Descended from Jacob’s sons: Reuben, Simeon, Levi, Judah, Issachar, Zebulun, Gad, Asher, Dan, Naphtali, Joseph, and Benjamin. While the tribe of Levi was set apart to serve in the Holy Temple, the sons of Joseph, Ephraim and Manasseh, were each given the status of an independent tribe at the time of the possession and distribution of the land of Israel.