The Trek of the Tribes as They Settled in Canaan

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If Biblical traditions represent some kind of historical memory, albeit edited, it should be interesting to examine the geographical involvement of the various tribes in each other’s territorial allotment. This may indicate the early presence of these families, or tribes, in another’s territory before the final division of the land took place. Moreover, this examination should also enable us to follow the path of Israelite expansion after the initial entry from Transjordan into the territory of Manasseh, as described in the preceding article.

But before examining this Biblical evidence, a word of caution: This is a purely Biblical analysis. No archaeological evidence has been found that would enable us to identify different Israelite tribes or clans. Thus, we cannot do this on an archaeological basis—yet. Neither pottery nor architecture can respond to such delicate differences as the identification of a family, clan or tribe—now. But I do believe we will be able to do this in the future. Modern ethnographers and anthropologists have shown that each tribe—whether Indian, Pacific or otherwise—has its own signs and insignia. There is no reason to believe that in Biblical times it was any different. We would hardly imagine that people did not know how to identify themselves in Biblical times. Most modern archaeologists working in our region claim that archaeology cannot even identify an ethnic group such as the Israelites. I oppose this view. I believe that the early Israelites can be recognized now, in the same way we recognize ethnic groups today: by their culture, language and cults. In the near future, we may even be able to identify ethnic subgroups.

Returning to the Biblical evidence of tribal movements and tribal expansion: In no other Biblical tribal allotment do we find so many other tribes mentioned as we do in connection with the tribal allotment of Manasseh. No less than six other tribes are mentioned as present in the territory of Manasseh at one time or another. Let us examine this evidence:

Judah: In the mysterious episode recorded in Judges 1:1–8, the tribes of Judah and Simeon engage the Canaanites at Bezek. The name Bezek is preserved in the site now known as Khirbet (Ruin of) Ibzik; halfway between Shechem and Beth-Shean; the site of Bezek itself should be located at Khirbet Salhab, which is about two miles to the southeast of Khirbet Ibzik. As often happens, the name Bezek apparently migrated from Khirbet Salhab to Khirbet Ibzik. The former, unlike the latter, yielded much Iron I pottery (1200–1000 B.C.E.); Khirbet Ibzik itself has none.

But the question is: What is the historical background for the presence of Judah and Simeon in Manasseh? This chapter of Judges is considered one of the most historically reliable in all the settlement narratives; there is no reason to doubt the Bezek story. It apparently represents an old tradition regarding Judahite and Simeonite elements inside the territory of Manasseh during an early stage of the Israelite settlement in Canaan.¹ Moreover, the Biblical battle at Bezek is described as a part of a campaign, led by Judah, against the Canaanites and the Perizzites. Because the Judahites, after the victory at Bezek, continued their way southward to Jerusalem and destroyed it (Judges 1:8) 200 years before David conquered it, some scholars, such as Benjamin Mazar and Yohanan Aharoni, have concluded that the Judahites themselves came from the Jordan Valley.²

Judah is also Biblically connected with Manasseh in their mutual origin: Both were connected to the same family back in Transjordan (1 Chronicles 2:21–24).

Simeon and Levi: Both Simeon and Levi appear wandering about near Shechem in the patriarchal narratives. Simeon and Levi, it will be recalled, slew the Shechemites in revenge for the rape of their sister Dinah (Genesis 34:25). Though the patriarchal period may seem remote in time from the period we are examining, there is wide agreement among scholars that no tribes existed in any real sense at the time of the patriarchs; the patriarchal references to tribes actually reflect a later time when the Israelite clans were indeed in Canaan—the settlement period. The fact that in the patriarchal narratives the Shechemites generously offer Simeon and Levi the opportunity to settle among them (Genesis 34:10) points to the presence of elements of these tribes in the territory of Manasseh in the settlement period.

Simeon’s actual allotment was in the northern part of the Negev desert, inside Judahite territory (Joshua 19:19), because, according to the text, the allotment of the Judahites was larger than they needed. Levi had no territory because the Levites were priests. Both Simeon and Levi, however, as we have seen, wandered about near Shechem, in the territory of Manasseh. Simeon also seems to be connected to Manasseh in 2 Chronicles 15:9 and 34:5–6. In these references Simeon seems to be situated geographically in the same territory as Manasseh and Ephraim. Similar evidence is found in the Book of Judith (6:15) from the Persian period (532–332 B.C.E.), where Simeonites are located in the Dothan Valley.³

Asher: Although the Asherites’ traditional allotment is on the Mediterranean coast and in the hills of the Carmel mountain range (Joshua 19:24–31), Asher appears several times 049in Ephraim and Manasseh. Asher’s appearance in Ephraim is well known (1 Chronicles 7:30–40),^a but in the description of the Manassite border in Joshua 17:7, Asher is also mentioned: “The boundary of Manasseh ran from Asher to Michmethath, which lies near Shechem.” In addition, the ancient name of Asher may have survived in the name of the village Teiyasir in eastern Manasseh, as mentioned by Eusebius in the Byzantine period.⁴

Much earlier, a name probably corresponding to Asher is mentioned in an interesting Egyptian letter known as Papyrus Anastasi A, from the time of the great pharaoh Ramesses II.⁵ This papyrus, describing Canaan and Syria in the 13th century B.C.E., contains a lively description of a trip through the narrow pass of Nahal ‘Iron (Wadi ’Ara), in the territory of Manasseh. The Egyptian messenger speaks of a tribe of dangerous and wild Shasu⁶ who ambushed him. This tribe is led by a man called Aser. This may well be the first appearance of the Asherites in a historical source.

Issachar: This tribe too has deep roots in Manasseh. In 1 Chronicles 7:1, the sons of Issachar include Tola, Puah, Yashub and Shimron. Tola, a Judge of the tribe of Issachar, lived at “Shamir in the hill country of Ephraim” (Judges 10:1). “The hill country of Ephraim” was a term used during the time of the monarchy to refer to the central hill country when the center of gravity had moved from Manasseh to Ephraim.

Shimron is most probably a variant form of Shomron. Shomron was originally in Manasseh, as we learn from the border description in Joshua 17:8–10: Manasseh’s southern border is Wadi Qanah, which is far south of Shomron.

Another son of Issachar is Yashub. Yashub is most probably the same as Yeshev, mentioned in the Samaria ostraca.⁷ These are writings from the eighth century B.C.E., found during the excavation of Samaria. The Yeshev of the Samaria ostraca should probably be identified with the village of Yasuf in Manasseh.

Benjamin Mazar has recently shown that Omri, king of the northern kingdom of Israel in the ninth century, was of Issacharite origin.⁸

Zvi Gal, who conducted an archaeological survey of the area, independently concluded that the Issacharite settlers came to their own territory from Manasseh:

“Combining this data with the archaeological finds, it can be concluded that Issachar was settled with Manasseh on the northern side of the Samaria hills. During the 11th century B.C.E. Issachar had moved to his own territory.”⁹

Ephraim: This is perhaps the most interesting case. To understand the role played by Ephraim in Manasseh, we must understand a key term in early Israelite history, “the House of Joseph.” The House of Joseph includes Joseph’s two sons, Ephraim and Manasseh, each of which is referred to as a different tribe. To understand the relationship between Ephraim and Manasseh, we must examine four crucial verses—Joshua 17:14–18:

“The Josephites complained to Joshua, saying, ‘Why have you assigned as our portion a single allotment and a single district, seeing that we are a numerous people whom the Lord has blessed so greatly?’

“‘If you are a numerous people,’ Joshua answered them, ‘go up to the forest country and clear an area for yourselves there, in the territory of the Perizzites and the Rephaim, seeing that you are cramped in the hill country of Ephraim.’

“‘The hill country is not enough for us,’ then Josephites replied, ‘and all the Canaanites who live in the valley area have iron chariots, both those in Bethshean and its dependencies and those in the Valley of Jezreel.’

“But Joshua declared to the House of Joseph, to Ephraim and Manasseh, ‘You are indeed a numerous people, possessed of great strength; you shall not have one allotment only.

“‘The hill country shall be yours as well; true, it is forest land, but you will clear it and possess it to its farthest limits. And you shall also dispossess the Canaanites, even though they have iron chariots and even though they are strong.’”

These verses have been quoted thousands of times by hundreds of scholars trying to understand Israel’s emergence in Canaan. Yet they have not always appreciated an important element, which is simply this: The Josephites (literally, the children of Joseph—that is, Ephraim and Manasseh) at one time lived together in a single territory. That territory, however, as the text tells us, was not enough for all the people. The narrative describes the situation before the tribal division, at a time when Manasseh and Ephraim were a single entity. From the story, it appears that the families of Joseph occupied this land for some time before it became overpopulated. When they complained to Joshua, he advised them to divide themselves into different tribal entities: “You shall not have one allotment only” (Joshua 17:17). In other words Joshua, representing the tribal leadership, tells the children of Joseph to advance into the mountains. He tells part of these people to leave the place where they are and climb up to the forests.

Biblical scholars generally agree that the verses reflect, however hazily, a historical reality.^b But what is the historical reality that lies behind the text?

Even if these verses were written during the period of the monarchy, they must describe a much earlier reality. The reason for this is that at no time during the monarchy does this description fit the situation in the hill country. By the beginning of the ninth century B.C.E., conditions in the hill country had become more or less stabilized. Accordingly, these Biblical verses should be regarded as describing the situation during an earlier period.

As discussed in the main article, archaeological evidence shows that parts of the earliest settlement process occurred in the territory of Manasseh; the Bible speaks of the Josephites settling together in a single allotment. I believe that the Josephites originally settled in the hill country of Manasseh. Indeed, this is implicitly indicated in the verses quoted above, for the territory of Manasseh as we know it fits the description in the text: The Josephites fear the Canaanites in the fertile Jezreel Valley (Joshua 17:16, 18). This lies just north of the territory of Manasseh. Joshua tells the Josephites to expand into the forests in the hill country. The only such territory is the hilly wooded land to the south of the territory of Manasseh—the hill country of Ephraim.

To sum up, Joshua 17:14–18 can now be seen as a quite precise description of the early settlement process of Israel in Canaan. In the 13th and 12th centuries B.C.E., the Israelites entered through the eastern valleys and settled down alongside the Canaanites in the territory of Manasseh. Six tribes, in addition to Manasseh,^c are mentioned as having contact with the territory of Manasseh, as passing through Manasseh or as living in Manasseh. In this early period, the Josephites are not yet divided into Manasseh and Ephraim. The separation of Ephraim and the movement southward are beautifully described in this passage from Joshua 17. Based on the other 075Biblical references cited above, groups called Simeon and Levi probably moved farther south with Judah; Asher and Issachar moved northward from Manasseh. The territory of Manasseh was a kind of melting pot of the emerging nation. Shechem and Mt. Ebal probably served as a meeting place where the tribal structure crystallized.

If Biblical traditions represent some kind of historical memory, albeit edited, it should be interesting to examine the geographical involvement of the various tribes in each other’s territorial allotment. This may indicate the early presence of these families, or tribes, in another’s territory before the final division of the land took place. Moreover, this examination should also enable us to follow the path of Israelite expansion after the initial entry from Transjordan into the territory of Manasseh, as described in the preceding article. But before examining this Biblical evidence, a word of caution: This is a purely Biblical analysis. […]