PATRILINEAL PRINCIPLE

To recap, in the last section we learned about the various types of kinship systems, e.g. patrilineal, matrilineal, bilineal, etc., and we proved that Igbo/Hebrew Israelite culture was always patrilineal, i.e. a kinship system where families are reckoned through the father's line. In closing, we raised the question of the efficacy of the patrilineal principle in partnership with the matrilineal principle in determining one's Israelite/Jewish status. In other words, is "family" the only concept determined by one's patrilineage, or are there aspects of Israelite culture that are determined exclusively by one's matrilineage? And so, in this section, we shall address that claim by defining those aspects of Israelite culture that are strictly patrilineal. To begin, let's examine some Israelite genealogies through the lens of the tribe of Judah:     

1. "The descendants of Judah according to their families: the family of the Shelanites from Shelah, the family of the Perezites from Perez, the family of the Zerahites from Zerah. The descendants of Perez were: the family of the Hezronites from Hezron, the family of the Hamulites from Hamul. These were the families of Judah according to those of them counted, seventy-six thousand and five hundred" (Num. 26:20-22). 
2. "Of the tribe of Judah, their descendants according to their families, according to their fathers' houses; the number of individual names of every male from twenty years old and upward, all who were fit to go out to the army" (Num. 1:26).
3. "In the morning, therefore, you shall be brought near according to your tribes; and it shall be, that the tribe which the L-rd takes shall come near by families; and the family which the L-rd takes shall come near by households; and the household which the L-rd takes shall come near man by man. And Joshua rose up early in the morning and brought Israel near by their tribes; and the tribe of Judah was taken. And he brought near the family of Judah; and He took the family of the Zarhites; and he brought the family of the Zarhites near man by man; and Zabdi was taken. And he brought his household near man by man; and Achan, the son of Carmi, the son of Zabdi, the son of Zerah, of the tribe of Judah, was taken" (Joshua 7:14, 16-18).  

From the outermost layer to the innermost, Israel's patrilineal kinship system is reckoned by tribes, families, and households. The first source shows that Israel is made up of 12 tribes (e.g. Judah), and each tribe is divided into families (e.g. Zerah). The second source shows that each family is further subdivided into father's houses. The third source shows how Joshua used this system in order to locate the man amongst Beney Yisrael {Children of Israel} who had committed evil in the eyes of the L-RD by taking one of the devoted things (Joshua 7:11). First, he sanctified them by tribes. Judah, the fourth son of Jacob, becomes a tribe. Then, he sanctified them by families. Zerah, the fifth son of Judah, becomes a family. Next, he sanctified them by households. Zabdi, a son of Zerah, becomes a household. Finally, he finds Achan son of Carmi (father) son of Zabdi (house) son of Zerah (family) son of Judah (tribe) son of Jacob (Yisrael). Notice that Carmi, Zabdi, Zerah, Judah, and Jacob are all patrilineal ancestors of Achan. 

Don't be confused by the differences in terminology between בית (heb. "bayit", i.e. household) in Joshua 7:14,18 and בית אב (heb. "beit ab", i.e. father's house) in Numbers 1:26--they are synonomous. You would think Achan's house would've been Carmi his father, right? Rather, Achan's "beit ab" or father's house was literally his father's [Carmi's] house--Zabdi. That's how it works! Notice, that it's one's father who connects him to a house (beit ab), which connects him to a family, which connects him to a tribe, which connects him to Jacob (Yisrael) our patriarch, which makes him an Israelite.  

These three divisions can also be represented by the following diagram: 

• שבט (heb. "shevet", i.e. tribe)
• משפחה (heb. "mishpacha", i.e. family)
• בית אב (heb. "beit ab", i.e. father's house)

Concentric Circles Diagram of Israelite Divisions

In this section, we learned that in Igbo/Hebrew Israelite culture, "family" is not the only thing reckoned by one's fathers; on the contrary, one's house, family, and tribe are all reckoned patrilineally, NOT matrilineally. Not only that, the Torah says that Israelite families are reckoned by the father's houses. In other words, without a "beit ab" or father's house, which connects one to a family and thereby to a tribe, it's impossible to be reckoned as an Israelite! In our example, Joshua was able to locate the guilty Israelite (Achan) by reckoning his entire patrilineage back to Jacob/Yisrael himself. Notice, it wasn't Achan's mother or grandmother or great-grandmother who determined his Israelite/Jewish status; on the contrary, it was his father, or rather his father's father (beit ab), who determined his status. And if that's the case that one must have an Israelite father, then what does it even mean to be a "father"? Who can play that role, only one's biological father? In the next section, we shall finally address the focus question of this entire blog: who is considered the "father" of mixed-offspring Israelites??