1Then I saw four angels standing at the four corners of the earth, holding back the four winds so they did not blow on the earth or the sea, or even on any tree. 2And I saw another angel coming up from the east, carrying the seal of the living God. And he shouted to those four angels, who had been given power to harm land and sea, 3“Wait! Don’t harm the land or the sea or the trees until we have placed the seal of God on the foreheads of his servants.” 4And I heard how many were marked with the seal of God—144,000 were sealed from all the tribes of Israel: 5from Judah, 12,000; from Reuben, 12,000; from Gad, 12,000; 6from Asher, 12,000; from Naphtali, 12,000; from Manasseh, 12,000; 7from Simeon, 12,000; from Levi, 12,000; from Issachar, 12,000; 8from Zebulun, 12,000; from Joseph, 12,000; from Benjamin, 12,000.
Revelation 7:3-8
Here is the comparative lists of the Tribes of Israel:
| THE STANDARD LIST OF TRIBES | THE REVELATION 7 LIST |
|---|---|
| Reuben | Judah |
| Simeon | Reuben |
| Levi | Gad |
| Judah | Asher |
| Dan | Naphtali |
| Naphtali | Manasseh |
| Gad | Simeon |
| Asher | Levi |
| Issachar | Issachar |
| Zebulun | Zebulun |
| Joseph | Joseph |
| Benjamin | Benjamin |
Let’s play “Spot the differences”
The Revelation list has been rearranged from the Standard list of tribes which is in the order of the birth of the sons of Jacob.
- The order of the list is mixed up.
- Pak Suryadi was right; Dan was missing.
But there were more anomalies than that.
- Joseph is listed with Manasseh which only happens in this chapter of Revelation in all of Scripture.
- Manasseh is chosen over Ephraim when Joseph crossed his hands and gave the blessing to younger son.
Can you explain why the list of tribes in Revelation has been rearranged with some substitute names?
My initial reaction to Pak Suryadi’s question was along standard lines. I thought to myself, it is likely to be the substitution of Levi with both of Joseph’s sons, while Joseph himself is omitted. That is normally what happens. But why would Dan be missing? Levi is not normally mentioned in many of the lists of the tribes of Israel, when inheritance is in focus. The Levites were not given an inheritance; God was their inheritance as the priestly tribe. Normally Levi is not mentioned and Joseph is substituted by his two sons – Ephraim and Manasseh. That is the normal change that happens which keeps the numbers of tribes at twelve.
Dan shall be a serpent by the way, an adder [viper] in the path, that biteth the horse heels, so that his rider shall fall backward.
Genesis 49:17
Ephraim is joined to idols: let him alone.
Hosea 4:17
- But this list in Revelation is different. In fact Joseph is kept in the Revelation 7 list and so too is one son, Manasseh. But the older son, Ephraim, is not included. That is strange, if any one of those sons is to be mentioned in preference to the other it should be Ephraim. Ephraim is often used as a substitute for Israel as a collective or indicator of all the tribes. But in this case it was like Joseph had prior warning not to give the elder blessing to Ephraim. Mmm I thought, this puzzle is not going to be solved easily. Clearly something else is going on here. I did some digging. I had promised Pak Suryadi I would have an answer when we all met for the next seminar / workshop. I also knew Suryadi had been asking this question for 20 years. He was obviously not going to be fobbed off with a light and fluffy explanation.
There is an extensive list of the tribes in 1 Chronicles 4:1-7:40 which includes multiples names of the descendants of each tribe with the exception of Dan. The tribe of Dan is once again conspicuous by its absence.
- Judah is covered in 1 Chronicles 4:1-23.
- Simeon is covered in 1 Chronicles 4:24-43.
- Reuben is covered in 1 Chronicles 5:1-10.
- Gad is covered in 1 Chronicles 5:11-22.
- Manasseh is covered in 1 Chronicles 5:23-26 and 7:14-19.
- Levi is covered in 1 Chronicles 6:1-81.
- Issachar is covered in 1 Chronicles 7:1-5.
- Benjamin is covered in 1 Chronicles 7:6-12.
- Naphtali is covered in 1 Chronicles 7:13.
- Ephraim is covered in 1 Chronicles 7:20-29.
- Asher is covered in 1 Chronicles 7:30-40.
It could well be that the cue for the list in Revelation was taken from this final document of the Jewish Tanakh (Bible) in the books of the Chronicles. However you have to admit the division laid out here for the descendants of the tribes of Israel is curious to say the least. The length of each listing in no way matches the size of each respective tribe.
The popular theory on this list is Manasseh was chosen because Ephraim embraced Jeroboam’s idols. The events which led up to the Danites apostasy is recorded in Judges 18 and the chapter closes with:-
Then they set up the carved image, and they appointed Jonathan son of Gershom, son of Moses, as their priest. This family continued as priests for the tribe of Dan until the Exile. So Micah’s carved image was worshiped by the tribe of Dan as long as the Tabernacle of God remained at Shiloh.
Judges 18:30-31
The tribe of Dan is also mentioned in Amos:
And those who swear by the shameful idols of Samaria—who take oaths in the name of the god of Dan and make vows in the name of the god of Beersheba—they will all fall down, never to rise again.
Amos 8:14
The rebellion of the Northern Kingdom (10 Tribes) involved both Ephraim and Dan. Ephraim led the rest of 10 tribes astray and alternative worship centres were set up at Bethel and Dan where the golden calf was worshipped. The most likely reason Ephraim and Dan were excluded from the list of tribes in Revelation 7 is because they were both responsible for the introduction of idolatry and paganism to the Northern Kingdom and fostered its development. A look at Amos for references to God’s judgement that will fall on Gilgal and Bethel will reveal more.
On the very day I punish Israel for its sins, I will destroy the pagan altars at Bethel. The horns of the altar will be cut off and fall to the ground.
Amos 3:14
Go ahead and offer sacrifices to the idols at Bethel. Keep on disobeying at Gilgal. Offer sacrifices each morning, and bring your tithes every three days.
Amos 4:4
1Listen, you people of Israel! Listen to this funeral song I am singing: 2“The virgin Israel has fallen, never to rise again! She lies abandoned on the ground, with no one to help her up.”
5Don’t worship at the pagan altars at Bethel; don’t go to the shrines at Gilgal or Beersheba. For the people of Gilgal will be dragged off into exile, and the people of Bethel will be reduced to nothing.” 6Come back to the LORD and live! Otherwise, he will roar through Israel like a fire, devouring you completely. Your gods in Bethel won’t be able to quench the flames.
Amos 5:1-2; 5-6
This is all taken from Amos’ prophecy against Israel (the Northern Kingdom) before they went into exile in Assyria in 721 BC. In a series of judgement passages on all the nations around Israel, finally Amos, the prophet to Israel, brings the culpability back on their heads. The reason for the judgement is laid at the feet of the tribes of Dan and Ephraim for setting up the false worship places at Beersheba, Bethel and Gilgal. The message was: God was punishing Dan and Ephraim for their guilt of encouraging Israel to seek after idols and other gods of Pagan worship under Jeroboam.
The Pagan idolatry practised in the Roman Empire was the most significant threat to the Christian church in each location and was the main reason to set Christians in opposition to the practices of Emperor worship under Roman rule. Remember, this list in Revelation 7 is a list of faithful servants of God from the tribes of Israel of old who represent the people of Israel from Old Testament times. They were chosen to be sealed with the mark of ownership of the Lamb, because they had persevered under the threat of death and had not worshipped idols. Thus it makes sense that the tribes of Dan and Ephraim would be omitted from the list. I know this will leave you with questions, I have a bunch of questions. Feel free to add yours if you wish. But I came to the point of asking the LORD if there was another reason for the omission of Dan and Ephraim and the inclusion of Manasseh, Joseph and Levi.
There is another plausible reason for the omission of Dan and Ephraim and the inclusion of Manasseh despite the fact that in other lists Ephraim and Manasseh were the logical addition to replace Joseph. I asked myself at the time of Surdyadi’s question if there was another way of looking at this puzzle?
I will add the essence of my answer to Pak Suryadi in the next Gem. If he waited 20 years for his answer, you can wait another few days. There is one matter I need to solve before I reveal the answer I gave to Suryadi. It is a matter of the timing of this revelation, not the content.
O Israel, stay away from idols! I am the One who answers your prayers and cares for you. I am like a tree that is always green; all your fruit comes from Me.
Hosea 14:8
When people say, “I know God forgives me, but I can’t forgive myself,” they mean that they have failed an idol, whose approval is more important than God’s.
Timothy Keller
Whatever your heart clings to and confides in, that is really your God, your functional saviour.
Martin Luthur
If you uproot the idol and fail to plant the love of Christ in its place, the idol will grow back.
Tullian Tchividjian
An idol is anything that surplants God as first place in your life. ANYTHING!
Ian
The tribe of Ephraim became arrogant because Joshua was chosen by Moses to replace him, feeling that they were the best tribe after Moses appointed tribe of Levi to serve God’s tabernacle.
It turns out that the first king was chosen from the tribe of Benjamin, but then cast down by God because Saul was disobedient.
The next king came from the tribe of Judah was David, and his descendants.
So the tribe of Ephraim chose to rebel and disobey God.
Ephraim’s initial arrogance when Gideon was chosen by God against the Midianites (Judges 8)
Thank you, Pak Suryadi, for the spoiler 🙂
And the word of God is deep. Even before Israel reached Canaan, Joshua was told by Moses to choose men and go out against Amalek at Rephidim. It is most likely that many of those men were ones he knew, from his own tribe, Ephraim.
Now picture the battle – Moses and Aaron (Levi), with Hur (Judah) on the hill, interceding, with Joshua (Ephraim) down there in the middle of the battle.
The result (Ex 17:12-13) (Moses) hands were steady until sunset. Joshua defeated Amalek and his people with the edge of the sword.
It seems that Ephraim thought that they alone won the battle ….