NAPHTALI năf’ tə lī Heb. נַפְתָּלִי, H5889, a name of the gentilic type formed from the verbal form פָּתַל, H7349, “twist,” “wrestle” (Job 5:13, et al.). The name of the sixth son of Jacob, by his wife’s handmaid, Bilhah, who was presented to Rachel upon her marriage to Jacob (Gen 29:29). Naphtali was the second son of Jacob and Bilhah, his elder brother being Dan. The two full brothers usually are mentioned together in context in the OT.

I. The person of Naphtali. In the contest between Rachel and Leah for the affection of Jacob, each offered her maidservant as a concubine to Jacob. The children thus conceived were a credit and comfort to the wives of Jacob although born of their maids. The second such born to Bilhah esp. pleased Rachel and so the events of the infant’s birth and the etymology of his name are described (Gen 30:7, 8). Rachel rejoiced with the outcry, “With intense wrestling I have wrestled with my sister.” For this reason she called the infant “Wrestling.” The life and character of Naphtali are not given in Scripture, and because of the remoteness of the tribe from the center of Israelite history after the settlement in Pal. few legends grew up around the name. The Aram. Targum, Pseudo-Jonathan records the two traditions that Naphtali was a fast runner and that he with four of his brothers was chosen by Joseph to stand before the pharaoh. A tradition preserved in the rabbinical commentaries and the Test XII Pat gives his age at death as 132 years. The person of this patriarch is shadowy and does not seem to have made much impression on either the folk etymologies or the folk lore. In the final prophetic blessing of Jacob (Gen 49) only one short poetic phrase is devoted to Naphtali. He is characterized along with his tribe as, “Naphtali is a hind let loose, he giveth goodly words.” (JPS) The rabbinical traditions are split on the proper relationship of these terms to the later events. The earlier tradition is based on an allusion in the “hind let loose” to the early ripening of the crops in the plains of Galilee. The later tradition refers to the swiftness of Naphtali’s warriors. A divergence also exists regarding the second phrase. The earlier tradition of the Targ. relates the “goodly words” to answering Deborah’s summons to war against Sisera, while the later tradition simply describes it as a reference to Naphtali’s skill in songs of victory. Although not patently expressed these four renderings of this Genesis poem affected the later traditions and feelings toward Naphtali.

II. History of the tribe. As with the life of the patriarch the narrative of the tribe is less known than that of the other tribes. The sketchiest information exists in the Pentateuch and Joshua and Judges. In the first census of Numbers 1:43 and 2:30 the men of Naphtali numbered 53,400; in the second census of Numbers 26:48-50 the total was 45,400.

A. In the patriarchal and exilic narrative. In the Pentateuch Naphtali never is separated from the list of other patriarchs and tribes. However, in the lists of organization of the tribes Naphtali has very few persons named. In the order of march and encampment during the Exodus, Naphtali came at the rear while it camped N of the Tabernacle close by Dan and Asher. In the prophetic vision of Moses in his last exhortation before his death (Deut 33:23), Naphtali is assigned the land around Lake Chinnereth and the territory to the S of it. In the drawing of lots for the area of the Canaanites, Naphtali drew next to last. The list of towns and cities allotted them is given in Joshua 19:32-39. In Jewish tradition the banner of Naphtali bore the inscr., “Jehovah returns to the multitude of Israel.” They did not, however, drive out the Canaanites but lived among them (Judg 1:33). Traditionally this has been understood as one of the reasons why the tribe so soon apostatized to Baal worship. When Barak summoned the tribes to battle at the urging of the prophetess Deborah, Naphtali was the first to come to Kedesh to fight the armies of the Canaanites under Sisera. Under Gideon they again were summoned to battle and fought against the Midianites.

B. In the monarchy. In the time of the early monarchy the major campaigns were still in the S of Pal. and against the coastland Philistines. In most of the statistics of the kingdom nothing out of the ordinary is stated about Naphtali. At the end of David’s reign a certain Jeremoth, the son of Azriel, ruled over the tribe (1 Chron 27:19). In the list of the Solomonic administration (1 Kings 4:7-19) Naphtali is mentioned as ruled over by one of the twelve officers, an Ahimaaz, a son-in-law of the king. Little more can be added to the chronicles of the tribe.

III. Location in Palestine. The actual boundaries of the tribal territory of Naphtali are given in Joshua 19:32-39. The problem is that the text does not list a consecutive set of place names in any clearly defined geographic order. In this and other passages a great number of towns are named, all of them in the area W of the Lake of Chinnereth, along its shore, N to Kedesh-Naphtali above and to the NW of Bahret el-Huleh. One of the problems is that of the location of Ramah, whether it was S near the modern Rama at the head of the Shezor valley or farther to the N around the modern Ramié in Lebanon. The Western boundary also is difficult to discern. The tribe of Asher was along the coast but Beth-shemesh belonged to Naphtali. The northern border must have varied from the time of Saul until the divided monarchy but it certainly extended N of Tyre. The exact boundaries of Solomon’s kingdom are still under dispute. The land of Naphtali is a series of plains to the W of Chinnereth through which flow many streams. To the N are the mountains which reach up to the E around the N shore of the lake, on the summit of which is Sefad, the “city set on a hill [which] cannot be hid” (Matt 5:14). To the S of the rolling hills and sloping fields lies the triangular mountain, Tabor. The openness of the valleys allowed frequent invasions from the N and E. And it was the tribe of Naphtali which was led off first into captivity (2 Kings 15:29).

IV. Naphtali in the NT. Since the area of Galilee, the home of Jesus and His apostles lay in the ancient area of Naphtali, it is no wonder that its traditions would have been strong among the Jews of the Inter-testamental and NT period, who lived in the northernmost expansion of the monarchy. During the early days of Jesus’ public ministry He retired to Galilee, “the territory of Zebulun and Naphtali,” and there fulfilled the prophecy of Isaiah 9:1 (Matt 4:13-16). The mention that it was “across the Jordan” is important since the OT also recognized the vulnerability and proximity of Naphtali to the Gentiles. The last mention is the citation of the tribe in the list of the groups of servants of God sealed with the forehead seal in Revelation 7:6. Thus the final end of God’s provision of history sees the continuance of the redeemed theocracy. This theme accords well with the blessing promised through the twelve tribes. See Location of Tribes.

Bibliography M. Noth, Das System der Zwölf Stämme Israels (1930); C. U. Wolf, “Terminology of Israel’s Tribal Organization,” JBL, LXV (1946), 45-49; Y. Yadin, The Scroll of the War of the Sons of Light (1962), 38-64.