The Jews of today are composed of the 12 tribes.
Some, in clear contradiction of the Holy Bible, pretend that all twelve tribes of Israel are Jewish. Such woefully ignorant or deceptive people deny the biblical distinctions between the 12 Tribes and pretend there's only one tribe: Judah.
Jacob-Israel had 12 sons. Each son became a patriarch of the tribe named after them. For example there's Judah, whose descendants are Jews. There's also Joseph, whose descendants are Joes. Joseph isn't Jewish!
The 12 Tribes of Israel became the nation of Israel that later split in two: Joseph was the leader of the Northern Kingdom with its 10 tribes, capital Samaria, and Judah was the leader of the Southern Kingdom, capital Jerusalem.
The Northern Kingdom of Israel was defeated and deported by the Assyrians 130 years before the Southern Kingdom of Judah was defeated and deported by the Babylonians! Two separate kingdoms with separate tribes. The Northern Kingdom of Israel became known as the "Lost Ten Tribes." The Jews continued to be known as Jews (including exceptions among them to the general rule of relatively few Israelites who sojourned with them).
The first time in the Bible the words "Jews" is used is when the Northern Kingdom of Israel was allied with Syria against the Jews! This is important to note since some deny these great distinctions! The Joes are not and never were Jews! They're Joes!
2 Kings 16:5-6
5Then Rezin king of Syria and Pekah son of Remaliah king of Israel came up to Jerusalem to war: and they besieged Ahaz [king of Judah], but could not overcome him.
6At that time Rezin king of Syria recovered Elath to Syria, and drave the Jews from Elath: and the Syrians came to Elath, and dwelt there unto this day.
Further proof that there are TWELVE TRIBES and not just the Jews/Judah can be found in the distinct blessings of all 12 Tribes by Jacob (Genesis 48-49) and later by Moses (Deuteronomy 32). They're addressed to each of the 12 Tribes of Israel and not just to Judah! The Lost Ten Tribes" are not Jewish.
The High Priest had 12 precious gemstones representing the 12 Tribes of Israel - not just one stone in his breastplate, and shouldered two stones with six tribal names on one stone and six tribal names on the other (Exodus 28).
The Promised Land of Israel was divided among the 12 Tribes of Israel, as any biblical map will clearly reveal - not just one big inheritance for Judah!
Ezekiel 47-48 reveals a future division of the Land of Israel again between all 12 Tribes. The New Jerusalem makes mention of 12 Tribes - not just Judah (Revelation 21:12)
Those who dare deny these God-given distinctions mentioned in the Bible from Genesis to Revelation pretend all 12 Tribes of Israel have been merged into the one tribe of Judah, denying the distinct biblical prophecies for each of the separate tribes.
Some Jews have a haughty attitude against the other tribes, even against some Jews, and reject the "prodigal son" and would disinherit them contrary to God's Word and Will:
15 “Son of man, your brethren, your relatives, your countrymen, and all the house of Israel in its entirety, are those about whom the inhabitants of Jerusalem have said, ‘Get far away from the LORD; this land has been given to us as a possession.’
They want the Gentilized Israelites to remain lost and far away, feeling smug and exclusive, rather than acknowledge they are only a small part of the Chosen People, the Servant Nation, and should seek reconciliation, our family reunion, not further alienation.
Those who pretend that all 12 Tribes are now with Judah speak against the Law and the Prophets that reveal otherwise, as the Law states the People (Am Israel, the Nation or People of Israel - all 12 Tribes) will be restored under King Messiah, and the Prophets speak of two branches representing the two leading tribes of Joseph and Judah being reconciled and reunited.
Conclusive proof Joseph and Judah are still separate and unique identities and tribes:
15The word of the LORD came again unto me, saying,
16Moreover, thou son of man, take thee one stick, and write upon it, For Judah, and for the children of Israel his companions: then take another stick, and write upon it, For Joseph, the stick of Ephraim and for all the house of Israel his companions:
17And join them one to another into one stick; and they shall become one in thine hand [they're two sticks, separate but brought together and joined by God].
18And when the children of thy people shall speak unto thee, saying, Wilt thou not shew us what thou meanest by these?
19Say unto them, Thus saith the Lord GOD; Behold, I will take the stick of Joseph, which is in the hand of Ephraim, and the tribes of Israel his fellows, and will put them with him, even with the stick of Judah, and make them one stick, and they shall be one in mine hand.
20And the sticks whereon thou writest shall be in thine hand before their eyes.
21And say unto them, Thus saith the Lord GOD; Behold, I will take the children of Israel from among the heathen, whither they be gone, and will gather them on every side, and bring them into their own land:
22And I will make them one nation in the land upon the mountains of Israel; and one king shall be king to them all: and they shall be no more two nations, neither shall they be divided into two kingdoms any more at all [which division still remains to this day until the restoration of all things].
Some Jews deny Joes are Israelites, and some Joes deny Judah is legitimate, accusing them of being Khazar converts and unworthy of the Jewish Homeland. I refute both hateful teachings with the plain truth of the Bible.
In Judaism, there's a concept, "Ma'ase Avot, Siman L'Banim," the deeds of the fathers are guides for the children. The actions of the forefathers are reflected in the lives of their descendants.
Joseph and Judah fought before and don't always agree today. Joseph's brethren were blind to his identity and Joseph was a world ruler who fed the nations. Some still don't recognize Joseph as the Anglo-Saxons or perceive that Joseph represented Yeshua the Pierced One, but in God's good time all will be revealed beyond any shadow of a doubt.
David Ben-Ariel is a Christian-Zionist writer and author of Beyond Babylon: Europe's Rise and Fall. With a focus on the Middle East and Jerusalem, his analytical articles help others improve their understanding of that troubled region. Check out the Beyond Babylon blog.
Not All Twelve Tribes of Israel are Jewish?
Not All Twelve Tribes of Israel are Jewish?