְאִ֑ים (והיו)[וְהָיָ֤ה] פִרְיוֹ֙ לְמַאֲכָ֔ל וְעָלֵ֖הוּ לִתְרוּפָֽה׃ {פ}(יג) כֹּ֤ה אָמַר֙ אדני יהוה גֵּ֤ה גְבוּל֙ אֲשֶׁ֣ר תִּתְנַחֲל֣וּ אֶת־הָאָ֔רֶץ לִשְׁנֵ֥י עָשָׂ֖ר שִׁבְטֵ֣י יִשְׂרָאֵ֑ל יוֹסֵ֖ף חֲבָלִֽים׃

Ezekiel 47:12-13

(12) All kinds of trees for food will grow up on both banks of the stream. Their leaves will not wither nor their fruit fail; they will yield new fruit every month, because the water for them flows from the temple. Their fruit will serve for food and their leaves for healing.” (13) Thus said the Sovereign GOD: These shall be the boundaries of the land that you shall allot to the twelve tribes of Israel. Joseph shall receive two portions,

3. The biblical vision for the “end of days,” the messianic era, sees not only a restoration of Israel’s tribal system but what is, for all intents and purposes, a world confederation or league of nations, each preserving its own integrity while accepting a common Divine covenant and constitutional order. This order will establish appropriate covenantal relationships for the entire world. Each of these elements has had a direct impact on subsequent political thought and, in a number of significant cases, action. See Covenant and Polity (ibid)

The Israelite example represented federalism in its most complete form: a people founded by covenant and a polity organized on federal principles. Although federal arrangements often are used to link peoples that do not have a covenantal base and, conversely, some peoples founded by covenant or compact do not establish federal systems of government, federal systems are strongest when both are combined. That has continued to be the case throughout history. see Exploring Federalism ibid.

Geoffrey Stern

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