4 - 12 Sons of Jacob

Angel D.
Rodriguez Salvation History

BSE – English 4 Assignment # 1 (M)
12 SON OF JACOB
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.
The 12 Sons of Jacob and their Mother. Meaning of their Names

1. Reuben (Leah) “Behold a son”
2. Simeon (Leah) “God hears”
3. Levi (Leah) “Joined”
4. Judah (Leah) “Let him [God] be praised”
5. Dan (Bilhah) “Judge”
6. Naphtali (Bilhah) “My wrestling”
7. Gad (Zilpah) “Good fortune”
8. Asher (Zilpah) “Happy”
9. Issachar (Leah) “Man of hire”
10. Zebulun (Leah) “dwelling”
11. Joseph (Rachel) “May God add”
12. Benjamin (Rachel) “Son of the right hand”
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).
1. 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.)
2. 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).
3. 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).
4. 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).
5. 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).
6. 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).
7. 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.
8. 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).
9. 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).
10. 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).
12. 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).

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Angel D.

Rodriguez Salvation History

The 12 Sons of Jacob and their Mother. Meaning of their Names

What were the Blessings given to each of the Sons of Jacob?

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