Leaders of the tribes of Israel

The Torah gives several lists of leaders of the tribes of Israel.

First list

The first, and main, list appears in Numbers 1:1-19. It lists the leaders who supervised the first census of the Israelites, and who led them during their travels in the wilderness. Numbers 1 gives the list of those leaders who supervised the census:

In the following chapters, these same leaders are recorded as being heads of their tribes during the encampments of the tribes in the wilderness. (Numbers 2, 10:11-28) These leaders also brought donations from their respective tribes on the occasion of the completion of the Tabernacle. (Numbers 7) They were summoned together to meet with Moses by the sounding of one silver trumpet (sounding both silver trumpets being the signal for the whole Israelite community to move forward on their Exodus journey).^[1]

The spies

A second list is given in Numbers 13:1-16: these are the men who were sent by Moses to spy out the Land of Canaan. They are also described by the text as leaders of their tribesmen (Num. 13:2):

Third list

Numbers 34:16-29 gives the list of the leaders of the tribes who took possession of the Land of Canaan. This list omits Reuben and Gad, who, at their request, only received inheritance on the east bank of the Jordan, and not in the Land of Canaan.

The list begins with Eleazar the priest, and Joshua the son of Nun, who led the entire nation. Joshua son of Nun and Caleb son of Jephunneh appear on this list as well as the list of the spies, the other ten spies having died in punishment for slandering the Holy Land.

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