Who are the twelve tribes?

Jacob had twelve sons with his four wives—Leah, Rachel, Bilhah, and Zilpah. Their names, in order of birth, are Reuben, Simeon, Levi, Judah, Dan, Naphtali, Gad, Asher, Issachar, Zebulun, Joseph, and Benjamin. The offspring of each of these men became the twelve tribes (shevatim) of the nation of Israel. Although all the tribes are part of one nation, each tribe (shevet) has unique characteristics. And so, when they were blessed by Jacob,1 and later by Moses,2 each tribe received a different blessing in accordance with their individual nature and purpose.

Tribes in birth order Name of mother Number of men ages 20-60 after the Exodus Where they camped while traveling through the desert Symbol on flag
Reuben Leah 46,500 South Jasmine plant
Simeon Leah 59,300 South City of Shechem
Levi Leah Center Urim VeTumim
Judah Leah 74,600 East Lion
Dan Bilhah 62,700 North Snake
Naphtali Bilhah 53,400 North Gazelle
Gad Zilpah 45,650 South Military camp
Asher Zilpah 41,500 North Olive tree
Issachar Leah 54,400 East Sun and moon
Zebulun Leah 57,400 East Ship
Benjamin Rachel 35,400 West Wolf
Joseph-Ephraim Rachel 40,500 West Bull
Joseph-Menasheh Rachel 32,200 West Re'em (a large horned bovine animal)

Birth of the Twelve Sons of Jacob

The story of the twelve tribes begins when their father, Jacob, escaped from his brother, Esau, who wanted to kill him. As per his mother Rebecca's instructions, Jacob left the Land of Israel and took refuge in his uncle Laban's house, where he worked as a shepherd.

It was there that he met his beautiful cousin Rachel, and they decided to get married. Laban, Rachel’s father, permitted Jacob to marry Rachel only after completing seven years of work. When the seven years were over and it was time for the wedding, Laban tricked Jacob and gave his older daughter, Leah, to Jacob to marry in Rachel's stead. Jacob then worked for Laban for another seven years and married Rachel as a second wife.

Leah had six sons: Reuben, Simeon, Levi, Judah, Issachar and Zebulun, and a daughter named Dinah.

Rachel grew envious of her sister Leah, as she still did not have children of her own. She gave her maidservant Bilhah to Jacob as a concubine. As Bilhah’s mistress, she would be able to raise Bilhah’s children. Additionally, she hoped that in the merit of selflessly giving Jacob her maidservant, G‑d would grant her children. Bilhah did in fact have two sons, whom Rachel named Dan and Naphtali.

At this point Leah also gave her maidservant Zilpah to Jacob as a concubine. Zilpah had two sons, Gad and Asher.

G‑d remembered the righteousness of Rachel, who was childless, and granted her wish. She had a son and named him Joseph. Later, once the family of Jacob returned to the Land of Israel, Rachel gave birth to a second son, Benjamin, who was the youngest in the family. Rachel died immediately after the difficult birth. Thus, there were twelve sons and one daughter born from one father and four mothers.3 Each of these twelve sons are the father of one tribe (except for Joseph who is the father of two tribes named for his sons, Menashe and Ephraim).

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