Chapter 49 of Genesis opens with Jacob, renamed Israel after he wrestled with God in Gen 32:28, on his deathbed. He calls his 12 sons to address them, and not just simply address them but to address them with a prophetic vision of the future of their tribes. Since this is a rare chapter that deals with all 12 tribes concisely, I thought we would take advantage and have a quick study of the 12 tribes and their leaders. Countless Doctoral dissertations have been done on the 12 tribes of Israel; this is not one of them. Just a quick look at the 12 sons of Jacob as he speaks to them before he goes to be with the Lord at the end of this chapter.
Recall that Jacob had 2 wives, Leah and Rachel. He toiled for tricky ol’ Uncle Laban for 14 years to “earn” both sisters and from these two sisters he had 8 sons. He also had 2 concubines with which he had 4 sons. These concubines were each a personal servant to Rachel and Leah and if the sisters couldn’t conceive they would send their servant to have sex with Jacob. The entire scene is a huge mess and it resulted in a huge mess. Jacob had 6 sons with Leah, 2 with Rachel, 2 with Bilah and 2 with Zilpah.
Whether Jacob doted greatly on Rachel’s sons or neglected the others is not fully known, but the book of Genesis clearly shows that the boys of Leah, Bilah and Zilpah were quite the ornery, rough, murderous bunch and that the 2 sons of Rachel were much the opposite. Favoritism had always been an issue in the family line from Abraham all the way down to Jacob, a sign that parental favoritism does great harm. Let’s take a look at the 12 sons of Jacob or as they are known since God changed his name, the 12 sons of Israel. Here they are in order of their birth:
1) Reuben. Reuben was the firstborn of Jacob, born to Leah. Normally the firstborn would receive the birth right, but he had an affair with his father’s concubine, Bilah, and Jacob withheld it as a result. Reuben saved Joseph’s life as he talked his brothers out of killing him at the pit and he also delivered a heartfelt sacrificial speech to Joseph about leaving Benjamin in Egypt.
2) Simeon. Simeon was the second son of Jacob, born of Leah. He is mentioned in scripture as the one left in prison in Egypt as Joseph demanded one brother stay behind to guarantee the bringing back of Benjamin. Also, Simeon was partly responsible for the horrible massacre at Shechem after his sister Dinah was raped by the prince.
3) Levi. Levi was the third son, born to Leah and accompanied Simeon in the avenging slaughter at Shechem, an ordeal that greatly embarrassed Jacob. As a result, they had to flee the area. The tribe of Levi will also become the “priestly tribe” that will be responsible for all of the religious rituals of the Israelites such as setting up the tabernacle and carrying the ark of the covenant.
4) Judah. Judah was the 4th son of Jacob, and the 4th from Leah. By far more is said in God’s Word about Judah and specifically the tribe of Judah than any other. The reason? Our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ will come from this lineage. Hence one of the names of the Lord being the Lion of Judah. The line of Judah which will bear Jesus is a line of murderers, adulterers, prostitutes, liars and thieves. A beautiful sign of God that Jesus Christ, a perfect sin-free life can come from this sinful heritage.
5) Dan. Dan was the 5th son of Jacob and was the first for Bilah, Jacob’s concubine. Dan was to be a judge of the people and Samson the Nazarite (the guy that got a haircut) was from the line of Dan. Dan is from the Hebrew verb “din” which means to judge.
6) Naptali. The 6th, son, Bilah’s second. Not much is known about the life of Naptali.
7) Gad. Gad was the 7th son of Jacob and the first for Zilpah, Leah’s servant and Jacob’s concubine. Not a lot is mentioned about him personally in scripture.
8) Asher. The 8th son of Jacob and the 2nd son to Zilpah. By now you can see that this was a game to Rachel and Leah to see who could provide more sons to Jacob in an effort to win his affections. Asher means “happy” and the tribe of Asher enjoyed great blessings.
9) Issachar. The 9th son to Jacob and Leah’s 5th. It’s important to note that Rachel was barren for many years but Leah’s “womb was open.” So, Rachel is watching Leah provide Jacob all of these sons and her anger and bitterness grows. Not much is known about Issachar personally, but the history of the tribe is mentioned later in the O.T.
10) Zebulun. Jacob’s 10th son and the 6th from Leah. Very little is known as he is not mentioned prolifically in scripture.
11) Joseph. He is the 11th son to Jacob and the very first from Rachel. Since Jacob loved Rachel more than any other, you can see why the great favoritism would have been lavished upon Joseph. Jacob had been waiting for this son from Rachel a long time and he spoiled him with the coat of many colors, which ironically was one the reasons his brothers hated him and sold him into slavery. We know as much about the life of Joseph as we do just about any character in God’s Word. Joseph has more parallels to Jesus than any other character in God’s Word. Joseph’s name however will not be destined to be a tribe of Israel, but his two sons will, Ephraim and Manasseh. You might be asking, if there’s only 12 tribes how you can subtract one and add two, wouldn’t that be 13? Since the tribe of Levi will become the priestly tribe, they will be subtracted along with Joseph, and Ephraim and Manasseh added back in to make it an even 12.
12) Benjamin. Finally. He is the 12th son to Jacob and the second to Rachel. Rachel died giving birth to him, which crushed Jacob. Benjamin also enjoyed great favor from Jacob. After he thought Joseph to be dead, he clung to Benjamin desperately, unwilling to let him go to Egypt until forced by the severe famine. Jacob struggled greatly with favoritism among his children and it created a multitude of problems.
So here we see a brief synopsis of the 12 sons of Jacob, the sons of Israel, which become the 12 tribes of Israel. You will continue to see these tribes play a critical part in God’s Word throughout the Old Testament and even all the way into the very last book of the New Testament, Revelation. In fact, in Revelation 21:12 as we see a beautiful picture of Heaven, we see an adornment on each of the twelve gates that should sound a little familiar:
“It had a great, high wall, with twelve gates, and at the gates twelve angels, and on the gates the names of the twelve tribes of the sons of Israel were inscribed”
The very entrances into Heaven, marked with the names of the tribes that we just studied. What a blessed day that will be when we all get to Heaven and gaze upon these beautiful gates!
Blessings to each of you!
