Page two of the Crown of David Armory

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Armory

The Tribe of Joseph

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"Joseph is a fruitful plant near a spring whose tendrils reach over the wall. Archers in their hostility drew their bows and attacked him. But their bows were broken by a mighty One, the sinews of their arms were snapped by the powe of the Mighty One of Jacob, by the Name of the Stone of Israel, the God of your father who assists you, El Shaddai who blesses you: blessings of heaven above, blessings of the deep lying below, blessings of the breasts and womb, blessings of the grain and flowers, blessings of the eternal mountains, bounty of the everlasting hills - may they descend on Joseph's head; on the crown of the one dedicated from among his brothers." (Genesis 49:22-26)

Blazon of Arms: Gules eleven fleurs-de-lis argent.

Jewel: Cornelian

Joseph was the eleventh son of Jacob by both birth and blessing. Jacob adopted his grandsons Ephraim and Manasseh, who were the fathers of the two half-tribes which bore their names. The Tribe of Ephraim - senior by blessing even though he was by age the younger son - inherits the arms of Joseph, while the Tribe of Manasseh bears the the same arms differenced by the reversal of tinctures.

The half-tribe of Ephraim settled on the land between Mount Gerizim in the north and the town of Bethel in the south, and between Lod in the west and the River Jordan in the east. The half-tribe of Manasseh was assigned a vast territory extending from the Plain of Sharon to the kingdom of Bashan. It was the only tribe to be given land on both sides of the River Jordan. Both half-tribes were extinguished as a result of the Assyrian exile.

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