Land of Israel define different but similar borders which include the whole of contemporary Lebanon, both the West Bank and the Gaza Strip and Israel, except for the South Negev and Eilat. Small parts of Syria are also included. The common biblical phrase used to refer to the territories actually settled by the Israelites (as opposed to military conquests) is "from Dan to Beersheba" (or its variant "from Beersheba to Dan"), which occurs many times in the Bible. It is found in the biblical verses , , , , , , , , and . The 12 tribes of Israel are divided in
Twelve Tribes of Israel Twelve Tribes of Israel According to the Hebrew Bible, the Twelve Tribes of Israel or Tribes of Israel () descended from the 12 sons of the patriarch Jacob (who was later named Israel) and his two wives, Leah and Rachel, and two concubines, Zilpah and Bilhah. lists the twelve tribes: Jacob elevated the descendants of Ephraim and Manasseh (the two sons of Joseph and his Egyptian wife Asenath) to the status of full tribes in their own right, replacing the tribe of Joseph. In the biblical narrative, the period from the conquest of Canaan under the leadership of Joshua until