According to the
Book of Genesis, Naphtali (; ) was the last of the two sons of
Jacob and
Bilhah (Jacob's sixth son). He was the founder of the
Israelite Tribe of Naphtali
The Tribe of Naphtali () was one of the northernmost of the twelve tribes of Israel. It is one of the ten lost tribes.
Biblical narratives
In the biblical account, following the completion of the conquest of Canaan by the Israelites, Joshua al ...
.
Some biblical commentators have suggested that the name ''Naphtali'' may refer to the struggle between
Rachel and
Leah for the favours of Jacob. Bilhah was the
handmaid of Rachel, who was
infertile
Infertility is the inability of a person, animal or plant to reproduce by natural means. It is usually not the natural state of a healthy adult, except notably among certain eusocial species (mostly haplodiploid insects). It is the normal state ...
at the time, and had persuaded Jacob to have a child with Bilhah as a proxy for having one with herself.
Biblical references
According to the
Targum Pseudo-Jonathan, Naphtali was a swift runner, though this appears to have been inferred from the
Blessing of Jacob
The Blessing of Jacob is a prophetic poem that appears in Genesis at and mentions each of Jacob's twelve sons. Genesis presents the poem as the words of Jacob to his sons when Jacob is about to die.
Like the Blessing of Moses, Genesis 49 assess ...
, which equates Naphtali to a
hind. However, Biblical scholars believe this to actually be a description of the tribe of Naphtali.
Naphtali is listed in Deuteronomy 34.2 when God takes Moses up to the mountain of Nebo and shows him the extent of the land which he had promised to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. See article on
Tribe of Simeon for a map of the twelve tribes of Israel.
Family
According to , Naphtali had four sons: Jahzeel, Guni, Jezer, and Shillem. The name of his wife/wives are not given. He and his family migrated to
Egypt, with the rest of the clan, where they remained until
the Exodus
The Exodus (Hebrew language, Hebrew: יציאת מצרים, ''Yeẓi’at Miẓrayim'': ) is the founding myth of the Israelites whose narrative is spread over four books of the Torah (or Pentateuch, corresponding to the first five books of the ...
.
According to the
apocryphal
Apocrypha are works, usually written, of unknown authorship or of doubtful origin. The word ''apocryphal'' (ἀπόκρυφος) was first applied to writings which were kept secret because they were the vehicles of esoteric knowledge considered ...
''
Testament of the Twelve Patriarchs
The Testaments of the Twelve Patriarchs is a constituent of the apocryphal scriptures connected with the Bible. It is believed to be a pseudepigraphical work of the dying commands of the twelve sons of Jacob. It is part of the Oskan Armenian Ort ...
'', he died at 137 and was buried in Egypt.
Testament of Naphtali
In this apocryphal material, Naphtali gave his sons no commandment except regarding the fear of God, that they should serve Him and follow after Him, also admonished them not to join themselves unto the sons of Joseph but join the sons of Levi and Judah. He also had a vision about the division of tribes of Israel and told to them that
Abraham was chosen by God for his faith.
The Testaments of the Twelve Patriarchs, R. H. Charles
/ref>
Notes
References
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External links
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{{Authority control
Founders of biblical tribes
Children of Jacob
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