Reuben

About Reuben

Reuben was the firstborn son of Israel (or 'Jacob') and Leah (Gen.29.32). As the firstborn, he held a position of prominence and was entitled to a double portion of the inheritance (Gen.49.3; Deu.21.17). However, Reuben lost his birthright due to his sin of sleeping with his father's concubine, Bilhah (Gen.35.22; 49.3-4; 1Ch.5.1). Despite this, Reuben showed concern for his younger brother Joseph and tried to save him from their brothers' plot to kill him (Gen.37.21-22, 29). Later, he offered to bear the blame if harm came to Benjamin on their journey to Egypt (Gen.42.37). When Jacob blessed his sons, he described Reuben as "unstable as water" and declared that he would not excel because of his past actions (Gen.49.3-4). The tribe of Reuben, along with the tribes of Gad and half of Manasseh, settled in the land east of the Jordan River (Numbers 32; Jos.13.15-23). They assisted the other tribes in conquering Canaan before returning to their inheritance (Joshua 22). In the time of the judges, the tribe of Reuben was criticized for not assisting Deborah and Barak in the fight against Sisera (Jdg.5.15-16). The tribe of Reuben is mentioned in the visions of Ezekiel and Revelation, symbolizing its place among the restored tribes of Israel (Ezk.48.6-7, 31; Rev.7.5).

Description from STEPBible TIPNR (Tyndale House, Cambridge), CC BY 4.0, lightly reformatted. This is background reference material, not Scripture and not a FaithGraph editorial claim.