Study Sotah folio 36B with parallel Hebrew-English text, traditional commentary, and modern study tools. Free access to Babylonian Talmud online.
The names of the tribes were not divided on the stones of the ephod the same way that they were divided in the list found at the beginning of the book of Numbers (Numbers 1:1–15). Rather they were divided the way that they were divided in the second book, i.e., Exodus (Exodus 1:2–4).
How were they written? On one stone, the names of the sons of Leah were written in the order of their birth: Reuben, Shimon, Levi, Judah, Issachar, and Zebulun. On the other stone the sons of Rachel were written. One, Benjamin, was written on this side, i.e., at the bottom of the list, and one, J
But rather, if their names were not written in the order of their births, then how do I establish the meaning of the phrase: “According to their birth” (Exodus 28:10)? It means that their names were written according to the names that their father, Jacob, called them, and not according to the name
The Talmud asks: Rather, what is meant by the phrase: “And the half of them facing Mount Ebal” (Joshua 8:33)? It is taught in a baraita: The use of the definitive article in the verse indicates that the smaller half of the Jewish people was on Mount Ebal. The half that was facing Mount Gerizim was l
The Talmud is puzzled by this statement: On the contrary, because the tribe of Levi remained on the bottom they were fewer in number. The Talmud answers: This is what the baraita is saying: Although the tribe of Levi was on the bottom, the descendants of Joseph were among them, and the tribe of Jos