WORD FOR TODAY : OUT FROM THE KING JAMES VERSION FOOTNOTE ] { THE FORMATION OF TRIBES } A tribe (derived from the Latin tribus ) can be defined as a group of persons , families , or clans descended from a common ancestor and forming , together with its slaves and adopted strangers , a community . Tribe , in Hebrew , means " family ." The tribes of Israel were divided into families , each having a common ancestor , one of the twelve patriarchs of Israel , the sons of Jacob . They had a common culture and worship . There were times when they even fought against one another ( judg. 20 ) but they united to fight an enemy from outside the families ( Josh. 6 : 1 - 20 ) . This same spirit exists among the tribes of Africa , past and present . The Nuer , of the portion of southern Sudan lying across the white Nile , often fight between themselves but will unite against an outside enemy . Land was given to each tribe ( family ) of Israel . These Hebrews controlled and governed their own land . There were no cross - tribal boundaries . Land throughout Africa was also divided according to tribal boundaries with no overlapping of boundaries because to have done otherwise would have caused confusion . When Europeans divided Africa at the Berlin Conference in 1885 , they did not consider that the boundaries they set cut tribes and families apart . The location of the boundaries has meant not only the severing of coherent culture areas : it has also implied the disruption of closly kint kinship ties in terms of both the social and economic dimensions , placing their various parts under the control of territories and countries . This action is part of the legacy that has caused major problems for Africa today . According to the Bible , ABBA respected tribal boundaries as illustrated in Josh . 13: 21 , which describes that each tribe had its own land .
Posted on: Wed, 25 Sep 2013 11:23:01 +0000
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