References (86)
So Leah became pregnant and gave birth to a son, and she named him Reuben [Hebr. Reoven – meaning: "Behold, a son!"], for she said: "Since the Lord (Yahweh) has seen my affliction (misery; my misery – Hebr. ), my husband will now love me."
And Reuben [Jacob's firstborn (with Leah), who was now 4-5 years old] went out to the wheat harvest during the day and found mandrake roots (mandragora; "love apples" – Hebr. ) in the field and brought them home to his mother Leah. Then Rachel said to Leah, "Please give me some of your son's mandrakes."
[All 11 sons (and daughter Dinah) listed in are born within a seven-year period (by four different mothers). After Leah gave birth to Reuben, she had three more children in quick succession. Then there was a pause when this event occurred. Reuben must have been 4-5 years old at the time, but not older, because she then had three more children in quick succession.
Mandrake (Mandragora officinarum) is a species in the potato family. The herb has coarse roots that often take on shapes reminiscent of naked human bodies. They were sometimes used as household gods (Hebr. teraphim). Long dark green leaves grow from the root, forming a rosette. It produces pale purple-blue flowers that turn into small yellow-red fruits in the spring. The fruit has been described as a yellow bird's egg in a transparent nest. At this time of spring, when the wheat harvest is gathered, the fruit is ripe and fragrant, see . The fruit can be peeled and eaten. Most likely, young Reuben simply picks the fruit and takes it home with him. There are ancient stories about how dogs and donkeys were used to pull up the deep roots, so considering his age, it is unlikely that he dug up the root. Its fruits were considered to act as an aphrodisiac with a strengthening effect on the sex drive. The Arabs called the fruit "the devil's apples" and in the Greek world it was nicknamed "the apple of love." The connection to love is also found in the Hebrew name (which also shares its root with the name David), which is similar to the word for love (Hebr. ) and "my beloved" in the Song, see . The Greek naturalist Dioscorides (40-90 AD) writes how mandrake root could be boiled in wine and given as a pain reliever. It also worked against insomnia and was used before surgical procedures. Mandrake still grows today in the fields of Israel.]
And it came to pass, when Israel [formerly called Jacob, see ] dwelt in the land, that Reuben went and lay (had sexual relations) with Bilhah, his father's concubine [who belonged to the now deceased Rachel], and Israel [his father] heard of it.
[This verse is thematically related to the rape of Dinah by Shechem, see . Reuben's actions led to his condemnation, see . This was both a forbidden incestuous relationship () and an attempt to gain authority over his father. The reasons were probably other than sexual attraction. Bilhah was Rachel's servant, and by defiling her, Reuben reduced the risk that she would take over Rachel's role as Jacob's favorite. This foolish act was probably an attempt to help his mother Leah. The incident with the mandrakes ("love apples") may also be a contributing factor, see . Reuben is about 5 years old when he gets involved in the quarrel between Rachel and his mother, and Rachel takes his find from the field.]
Jacob had twelve sons:
Leah's [six] sons:
Reuben, Jacob's firstborn,
and Simeon
and Levi
and Judah
and Issachar
and Zebulun (Hebr. Zevolun).
But Reuben [the eldest of the brothers] heard it and rescued him from their hands and said, "Let us not take his life."
Reuben continued, "Do not shed any blood! Throw him into the pit in the wilderness (desert), but do not lay your hands on him (do not kill him)." He said this so that he could rescue Joseph from their hands and bring him back to his father.
Reuben returned to the pit, but Joseph was not in the pit, and he tore his clothes [to show his grief and anguish].
Reuben [Jacob's firstborn (with Leah)] answered them and said, "Did I not speak to you and say, 'Do not sin against the child,' but you did not listen? Therefore, his blood is being demanded."
Reuben spoke to his father and said, "You shall kill my two sons if I do not bring him back to you. Give him into my hand, and I will bring him back to you." [Reuben had four sons, so the Hebrew implies "two of my sons."]
[Now follows a list of Jacob's sons. The phrase "This is the name of" is a common phrase, see ; ; . The verse is structured as a chiasm.]
And these are the names of
the sons of
Israel
who came to Egypt,
Jacob
and his sons:
Reuben, Jacob's firstborn.
The sons of Reuben:
Chanoch (Enoch) and Pallo and Chetsron (Hesron) and Karmi. [; ; ]
[Jacob continues speaking to Joseph:] Now your two sons are mine, those who were born to you in the land of Egypt before I came to you in the land of Egypt, Ephraim and Manasseh, just as Reuben and Simeon are and shall be mine.
Reuben [meaning "see a son"] you are my firstborn,
my power and the firstfruits of my strength,
superior in dignity and superior in strength.
Reuben (Hebr. Reoven), Simeon (Hebr. Shimon), Levi, and Judah (Hebr. Jehoda);
[Here there is a pause in the story. You could say it's a "cliffhanger" – how will it turn out? Neither the Israelites nor Pharaoh listen to Moses, and he himself is on the verge of giving up, see . In the middle of the story's climax, there is a flashback showing how Moses and Aaron are the fourth generation from Jacob via the tribe of Levi. The genealogy is limited to the first three sons of Jacob: Reuben, Simeon, and Levi. The following nine sons are not relevant to showing Moses and Aaron's kinship and are not included. Jacob is also called Israel, see . In the list below, the names included in Moses and Aaron's family tree are marked in bold.]
These were the heads of their respective families.
The sons of Reuben, Israel's [Jacob's] firstborn:
Chanoch (Enoch) and Pallo,
Chetsron (Hesron) and Karmi;
these were the Reubenite families.
These are the names of those who shall stand with you:
From Reuben (hebr. Reoven): Elizur, son of Shedeur.
The sons of Reuben, the firstborn of Israel, their generations (families – Hebr. toledot), according to their families, according to their fathers' houses, according to the number of names, each man separately, each man from 20 years old and upward, all who were sent out to war,
this was the number of them of the tribe of Reuben, they were 46,500.
On the south side
shall be those in the camp who belong to Reuben's banner according to their divisions.
The leader of Reuben's sons is Elizur, the son of Shedeur,
All who were counted in the camp of Reuben were 151,450 according to their divisions. They shall set out (go) as number two [marching after the first three tribes].
On the 4th day, Elizur, son of Shedejor, leader of the sons of Reuben, offered his sacrifice.
And under their banner (standard) the camp of the sons of Reuben marched in their order of battle, and over his army was Elizur, son of Shedeur.
[These are not the same people who were sent out earlier to represent the tribes, see . Those who were sent out on this mission were probably also members of the army. No representative from the tribe of Levi is mentioned.]
And these were their names:
Of the tribe of Reuben, Shammua the son of Zaccur.
And Korah, the son of Izhar, the son of Kohath, the son of Levi [],
and Dathan and Abiram, the sons of Eliab [from the tribe of Reuben, see , ],
and On, the son of Pelet, the son of Reuben,
took men
Reuben, the firstborn of Israel, the sons of Reuben:
of Hanoch, the family of the Hanochites,
of Pallu, the family of the Pallites,
These are the families of the Reubenites, and those counted among them were 43,730.
[First count: 46,500, a decrease of 2,770.]
The sons of Reuben and the sons of Gad had very much livestock, and when they saw the land of Jazer and the land of Gilead, they saw that the place was a region suitable for livestock.
And the sons of Gad and the sons of Reuben came and spoke to Moses and the priest Eleazar and the leaders of the congregation, saying
And Moses said to the sons of Gad and the sons of Reuben, "Shall your brothers go to war while you sit here?
And the sons of Gad and the sons of Reuben spoke to Moses, saying, "Your servants will do as my lord has commanded.
And Moses said to them, "If the sons of Gad and the sons of Reuben will cross over the Jordan with you, every man armed for battle before the Lord (Yahweh), and the land is subdued before you, then you shall give them the land of Gilead for a possession,
And the sons of Gad and the sons of Reuben answered and said, "As the Lord (Yahweh) has spoken to his servants, so we will do.
And Moses gave to them, to the sons of Gad and to the sons of Reuben and to the half-tribe of Manasseh, the son of Joseph, the kingdom of Sihon, king of the Amorites, and the kingdom of Og, king of Bashan, the land with its cities and their borders, as well as the cities of the land around it.
And the sons of Reuben rebuilt [the cities] Heshbon [along the king's highway in Moab] and Elaleh and Kiriathaim
For the tribe of the sons of Reuben according to their fathers' houses, and the tribe of the sons of Gad according to their fathers' houses, have received, and the half-tribe of Manasseh has received their inheritance.
We occupied this land at that time, from Aroer, which is on the valley of Arnon, and half of the hill country of Gilead, and I gave its towns to the Reubenites and the Gadites.
And to the Reubenites and to the Gadites I gave from Gilead as far as the valley of Arnon, the middle of the valley as a border as far as the river Jabbok, which is the border of the sons of Ammon,
Bezer [Bosor] in the wilderness in the land of the Reubenites [; city in the area around Medeba],
and Ramoth in Gilead for the Gadites
and Golan in Bashan for Manasseh. [; ]
and what he did to Dathan and Abiram, the sons of Eliab, the son of Reuben, how the earth opened its mouth and swallowed them and their households and their tents and all the living things that followed them, in the midst of Israel [].
And these [six tribes] shall stand on Mount Ebal [present-day Imad-el-Deen, to the north] for the curse:
Reuben (Hebr. Reoven) [the eldest; Leah's firstborn];
Gad and Asher [whose mother was Zilpah – Leah's maidservant] and
Zebulun (Hebr. Zevolun);
Dan. and Naphtali [whose mother was Bilhah – Rachel's maidservant].
And we took their land and gave it to the Reubenites, the Gadites, and the half-tribe of Manasseh. [; ]
[Moses now gives his blessing to the twelve tribes, in a similar way to Jacob on his deathbed (). The twelve tribes are mentioned 28 times in the Old Testament and the order varies: order of birth, see ; location in relation to the tabernacle, see ; allocated land area, see ; the twelve gates, see . In this list, the firstborn Reuben comes first, but Simeon is missing. The tribe's territory lies within the territory of Judah and may be "hidden" in .]
"Let Reuben (Hebr. Reoven; meaning: see a son) live, and not die
because his men are few."
[Reuben is addressed differently than the other tribes. The wish is that he should live and not die. This is probably because of Jacob's words in .]
And Joshua spoke to the Reubenites, the Gadites, and the half-tribe of Manasseh, saying:
And the sons of Reuben and the sons of Gad and half the tribe of Manasseh crossed over armed, before the sons of Israel, as Moses had spoken to them.
Moses, the servant of the Lord (Yahweh), and the sons of Israel defeated them, and Moses, the servant of the Lord (Yahweh), gave it [the land east of the Jordan] as an inheritance to the Reubenites, the Gadites, and the half-tribe of Manasseh [; ].
With him, the Reubenites and Gadites received their inheritance that Moses gave them on the other side of the Jordan to the east, as Moses, the servant of the Lord (Yahweh), gave them.
And Moses gave to the tribe of the sons of Reuben according to their families.
And the borders of the sons of Reuben are the Jordan as their border. This is the inheritance of the sons of Reuben according to their families, the cities and their villages.
And the border goes up to Beit-Chogla and passes north of Beit-Arava, and the border goes to the stone of Bohan, son of Reuben.
But the Levites have no part among you, for the priesthood of the Lord is their inheritance, and Gad and Reuben and the half-tribe of Manasseh have received their inheritance on the other side of the Jordan, to the east, which Moses, the servant of the Lord (Yahweh), gave them."
And it was drawn northward and went out at Ein-Shemesh and went to Geliot, which is opposite the slope of Adummim, and went down to the stone of Bohan, the son of Reuben.
And beyond [east of] the Jordan at Jericho, eastward, they set apart [also three cities:]
Bezer in the wilderness of the lowland from the tribe of Reuben, and
Ramoth in Gilead from the tribe of Gad, and
Golan in Bashan from the tribe of Manasseh.
The sons of Merari, according to their families, received from the tribe of Reuben, from the tribe of Gad, and from the tribe of Zebulun, twelve cities.
And from the tribe of Reuben, Bezer with the open land around it, and Jahaz with the open land around it,
Then Joshua called the Reubenites, the Gadites, and the half-tribe of Manasseh
So the sons of Reuben and the sons of Gad and the half-tribe of Manasseh returned and left the sons of Israel. They went out from Shiloh, which is in the land of Canaan, to go to the land of Gilead [east of the Jordan River], to the land of their possessions which they had taken according to the commandment of the Lord (Yahweh) through the hand of Moses. []
And when they came to the area of the Jordan in the land of Canaan, the sons of Reuben and the sons of Gad and the half-tribe of Manasseh built an altar there by the Jordan, a large altar to look at.
And the sons of Israel heard it said, "Behold, the sons of Reuben and the sons of Gad and the half-tribe of Manasseh have built an altar before the land of Canaan, in the region of the Jordan on the side facing the sons of Israel."
And the sons of Israel sent Phinehas, the son of Eleazar the priest, to the sons of Reuben and to the sons of Gad and to the half-tribe of Manasseh in the land of Gilead,
And they came to the sons of Reuben and to the sons of Gad and to the half-tribe of Manasseh in the land of Gilead, and spoke with them, saying:
Then the sons of Reuben and the sons of Gad and the half-tribe of Manasseh answered and spoke to the leaders of the thousands of Israel (clans, families – family groups):
For the Lord (Yahweh) has made the Jordan a boundary between us and you, the sons of Reuben and the sons of Gad, you have no part in the Lord (Yahweh), so your sons may cause our sons to cease to revere the Lord (Yahweh).
And when the priest Phinehas and the leaders of the congregation, the leaders of the thousands of Israel (clans, families – family groups) who were with him, heard the words that the sons of Reuben and the sons of Gad and the sons of Manasseh spoke, it pleased them.
And Phinehas, the son of Eleazar the priest, said to the sons of Reuben and the sons of Gad and the sons of Manasseh: "Today we know (we are intimately acquainted with) that the Lord (Yahweh) is in our midst, because you have not been treacherous toward the Lord (Yahweh), and have not delivered the sons of Israel to fall away from the hand of the Lord (Yahweh)."
And Phinehas, the son of Eleazar the priest, returned from the sons of Reuben and from the sons of Gad out of the land of Gilead to the land of Canaan to the sons of Israel, and brought word.
These words pleased the sons of Israel, and the sons of Israel blessed the Lord (Yahweh) and spoke no more of going up to fight against them, to destroy the land where the sons of Reuben and the sons of Gad lived.
And the sons of Reuben and the sons of Gad gave the altar the name: It is a witness between us that the Lord (Yahweh) is God (Elohim).
And the princes of Issachar were with Deborah,
as was Issachar, so was Barak,
into the valley he rushed on his feet.
Among the multitudes of Reuben
there was great determination in their hearts.
Why do you sit among the sheepfolds
to listen to the flute playing for the flocks?
Among the multitudes of Reuben
the heart is greatly searched (examined).
from the Jordan eastward, all the land of Gilead, the Gadites, the Reubenites, and the Manassites, from Aroer, which is by the valley of Arnon, Gilead, and Bashan.
These were the sons of Israel: Reuben, Simeon, Levi, and Judah, Issachar, and Zebulun,
Reuben was the firstborn of Israel, for he was born first. But because he defiled his father's bed [by lying with Judah's concubine Bilhah, see ; ], his birthright was given to the sons of Joseph, the son of Israel, but not so that Joseph would be listed in the genealogy as the firstborn.
The sons of Reuben, the firstborn of Israel, were Hanoch (Enoch), Pallu, Hezron, and Carmi.
and his son Beera, whom Tiglath-Pileser king of Assyria carried into exile. He was the prince of the Reubenites.
The children of Reuben and the Gadites and the half-tribe of Manasseh were valiant men who carried shield and sword and drew the bow and were trained for war. They numbered 44,760 men ready for battle.
Then the God of Israel stirred up the spirit of the Assyrian king Pul [Tiglath-Pileser III], that is, the spirit of the Assyrian king Tiglath-Pileser. He carried the people away into captivity, both the Reubenites and the Gadites and half the tribe of Manasseh. He brought them to Halah, [the river] Habor, Hara, and the stream of Gozan [in present-day northern Iraq], where they are to this day.
The descendants of Merari received twelve cities from the tribes of Reuben, Gad, and Zebulun, by lot, family by family.
On the other side of the Jordan, opposite Jericho, east of the Jordan, they received from the tribe of Reuben Beser in the wilderness with pasture lands, Jahas with pasture lands,
Adina the Reubenite, son of Shisha, a chief among the Reubenites, and with him 30 others,
and from beyond the Jordan, from the Reubenites, the Gadites, and the half-tribe of Manasseh, 120,000, armed for battle with all kinds of weapons.
His brothers were able men, 2,700 in number, heads of families. King David appointed them over the Reubenites, the Gadites, and half the tribe of Manasseh to take care of all the affairs of God and the king.
The leaders of the tribes of Israel were these:
The leader of the Reubenites was Eliezer, son of Zichri,
of the Simeonites, Shephatiah, son of Maacah,
Next to Ephraim's territory, Reuben shall have a lot from the east side to the west.
Next to Reuben's territory, Judah shall have a lot from the east side to the west side.
and of the gates of the city, named after the tribes of Israel, three shall be on the north: the first is the gate of Reuben, the second the gate of Judah, and the third the gate of Levi.
from the tribe of Judah 12,000 [the family of Jesus, see ; ] who had received the seal,
from the tribe of Reuben 12,000 [],
from the tribe of Gad 12,000 [],
