From All the Tribes of Israel

Then I heard the number of those who were sealed: 144,000 from all the tribes of Israel. (Revelation 7:4, NIV 1984).

My Musings – The Bible contains several lists of the tribes in the Old Testament. (Genesis 35:22; 46:8, 49, Exodus. 1:1, Numbers 1:2; 13:4, 26:34, Deuteronomy 27:11; 33:6, Joshua 13–22, Judges 5, 1 Chronicles 2–8; 12:24; 27:16, Ezekiel 48) and they are given in various orders.^[i]  Following are comparison of three of those lists:  the sons of Jacob by birth, the division of the promised-land and the list from Revelation 7.

In the original division of the promised land, Levi was omitted. “To the tribe of Levi, He gave no inheritance, since the offerings made by fire to the Lord, the God of Israel are their inheritance.” (Joshua 13:14, NIV 1984). To make up for the omission of Levi, Joseph was given a double portion through his sons Manasseh and Ephraim. 

Judah (meaning praise), the tribe of Jesus’ ancestry, is listed first in Revelation. See also Jacob’s blessing of his son Judah in Genesis 49:8-12 – where he prophesied that “the scepter will not depart from Judah.”  Reuben, the first-born, comes next after Judah, having forfeited his place to Judah, because of his sin (see Jacob’s “blessing” in Genesis 49:3-4 – “turbulent as the waters, you will no longer excel, for you went up onto your father’s bed”).

Dan is omitted altogether in Revelation.  Some believe this is because the anti-Christ is expected to either come from Dan (Irenaeus, for example, suggested that anti-Christ was expected to come from the tribe of Dan), or because Dan will reportedly be a tool of the anti-Christ (see also Jacob’s “blessing” in Genesis 49:17 – “Dan will be a serpent by the roadside, a viper along the path”). Another reason given for the omission of Dan was that it was the first tribe to lapse into idolatry (Judges 18:1–31). 

This same reason is given for the omission of Ephraim (Judges 17:1–3; Hosea 4:17).  This even though Jacob placed him first above Manasseh, Joseph’s firstborn in Genesis 48:19 – “his [Manasseh’s] younger brother [Ephraim] will be greater than he.”  Also, the tribe was reportedly reduced to the one family (Hussim), which apparently perished altogether in the wars prior to Ezra’s time. Thus, it is omitted in the fourth through eighth chapters of First Chronicles.

Levi and Joseph are substituted for Dan and Ephraim. Some believe that the inclusion of Levi in Revelation 7 is because the Levitical ceremonies have been done away with, once again placing Levi on an equal footing with the other tribes.   

While the sequence of tribes in Revelation (other than Judah being mentioned first) may not be significant, as it varied considerably in the Old Testament, there may be a reason that we are not told.  It is hard to imagine that the ordering was random or happenstance.

My Advice – One often hears of the ten lost tribes of the northern kingdom of Israel (includes Ephraim and Manasseh, in place of Joseph) as opposed to the southern kingdom of Judah (Judah and Benjamin). Again, the tribe of Levi was separate. Lost by assimilation into other people groups following the captivity by the Assyrians. Lost to whom? Not to God. He who numbers every hair on our head, also knows our DNA. Down to the “last” family of Hussim, soon to be part of a tribe of at least 12,000 strong.

The things in your past, that you think no one knows, are known to Him. Unless they’ve been blotted out by a saving faith in His Son. Those things He remembers no more. If you have not placed your faith in Him, there is still time to have yours wins washed away too. But don’t delay.

Resources:

Keener, C. S. (1993). The IVP Bible background commentary: New Testament (Re 7:5–8). Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press.

Robertson, A. T. (1933). Word Pictures in the New Testament (Re 7:4). Nashville, TN: Broadman Press.

Jamieson, R., Fausset, A. R., & Brown, D. (1997). Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (Vol. 2, p. 570). Oak Harbor, WA: Logos Research Systems, Inc.