The 12 Tribes of Israel

Genesis 35

   Jacob had twelve sons:

 ²³ The sons of Leah:
   Reuben the firstborn of Jacob,
   Simeon, Levi, Judah, Issachar and Zebulun.

 ²⁴ The sons of Rachel:
   Joseph and Benjamin.

 ²⁵ The sons of Rachel’s servant Bilhah:
   Dan and Naphtali.

 ²⁶ The sons of Leah’s servant Zilpah:
   Gad and Asher.

The task of naming the 12 Tribes of Israel proves to be a difficult task because the 12 named tribes differs throughout the bible.  In Revelation 7:5-8 the tribes are listed as Judah, Reuben, Gad, Asher, Naphtali, Manasseh, Simeon, Levi, Issachar, Zebulun, Joseph and Benjamin.  This naming refers to the 144,000 witnesses that are called from the above tribes.  Perhaps Ephraim and Dan were not called upon as witness.  With all of that said, what are the twelve tribes of Israel? Every list in the Bible contains Simeon, Judah, Gad, Asher, Naphtali, Manasseh, Issachar, Zebulun, and Benjamin. In addition to those nine tribes, there are Ephraim, Reuben, Joseph, Dan, and Levi. Most would view Ephraim, Dan, and Levi as the additional three to result in twelve tribes. 

Genesis 49:

  ⁸ “Judah,^[b] your brothers will praise you; 

   your hand will be on the neck of your enemies; 
   your father’s sons will bow down to you. 
⁹ You are a lion’s cub, Judah; 
   you return from the prey, my son. 
Like a lion he crouches and lies down, 
   like a lioness—who dares to rouse him? 
¹⁰ The scepter will not depart from Judah, 
   nor the ruler’s staff from between his feet,^[c] 
until he to whom it belongs^[d] shall come 
   and the obedience of the nations shall be his. 
¹¹ He will tether his donkey to a vine, 
   his colt to the choicest branch; 
he will wash his garments in wine, 
   his robes in the blood of grapes. 
¹² His eyes will be darker than wine, 
   his teeth whiter than milk.^[e]

Notable information about the Tribe of Judah:

• The Tribe of Judah inhabits the area of Gaza (Joshua 15); Gaza is referred to as an integral part of the land of Israel
• Jesus was born of Mary with Joseph as his earthly father; Joseph was of the Tribe of Judah (Luke 3:23-34; Matthew 1:1-16)
• The Kingdom of Judah experiences much evil at the hands of wicked leaders, is this foreshadowing of the great deliverer, the Messiah?