Who Are the Sons of Jacob and Why Is it Important That There Are 12 of Them?
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Who Were the Sons of Jacob in the Bible?
In Genesis 28:1-5, we learn the beginning of Jacob’s history apart from his parents as they send him to Padam-aram to his maternal uncle, Laban to settle and find a wife. On his way, the Lord speaks to Jacob in a dream. In it, He tells Jacob He is the Lord and the God of Abraham his father and the God of Isaac. The land upon which he lay is what God will give to him and his offspring, which will be “like the dust of the earth.” He also tells Jacob in him and his offspring all the families of the earth will be blessed. That’s a mighty promise. Jacob worshiped the Lord when he awoke, and he promised he would give back a 10th of all God gave him.
After Jacob arrived at his Uncle Laban’s, he fell in love with Rachel when he met her at the shepherd’s well (Genesis 29:9-14). Jacob offered to serve Laban seven years in exchange for Rachel’s hand in marriage. Laban, craftier than Jacob, promised him Rachel, but because tradition dictated the younger was not given before the eldest daughter, he tricked Jacob and sent Leah to him on his wedding night. When confronted about his trickery, Laban agreed to give Rachel to Jacob after the first week of his marriage to Leah. This was based on the condition Jacob would work another seven years for Rachel also. So began a game of wills between the two sisters to “win” Jacob’s love.
The sons of Jacob in order of birth (and to whom) are as follows:
Leah gives birth to (1) Reuben, (2) Simeon, (3) Levi, and (4) Judah. Then Rachel gives Bilhah, her servant girl to Jacob, “so that she may give birth on my behalf” (Genesis 30:3). Bilhah bore (5) Dan and (6) Naphtali. When Leah realized she ceased bearing Jacob’s sons (for the moment), she gave her servant, Zilpah to Jacob and she bore him (7) Gad and (8) Asher.
After this, Leah again conceived (twice) and gave birth to (9) Issachar and (10) Zebulun. Rachel finally received the blessing of conception (God has taken away my reproach—Genesis 30:23) and gave birth to (11) Joseph and (12) Benjamin, whom she bore as she died.
What Were the Blessings Given to Each of the Sons of Jacob?
When Jacob (Israel) was about to die, he called his 12 sons to his side to tell them what would happen “in days to come” (Genesis 49:1). We will look at the whole of what he said to them as recorded in the Bible (Genesis 49: 3-27).
To Reuben (whose name means, See, a son), Jacob said, “Reuben, you are my firstborn, my might, and the first fruits of my strength, preeminent in dignity and preeminent in power. Unstable as water, you shall not have preeminence, because you went up to your father’s bed; then you defiled it—he went up to my couch!” (The account of Reuben laying with his father’s concubine, Bilhah, is in Genesis 35:2.2. As a result, his blessing went to Joseph’s two sons, Ephraim and Manasseh.)
To Simeon (Simeon sounds like the Hebrew word, heard) and Levi (Levi sounds like the Hebrew word, attached), Jacob said, “Simeon and Levi are brothers; weapons of violence are their swords. Let my soul come not into their council; O my glory, be not joined to their company. For in their anger they killed men, and in their willfulness they hamstrung oxen. Cursed be their anger, for it is fierce, and their wrath, for it is cruel! I will divide them in Jacob and scatter them in Israel.” (The account of how Simeon and Levi led the charge of the brothers to kill the men of Shechem after the ruler’s son defiled their sister, Dinah, may be found in Genesis 33:18-34:31).
Judah (Judah’s name sounds like the Hebrew word, praise) received this blessing: “Judah, your brothers shall praise you; your hand shall be on the neck of your enemies; your father’s sons shall bow down before you. Judah is a lion’s cub; from the prey, my son, you have gone up. He stooped down; he couched as a lion and as a lioness; who dares rouse him? The scepter shall not depart from Judah, nor the ruler’s staff from between his feet, until tribute comes to him; and to him shall be the obedience of the peoples. Binding his foal to the vine and his donkey’s colt to the choice vine, he has washed his garments in wine and his vesture in the blood of grapes. His eyes are darker than wine, and his teeth whiter than milk.” (Jesus is called the “Lion of the Tribe of Judah.” The lineage leading to Jesus goes through Judah. Jacob spoke prophecy in blessing Judah).
To Zebulun (Zebulun sounds like the Hebrew word honor): “Zebulun shall dwell at the shore of the sea; he shall become a haven for ships, and his border shall be at Sidon” (In Joshua 19:11, a brook from Zebulun’s territory extends to the sea, fulfilling this blessing).
To Issachar (Issachar sounds like the Hebrew word, wages or hire): “Issachar is a strong donkey, crouching between these sheepfolds. He saw that a resting place was good, and that the land was pleasant, so he bowed his shoulder to bear, and became a servant at forced labor” (Issachar’s tribe was hard-working, tough, vigorous, and unfaltering, living up to this blessing).
Jacob spoke to Dan (Dan sounds like the Hebrew word, judged) “Dan shall judge his people as one of the tribes of Israel.Dan shall be a serpent in the way, a viper by the path, that bites the horse’s heels so that his rider falls backward. I wait for your salvation, O LORD” (Dan’s tribe indeed judged, but were not known for their moral standing nor religious righteousness).
Gad (Gad sounds like the Hebrew for good fortune) received this blessing: “Raiders shall raid Gad, but he shall raid at their heels.” The Gadites were known as mighty men of valor.
Asher’s (Asher sounds like the Hebrew raiders and raid) blessing was: “Asher’s food shall be rich, and he shall yield royal delicacies.” (Asher’s family prospered in Egypt).
To Naphtali (Naphtali sounds like the Hebrew wrestling), Jacob decreed, “Naphtali is a doe let loose that bears beautiful fawns” (Naphtali’s military skill was marked by deer-like speed and dexterity).
Joseph (Joseph means May he add and sounds like the Hebrew taken away) received the lengthiest blessing from his father (Joseph was his favorite). “Joseph is a fruitful bough by a spring; his branches run over the wall. The archers bitterly attacked him, shot at him, and harassed him severely, yet his bow remained unmoved; his arms were made agile by the hands of the Mighty One of Jacob (from there is the Shepherd, the Stone of Israel), by the God of your father who will help you, by the Almighty who will bless you with blessings of heaven above, blessings of the deep that crouches beneath, blessings of the beasts and of the womb. The blessings of your father are mighty beyond the blessings of my parents, up to the bounties of the everlasting hills. May they be on the head of Joseph, and on the brow of him who was set apart from his brothers” (No other son received such direct references to our sovereign God, Whom Joseph revered in all his ways. There is history of cruelty by his brothers and captors and prophecy in this blessing).
Lastly, to Benjamin (Benjamin means son of the right hand), Jacob had these words: “Benjamin is a ravenous wolf, in the morning devouring the prey and at evening dividing the spoil.” (Benjamin’s small tribe was war-like, and they made a shameless defense of their evil in Gibeah (Judg. 19; 20). Israel’s first king (Saul, 1 Samuel 9:1-2) was of the tribe of Benjamin, as was the apostle Paul (Philippians 3:5).
Why Is the Number 12 Important in the Bible?
12 princes (Genesis 17:20), 12 sons of Jacob (Genesis 35:22), 12 tribes of Israel (Genesis 49:28), 12 springs of water at Elim (Exodus 15:27), 12 pillars erected by Moses, according to the 12 tribes of Israel (Exodus 24:4), 12 jewels in the high priest’s breastplate (Exodus 28:21), 12 bulls (Numbers 7:84, 12 silver plates (Numbers 7:87), 12 apostles (Matthew 10:2), 12 gates (Revelation 21:21). What is up with all these 12s?
The above list is only a portion of the 161 times the number 12 is mentioned in 144 verses in the ESV Bible. The “notable 12s” list starts with the 12 sons of Jacob who became the 12 tribes of Israel and ends with 12 kinds of fruit on the tree of life (Revelation 22:2). Only the numbers three (388 times in 343 verses in the ESV), seven (373 times in 312 verses in the ESV), and one (as seen in John 10:30: 345 times in 288 verses in the ESV) are recorded more. With such a preponderance, does the number 12 have any significance beyond its numerical value?
Looking at what the Bible says, we can conclude 12 is simply the number God chose. But because He chose it, we can refer to it—in all likelihood—as a covenantal number. It’s an association that harkens back to God’s covenant with His chosen people. It’s not the number itself, it’s a reference to God’s covenantal people—the nation of Israel. Isaiah 2:5-6, Jeremiah 2:4, Amos 9:8, Obadiah 1:17-18, and Luke 1:33 (among other passages) all speak of the house of Jacob, which is a direct reference to the 12 sons of Jacob (the 12 tribes). Because the 12 sons of Jacob became the 12 tribes—God’s covenantal people—the 12 stones on the high priest’s breastplate of course represent God’s promise to them (Genesis 28:12-15). It starts with the 12 tribes and ends with the 12 gates with 12 pearls representing the tribes and the 12 kinds of fruit. The important thing is it’s easy to remember, when we read the number 12 in the notable passages, that it’s of God and not of man.
Nowhere in Scripture is 12 called a perfect number, although some try to associate the numbers with numerology (the belief in a divine or supernatural relationship between a number and coordinating events), yet this is seen nowhere in the Bible. The closest we get is Revelation 13:8, which says the number of man is 666. This is clear and no mystical or strange correlation need be applied. One must apply solid hermeneutical methods (hermeneutics is principles of proper biblical interpretation) when looking at Scripture.
What Can We Learn from Jacob's Sons?
The story of Jacob (Israel) takes up a huge chunk of Genesis (Genesis 25:26-50:21).
Many lessons can be gleaned from the sons of Jacob, including:
Actions equal consequences—Reuben defiled his father’s bed and forfeited his rights as the eldest son. Simeon’s and Levi’s tribes were scattered because of their willful massacre of the men of Shechem. A look at each son’s history shows the consequences.
Don’t play favorites with children—Jacob learned this through his sons’ scorn of Joseph. They sold him into slavery out of spite and jealousy (Genesis 37:25).
God always works His will—Joseph, though scorned and abandoned to slavery by his brothers was used mightily by God in the redemption of the nation of Israel (Genesis 39-50).
Judah and Tamar are in the lineage of Jesus, despite Judah’s sinful action toward her (Genesis 38).
The lessons are numerous. A thorough study of the sons of Jacob reveals life lessons for all who take heed.
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