Those sons were: Ruben, Simeon, Levi, Judah, Zebulun, Issachar, Dan, Gad, Asher, Naphtali, Joseph, Benjamin It was Jacob that eventually gave birth to 12 sons who were the fathers of the 12 tribes of Israel. To shorten the story, Jacob was the son through whom the promise flowed. Isaac eventually married Rebekah and gave birth to two sons, Esau and Jacob.
Later in life Abraham did have other children, but the promise God made flowed through Isaac. Yet as God always does, he kept his promise which led to the birth of Isaac. At this time Abraham did not have any children and he could not because he was old and his wife was barren. Within this promise to Abraham God declared that he would become a great nation. “I will make you into a great nation, and I will bless you I will make your name great, and you will be a blessing” ( Genesis 12:2). To make it simple, it begins in Genesis 12 when God makes a promise to Abraham. To understand who the 12 tribes of Israel were you need to consider the history of the nation.
However, we can establish a solid framework to build on, so let’s do just that. So, who were the 12 tribes of Israel? This is a full question that honestly would take more than one article to completely flush out.