having Levi and Joseph on the list while retaining Menasseh and losing Ephraim and Dan. How were the twelve tribes of Israel formed? The answer is that it depends on the context. When speaking of ...
Jacob was renamed Israel when God appeared to him when he was leaving Padn-Aram and blessed him. Jacob produced twelve sons, each of whom became the father of one of the twelve tribes of Israel.
The number twelve was symbolic as it represented the twelve tribes of Israel in Jewish scriptures. The mission of the twelve was three fold - to preach, perform exorcisms (drive out evil spirits ...