'Twelve' in the Bible
So all the days of Seth were nine hundred and twelve years, and he died.
Twelve years they had served Chedorlaomer, but the thirteenth year they rebelled.
As for Ishmael, I have heard you; behold, I will bless him, and will make him fruitful and will multiply him exceedingly. He shall become the father of twelve princes, and I will make him a great nation.
These are the sons of Ishmael and these are their names, by their villages, and by their camps; twelve princes according to their tribes.
It came about while Israel was dwelling in that land, that Reuben went and lay with Bilhah his father’s concubine, and Israel heard of it.Now there were twelve sons of Jacob—
But they said, “Your servants are twelve brothers in all, the sons of one man in the land of Canaan; and behold, the youngest is with our father today, and one is no longer alive.”
We are twelve brothers, sons of our father; one is no longer alive, and the youngest is with our father today in the land of Canaan.’
All these are the twelve tribes of Israel, and this is what their father said to them when he blessed them. He blessed them, every one with the blessing appropriate to him.
Then they came to Elim where there were twelve springs of water and seventy date palms, and they camped there beside the waters.
Moses wrote down all the words of the Lord. Then he arose early in the morning, and built an altar at the foot of the mountain with twelve pillars for the twelve tribes of Israel.
The stones shall be according to the names of the sons of Israel: twelve, according to their names; they shall be like the engravings of a seal, each according to his name for the twelve tribes.
The stones were corresponding to the names of the sons of Israel; they were twelve, corresponding to their names, engraved with the engravings of a signet, each with its name for the twelve tribes.
“Then you shall take fine flour and bake twelve cakes with it; two-tenths of an ephah shall be in each cake.
These are the ones who were numbered, whom Moses and Aaron numbered, with the leaders of Israel, twelve men, each of whom was of his father’s household.
When they brought their offering before the Lord, six covered carts and twelve oxen, a cart for every two of the leaders and an ox for each one, then they presented them before the tabernacle.
This was the dedication offering for the altar from the leaders of Israel when it was anointed: twelve silver dishes, twelve silver bowls, twelve gold pans,
the twelve gold pans, full of incense, weighing ten shekels apiece, according to the shekel of the sanctuary, all the gold of the pans 120 shekels;
all the oxen for the burnt offering twelve bulls, all the rams twelve, the male lambs one year old with their grain offering twelve, and the male goats for a sin offering twelve;
“Speak to the sons of Israel, and get from them a rod for each father’s household: twelve rods, from all their leaders according to their fathers’ households. You shall write each name on his rod,
Moses therefore spoke to the sons of Israel, and all their leaders gave him a rod apiece, for each leader according to their fathers’ households, twelve rods, with the rod of Aaron among their rods.
‘Then on the second day: twelve bulls, two rams, fourteen male lambs one year old without defect;
So there were furnished from the thousands of Israel, a thousand from each tribe, twelve thousand armed for war.
They journeyed from Marah and came to Elim; and in Elim there were twelve springs of water and seventy palm trees, and they camped there.
The thing pleased me and I took twelve of your men, one man for each tribe.
Now then, take for yourselves twelve men from the tribes of Israel, one man for each tribe.
“Take for yourselves twelve men from the people, one man from each tribe,
and command them, saying, ‘Take up for yourselves twelve stones from here out of the middle of the Jordan, from the place where the priests’ feet are standing firm, and carry them over with you and lay them down in the lodging place where you will lodge tonight.’”
So Joshua called the twelve men whom he had appointed from the sons of Israel, one man from each tribe;
Thus the sons of Israel did as Joshua commanded, and took up twelve stones from the middle of the Jordan, just as the Lord spoke to Joshua, according to the number of the tribes of the sons of Israel; and they carried them over with them to the lodging place and put them down there.
Then Joshua set up twelve stones in the middle of the Jordan at the place where the feet of the priests who carried the ark of the covenant were standing, and they are there to this day.
Those twelve stones which they had taken from the Jordan, Joshua set up at Gilgal.
and Chephar-ammoni and Ophni and Geba; twelve cities with their villages.
Included also were Kattah and Nahalal and Shimron and Idalah and Bethlehem; twelve cities with their villages.
The sons of Merari according to their families received twelve cities from the tribe of Reuben and from the tribe of Gad and from the tribe of Zebulun.
All these were the cities of the sons of Merari according to their families, the rest of the families of the Levites; and their lot was twelve cities.
When he entered his house, he took a knife and laid hold of his concubine and cut her in twelve pieces, limb by limb, and sent her throughout the territory of Israel.
So they arose and went over by count, twelve for Benjamin and Ish-bosheth the son of Saul, and twelve of the servants of David.
Solomon had twelve deputies over all Israel, who provided for the king and his household; each man had to provide for a month in the year.
He fashioned the two pillars of bronze; eighteen cubits was the height of one pillar, and a line of twelve cubits measured the circumference of both.
It stood on twelve oxen, three facing north, three facing west, three facing south, and three facing east; and the sea was set on top of them, and all their rear parts turned inward.
Twelve lions were standing there on the six steps on the one side and on the other; nothing like it was made for any other kingdom.
Then Ahijah took hold of the new cloak which was on him and tore it into twelve pieces.
In the thirty-first year of Asa king of Judah, Omri became king over Israel and reigned twelve years; he reigned six years at Tirzah.
Elijah took twelve stones according to the number of the tribes of the sons of Jacob, to whom the word of the Lord had come, saying, “Israel shall be your name.”
So he departed from there and found Elisha the son of Shaphat, while he was plowing with twelve pairs of oxen before him, and he with the twelfth. And Elijah passed over to him and threw his mantle on him.
Now Jehoram the son of Ahab became king over Israel at Samaria in the eighteenth year of Jehoshaphat king of Judah, and reigned twelve years.
Manasseh was twelve years old when he became king, and he reigned fifty-five years in Jerusalem; and his mother’s name was Hephzibah.
To the sons of Merari were given by lot, according to their families, from the tribe of Reuben, the tribe of Gad and the tribe of Zebulun, twelve cities.
Now the first lot came out for Asaph to Joseph, the second for Gedaliah, he with his relatives and sons were twelve;
the fifth to Nethaniah, his sons and his relatives, twelve;
the seventh to Jesharelah, his sons and his relatives, twelve;
the eighth to Jeshaiah, his sons and his relatives, twelve;
the ninth to Mattaniah, his sons and his relatives, twelve;
the eleventh to Azarel, his sons and his relatives, twelve;
the twelfth to Hashabiah, his sons and his relatives, twelve;
for the thirteenth, Shubael, his sons and his relatives, twelve;
for the fourteenth, Mattithiah, his sons and his relatives, twelve;
for the fifteenth to Jeremoth, his sons and his relatives, twelve;
for the sixteenth to Hananiah, his sons and his relatives, twelve;
for the seventeenth to Joshbekashah, his sons and his relatives, twelve;
for the eighteenth to Hanani, his sons and his relatives, twelve;
for the nineteenth to Mallothi, his sons and his relatives, twelve;
for the twentieth to Eliathah, his sons and his relatives, twelve;
for the twenty-first to Hothir, his sons and his relatives, twelve;
for the twenty-second to Giddalti, his sons and his relatives, twelve;
for the twenty-third to Mahazioth, his sons and his relatives, twelve;
for the twenty-fourth to Romamti-ezer, his sons and his relatives, twelve.
It stood on twelve oxen, three facing the north, three facing west, three facing south and three facing east; and the sea was set on top of them and all their hindquarters turned inwards.
and the one sea with the twelve oxen under it.
Twelve lions were standing there on the six steps on the one side and on the other; nothing like it was made for any other kingdom.
Manasseh was twelve years old when he became king, and he reigned fifty-five years in Jerusalem.
Then I set apart twelve of the leading priests, Sherebiah, Hashabiah, and with them ten of their brothers;
Moreover, from the day that I was appointed to be their governor in the land of Judah, from the twentieth year to the thirty-second year of King Artaxerxes, for twelve years, neither I nor my kinsmen have eaten the governor’s food allowance.
Now when the turn of each young lady came to go in to King Ahasuerus, after the end of her twelve months under the regulations for the women—for the days of their beautification were completed as follows: six months with oil of myrrh and six months with spices and the cosmetics for women—
For the choir director; according to Shushan Eduth. A Mikhtam of David, to teach; when he struggled with Aram-naharaim and with Aram-zobah, and Joab returned, and smote twelve thousand of Edom in the Valley of Salt.O God, You have rejected us. You have broken us;You have been angry; O, restore us.
The two pillars, the one sea, and the twelve bronze bulls that were under the sea, and the stands, which King Solomon had made for the house of the Lord—the bronze of all these vessels was beyond weight.
As for the pillars, the height of each pillar was eighteen cubits, and it was twelve cubits in circumference and four fingers in thickness, and hollow.
Now the altar hearth shall be twelve cubits long by twelve wide, square in its four sides.
Thus says the Lord God, “This shall be the boundary by which you shall divide the land for an inheritance among the twelve tribes of Israel; Joseph shall have two portions.
Twelve months later he was walking on the roof of the royal palace of Babylon.