Reubin Series

Reuben

Pronunciation

R??uven

Born

1569 BCE

Paddan Aram

Died

1445 BCE or 1444 BCE (aged 125)

Resting place

Tomb of Reuben, Israel

31°55'46?N 34°44'02?E

Children

· Hanok (son)

· Pallu (son)

· Hezron (son)

· Karmi (son)

Parents

· Jacob (father)

· Leah (mother)

Relatives

Simeon (brother)

Levi (brother)

Judah (brother)

Dan (half brother)

Naphtali (half brother)

Gad (half brother)

Asher (half brother)

Issachar (brother)

Zebulun (brother)

Dinah (sister)

Joseph (half brother)

Benjamin (half brother)

Rachel (aunt/stepmother)

Reuben was the first of the six sons of Jacob and Leah (Jacob's oldest son), according to the Book of Genesis. He was the founder of the Israelite Tribe of Reuben.

Etymology[1]

The text of the Torah gives two different etymologies[1] for the name of Reuben, which textual scholars attribute to different sources: one to the Yahwist[3] and the other to the Elohist; the first explanation given by the Torah is that the name refers to God having witnessed Leah's misery, regarding her status as the less-favorite of Jacob's wives, implying that the etymology of Reuben derives from raa beonyi, meaning he has seen my misery; the second explanation is that the name refers to Leah's hope that Reuben's birth will make Jacob love her, implying a derivation from yeehabani, meaning he will love me.

In the Torah, Reuben is briefly described as having had sexual activity with Bilhah, his stepmother's maid, and father's concubine. On his deathbed, Jacob declares that Reuben "will no longer excel, for you went up onto your father's bed, onto my couch and defiled it." Reuben's behavior angered Jacob to the extent that he gave Reuben's birthright (as firstborn) to Joseph: a comment within 1 Chronicle 5:1 makes the same point. Classical rabbinical sources argue that the birthright had included the right of his descendants (the tribe of Reuben) to become rulers over the tribes (transferred to Judah) and priests (transferred to Levi). However, some of these sources argue that Reuben had not had sexual activity with Bilhah but instead had supported the cause of his mother Leah by harming Bilhah, angering Jacob; in these sources, it is argued that after the death of Rachel (Jacob's favorite wife), Jacob sought to give the preference to Bilhah, as he had formerly preferred her as his mistress. Reuben removed Bilhah's bed from where Jacob wished to have it. The classical rabbinical texts argue that Reuben immediately showed remorse for his actions regarding Bilhah and thus was the first penitent; initially, according to these sources, Reuben practiced penitence by secretly meditating and also by abstaining from meat and wine, but when Judah confessed to the matter of Tamar, Reuben admitted what he had done, lest his other brothers might be suspected of his deed and punished for it. The classical sources state that in honor of this voluntary penance and confession, God gave the tribe of Reuben Hosea as a member, and Reuben was given a reward in the future world.

Although part of the plot against Joseph, Reuben persuades the others not to kill Joseph, tries to rescue him, and later concludes that the trouble the brothers run into in Egypt was divine punishment for the plot. In classical rabbinical literature, Reuben is described as being motivated by a sense of responsibility for his brothers (since he was the eldest) and as having become angry when he discovers that Joseph had gone missing as a result of his brothers selling him to Ishmaelites (textual scholars attribute this version of the narrative to the Yahwist) or Joseph being found and taken by Midianites (textual scholars attribute this version of the narrative to the Elohist). The rabbinical sources argue that the first cities of refuge were located in the territory of the tribe of Reuben since Reuben (the individual) had tried to save Joseph from the mob of his brothers. Classical rabbinical sources argue that Reuben was born on 14 Kislev and died at 125. The midrashic Book of Jasher argues that when he died, Reuben's body was placed in a coffin and was later taken back to Israel, where it was buried.

Reuben's family

According to Genesis 46:9, Reuben had four sons: Hanoch, Phallu, Hezron, and Carmi. The name(s) of his wife/wives are not given. According to Joshua 15:6, a stone of Bohan, the son of Reuben, marked a point along the boundary of the land allocated to the tribe of Judah. According to the Book of Jasher, Chapter 45, Reuben's wife was Eliuram, the daughter of Ewi the Canaanite (of Timnah).

Tomb

Reuben's tomb in the ruins of the ancient Arab village of Nabi Rubin is NOW IN THE PALMACHIM NATIONAL PARK, ISRAEL

There is a tradition that Reuben was buried at a shrine in the former village of Nabi Rubin; the site was a place of pilgrimage and an annual festival before the 1948 establishment of the State of Israel. The ruins of the shrine containing the Tomb of Reuben and those of an adjacent mosque, nowadays abandoned, are today part of the Palmachim National Park in Israel.