Many tribes and people’s bloodlines have been erased from the books because of quarrel or exile. I believe Moses kept track of the tribes that came out of Egypt with him during his time. These scrolls were later tran-scribed and transformed into scripture, known as Numbers (Some tam-pering may have occurred during the translation process); this indicates that the records are accurate and not precise.
The genealogy of Numbers comes from the thirteen tribes of Israel, written in Jacob’s time. These records were taken by Moses who had the original copies from the Egyptian clergy and scribes. Although his speech was poor in Hebrew, he could write very well and kept track of the records of the progress of the kingdom (or his part <mining, agriculture, etc.>, any tasks being considered by the Hebrew slaves.) Remember that Joseph was held in high record amongst the Jewish and Egyptian kingdom.
Numbers also depicts and takes census of the people and tribes that went into the wilderness with Moses. To many, there are the twelve tribes of Israel; however, an amalgamation of two tribes occurred somewhere throughout history. The two tribes probably merged because of low numbers among their groups; uniting would cause in increase in power and influence. The thirteen tribes of Israel that proceeded in the Exodus with Moses are as follows:
1. Reuben
2. Simeon
3. Judah
4. Issachar
5. Zebulun
6.Joseph
7.Ephraim
8.Manasseh
9.Benjamin
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10.Dan
11.Asher
12.Gas
13.Naphtali
The importance of including Numbers in the study of Moses is to try to illustrate the genealogy involved. Many people’s heritages of ancient Rome and Greece are people who came from these tribes a long time ago. Remember that these ancient colonies were not formed until the first millennia BC. Many descendants of European civilizations stem from the founding tribes of Israel that are mentioned.
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