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δωδεκάφυλον

dōdekáphylon

G1429 noun

SILEX Entry

Definition

A collective term denoting the entirety of the twelve traditional tribes descended from the sons of Jacob (Israel); the whole Israelite people as organized or conceptualized in twelve ancestral subdivisions. In context, it refers specifically to the unified or idealized national entity of 'all Israel,' often invoked as a religious, ancestral, and political body, rather than as a specific social or political institution.

Semantic Range

twelve-tribed (people), the collective descendants of Jacob/Israel, the complete Israelite nation, all tribes of Israel as a body, the ancestral commonwealth

Root / Etymology

Formed from δώδεκα ('twelve') and φύλον ('tribe, clan, lineage group'). A compound meaning literally 'twelve-tribed' or 'of the twelve tribes.'

Historical & Contextual Notes

The term δωδεκάφυλον is a post-classical, Hellenistic and early Roman period innovation, not attested in earlier classical literature. Its primary attestation is in contexts reflecting Israelite or Judean identity, particularly emphasizing the unity or ideal totality of the Israelite nation as descended from Jacob's twelve sons. In Acts 26:7, Paul employs the word to refer to the collective religious aspirations and hope of all Israelites, without regard necessarily to the practical disappearance or assimilation of some tribes. The word appears in Jewish-Greek literature such as Josephus and later rabbinic Greek. In the Septuagint, the unity of the twelve tribes is sometimes referenced, but the compound term δωδεκάφυλον itself is rare or unattested, reflecting a later conceptualization. English translations often render it 'twelve tribes,' but this can obscure its force as a single collective and its potential idealism. In Hellenistic Jewish usage, the term could function as a statement of ancestral completeness and covenantal identity, even when the actual tribal realities had shifted or become more symbolic.

Original Strong's Gloss (1890)

from δώδεκα and φυλή; the commonwealth of Israel:--twelve tribes.

Root Family

δωδεκάφυλον (dōdekaphylon) — twelve, tribe, clan, lineage, twelve-tribed people

Root δωδεκ-, φυλ- twelve (number), tribe, clan, lineage

Word Forms

1 distinct form

SIDANCE Surface Transliteration Morphology Common SIBI-P1 SIBI-P2 Occurrences
G1429-01 δωδεκάφυλον dodekaphulon N NOM N SG twelve-tribe the twelve-tribed nation twelve-tribed nation 1

Occurrences in Scripture

1 occurrence

SIDANCE Reference Word Transliteration Morphology Common SIBI-P1 SIBI-P2
G1429-01 Acts 26:7 δωδεκάφυλον dodekaphulon N NOM N SG twelve-tribe the twelve-tribed nation twelve-tribed nation
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