THE TRIBES OF JACOB

HOW MANY SONS DID HE HAVE?

(12 or 13 or 14?)

In the three major listings of the 12 tribes of Israel and the settling of the Land – all three contain different names. Consider:

In Gen 35:23 ff. – the 12 sons of Jacob are listed – yet the names Manassah and Ephriam who appear in the settling of the land as tribes are not listed here as any of the sons of Jacob.

In the settling of the land and the Map in the back of your Bible that lists the tribes that settled it, the Tribe of LEVI (who is a son of Jacob) is not listed nor is the tribe of Joseph – the most IMPORTANT son of Jacob! Additionally, there are 14 settlements of land, not 12!

3. In the book of Revelation, Chapter 7, the Twelve tribes of Israel from which 12,000 people each represents the end - time remnant of Israel in the last days - are listed. The tribe of Dan is omitted and so is the tribe of Ephriam. Yet, the tribe of Joseph appears here! Does the Bible contradict itself? Is the Bible wrong? JUST HOW MANY SONS DID JACOB HAVE?

THE ANSWER IS BELOW!

I.

GEN 35:23 - The 12 Sons of JACOB (Israel)

Rueban, Simeon, Levi, Judah, Issachar, Zebulan, Joseph, Benjamin, Dan, Naphtali, Gad, Asher.

Manassah and Ephriam are not listed here because they are the SONS OF JOSEPH who would later represent TWO tribes from the line of Joseph who would settle the land! ( Numbers 34:23 Joshua 16 ). Manassah is the oldest of the two, however Ephriam received the blessing from his father Joseph. (Just as grandfather Jacob received the blessing instead of his brother Esau.)

II.

THE 12 "TRIBES" that settled the land – the 12 tribes listed on your Bible map. (Actually you will see 14 different areas settled!)

Simeon, Judah, Benjamin, Ephriam, Dan ½, Manassah ½, Issachar, Zebulan, Asher, Naphtali, Dan ½, Manassah ½, Gad, Rueban. Manassah and Ephriam represent the huge tribe of Joseph with two tribes. Thus Joseph is represented but his name does not appear as a tribe in and of itself. One half of the tribe of, Manassah settled on the west of the Jordan the other half settled on the east of the Jordan – the same occurred with the tribe of Dan. The tribe of Levi is not mentioned because they were set apart as the PRIESTLY line from the line of Aaron – The first High Priest. (Numbers 18) They were assigned 48 cities of allotment among all the tribes. (Joshua 21) - SO, ALL 12 TRIBES are represented in the settling of the land. There is no contradiction!

III.

REVELATION CHAPTER 7 – the 144,000 – 12,000 each from the 12 tribes of Israel

Judah, Rueban, Gad, Asher, Naphtali, Manassah, Simeon, Levi, Issachar, Zebulan, Joseph, Benjamin. NOTE: the tribe of Dan is missing and so is the tribe of Ephriam. The tribe of Joseph is included in this list – and NOW, so is the tribe of LEVI! What gives?

ANSWER - The 12 tribes that settled the land were directed by God, through Joshua, in that order. These were the people and tribes that God would use to create the nation Israel. However, as the years went by – unfaithfulness caused some to lose the blessing of God.

Dan is excluded from the list in Revelation because this list is the REMNANT FAITHFUL only! Read Judges 18:30 and you will discover that the tribe of Dan was the first to fall into idolatry in the Promised Land and the Bible says that they NEVER came out of it! As a result, they lost their blessing in being included in the remnant in the last days. There is some early Christian tradition that says that the antichrist will arise out of the tribe of Dan in the last days. For this reason also, he is not included in the list of the remnant. See the ominous prophetic utterance over his tribe in Gen. 49:17.

Levi is included in Dan's place. Even though they did not have a specific plot of land in the settling – they were priests unto the Lord and in the end – God rewarded their faithful service and years of sacrifice.

Ephriam IS included in the list, but not by name specifically. Ephriam was the son of blessing of Joseph (even though he was the second born son – just like his grandfather Jacob!) So, he is represented by his father's name Joseph – in so doing both Joseph and Ephriam are honored. Ephriam and Manassah had always represented the tribe of their father Joseph in the settling of the land.

SO, YOU SEE – Jacob (Israel) had 12 sons – there is absolutely no contradiction or mistake regarding the three major listings of tribes and their settling of the land.