12 Tribes of Israel in art
The stained glass window above can be found on the west wall of the chapel at the Dominican School of Philosophy and Theology in Berkeley, California. Concepts and symbols for this window by Sarah Gabbert Schmerl came primarily from the blessing Jacob gave to his sons (Genesis 49:1-28), and from Moses' blessings to the twelve tribes (Deuteronomy 33:1-29). Click here to read more about themes and symbolism used in each window.
See chart below for a genealogy of Jacob, also known as Israel.
The twelve tribes of Israel
Abraham’s grandson Jacob, whose name was changed to Israel, had twelve sons. Their descendants have become known as the twelve tribes of Israel or the children of Israel. These are the twelve tribes: Reuben, Simeon, Levi, Judah, Issachar, and Zebulun (the sons of Jacob and Leah); Dan and Naphtali (the sons of Jacob and Bilhah); Gad and Asher (the sons of Jacob and Zilpah); Joseph and Benjamin (the sons of Jacob and Rachel) (Gen. 29:32–30:24;35:16–18).
Jacob gave each tribal leader a blessing before his death (Gen. 49:1–28).
Reuben, the firstborn son of Jacob’s first wife, Leah, lost his birthright blessing and double portion of inheritance because of immorality (Gen. 49:3–4). The birthright then went to Joseph, who was the firstborn son of Jacob’s second wife, Rachel (1 Chr. 5:1–2). Levi, whose tribe the Lord had chosen to serve as his priesthood ministers, did not receive an inheritance because of their special calling to minister among all the tribes. This allowed Joseph’s double portion to be shared by Joseph’s sons, Ephraim and Manasseh (1 Chr. 5:1; Jer. 31:9), who were counted as separate tribes of Israel (JST, Gen. 48:5–6).
Members of the tribe of Judah were to be the rulers until the Messiah came (Gen. 49:10; JST, Gen. 50:24). In the last days the tribe of Ephraim has the privilege of carrying the message of the restoration of the gospel to the world and gathering scattered Israel (Deut. 33:13–17). The time will come when through the gospel of Jesus Christ, Ephraim will have a leadership role in uniting all the tribes of Israel (Isa. 11:12–13; D&C 133:26–34).
The seed of Abraham
The "seed of Abraham" are people who, by obedience to the laws and ordinances of the gospel of Jesus Christ, receive the promises and covenants made by God to Abraham. Men and women may receive these blessings if they are literally of Abraham’s lineage or if they are adopted into his family by embracing the gospel and being baptized (Gal. 3:26–29; 4:1–7;D&C 84:33–34; 103:17; 132:30–32; Abr. 2:9–11). Literal descendants of Abraham may lose their blessings by disobedience (Rom. 4:13; 9:6–8).
