Tribes of Israel
Physical Features
There are two main differences between what we can see today from a satellite hovering over the east end of the Mediterranean Sea and what would have been seen thirty-five hundred years ago. First, Lake Huleh north of the sea of Galilee is nearly gone. Also called the waters of Merom, Lake Huleh has been steadily silting up for millennia. By modern times, it was mostly a swamp, and from 1950 to 1958 over 12,000 acres of it were drained to become farmland. The second thing we would notice is that the Dead Sea has shrunk. It is literally drying up and is probably half the size it was in Old Testament times.
The Tribes of Israel
Here are the approximate allotments of the tribes of Israel made by Joshua at the time of the conquest. (Joshua 13-21) Notice that the tribe of Manasseh received a double portion, and the tribe of Levi received no territory only cities. Do you know why?
You may note that the tribe of Dan is in two locations. They took over the northern location when they lost the southern location (their original allotment) in battle. (Joshua 19:40-48, Judges 18)