*1 Note that LEVI comes from the ROOT Lamed-Vav-Hey which means
   to Join. Here is the argument for the name:

   The ASSUMPTION states that Jacob,Leah knew they would have
   12 children. Hence each wife expected 3 children. So it
   makes sense that Leah FELT EQUAL to Rachel
   when she gave birth to the 3rd child, since she had
   fulfilled her quota*12 (Rachel was loved more by Jacob;
   so children was a way for Leah to win Love from Jacob)

*2 Note that JUDAH comes from the ROOT, Yud-Dalet-Ayin which
   means TO THANK. Here is the argument for the name:

   The ASSUMPTION states that Jacob knew he would have 12
   children. So Leahs EXPECTED quota of children is 3. Hence
   the 4th child means she will have more children than the
   average. Therefore the Thanks God

*3 Note that Zvulun from the root Zayin-Vav-Lamed means HOUSE
   Here is the argument for the name

   The ASSUMPTION states that it was known that Jacob would have
   12 children. But then Leahs 6 child meant she contributed
   50% of the family(at least). Hence she was confident that
   Jacob would MOVE IN with her--she had her house & hubby
   Hence the name

*4 Note that Dinah comes from the root Dalet-Nun which means to
   Judge. Here is the argument for the name

   The ASSUMPTION states that it was known that Jacob would have
   12 children. If Dinah had been a boy then
   --------------------------------------
   - Leah would have         7 boys
   - BIlhah had              2 boys
   - Zilphah had             2 boys
   --------------            -----------
   Total boys                11
   Remaining boys from 12     1

   So Rachel would only have 1 boy and be inferior to Bilhah &
   Zilpah who were only maids. Hence Leah said God judged her,
   the implication being that Rachel had a right to at least
   2 boys. Also see footnote #5

*5 Note that Joseph comes from the root Yud-Samech-Pay which
   means INCREASE. Here is the argument for the name.

   The ASSUMPTION states that it was known that Jacob would have
   12 children. Here are the boys born to date
   --------------------------------------
   - Leah had                6 boys
   - Rachel had              1 boy
   - BIlhah had              2 boys
   - Zilphah had             2 boys
   --------------            -----------
   Total boys                11
   Remaining boys from 12     1

   Rachel had to be inferior to Leah. This created a balance:
   Jacob loved Rachel more but Leah had 50% of his children.

   But Rachel did not want to have less boys than the maids each
   of whom had 2. Hence she prayed GOD PLEASE INCREASE(JOSEPH)
   ME BY ONE MORE CHILD (So I can have as many boys as the
   maids). Hence the name

*10 We have proven the assumption that Jacob would have 12
    children inductively.

    It is assumed that Jacob and his wives knew this fact thru
    prophecy.

    Another method to this pre-knowledge of 12 children comes
    from the fact that 12 was a standard number designating a
    whole. We can infer this from a review of verses of
    situations where the number 12 was naturally used. Compare
    the following
    -------------------------------------------------------------
    VERSE   12 WHAT     CONTEXT
    ------- ----------- -----------------------------------------
    Gn17-20 children    God promises Ishmael 12 children
    2Sm2-15 soldiers    Avner & Ish-Boshet commanded 12 soldiers
    Ps60-02 soldiers    Joab smote Edoms army of 12000
    2Sm10-6 soldiers    Nation of Good sends 12000 soldier suport
    1K19-19 Oxen        Elishah plowed with a 12-oxen plow
    -------------------------------------------------------------

    As can be seen, 12 is a standard number for complete units.
    Especially note that Ishmael, Isaacs brother, was promised
    12 tribes. It consequently becomes very reasonable that
    Jacob would expect to have 12 children also.

    The above argument illustrates the power of the list

*11 Gn30-25a can gives support to this ASSUMPTION Gn30-25a states
    --------------------------------------------------------
    When Rachel gave birth to Joseph, Jacob asked Laban:
    Let me have my wives and children so I can return to
    my home
    --------------------------------------------------------

    To explain this recall that Rachel had a 2nd child on
    the Journey home (Gn35-16) so it seems reasonable that
    she was pregnant when Laban made the request. In other
    words Jacob asked to leave Laban after Joseph was born
    because he had his 4 wives and 12 children and there
    was no longer any reason to stay.

    However Rashi on Gn30-25a gives a different explanation
    on why Jacob asked to leave when Joseph was born
    -------------------------------------------------------------
    The Bible (Ovadiah1-18) compares Joseph to fire
    and Esauv to stubble; the fire (Joseph) will destroy stubble
    Jacob was afraid of meeting Esauv who wanted to kill
    him for stealing the blessings (Gn27-41). When Joseph
    was born Jacob felt confident he could deal with Esauv
    -------------------------------------------------------------

    However our basic thesis is that Jacobs preprophetic
    knowledge (that he would have 12 children) accounted
    for the naming of the children.

    It is consistent with this thesis that Jacob also had
    preprophetic knowledge about the function, purpose and
    activities of each child.

    Hence the reason Jacob asked leave of Laban when Joseph
    was born was because he no longer feared Joseph

    At any rate I think it plausible to combine my explanation
    with that of Rashi -- Jacob left because he had 11 of his
    12 children and the 12th was on the way. He also knew
    that the 11th child would enable him to stand up to Esauv
    It is for this reason that the verse emphasizes
    -----------------------------------------------------
    WHEN Jacob gave birth to Joseph, THEN he asked leave
    -----------------------------------------------------

*12 A further support occurs in the phraseology of the verse
    which explicitly links the name Levi to the quota of 3
    children (By no other child is the number of children
    born so far made explicit)
    --------------------------------------------------------
    WITH THIS CHILD, My husband will be joined to, BECAUSE I
    HAVE GIVEN BIRTH TO 3 CHILDREN
    --------------------------------------------------------