[6] The privileges of the _first-born_ passed away from the tribe
of Reuben, and were divided among his brethren. The double portion
of the inheritance was given to Joseph--the priesthood to Levi--and
the sovereignty to Judah. The tribe never rose into national power,
and it was the first which was carried into captivity.
[7] The massacre of the Shechemites was the crime of the two
brothers. For a long period the tribe of Simeon was depressed; and
its position, on the verge of the Amalekites, always exposed it to
suffering. The Levites, though finally entrusted with the
priesthood, had no inheritance in Palestine: they dwelt scattered
among the tribes.
[8] The tribe of Judah was distinguished from the beginning of the
nation. It led the van in the march to Palestine. It was the first
appointed to expel the Canaanites. It gave the first judge, Othniel.
It was the tribe of David, and, most glorious of all titles, was
the _Tribe of our_ LORD.
[9] Zebulon was a maritime tribe, its location extending along the
sea-shore, and stretching to the borders of Sidon. The tribe of
Issachar were located in the country afterwards called Lower
Galilee; were chiefly tillers of the soil; were never distinguished
in the military or civil transactions of the nation, and, as they
dwelt among the Canaanites, seem to have habitually served them for
hire. Issachar is characterised as the "strong ass"--a drudge,
powerful but patient.
[10] The tribe of Dan were remarkable for the daring of their
exploits in war, and not less so for their stratagems. Their great
chieftain Samson, distinguished alike for strength and subtlety,
might be an emblem of their qualities and history.
[11] Gad; a tribe engaged in continual and memorable conflicts.
[12] Naphtali and Asher inhabited the most fertile portions of
Palestine.
[13] The two tribes Ephraim and Manasseh, descended from Joseph,
possessed the finest portion of the land, along both sides of the
Jordan. The united tribes numbered a larger population than any of
the rest. Besides Joshua, five of the twelve judges of Israel were
of the united tribes. In the formation of the kingdom of Israel, an
Ephraimite was the first king.
[14] The tribe of Benjamin was conspicuous for valour. But its
turbulence and ferocity wrought its fall, in the great battles
recorded in Judges xix. and xx. Saul was of this fierce tribe. It
was finally lost in that of Judah.
This great prophecy was delivered about three hundred years before
the conquest of Palestine.
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