What exactly are "The 12 Tribes of Israel" you ask? Well...
The 12 tribes of Israel originated in biblical times.
Since the flood wiped out all people except for Noah and his family, all people come from Noah.
Noah had Shem,
From Shem came Abraham.
Noah had Shem,
From Shem came Abraham.
From Abraham came Isaac.
From Isaac came Jacob (God changes his name to Israel).
Now Jacob/Israel had 12 sons. .
The sons, in order of birth are:
This is a breakdown of Jacob's wives and kids born to them.
After wandering in the wilderness for 40 years, the new generation is now Jacob and his 12 sons and all their wives and descendants. The People are known as the Israelites and are told to go in and conquered the land known as the 'land of milk and honey' for it's rich resources. When they did, they sectioned off portions of the land and gave it to each son and it is these 12 sons and their subsequent tribes that are being referred to when we talk about the 12 tribes of Israel. They each hold significance both biblically and today because Canaan is what is now known as The Middle East. The following is a map of the land and how it was divided among the 12 sons of Jacob (Israel). You will notice that Levi is not shown here. That is because the 'Levites" had the job of being the 'priests'. They were to minister to the needs of the people and the people were to give them a portion, 10% of their earnings to support them. So they had no particular place but rather were spread throughout the tribes to minister and care for the people.
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