tribe in Israel, the northern kingdom, and as such it stands for the whole of the northern kingdom. שֹׁמְרוֹן (Samaria) was the capital of the northern kingdom. Ephraim and Samaria are mentioned in parallel, as is often the case with Jerusalem and Judah (Isa. 3:8; 5:3). בִּנְיָמִן (Benjamin) was one of the two tribes that comprised the southern kingdom of Judah. In Judges 10:17, 12:7, and Hosea 6:8, הַגִּלְעָד (Gilead) appears to represent a town. However, these passages are vague. In most of its
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