The twelve tribes of Israel

On the first of November, the Catholic Church celebrates the Feast of All Saints. However, Hong Kong people are more familiar with Halloween (Hallow Eve, the eve of All Saints Day) instead. That is why the Catholic weekly criticizes the local Catholic schools for celebrating Halloween, instead of the All Saints' Day and All Souls' Day. Students are eager to enjoy a commercialized, secular, exciting and scary festivity rather than a solemn reflection on the meaning of life after death. Catholic schools in Hong Kong have failed their students miserably.
In the reading today, we come across the twelve tribes of Israel. According to Genesis, Jacob (Israel) had 12 sons. They were:
The sons of Leah: Reuben (Jacob's firstborn), Simeon, Levi, Judah, Issachar, and Zebulun.
The sons of Rachel: Joseph and Benjamin.
The sons of Bilhah, Rachel's maid: Dan and Naphtali.
The sons of Zilpah, Leah's maid: Gad and Asher. These were the sons of Jacob who were born to him in Paddanaram (Genesis 35:23-26).
In Genesis 48, Joseph brought his 2 sons, Manasseh and Ephraim to Jacob to be blessed by him. In Genesis 49, Jacob blessed his 12 sons according to the following order: Reuben, Simeon and Levi, Judah, Zebulun, Issachar, Dan, Gad, Asher, Naphatali, Joseph and Benjamin.
Does this list represent the birth order of the 12 sons? According to Genesis 30, the answer is NO! Issachar was born before Zebulun.
The book of Numbers contains a record of a census of the 12 tribes. The house of Levi was not counted because they were dedicated to God. Joseph had two sons. They became two tribes, replacing Joseph. So, according to Numbers, we have the following figures:
the number of the tribe of Reuben was 46500 (Numbers 1:21).
the number of the tribe of Simeon was 59300 (Numbers 1:23).
the number of the tribe of Gad was 45650 (Numbers 1:25).
the number of the tribe of Judah was 74600 (Numbers 1:27).
the number of the tribe of Issachar was 54400 (Numbers 1:29).
the number of the tribe of Zebulun was 57400 (Numbers 1:31).
the number of the tribe of Ephraim was 40500 (Numbers 1:33).
the number of the tribe of Manasseh was 32200 (Numbers 1:35).
the number of the tribe of Benjamin was 35400 (Numbers 1:37).
the number of the tribe of Dan was 62700 (Numbers 1:39).
the number of the tribe of Asher was 41500 (Numbers 1:41).
the number of the tribe of Naphtali was 53400 (Numbers 1:43).
their whole number was six hundred and three thousand five hundred and fifty.
But the Levities were not numbered by their ancestral tribe along with them (Numbers 1:46-47).
For some unknown reasons, Gad went all the way up, mixing along with the sons of Leah.
With all this Old Testament background, we now turn to Revelation. Here, we have a very interesting list of the 12 tribes of Israel.
saying, "Do not harm the earth or the sea or the trees, till we have sealed the servants of our God upon their foreheads."
And I heard the number of the sealed, a hundred and forty-four thousand sealed, out of every tribe of the sons of Israel,
twelve thousand sealed out of the tribe of Judah, twelve thousand of the tribe of Reuben, twelve thousand of the tribe of Gad,
twelve thousand of the tribe of Asher, twelve thousand of the tribe of Naphtali, twelve thousand of the tribe of Manasseh,
twelve thousand of the tribe of Simeon, twelve thousand of the tribe of Levi, twelve thousand of the tribe of Issachar,
twelve thousand of the tribe of Zebulun, twelve thousand of the tribe of Joseph, twelve thousand sealed out of the tribe of Benjamin (Revelation 7:3-8).
In Revelation, Judah now heads the list. It looks reasonable because in New Testament time, only Jews remained. The 10 northern tribes had vanished from history.
Levi is in and Dan is out. This was unthinkable in Old Testament time. Probably in New Testament time, especially after the destruction of the Temple in 70 AD, the Levites no longer served God in the Temple. Therefore, they were not dedicated exclusively to God.
Joseph is in and Ephraim is out. The first born of Joseph, Manasseh stays in the list. Why do both the father and the son appear in the list? Doesn't the tribe of Joseph include Manasseh? Does this list reveal how the Jews understand themselves in New Testament time?
From these lists, we see that even such a simple concept as the 12 tribes indicates how the Israelites see themselves, or wants to see themselves throughout the ages. For example, before the Babylonian Captivity, after exile, during the Greek Empire and Jesus' time. Therefore, any list only reflects the understanding of the peoples at that time. In short, there is no definitive list of 12 tribes.

My dear Advocate, who will care about the 12 tribes of Israel? Indeed, the 10 tribes in the north were presumably "diluted" during their Exile to Assyria. We pray that after their long suffering on earth, they may be able to stand in solidarity and survive. Amen.