Where Do the Colors of the Tribes of Israel Appear Again

THE 4 BANNERS OF Israel

Although there is no Biblical testimony to point what the images were on the four banners described at Numbers 2:2ff, in that location is considerable information available so that nosotros are able to make some very probable conclusions.

The research on this subject has been collected by Tony Garland ( www.SpiritAndTruth.org ) and is quoted here.

As to the contents of each camp�s standard, tradition tells us that each military camp had a unlike symbol upon its standard:

Neither the Mosaic law, nor the FormerTestament generally, gives united states of america any intimation as to the course or character of the standard (degel). Co-ordinate to rabbinical tradition, the standard of Judah bore the figure of alion, that of Reuben the likeness of ahuman or of a man�south head, that of Ephraim the figure of anox, and that ofDan the figure of anhawkeye; and then that the four livingcreatures united in the cherubic forms described by Ezekiel were represented upon these four standards. ⁷

Jewish tradition says the �four standards� nether which State of israel encamped in the wilderness, to the east, Judah, to the due north, Dan, to the west, Ephraim, to the due south, Reuben, were respectively a panthera leo, an hawkeye, an ox, and a man, while in the midst was the tabernacle containing theShekinah symbol of the Divine Presence. ⁸

The Talmud saw in these 4 creatures the four main forms of life in God�screation. It also noted that thetwelve tribes of Israel camped under these four banners; some with Reuben (symbolized by a man), others with Dan (symbolized by an eagle), others with Ephraim (symbolized by the calf, or ox), and the rest with Judah (symbolized by a lion). ^ix

The Jewish writers tell united states of america, that the standard of each tribe of Israel took the color of thestone which represented it in the loftier priest�s breastplate, and that there was wrought upon each a particular effigy�a lion for Judah, a young ox for Ephraim, a homo for Reuben, and an eagle for Dan. ¹⁰

No further information is provided nearly the size, color or representation on these standards. Jewish tradition, however, does provide a clue to the way in which after generations of Jews viewed the standards. The Aramaic paraphrase of the Torah, chosen Targum Jonathan, and the aboriginal commentary on Numbers, called Bemidbar Rabbah , suggest that each tribe was assigned a colour respective to the color of its respective stone in the high priest�s breastplate. Thus, the color of Dan would be blue considering a sapphire is blue. The four standards, therefore, were equanimous of the colors of the three tribes of each triad. The tradition continues that each of the iv standards depicted a living being. Judah�s animal was a lion, Reuben�south a man, Ephraim�due south an ox and Dan�s an eagle. This tradition may accept been influenced by thecherubim in Ezekiel�s vision who also had fourfaces (Ezek. i:10 ; come across also Rev. iv:7 +). Information technology should be emphasized that in that location is no solid biblical or historical footing for these descriptions of the standards. The Jewish tradition, even so, does provide the most logical suggestion for their descriptions, particularly in the instance of Judah and Ephraim (see Gen. 49:ix and Deu. 33:17 ). ¹¹

Jewish tradition holds that the standards contained the very symbols Scripture reveals in association with the four living creatures (Eze. 1:ten ; x:fourteen ; Rev. iv:7 +).

In opposition to this tradition, some have noted the adverse reaction of the Jews of NT times to the images on the Roman standards:

Every tribe had its particular standard, probably with the name of the tribe embroidered with big letters. It seems highly improbable that thefigures of animals should have been painted on them, every bit the Jewish writers affirm; for fifty-fifty in afterward ages, when Vitellius wished to march through Judea, their dandy men besought him to march another manner, as the constabulary of theland did not permit images (such as were on the Roman standard) to be brought into it. Josephus Ant. 1. xviii. c. 7. ¹²

It is not clear that the Jews would accept allowed images on their standards: In the time of Augustus, Roman legionaries would get out their standards in the Judean portcity of Caesarea, so that the images drawn upon them would not offend the sensitive Jews. ^xiii

In response to this proposed difficulty, information technology may be observed:

1. Jewish writers and rabbinical tradition maintain the standards did have images of animals upon them. Of all people least likely to suggest that animal insignias were upon the standards (due to Ex. xx:4 ), it is the Jews themselves who requite united states this tradition.
2. The opposition of the Jews of Josephus�twenty-four hours to the Roman standards may have been due to the detail images they contained, not the mere fact that they independent images. Concerning Jewish opposition to the Roman standards, Josephus relates, �[F]or that the laws of their country would not permit them to overlook those images which were brought into it, of which at that place were a great many in their ensigns.� [emphasis added] ¹⁴
3. The Israelites were instructed to decorate the tabernacle, and later on thetemple, with various images, including lions, oxen, and cherubim (Ex. 26:1 ; 36:8 , 35 ; 1K. six:32 ; 1K. vii:29 ; 2K. 16:17 ; 2Chr. four:3-4 , fifteen ). If these images were then offensive to the Jews that they cartel not have them upon their standards, how is it that cherubim (of which some have four faces) appear in the tabernacle along with lions and oxen in the temple?

If Jewish opposition to unbiblical images upon the Roman standards is seen in light of the biblical symbolism allowed within the tabernacle and temple, the view that their ensigns could not have independent insignia of the four faces is less convincing, especially in the light of Jewish tradition itself. It seems likely that Adam and Eve would have seen cherubim when they were driven out of Eden (Gen. 3:24 ). Perhaps their knowledge of the faces of these incredible celestial beings, though not recorded in Scripture until Ezekiel�s time, was preserved by tradition.

Jerome Prado provides boosted background correlating the images with the camps:

Jerome Prado, in his commentary upon Ezekiel (Ezekiel ane p. 44), gives the post-obit minute description according to rabbinical tradition: �The different leaders of the tribes had their own standards, with the crests of their ancestors depicted upon them. On the east, to a higher place the tent of Naasson the first-born of Judah, there shone a standard of alight-green colour, this colour having been adopted by him considering it was in a dark-green stone, viz., anemerald, that the proper noun of his forefather Judah was engraved on the breastplate of the high priest (Ex. 25:15 ff.), and on this standard there was depicted a lion, the crest and hieroglyphic of his ancestor Judah, whom Jacob had compared to a lion, proverb, �Judah is a king of beasts�s whelp.� Towards the s, above the tent of Elisur the son of Reuben, there floated acerise standard, having the color of the sardus, on which the proper name of his father, viz., Reuben, was engraved upon the breastplate of the high priest. The symbol depicted upon this standard was a homo head, because Reuben was the first-born, and head of the family unit. On the westward, higher up the tent of Elishamah the son of Ephraim, in that location was agolden flag, on which the head of a calf was depicted, because it was through the vision of the calves or oxen that his ancestorJoseph had predicted and provided for thefamine in Egypt (Gen. 41 ); and hence Moses, whenblessing the tribe of Joseph, i.east., Ephraim (Deu. 33:17 ), said, �hiscelebrity is that of the first-born of a bull.� The golden splendour of the standard of Ephraim resembled that of the chrysolite, in which the name of Ephraim was engraved upon the breastplate. Towards the north, above the tent of Ahiezer the son of Dan, there floated a motley standard ofwhite and ruby-red, like the jaspis (or, as some say, a carbuncle), in which the name of Dan was engraved upon the breastplate. The crest upon this was an eagle, the great doe to serpents, which had beenchosen by the leader in the place of aserpent, because his forefather Jacob had compared Dan to a serpent, maxim, �Dan is a serpent in the way, an adder (cerastes, a horned serpent) in the path;� simply Ahiezer substituted the eagle, the destroyer of serpents as he shrank from carrying an adder upon his flag.� ¹⁵

In relation to the eagle beingness associated with the tribe of Dan, we note that Dan means judge (Gen. 30:vi ; 49:16 ) and the symbolism of the eagle is often connected with judgment (Deu. 28:49 ; Task ix:26 ; Pr. xxx:17 ; Jer. iv:13 ; 48:40 ; 49:22 ; Lam. iv:19 ; Eze. 17:iii ; Hos. 8:i ; Hab. 1:8 ; Mtt. 24:28 ; Luke 17:37 ).

Notes

¹ Carl Friedrich Keil, and Franz Delitzsch, Commentary on the Old Testament (Peabody, MA: Hendrickson, 2002), 1:659.

² Ludwig Koehler, Walter Baumgartner, M. Richardson, and Johann Stamm, The Hebrew and Aramaic Dictionary of the Old Attestation (New York, NY: E. J. Brill, 1999, c1994-1996).

³ Robert Laird Harris, Gleason Leonard Archer, and Bruce K. Waltke, Theological Wordbook of the One-time Testament (Chicago, IL: Moody Press, 1999, c1980).

⁴ Harris, Theological Wordbook of the Onetime Testament.

⁵ Keil, Commentary on the Old Testament, 1:660.

^{half dozen} Encounter likewise[John MacArthur, The MacArthur Study Bible (Nashville, TN: Word Publishing, 1997), 199]and[West. A. Criswell, and Paige Patterson, eds., The Holy Bible: Baptist Written report Edition (Nashville, TN: Thomas Nelson Publishers, 1991), 192].

⁷ Keil, Commentary on the Old Testament, 1:660.

⁸ A. R. Fausset,�The Revelation of St. John the Divine,�in Robert Jamieson, A. R. Fausset, and David Brown, A Commentary, Disquisitional and Explanatory, on the Old and New Testaments (Oak Harbor, WA: Logos Research Systems, Inc., 1997, 1877),Rev. 4:8.

⁹ John MacArthur, Revelation 1-11 : The MacArthur New Attestation Commentary (Chicago, IL: Moody Press, 1999),Rev. 4:8.

^x J. A. Seiss, The Apocalypse: Lectures on the Book of Revelation (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan Publishing Firm, 1966), 106.

¹¹ William Varner, Jacob�southward Dozen: A Prophetic Look at the Tribes of State of israel (Bellmawr, NJ: Friends of State of israel Gospel Ministry, 1987), s.v. �The Tribal Encampment.�

¹² R. Torrey, The Treasury of Scripture Cognition (Oak Harbor, WA: Logos Inquiry Systems, 1995),Num. ii:2.

¹³ Chaim Potok, Wanderings (New York, NY: Ballantine Books, 1978), 268.

¹⁴ Flavius Josephus, The Complete Works of Josephus (Grand Rapids, MI: Kregel Publications, 1981), s.v. �Ant. Xviii, v3.�

MY SUMMARY

Anyone who has studied the One-time Testament in great depth has discovered that there is much information that is not explicitly revealed. This is because much of that information was UNDERSTOOD past the Hebrew people, who were the principal recipients of the Old Testament Scriptures, and it was passed on to progeny through exact instruction.

One subject that has been clouded in apparent mystery is the significance of the FOUR FACES on the Cherubim of Ezekiel�south vision of chapters 1 and ten; and the FOUR FACES on the 4 living creatures seen in John�s vision of Revelation 4:half dozen-8.
Related to this is the absence of any specific description of the four tribal banners used to order the camping organization for Israel as revealed past God to Moses, and recorded in Numbers 2:iii, 10, eighteen, and 25.
There were 4 groupings with three tribes in each group, with ane tribe seen equally the LEADER.
Accordingly, the other tribes would be arranged and camped nether the banner of that leader tribe. They camped around the tabernacle so that it was seen to exist in the eye of the site and would exist well protected from any incursion by unwelcome attacks.

The camping arrangement, then, was for the Start Built-in tribe, Reuben, to exist situated on the SOUTH in reference to the �tent of meeting.�
Judah was on the east side (the right) of the tabernacle; Ephraim was on the westward side (the left); and Dan was on the northward.

�The sons of State of israel shall campsite, each by his own standard, with the banners of their fathers� households; they shall camp effectually the tent of meeting at a altitude.� Numbers two:2

"Now those who camp on the east side toward the sunrise shall exist of the standard of the military camp of Judah . . . Those who camp next to him shall exist the tribe of Issachar . . . And then comes the tribe of Zebulun.� Verses two:3-seven

�On the southward side shall be the standard of the camp of Reuben . . . And those who camp side by side to him shall be the tribe of Simeon . . . And then comes the tribe of Gad.� Verses 2:10-14

�On the west side shall be the standard of the military camp of Ephraim . . . And next to him shall be the tribe of Manasseh . . .  Then comes the tribe of Benjamin.� Verses 2:18-22

�On the north side shall exist the standard of the campsite of Dan . . . And those who camp next to him shall be the tribe of Asher . . . Then comes the tribe of Naphtali.� Verses ii:25-29

Information technology is believed by many Jewish historians and rabbinic writers that Ezekiel�s vision of the four cherubim reveals the images on the iv primary banners of Reuben , Judah , Ephraim and Dan.
Respectively, those images are: for Reuben, the man; for Judah , the lion; for Ephraim, the ox; and for Dan, the eagle.

Ezekiel i:ten
As for the form of their faces, each had the confront of a homo; all four had the face up of a lion on the correct and the face up of a bull on the left, and all four had the face up of an eagle.

But nosotros are non limited to this appeal to Ezekiel�s vision. Nosotros tin can find various hints in the Quondam Attestation that strongly suggest that the higher up identification is accurate.

We start with the most obvious.

Rev. five:5: And one of the elders said to me, Weep non: behold, the Lion of the tribe of Judah, the Root of David, has overcome so as to open the book, and its 7 seals.

This is the merely place where Panthera leo is used in connection with Jesus. I suggest that the simply reason for this reference is to make the straight connexion to the tribe of Judah equally the Messiah�s tribe of origin. Information technology is the King of beasts that makes that connection because the lion is the emblem on Judah �s banner.

Consider Genesis 49:eight-10.

"Judah, your brothers shall praise you; your hand shall exist on the neck of your enemies; Your father'south sons shall bow downwardly to you.
" Judah is a panthera leo's whelp; from the prey, my son, you have gone up. He couches, he lies down as a lion, And equally a king of beasts, who dares rouse him up?
The scepter shall non depart from Judah, nor the ruler's staff from between his feet, Until Shiloh comes, And to him {shall exist} the obedience of the peoples.

The next detail to consider is the imprint for Ephraim; the Ox. This symbol is not as obvious equally the Lion just there is a little bit of information that can exist constitute in the Scriptures.

Co-ordinate to the prophecy of Jacob at Genesis 48:eleven-20, Joseph was given the DOUBLE PORTION correct of the first born instead of Reuben (1Chron. 5:1). And Ephraim (the younger son) was made the recipient of the beginning-born correct and blessing over Manasseh (the commencement built-in). Then the tribe of Joseph would later be replaced with the tribes of Ephraim and Manasseh. (Levi became the priestly tribe and would not exist numbered every bit a separate tribe.

Deuteronomy 33:13-17, The Blessing of Moses on Israel.

�And of Joseph he said, Blest of Jehovah be his land, For the precious things of heaven, for the dew, And for the deep that couches beneath, And for the precious things of the fruits of the lord's day, And for the precious things of the growth of the moons, And for the chief things of the ancient mountains, And for the precious things of the everlasting hills, And for the precious things of the world and the fullness thereof, And the good volition of him that dwelt in the bush. Let [the blessing] come up upon the head of Joseph, And upon the crown of the head of him that was separate from his brethren. The firstling of his herd, majesty is his; and his horns are the horns of the wild-ox (NOT, unicorn as in the KJV): With them he shall push button the peoples all of them, [even] the ends of the world: And they are the ten thousands of Ephraim, And they are the thousands of Manasseh.�

Several times the OX is associated with Ephraim.

Hosea 10:11
Ephraim is a trained heifer that loves to thresh, Only I will come over her fair cervix with a yoke; I will harness Ephraim, Judah will turn, Jacob will harrow for himself

Jeremiah 31:eighteen
I have surely heard Ephraim grieving, 'You lot have chastised me, and I was chastised, Similar an untrained calf; Bring me back that I may be restored, For You are the LORD my God.

In Solomon's temple at that place were twelve oxen standing below and supporting a very large tank of water called a bounding main. These 12 oxen are facing the 4 directions of the compass.
1 Kings seven:25
� It (the tank of water; bronze laver) stood on twelve oxen, three facing north, three facing west, iii facing south, and three facing eastward; and the ocean was set on tiptop of them, and all their rear parts turned inward.�

And throughout the temple there were many oxen and lions. 1 Kings seven:28-29
� This was the design of the stands: they had borders, fifty-fifty borders between the frames,
and on the borders which were between the frames were lions, oxen and cherubim; and on the frames in that location was a pedestal above, and beneath the lions and oxen were wreaths of hanging work.�
1 Kings 7:36
� He engraved on the plates of its stays and on its borders, cherubim, lions and palm trees, according to the clear space on each, with wreaths all around.�

Oxen characteristically represent devout service (Isaiah i:three), and could exist representative of Israel�s commission to represent the truth of God to the world (Ex. 19:5-half-dozen).
Nevertheless, it could also be representative of the divided kingdom, which was shared past Ephraim and Judah. The Northern kingdom was designated every bit Israel or Ephraim, and the Southern kingdom was designated as Judah. Thus we have the oxen and the lions to represent this division and the promised re-uniting of the two in Messiah�southward kingdom.
Together with the other factors, this seems to be more than likely.

When nosotros look more than closely at the 4 cherubim of Ezekiel�due south vision, we observe a very interesting parallel.

Ezekiel 1:10
As for the form of their faces, each had the face of a man; all four had the face of a lion on the correct and the face of a bull on the left, and all iv had the face up of an eagle.

From the perspective of Ezekiel, the face in the lower position on the cherub was that of a man. The face on the right was that of a lion, which would represent with the encampment of Judah ON THE Due east (right) side of the tabernacle. The face on the left was that of an ox, which would correspond with the encampment of Ephraim to the WEST of the tabernacle.
And that would make the face at the top to exist that of an eagle, which would correspond with the encampment of Dan on the Northward side of the tabernacle. Thus, the confront in the lower position on the cherub (the human) would represent with the encampment of Reuben on the South side of the tabernacle.

The only reasonable explanation of this is that information technology is designed to be symbolic of the nation of Israel as the evangelistic servant of God, which is about to come up under astringent subject area from God.
Likewise, the living creatures of John�s vision are designed to be symbolic of the nation of Israel , but from the perspective of INACTIVITY. They are nonetheless the focal point of God�s plan for humanity on the earth so are shown to John in his vision. The clarification of these creatures with the 4 faces corresponds with both Ezekiel�s vision and with the four primary banners of State of israel�south encampment arrangement.

COMPARISON of Ezekiel�s vision with John�s:
When Ezekiel is shown the symbolic cherubim, they appear dissimilar because at that place is a unlike significance. For Ezekiel, Israel was notwithstanding a functional nation with a task to do. The cherubim on the wheels, moving in various directions communicates the purpose of Israel every bit the evangelistic agent to the world.
Equally with John, Ezekiel does non need to question what these four faces hateful. Information technology would have been articulate to him that they indicated the four banners of Israel and every bit such symbolized the nation of State of israel every bit a whole.
The Southern kingdom of Judah is currently under the 4^th cycle of subject, but if they do not recover, the v^th cycle will be implemented in vii years, and the nation will temporarily stop to be God�s representative on the earth. The Northern kingdom had already been disciplined in similar manner and the two will shortly exist joined in captivity in the kingdom of Chaldea.
SEE TOPIC: State of israel , 5 cycles of discipline
The appointment of this first vision is 593 BCE. The fifth bike will be implemented in 586 BCE and terminal for 70 years. In Ezekiel chapter 10, the 4 cherubim are shown to depart from the temple,  along with the Spirit of God. This shows that God has temporarily turned away from the nation during the Babylonian captivity, which volition terminal for 70 years. During that time of national discipline, the nation will non function as God�s evangelistic amanuensis.

In John�southward vision, the symbolic cherubim are shown without the wheels and without the rapid movement in various directions. This communicates the fact that the nation is currently nether discipline from God, having been temporarily set bated with the destruction of the metropolis and temple in 70 AD. But God still has a major role for the nation of Israel. In fact, His program will circumduct around that nation until the end of Messiah�south earthly kingdom. Appropriately, John is shown these symbols of four living creatures equally representatives of the nation of

State of israel .
John does not question who the living creatures are or what the significant of the 4 faces is, for he understands information technology based on his cognition of the Quondam Testament.

In the absence of any direct identification of the emblems on these four banners, it seems to be a reasonable deduction to identify them as summarized above.
The banner to the S of the tabernacle would take had the face up of a man.
The banner to the EAST of the tabernacle would have had the face of a lion.
The banner to the NORTH of the tabernacle would have had the face of an eagle.
The banner to the West of the tabernacle would have had the face of an ox.

1. The evidence is potent that Judah�s emblem was a lion and Ephraim�due south was an ox.
two. In that location is no reason to prove Ezekiel and John these symbolic creatures with the 4 faces UNLESS it is to portray the nation of State of israel. This would have meaning only to the Jews who KNEW what the four emblems were.
iii. Appropriately, information technology is a simple step in logic to assign the emblems of hawkeye and man to the 2 remaining banners.

Why is Reuben given the symbol of a Man? Probably because he is the Bodily firstborn.
It is true that Ephraim inherited the first born correct of the double portion (two tribes), merely Reuben is nevertheless the ACTUAL firstborn.

Why is Dan given the symbol of an eagle? I can�t find any reason so I volition simply echo what Tony Garland observed equally cited to a higher place.
� In relation to the eagle being associated with the tribe of Dan, we note that Dan means judge (Gen. thirty:6 ; 49:16 ) and the symbolism of the eagle is often connected with judgment (Deu. 28:49 ; Task 9:26 ; Pr. thirty:17 ; Jer. 4:xiii ; 48:xl ; 49:22 ; Lam. four:nineteen ; Eze. 17:3 ; Hos. 8:one ; Hab. ane:eight ; Mtt. 24:28 ; Luke 17:37 ).�

Apropos personal application to the respective tribes and individuals inside the nation of Israel,
Scripture does non state whatsoever application aspects to the corresponding faces on the banners.
It seems reasonable to me, however, that the faces would be a reminder to the people about Jacob's
prophecy recorded at Genesis 49 and what Moses spoke at Deuteronomy 33.
These passages record both positive and negative factors concerning the character of the sons of Jacob also equally the future of the nation of State of israel. It thus, might hint at some grapheme strengths and
weaknesses respective to each tribe.
Of course, individuals are not SET to follow hereditary tendencies. If a person learns and applies
Bible truth, weaknesses can exist overcome and strengths can be enhanced.
The banners might simply be a reminder to the people that the nation is a unique and special race and nation formed specifically by God with a special evangelistic purpose to accomplish the world with the Messianic promise.

The following diagram is from world wide web.hooper-home.net/TEMPLE/BannersTribalIsrael.html.

batistafrenjudipt.blogspot.com

Source: http://www.biblefragrances.com/studies/fourbanners.html

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