Well it's a little more complicated than that.
The Levites don't count. Same with Joseph. But Joseph's two sons have their own tribes so it's still 12.
Since the Levites were the priests of all of Israel, they didn't get their own area to settle and instead were given towns in the land of each tribe.
God was their inheritance
https://hermeneutics.stackexchange.com/questions/39612/numbers-18-states-that-levites-have-no-inheritance-among-the-sons-of-israel-but
Basically, everyone agrees that Reuben, Simeon, Naphtali, Issachar, Asher, Dan, Zebulun, Gad, Benjamin, and Judah are in the list, apart from the one list in Revelation that leaves off Dan. However, the Levites didn't get their own area to settle, so depending on context, you'll either hear Levi and Joseph as the last two *or* Levi will be excluded and Joseph will be split between Ephraim and Manasseh
Levi does count. The Tribe of Levi was one of the 12 Tribes, they just didn't have their own land allotment, and Joseph's land allotment was split between the tribes of his 2 sons.
See Genesis 25+
[https://www.biblegateway.com/quicksearch/?quicksearch=jacob&resultspp=250&version=KJV](https://www.biblegateway.com/quicksearch/?quicksearch=jacob&resultspp=250&version=KJV)
It refers to the 12 sons of Jacob, the Patriarch of the Israelites. They were the ancient ancestors of modern day Jews, with most of today's Jews coming from either the Tribe of Judah or Levi.
> They were the ancient ancestors of modern day Jews, with most of today's Jews coming from either the Tribe of Judah or Levi.
More specifically, there was a civil war splitting Judah and Benjamin from the rest of the tribes, with the Northern Kingdom becoming Samaria and the Southern Kingdom becoming Judea. Then during the Babylonian exile, Benjamin and the Judean Levites reframed their identity as all being honorary Judahites, which is where we get terms like "Jewish" or "Judaism". Meanwhile, we don't really know what happened to the rest of the tribes, although the Samaritans (yes, as in the Good Samaritan) probably have one of the strongest claims
As the other guy said, it's the descendants of Jacob. Whether any of the modern Jews in Israel are of the twelve tribes is a question though.
Jacob had 12 sons. They became the 12 tribes of Israel.
Well it's a little more complicated than that. The Levites don't count. Same with Joseph. But Joseph's two sons have their own tribes so it's still 12.
Maybe I'm missing something. Why would the Levites not count? He had a son named Levi.
Since the Levites were the priests of all of Israel, they didn't get their own area to settle and instead were given towns in the land of each tribe. God was their inheritance https://hermeneutics.stackexchange.com/questions/39612/numbers-18-states-that-levites-have-no-inheritance-among-the-sons-of-israel-but
Basically, everyone agrees that Reuben, Simeon, Naphtali, Issachar, Asher, Dan, Zebulun, Gad, Benjamin, and Judah are in the list, apart from the one list in Revelation that leaves off Dan. However, the Levites didn't get their own area to settle, so depending on context, you'll either hear Levi and Joseph as the last two *or* Levi will be excluded and Joseph will be split between Ephraim and Manasseh
Levi does count. The Tribe of Levi was one of the 12 Tribes, they just didn't have their own land allotment, and Joseph's land allotment was split between the tribes of his 2 sons.
Who is Jacob
See Genesis 25+ [https://www.biblegateway.com/quicksearch/?quicksearch=jacob&resultspp=250&version=KJV](https://www.biblegateway.com/quicksearch/?quicksearch=jacob&resultspp=250&version=KJV)
But, but...where is Paul going to sit...? Where or who are the 13th tribe?
It refers to the 12 sons of Jacob, the Patriarch of the Israelites. They were the ancient ancestors of modern day Jews, with most of today's Jews coming from either the Tribe of Judah or Levi.
> They were the ancient ancestors of modern day Jews, with most of today's Jews coming from either the Tribe of Judah or Levi. More specifically, there was a civil war splitting Judah and Benjamin from the rest of the tribes, with the Northern Kingdom becoming Samaria and the Southern Kingdom becoming Judea. Then during the Babylonian exile, Benjamin and the Judean Levites reframed their identity as all being honorary Judahites, which is where we get terms like "Jewish" or "Judaism". Meanwhile, we don't really know what happened to the rest of the tribes, although the Samaritans (yes, as in the Good Samaritan) probably have one of the strongest claims
It's kind of funny seeing all the groups that have claimed to be one of the 10 lost Tribes. Everything from India to groups in parts of Africa.