There are twelve tribes of Israel. This is in reference to the King James version of the Bible. Jacob is the son of Isaac and grandson of Abraham. There were 12 sons of Jacob; each son is the patriarch of one of the twelve tribes of Israel. Jacob's son's names are: Reuben, Simeon, Levi, Judah, Dan, Naphtali, Gad, Asher, Issachar, Zebulun, Joseph and Benjamin. References to the twelve tribes
Read more.... of Israel can be found various chapters of the Bible. Some of these chapters are Genesis, Acts and Numbers. You can find more information here: http://www.biblestudy101.org/Lists/12tribes.html