Twelve or Thirteen Tribes of Israel?

The Aish Rabbi Replies

It’s a very good point. You are right that in actuality the Jewish people are composed of thirteen tribes. Even so, they are always counted as twelve. The reason for this is because the tribe of Levi is generally not included in the count. They have a special mission – studying and safeguarding the Torah and serving in the Temple (see how Moses describes their mission in his blessing in Deut. 33:10). This is why Levi was not given an inheritance in the Land of Israel. Rather than laboring in their fields, the Levites were entirely devoted to God – and were supported from the various tithes the Israelites would separate from their produce. The Levites were instead granted small cities throughout the country (see Numbers 35:1-8), in which they would live elevated existences devoted entirely to God. The Book of Joshua (15-22) likewise describes at length the division of the Land of Israel among the other tribes of Israel, while Levi is not included – only being awarded scattered cities in the other tribes’ inheritances.

The Levites were also not conscripted into the army, as their mission was a spiritual rather than physical one. For this reason, when the Israelites were counted at the beginning of the Book of Numbers (1:1-47), the Levites were not included. That count covered the men from 20-60 – i.e., the ones eligible for the draft, and since Levites are not drafted, they were excluded. They were instead counted separately – from the age of 30 days rather than 20 years (ibid., 3:14-39). The Levites thus were a special tribe set above the others – not one of the Twelve Tribes of Israel but a higher people, dedicated especially to God.

It is interesting to note that there are a few cases in which Levi was in fact counted together with the other tribes. One was the battle against the nation of Midian – which had sent its daughters to tempt the Jews to sin (see Numbers 25, 31). One thousand men were selected from each tribe to join the campaign – including the Tribe of Levi. Although in general Levi was exempted from military service, this battle – which was to “exact God’s vengeance against Midian” (31:3) – was different. It was not a military venture; it was a spiritual one – avenging God’s and Israel’s honor over the spiritual calamity the Midianites had just caused. (In a similar sense, in the Chanukah story, the Priests from the family of Chashmon were the ones to lead the resistance against the Greeks and their Jewish lackeys. That too was at its root a war to uphold religious observance rather than to subjugate and conquer.)

Likewise, when the tribes were listed in the context of the Tabernacle’s construction – such as when the names of the tribes were etched into the stones of the High Priest’s garments (see Exodus 28:6-21), our tradition maintains that Levi’s name was included (see e.g. Talmud Sotah 36). Finally, in Joshua’s time when the tribes stood on Mount Gerizim and Mount Ebal to receive blessings and curses, Levi was among the tribes listed. It is thus clear that Levi is counted as a tribe for spiritual matters but not military or property-related ones.

Interestingly, though, in all such cases the total number of tribes is still counted as twelve. When Levi was counted, as in the examples above, Joseph was counted as a single tribe alone – rather than his two sons, Ephraim and Manasseh, being counted separately. It seems that the number twelve is sacrosanct – either through the exclusion of Levi or the combining of the sons of Joseph. Ramban (Deut. 33:6) likewise notes this phenomenon and explains the great significance of the number twelve – as there are twelve months in the year and twelve constellations in the Zodiac. So too, the Jewish people have a similar wholeness to them which is always numbered as twelve. (Ramban likewise notes that when Moses blessed the tribes at the end of his life (Deut. 33), he included both Levi and Joseph’s two sons, while he excluded Simeon whom he did not bless. Thus, the same total of twelve was maintained.)

Finally, the Talmud writes that in the future, the Land of Israel will be divided among thirteen rather than twelve tribes (Bava Batra 122a). As Talmud commentator Maharsha explains, in the End of Days the world will be far more spiritual, and even Levi will be granted an eternal share of Israel’s bounty. Thus, although today we generally view the Tribes of Israel as twelve rather than thirteen, the nation will assume a more perfected form in the Messianic era when all its thirteen tribes will be numbered together. (See similarly Malbim to Genesis 49:4, who explains how thirteen has a greater spiritual significance than twelve.)