The Number Twelve in Scripture

Like the number seven, the number twelve appears numerous times in Scripture and appears to be important to God. What follows is a list of some of the more important instances from the Judeo-Christian canon:

Ishamel was to be the father of twelve princes (Genesis 17:20 and 25:16)

Jacob or Israel had twelve sons (Genesis 35:22 and 42:13 and 32)

The twelve sons of Jacob gave rise to the twelve tribes of Israel (Genesis 49:28 and others)

Twelve stones for the ephod of the High Priest (Exodus 28:21 and 39:14)

Twelve loaves of holy bread (Leviticus 24:5)

Twelve men, one from each tribe, appointed as a tribal leader/representative (Numbers 1:5-16)

Twelve silver platters, 12 silver basins, 12 golden spoons for the altar (Numbers 7:84)

Twelve bullocks, 12 rams, and 12 lambs for the burnt offering and 12 kid goats for the sin offering (Numbers 7:87) 

Twelve staffs/rods, one for each of the leaders of the tribes (Numbers 17:2-6)

Twelve stones for each one of the tribes of Israel (Joshua 4:2-20)

Solomon had twelve officers over Israel (I Kings 4:7)

Solomon's great brass sea stood upon a base of twelve oxen (I Kings 7:25, 44)

There were twelve lions, one on each side, of the six steps leading to Solomon's throne (I Kings 10:20)

The Prophet Ahijah tore his cloak into 12 pieces and gave 10 to Jeroboam (I Kings 11:30)

Jesus chose twelve apostles (Matthew 10:1-5, Mark 3:14, Luke 6:13, and others)

Twelve baskets full of leftovers (Matthew 14:18-21, John 6:13, and others)

Twelve thrones judging the twelve tribes of Israel (Matthew 19:28)

Twelve legions of angels (Matthew 26:53)

Jesus was twelve years old when he taught the Jewish religious leaders at the Temple (Luke 2:42)

Twelve hours in the day (John 11:9)

James epistle to the twelve tribes scattered abroad (James 1)

Twelve thousand from each of the tribes of Israel (Revelation 7)

The woman with a crown of twelve stars (Revelation 12:1)

The twelve gates of the city (Revelation 21:12)

The twelve foundations of the wall (Revelation 21:14)

The city measured twelve thousand furlongs (Revelation 21:16)

The twelve gates were made out of twelve pearls (Revelation 21:21)

The Tree of Life will bear twelve kinds of fruit (Revelation 22:2)

Moreover, there are twelve months in a solar year!