Machir (biblical region)

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Machir (

Song of Deborah in Judges 5, where it is praised for fighting alongside five other Israelite tribes: the Tribe of Ephraim, the Tribe of Benjamin, the Tribe of Zebulun, the Tribe of Issachar, and the Tribe of Naphtali.[1] The Song of Deborah speaks of officers (mechokekim) coming from Machir to join the battle against Sisera
.

Analysis

The passage appears to reflect an early time in the history of Israel, before Israel was organized as a nation, when it was instead a group of loosely associated tribes. In the later standardized lists of the Twelve Tribes of Israel, Machir does not appear, but rather the Tribe of Manasseh appears in its place.[1] Machir "may have been an independent clan that was eventually absorbed within Manasseh."[1] Other hypotheses include the idea that Manasseh was originally a clan within Machir which became more prominent than the rest of the tribe, or that Manasseh may have been another group who displaced the Machirites.[2]

According to traditions in the Pentateuch, which view the tribes as descending from the sons of Jacob, Machir was the son of Manasseh, but was legally adopted by Jacob.[2] This places the origins of the "Machirite group" in Egypt.[2] After the time in Egypt, the Bible records that Moses gave the region of Gilead to Machir as part of the eastern half of the inheritance of Manasseh (Deuteronomy 3).[2]

The region is understood in tradition to be identical to the portion of the land of Gilead given to Machir the son of Manasseh by Moses (Numbers 32:40, Deuteronomy 3:15).

References