Swartzentrover.com | The Twelve Tribes of Israel

The Twelve Tribes of Israel

Patriarch	Birth #	Mother	Meaning of Name
Reuben	1	Leah	Genesis 29:32 Reuben sounds like the Hebrew for he has seen my misery; the name means see, a son. It is because the LORD has seen my misery. Surely my husband will love me now.”
Simeon	2	Leah	Genesis 29:33 Simeon probably means one who hears. “Because the LORD heard that I am not loved, he gave me this one too.” So she named him Simeon.
Levi	3	Leah	Genesis 29:34 Levi sounds like and may be derived from the Hebrew for attached. “Now at last my husband will become attached to me, because I have borne him three sons.”
Judah	4	Leah	Genesis 29:35 Judah sounds like and may be derived from the Hebrew for praise. “This time I will praise the LORD.”
Dan	5	Bilhah/Rachel	Genesis 30:6 Dan here means he has vindicated. “God has vindicated me; he has listened to my plea and given me a son.”
Naphtali	6	Bilhah/Rachel	Genesis 30:8 Naphtali means my struggle. “I have had a great struggle with my sister, and I have won.”
Gad	7	Zilpah/Leah	Genesis 30:11b *Gad* can mean good fortune or a troop. “What good fortune!”
Asher	8	Zilpah/Leah	Genesis 30:13 *Asher* means happy. “How happy I am! The women will call me happy.”
Issachar	9	Leah	Genesis 30:18 18 *Issachar* sounds like the Hebrew for reward. “God has rewarded me for giving my maidservant to my husband.”
Zebulun	10	Leah	Genesis 30:20 *Zebulun* probably means honor. “God has presented me with a precious gift. This time my husband will treat me with honor, because I have borne him six sons.”
Dinah ?	Female	Leah	Justice
Joseph	11	Rachel	Genesis 30:24 *Joseph* means may he add. “God has taken away my disgrace.”
Manasseh^[1]	Joseph’s Son		Genesis 41:51 *Manasseh* sounds like and may be derived from the Hebrew for forget. “It is because God has made me forget all my trouble and all my father’s household.”
Ephraim^[2]	Joseph’s Son		Genesis 41:52 *Ephraim* sounds like the Hebrew for twice fruitful. “It is because God has made me fruitful in the land of my suffering.”
Benjamin	12	Rachel	Genesis 35:18b 18 *Benjamin* means son of my right hand. As she breathed her last—for she was dying—she named her son Ben-Oni.(son of my trouble) But his father named him Benjamin.