Here is a list of the Sons of Jacob, with their mothers’ names, their ages, and the meaning of the Hebrew.
| Name | Mother | Age* | meaning | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Reuben | Leah | 24 | 46 | “behold, a son” |
| Simeon | Leah | 23 | 45 | Heb. shimon: “hearing” |
| Levi | Leah | 22 | 44 | “joined” |
| Judah | Leah | 21 | 43 | Heb. yehudah: “praise” |
| Issachar | Leah | 19 | 41 | “reward” |
| Zebulun | Leah | 18 | 40 | “dwelling” |
| Dan | Bilhah | 21 | 43 | “judge” |
| Naphtali | Bilhah | 20 | 42 | “wrestling” |
| Gad | Zilpah | 19 | 41 | “fortune” |
| Asher | Zilpah | 18 | 40 | “happy” |
| Joseph | Rachel | 17 | 39 | Heb. yoseph: “he shall add” |
| Benjamin | Rachel | 11 | 33 | Heb. binyamin: “son of the right hand” |
*First column gives (approximate) age of each brother at the time of Joseph’s dreams (Genesis 37:2); the second the age at the time of the brothers’ coming to Egypt, based on Genesis 41:46 (“Joseph was thirty years old when he entered the service of Pharaoh king of Egypt.“) and the seven years of plenty plus two years of famine.
More on the back story of Jacob’s sons
Jacob and Esau were twin sons of Isaac and Rebekah, Esau being the first born. But Esau sold his birthright “for a mess of pottage” (Gen. 25:32-34). Later, with Rebekah’s help, Jacob cheated Esau out of his blessing. Esau was furious when he found out what had happened, and Jacob fled to Padan-Aram, to dwell with Rebekah’s brother Laban. There he met Rachel, Laban’s younger daughter, and they fell in love. Rachel was lovely, but Leah had weak eyes. Jacob agreed to serve Laban for seven years to have Rachel as wife. But after the wedding celebration, the morning after his wedding, he awoke to find Leah in the tent with him! So Jacob agreed to serve another seven years for Rachel, who was married to Jacob after one week. It was during that seven years that all the brothers were born, except for Benjamin. After Joseph was born, Jacob wanted to leave, but Laban talked him in to being his wage servant for six years. After the six years, Jacob and his family and flocks fled, and Laban pursued him. They made a treaty on the way. As they were returning, Rachel gave birth to Benjamin, and died. Then Jacob had to face Esau, not knowing whether Esau would still be angry with him for cheating him of his blessing. He sent presents to him, and divided his family and flocks into two companies. The night before he met Esau, a “man” wrestled with him until daylight, whom Jacob realized to be God. At the end of the night, Jacob received the name Israel, meaning “he strives with God.”
Evidently Esau did not bear Jacob a grudge, and they were reconciled.
In the story of Joseph and his brothers, some of them have a more prominent role than others. Benjamin is the youngest brother, and the second son of Rachel, so he is Jacob’s favorite after Joseph disappears, and Jacob would not allow Benjamin to go on the first trip to Egypt. (Presumably Benjamin was too young to be involved in the conspiracy against Joseph.) Reuben was Jacob’s first born, but he lay with Bilhah, his father’s concubine (Gen.35.22). But in the conspiracy against Joseph, Reuben does not want to kill him, and suggests they toss him into a pit, so that he might free him later (Gen. 37:21-22). Simeon and Levi killed the men of Shechem in revenge for the rape of their sister Dinah, which made Jacob odious in the eyes of the men of Canaan (Gen. 34). Judah is the one who suggests they sell Joseph rather than kill him (Gen. 37:21-22). But later, he promised to protect Benjamin from harm when the brothers made their second trip to Egypt (Gen 43.3-10), and when Joseph is ready to imprison and enslave Benjamin for stealing his cup, in one of the most moving passages in Genesis, Judah begs to be allowed to take the punishment for him (Gen 44:16-34).