Week 8 Deuteronomy
Moses ended Deuteronomy with a blessing on each of the tribes.
The blessings were in this order: Reuben, Judah Levi Benjamin Ephraim Manasseh Zebulun Issachar Gad Dan Naphtali Asher.
I flipped back to Genesis 29-30 and saw that the actual birth-order of the boys was: Reuben Simeon Levi Judah Dan Naphtali Gad Asher Issachar Zebulun Joseph Benjamin.
I looked at the final blessing Jacob gave to his boys in this order: Reuben Simeon Levi Judah Zebulun Issachar Dan Gad Asher Naphtali Joseph Benjamin.
There’s also the two census lists I noticed a couple of weeks ago. The first one is: Reuben Simeon Gad Judah Issachar Zebulun Ephraim Manasseh Benjamin Dan Asher Naphtali. The second list is the same except it flip-flops Manasseh & Ephraim. I didn’t know what to make of that list until I realized they were grouped in four clusters of three tribes according to their geographic position around the Tabernacle – group one on the south side, two on the east, three west, four north.
Looking at the name order helped focus my mind. I kind of hoped it might also enlighten me about something or other. Which it didn’t. So…I guess that’s too bad for me.
Note: first list: Deuteronomy 33 (Simeon is missing); Jacob’s blessing list: Genesis 49 (I think the logic there is that Leah’s six boys and Rachel’s two are grouped); census lists: Numbers 1:20ff & 26:4ff (the Levites were not part of the military); position of tribes around the Tabernacle: Numbers 2.