'''Israelite Nation''' can refer to the Ten Tribes of Israel exiled from the Kingdom of Israel. An '''Israelite''' is a member of the '''Twelve Tribes of Israel''', descended from the twelve sons of the Biblical patriarch Jacob who was renamed Israel by God in the book of Genesis, 32:28. The '''Israelites''' were a group of Hebrews, as described in the Hebrew Bible. There are modern [[History|historical]] debates about the origins of the Hebrews/Israelites.
The English word ''Israelite'' derives from '''ישראל''' ("Upright (with) [[Elohim|God]]", Standard Hebrew '''Yisraʾel'''); see the article Israel for details on the word's definition.
''Please read this entry in conjunction with the entries on:''
*[[History of ancient Israel and Judah]]*[[Children of Israel]]*[[Ten Lost Tribes]] ([[Huns]])*[[Israelis]]
== Israelites in Biblical times ==
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Traditional division:
#[[Tribe of Reuben|Reuben]]#[[Tribe of Simeon|Simeon]]#[[Tribe of Levi|Levi]]#[[Tribe of Judah|Judah]]#[[Tribe of Issachar|Issachar]]#[[Tribe of Zebulun|Zebulun]]#[[Tribe of Dan|Dan]]#[[Tribe of Naphtali|Naphtali]]#[[Tribe of Gad|Gad]]#[[Tribe of Asher|Asher]]#[[Tribe of Joseph|Joseph]]#[[Tribe of Benjamin|Benjamin]]
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Division according to apportionment of land in Israel:
#[[Tribe of Reuben|Reuben]]#[[Tribe of Simeon|Simeon]]#[[Tribe of Judah|Judah]]#[[Tribe of Issachar|Issachar]]#[[Tribe of Zebulun|Zebulun]]#[[Tribe of Dan|Dan]]#[[Tribe of Naphtali|Naphtali]]#[[Tribe of Gad|Gad]]#[[Tribe of Asher|Asher]]#[[Tribe of Benjamin|Benjamin]]#[[Tribe of Ephraim|Ephraim ]] (son of Joseph)#[[Tribe of Manasseh|Manasseh ]] (son of Joseph)
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Kingdom of Judah, the southern kingdom, had Jerusalem as its capital and was led by King Rehoboam. It was populated by the tribes of Judah and Benjamin (and also some of Levi and remnants of Simeon).
In 722 BCE the Assyrian people under Shalmaneser V and then under Sargon II conquered the northern Kingdom of Israel, destroyed its capital Samaria and sent the Israelites into exile and captivity in Turanian Khorason, now part of eastern Iran and western Afghanistan. The Ten Lost Tribes are those who were deported. In Jewish popular culture, the ten tribes disappeared from history, leaving only the tribes of Tribe of Benjamin and Tribe of Judah and the Tribe of Levi who eventually became the modern day Jews. ''See also Bnai Israel.''In fact however, the Ten tribes evolved into the [[Huns]].
