Genesis 49

I meant to blow through some posts to catch up, but I got interested in this chapter. I'm interested in the actual fates of the Tribes of Israel and how they compare to this Blessing, so I took some time to do a Wikipedia search (love the Wikipedia!). Here are my findings (which are, by no means, conclusive):

Generally,the northern tribes (all but Judah, which included Simeon, the Levites, and some of Benjamin) were conquered by the Assyrians and scattered. They are considered to be the Lost Tribes of Israel. Some scholar dude believes that it was about 1/5 of the Israelites. Prior to the scattering, the tribes were ruled by a lose council of Judges, then the house of Saul, then the house of David.

Tribe of Reuben:
The blessing characterises the tribe as fickle. They fought in some instances and abstained in others. The tribe didn't excel, supposedly due to Reuben's sexual betrayal.

Tribe of Simeon:
Simeon's blessing, along with Levi's, is actually a curse due to their reaction to the rape of Dinah. The tribe was never fixed in location and was scattered throughout Judah.

Tribe of Levi:
Levi was never a landed tribe, but a priestly class within Judah. Levi sired Moses, Samuel, Ezekiel, Ezra, John the Baptist, Mark, Matthew, and Barnabas, among others.

Tribe of Judah:
The blessing says, "the scepter will not depart from Judah...until he comes to whom it belongs and the obedience of the nations is his." (vs 10) David came from the Tribe of Judah, but, more importantly, so did Jesus. Judah was not conquered by the Assyrians, but by the Babylonians. Their history was not lost.

Tribe of Zebulun:
The tribe lived by the Mediterranean Sea. They are believed to have financially supported the Tribe of Issachar--who were religious scholars for the most part--in hope for some spiritual reward. They were fighters.

Tribe of Issachar:
As I said, they were scholars, fitted nicely geographically to turn their attention toward religious matters. They were thought to be influential in proselytism (look it up--paraphrasing is hard!).

Tribe of Dan:
Their settlement was limited by the force of the Philistines. Samson was one of the tribe. They are not included with the rest of the Tribes of Israel in the seals of Revelation. Wikipedia mentions that this might be because they were considered to be the "seat of idolatry." The blessing does say that Dan is a "serpent by the roadside" and a "viper along the path." (vs. 17)

Tribe of Gad:
This tribe settled to the east of the Jordan and was never secure on the north, west, and south. They seem to have been migratory.

Tribe of Asher:
They were secure and their land was super fertile. They were known for their olive oil. Politically, they seem to be disconnected from other tribes.

Tribe of Naphtali:
They were fighters, in a secure position in fertile land.

Tribe of Joseph:
Really it is the House of Joseph, divided into the Tribe of Ephraim and the Tribe of Manasseh since Jacob took Joseph's sons as his own. The Tribe of Ephraim was strong and synonymous with the entire Northern Kingdom of Israel. From the map it seems that the tribe of Manasseh took up a big chunk of land. In more recent news, a group in NE India claims to be descendant from Manasseh, and they were acknowledged by Israel in 2005. They are to return to Israel (under the Law of Return) if they live a Jews.

Tribe of Benjamin:
Prior to Saul (who was a Benjaminite), the tribe was combative. They were almost wiped out by other Israelite tribes. 600 men were allowed to survive and marry widows of other tribes. They became much more placid in the aftermath. They survived the Assyrians with Judah.

So, now we know.