Map of Old Testament Israel - The Tribe of Naphtali and their Allotted Territory

The Tribe of Naphtali and their Allotted Territory: G-4 on the Map

NAPH`TA-LI (he who struggles). He was the fifth son of Jacob and his tribe (Genesis 30:8). At the census at Mount Sinai the tribe of Naphtali numbered 53,400 fighting men. This number was reduced to 45,400 at the Jordan River (Numbers 1:43 and Numbers 26:48. During the wilderness wanderings the tribe of Naphtali was positioned on the north side of the Tabernacle with Dan and Asher. The allotment of Naphtali was to the north in the Galilee area, and south of the mountains of Lebanon. Barak was one of the heroes that came from Naphtali. The tribe was carried away captive by Tiglath-Pileser around 730 BC during the reign of Pekah, of Israel. The Mount of Naphtali (Joshua 20:7) means the mountains of Naphtali.

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Naphtali in Bible Cities
More about Ancient Naphtali

More About Ancient Naphtali

Naphtali was:

A Tribe and a Region
Genesis 30:8 - And Rachel said, With great wrestlings have I wrestled with my sister, and I have prevailed: and she called his name Naphtali.
Genesis 35:25 - And the sons of Bilhah, Rachel's handmaid; Dan, and Naphtali:
Joshua 19:32 - The sixth lot came out to the children of Naphtali, [even] for the children of Naphtali according to their families. And their coast was from Heleph, from Allon to Zaanannim, and Adami, Nekeb, and Jabneel, unto Lakum; and the outgoings thereof were at Jordan: And [then] the coast turneth westward to Aznothtabor, and goeth out from thence to Hukkok, and reacheth to Zebulun on the south side, and reacheth to Asher on the West side, and to Judah upon Jordan toward the sunrising. And the fenced cities [are] Ziddim, Zer, and Hammath, Rakkath, and Chinnereth, And Adamah, and Ramah, and Hazor, And Kedesh, and Edrei, and Enhazor, And Iron, and Migdalel, Horem, and Bethanath, and Bethshemesh; nineteen cities with their villages. This [is] the inheritance of the tribe of the children of Naphtali according to their families, the cities and their villages.
Judges 1:33 - Neither did Naphtali drive out the inhabitants of Bethshemesh, nor the inhabitants of Bethanath; but he dwelt among the Canaanites, the inhabitants of the land: nevertheless the inhabitants of Bethshemesh and of Bethanath became tributaries unto them.

Solomon's 8th district
1 Kings 4:15 - Ahimaaz [was] in Naphtali; he also took Basmath the daughter of Solomon to wife:

Conquered by the Syrians
1 Kings 15:20 - So Benhadad hearkened unto king Asa, and sent the captains of the hosts which he had against the cities of Israel, and smote Ijon, and Dan, and Abelbethmaachah, and all Cinneroth, with all the land of Naphtali.
2 Kings 15:29 - In the days of Pekah king of Israel came Tiglathpileser king of Assyria, and took Ijon, and Abelbethmaachah, and Janoah, and Kedesh, and Hazor, and Gilead, and Galilee, all the land of Naphtali, and carried them captive to Assyria.
Isaiah 9:1 - Nevertheless the dimness [shall] not [be] such as [was] in her vexation, when at the first he lightly afflicted the land of Zebulun and the land of Naphtali, and afterward did more grievously afflict [her by] the way of the sea, beyond Jordan, in Galilee of the nations.
Matthew 4:13 - And leaving Nazareth, he came and dwelt in Capernaum, which is upon the sea coast, in the borders of Zabulon and Nephthalim:
Matthew 4:15 - The land of Zabulon, and the land of Nephthalim, [by] the way of the sea, beyond Jordan, Galilee of the Gentiles;

Naphtali (wrestling), the fifth son of Jacob; the second child name to him by Bilhah, Rachel's slave. His birth and the bestowal of his name are recorded in Ge 30:8 When the census was taken at Mount Sinai the tribe of Naphtali numbered no less than 53,400 fighting men, Nu 1:43; 2:50 but when the borders of the promised land were reached, its numbers were reduced to, 45,400. Nu 26:48-50 During the march through the wilderness Naphtali occupied a position on the north of the sacred tent with Dan and Asher. Nu 2:25-31 In the apportionment of the land, the lot of Naphtali was enclosed on three sides by those of other tribes. On the West lay Asher, on the south Zebulun, and on the east the transjordanic Manasseh. (In the division of the kingdom Naphtali belonged to the kingdom of Israel, and later was a part of Galilee, bordering on the northwestern pert of the Sea of Galilee, and including Capernaum and Bethsaida. - Smith's
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Naphtali in Fausset's Bible Dictionary. Naphtali ("my wrestling".) Jacob's fifth son, second by Bilhah, Rachel's maid. Genesis 30:8, Rachel said, "with wrestlings of God (i.e. earnest prayer, as her husband does in Genesis 32:24-28; he had reproved her impatience, telling her God, not he, is the giver of children: Genesis 30:1-2; so she wrestled with God) have I wrestled with my sister, and I have prevailed," i.e. succeeded in getting from God a child as my sister. Thus allied to Dan (Genesis 35:25). He had four sons at the descent to Egypt (Genesis 46:24). At the census of Sinai Naphtali's tribe numbered 53,400 able for war (Numbers 1:43). At the borders of Canaan the tribe of Naphtali had fallen to 45,400 (Numbers 26:48-50). On march Naphtali was north of the tabernacle, next Dan his kinsman, and Asher (Numbers 2:25-31), together forming "the camp of Dan," hindmost or rearward of all the camps (Numbers 10:25). Naphtali had its portion between the coastland strip of Asher and the upper Jordan. Dan shortly after sent a number from his less desirable position next the Philistines to seek a settlement near his kinsman Napthtali in the far north.

Zebulun was on South of Naphtali; trans-jordanic Manasseh on the East The ravine of the Leontes (Litany) and the valley between Lebanon and Antilebanon was on the North Thus, Naphtali had the well watered district about Banias and the springs of the Jordan. Jacob in his dying prophecy says, "Naphtali is a hind let loose, he giveth goodly words." The targums of Pseudo-Jonathan and Jerusalem say Naphtali first told Jacob Joseph was alive. "Naphtali (say the targums) is a swift messenger, like a hind that runneth on the mountains, bringing good tidings." Joshua (Joshua 20:7) calls it "Mount Naphtali" from the mountainous parts of its possessions. Shelucha, "let loose," is cognate to sheluchim, "the apostles," who on Galilee mountains "brought good tidings" of Jesus (Isaiah 52:7). Habakkuk 3:19, "the Lord will make my feet like hinds' feet," has in view Jacob's prophecy as to Naphtali. Temporally Naphtali disports gracefully and joyously in its fertile allotment, as a hind at large exulting amidst grass; it shall be famous too for eloquence. The "bind" symbolizes a swift warrior (2 Samuel 2:18; 1 Chronicles 12:8).

Barak with 10,000 men of Naphtali, at Deborah's call, fought and delivered Israel from Jabin of Canaan. His war-like energy and his and Deborah's joint song are specimens of the prowess and the eloquence of Naphtali (Judges 4-5); Naphtali and Zebulun "jeoparded their lives unto the death in the high places of the field" (Judges 5:18). So they helped Gideon against Midian (Judges 6:35; Judges 7:23). Moses' blessing on Naphtali is (Deuteronomy 33:23), "Naphtali, satisfied with favor, and full with the blessing of Jehovah, possess thou the "sect" (yam) and the sunny district" (not as studybible "the West and the South," for its lot was North but its climate in parts was like that of the South), namely, the whole West coast of the sea of Galilee, "an earthly paradise" (Josephus, B.J. 3:3, section 2), and lake Merom (Huleh). The district is still called Belad Besharah, "land of good tidings." The climate of the lower levels is hot and suited for tropical plants, so that fruits ripen earlier than elsewhere (Joshua 19:32, etc.).

"The soil is rich, full of trees of all sorts, so fertile as to invite the most slothful to cultivate it" (Josephus); but now the population of this once thickly peopled, flourishing region, is as scanty as its natural vegetation is luxuriant. Its forests and ever varying scenery are among the finest in Israel (Van de Velde, 1:170, 293; 2:407). Naphtali failed to drive out the Canaanites (Judges 1:33). Pagan neighbours soon made it and northern Israel "Galilee of the Gentiles." Tiglath Pileser swept away its people to Assyria; Benhadad of Syria had previously smitten all Naphtali (1 Kings 15:20; 2 Kings 15:29). But where the darkness was greatest and the captivity first came, there gospel light first shone, as foretold of Zebulun and Naphtali (Isaiah 9:1-2; Matthew 4:16). Naphtali shall have its 12,000 elect ones sealed (Revelation 7:6), and its allotment in restored Israel (Ezekiel 48:3-4; Ezekiel 48:34).
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Naphtali Scriptures

Judges 1:33 - Neither did Naphtali drive out the inhabitants of Bethshemesh, nor the inhabitants of Bethanath; but he dwelt among the Canaanites, the inhabitants of the land: nevertheless the inhabitants of Bethshemesh and of Bethanath became tributaries unto them.

2 Kings 15:29 - In the days of Pekah king of Israel came Tiglathpileser king of Assyria, and took Ijon, and Abelbethmaachah, and Janoah, and Kedesh, and Hazor, and Gilead, and Galilee, all the land of Naphtali, and carried them captive to Assyria.

1 Kings 7:14 - He [was] a widow's son of the tribe of Naphtali, and his father [was] a man of Tyre, a worker in brass: and he was filled with wisdom, and understanding, and cunning to work all works in brass. And he came to king Solomon, and wrought all his work.

1 Chronicles 12:40 - Moreover they that were nigh them, [even] unto Issachar and Zebulun and Naphtali, brought bread on asses, and on camels, and on mules, and on oxen, [and] meat, meal, cakes of figs, and bunches of raisins, and wine, and oil, and oxen, and sheep abundantly: for [there was] joy in Israel.

Joshua 21:6 - And the children of Gershon [had] by lot out of the families of the tribe of Issachar, and out of the tribe of Asher, and out of the tribe of Naphtali, and out of the half tribe of Manasseh in Bashan, thirteen cities.

1 Chronicles 6:62 - And to the sons of Gershom throughout their families out of the tribe of Issachar, and out of the tribe of Asher, and out of the tribe of Naphtali, and out of the tribe of Manasseh in Bashan, thirteen cities.

1 Chronicles 6:76 - And out of the tribe of Naphtali; Kedesh in Galilee with her suburbs, and Hammon with her suburbs, and Kirjathaim with her suburbs.

Psalms 68:27 - There [is] little Benjamin [with] their ruler, the princes of Judah [and] their council, the princes of Zebulun, [and] the princes of Naphtali.

Ezekiel 48:34 - At the West side four thousand and five hundred, [with] their three gates; one gate of Gad, one gate of Asher, one gate of Naphtali.

Joshua 21:32 - And out of the tribe of Naphtali, Kedesh in Galilee with her suburbs, [to be] a city of refuge for the slayer; and Hammothdor with her suburbs, and Kartan with her suburbs; three cities.

Judges 4:6 - And she sent and called Barak the son of Abinoam out of Kedesh naphtali, and said unto him, Hath not the LORD God of Israel commanded, [saying], Go and draw toward mount Tabor, and take with thee ten thousand men of the children of Naphtali and of the children of Zebulun?

Isaiah 9:1 - Nevertheless the dimness [shall] not [be] such as [was] in her vexation, when at the first he lightly afflicted the land of Zebulun and the land of Naphtali, and afterward did more grievously afflict [her by] the way of the sea, beyond Jordan, in Galilee of the nations.

2 Chronicles 16:4 - And Benhadad hearkened unto king Asa, and sent the captains of his armies against the cities of Israel; and they smote Ijon, and Dan, and Abelmaim, and all the store cities of Naphtali.

Joshua 20:7 - And they appointed Kedesh in Galilee in mount Naphtali, and Shechem in mount Ephraim, and Kirjatharba, which [is] Hebron, in the mountain of Judah.

Numbers 26:50 - These [are] the families of Naphtali according to their families: and they that were numbered of them [were] forty and five thousand and four hundred.

Deuteronomy 34:2 - And all Naphtali, and the land of Ephraim, and Manasseh, and all the land of Judah, unto the utmost sea,

1 Chronicles 12:34 - And of Naphtali a thousand captains, and with them with shield and spear thirty and seven thousand.

Judges 6:35 - And he sent messengers throughout all Manasseh; who also was gathered after him: and he sent messengers unto Asher, and unto Zebulun, and unto Naphtali; and they came up to meet them.

1 Chronicles 7:13 - The sons of Naphtali; Jahziel, and Guni, and Jezer, and Shallum, the sons of Bilhah.

Ezekiel 48:3 - And by the border of Asher, from the east side even unto the West side, a [portion for] Naphtali.

Ezekiel 48:4 - And by the border of Naphtali, from the east side unto the West side, a [portion for] Manasseh.

Numbers 26:48 - [Of] the sons of Naphtali after their families: of Jahzeel, the family of the Jahzeelites: of Guni, the family of the Gunites:

1 Kings 15:20 - So Benhadad hearkened unto king Asa, and sent the captains of the hosts which he had against the cities of Israel, and smote Ijon, and Dan, and Abelbethmaachah, and all Cinneroth, with all the land of Naphtali.

Numbers 1:42 - Of the children of Naphtali, throughout their generations, after their families, by the house of their fathers, according to the number of the names, from twenty years old and upward, all that were able to go forth to war;

Judges 5:18 - Zebulun and Naphtali [were] a people [that] jeoparded their lives unto the death in the high places of the field.

Genesis 30:8 - And Rachel said, With great wrestlings have I wrestled with my sister, and I have prevailed: and she called his name Naphtali.

Deuteronomy 27:13 - And these shall stand upon mount Ebal to curse; Reuben, Gad, and Asher, and Zebulun, Dan, and Naphtali.

Judges 4:10 - And Barak called Zebulun and Naphtali to Kedesh; and he went up with ten thousand men at his feet: and Deborah went up with him.

Numbers 7:78 - On the twelfth day Ahira the son of Enan, prince of the children of Naphtali, [offered]:

Joshua 19:39 - This [is] the inheritance of the tribe of the children of Naphtali according to their families, the cities and their villages.