Naph'tali. (wrestling). The fifth son of Jacob, the second child name to him by Bilhah, Rachel's slave. His birth and the bestowal of his name are recorded in Genesis 30:8. When the census was taken at Mount Sinai, the tribe of Naphtali numbered no less than 53,400 fighting men, Numbers 1:43; Numbers 2:50, but when the borders of the Promised Land were reached, its numbers were reduced to 45,400. Numbers 26:48-50.
During the march through the wilderness, Naphtali occupied a position on the north of the sacred tent with Dan and Asher. Numbers 2:25-31. In the apportionment of the land, the lot of Naphtali was enclosed on three sides by those of other tribes. On the west lay Asher, on the south lay Zebulun, and on the east lay the TransJordanic Manasseh.
(In the division of the kingdom, Naphtali belonged to the kingdom of Israel, and later, was a part of Galilee, bordering on the northwestern part of the Sea of Galilee, and including Capernaum and Bethsaida. - Editor).