Tribal Blueprints: Twelve Brothers and the Destiny of Israel

by Nechama Price

The Jewish nation begins with a collection of twelve brothers and half-brothers, linked through their father, Jacob. From these close familiar beginnings, each develops into a distinct tribe, with unique characteristics and destinies that have indelible imprints on the rest of Tanakh.

Tribal Blueprints examines each of Jacob’s sons, revealing their individual stories in Genesis and the impact of their shifting places within the family. How do these individuals evolve? What is the role of each of the four mothers? How does each brother’s placement in the birth order of the family influence his behavior? How are the brothers’ personalities reflected in future generations?

In this volume, Prof. Nechama Price takes the reader on a journey through the biblical narrative, looking anew at the ancient stories of Genesis to uncover a new appreciation for the special role of each of the twelve tribes, who together form the nation of Israel.

308 pages, Hardcover

Published April 1, 2020

Reviews

[Chloe · Rating 5 out of 5]

A beautiful book that dives deep into the biblical personalities of the 12 tribes of Israel. It was incredibly informational yet easy to get through. The only gripe I had was that Professor Price, who I respect even more after reading this scholarly work, could have perhaps detailed a few exceptions. Regardless, her theory was thorough and well supported.

[Harry · Rating 5 out of 5]

Professor Price provides brilliant insights into the personality traits of each of the 12 tribes through a careful reading of the Bible. She mines the literal meanings (pshat) in Genesis and shows how these character traits follow through in the rest of TaNaCh. She supports her findings with citations from Rabbinic literature and common-sense psychological insight. The result is a book that shows how the effects of marital rivalry, birth order, parental favoritism, infertility and jealousy inform the characters of the 12 sons. Based on her analysis, the book could have been subtitled, “Yaakov’s Dysfunctional Family.”

[Doug Ward · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book investigates the tribes of Israel in the Bible and rabbinic tradition. For each son of Jacob, the author looks at the data on that son from the book of Genesis, then goes on to explore the contributions of that tribe in Israel's history. In particular, she tries to identify traits of Jacob's sons that seem to recur among later members of their tribes.

I've found this to be a fascinating and edifying study, enhanced by the many interesting footnotes.

[Brett · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoyed the book and would give the content a 4 star review, but it is definitely not a smooth read like a novel, so I had to read it in chunks over the course of several months. Readability, 3 stars.

[Lemma · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was a truly incredible book. I loved all the chapters and they all added so much to the involved family complex. I really enjoyed the deeper dive into all of the brothers and I thought it was really cool how their traits carried on through their descendants.

[Aliza Gans · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very interesting.