Reuven Ben Shachar
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Reuben or Reuven ( he, רְאוּבֵן,
Standard Standard may refer to: Symbols * Colours, standards and guidons, kinds of military signs * Standard (emblem), a type of a large symbol or emblem used for identification Norms, conventions or requirements * Standard (metrology), an object th ...
''Rəʾūven'',
Tiberian Tiberian may refer to: * Tiberian vocalization, an oral tradition within the Hebrew language * Tiberian Hebrew, the variety of Hebrew based on Tiberian vocalization * Tiberias, a city in Lower Galilee, Israel * Tiberius Tiberius Julius Caesa ...
''Rŭʾūḇēn'') was the first of the six sons of
Jacob Jacob (; ; ar, يَعْقُوب, Yaʿqūb; gr, Ἰακώβ, Iakṓb), later given the name Israel, is regarded as a patriarch of the Israelites and is an important figure in Abrahamic religions, such as Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. J ...
and
Leah Leah ''La'ya;'' from (; ) appears in the Hebrew Bible as one of the two wives of the Biblical patriarch Jacob. Leah was Jacob's first wife, and the older sister of his second (and favored) wife Rachel. She is the mother of Jacob's first son ...
(Jacob’s oldest son), according to the
Book of Genesis The Book of Genesis (from Greek ; Hebrew: בְּרֵאשִׁית ''Bəreʾšīt'', "In hebeginning") is the first book of the Hebrew Bible and the Christian Old Testament. Its Hebrew name is the same as its first word, ( "In the beginning" ...
. He was the founder of the
Israelite The Israelites (; , , ) were a group of Semitic-speaking tribes in the ancient Near East who, during the Iron Age, inhabited a part of Canaan. The earliest recorded evidence of a people by the name of Israel appears in the Merneptah Stele o ...
Tribe of Reuben According to the Hebrew Bible, the Tribe of Reuben () was one of the twelve tribes of Israel. Unlike the majority of the tribes, the land of Reuben, along with that of Gad and half of Manasseh, was on the eastern side of the Jordan and shared a ...
.


Etymology

The text of the
Torah The Torah (; hbo, ''Tōrā'', "Instruction", "Teaching" or "Law") is the compilation of the first five books of the Hebrew Bible, namely the books of Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers and Deuteronomy. In that sense, Torah means the ...
gives two different etymologies for the name of ''Reuben'', which textual scholars attribute to different sources: one to the
Yahwist The Jahwist, or Yahwist, often abbreviated J, is one of the most widely recognized sources of the Pentateuch (Torah), together with the Deuteronomist, the Priestly source and the Elohist. The existence of the Jahwist is somewhat controversial, ...
and the other to the Elohist; the first explanation given by the Torah is that the name refers to
God In monotheistic thought, God is usually viewed as the supreme being, creator, and principal object of faith. Swinburne, R.G. "God" in Honderich, Ted. (ed)''The Oxford Companion to Philosophy'', Oxford University Press, 1995. God is typically ...
having witnessed Leah's misery, in regard to her status as the less-favourite of Jacob's wives, implying that the
etymology Etymology ()The New Oxford Dictionary of English (1998) – p. 633 "Etymology /ˌɛtɪˈmɒlədʒi/ the study of the class in words and the way their meanings have changed throughout time". is the study of the history of the Phonological chan ...
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''. (This is not mainstream, and has only been suggested by one bible critic. Yeehabani is not read as part of the etomology by most scholars.) Another Hebrew phrase to which ''Reuben'' is particularly close is ''ra'a ben'', meaning ''behold, a son'', which is how classical rabbinical literature interpreted it, although some of these sources argue that Leah was using the term to make an implied distinction between Reuben and
Esau Esau ''Ēsaû''; la, Hesau, Esau; ar, عِيسَوْ ''‘Īsaw''; meaning "hairy"Easton, M. ''Illustrated Bible Dictionary'', (, , 2006, p. 236 or "rough".Mandel, D. ''The Ultimate Who's Who in the Bible'', (.), 2007, p. 175 is the elder son o ...
, his uncle. Some scholars suspect that the final consonant may originally have been an ''l'' (similar to an ''n'' in the early Hebrew alphabet), and
Josephus Flavius Josephus (; grc-gre, Ἰώσηπος, ; 37 – 100) was a first-century Romano-Jewish historian and military leader, best known for '' The Jewish War'', who was born in Jerusalem—then part of Roman Judea—to a father of priestly ...
rendered the name as ''Reubel''; it is thus possible that Reuben's name is cognate with the
Arabic Arabic (, ' ; , ' or ) is a Semitic language spoken primarily across the Arab world.Semitic languages: an international handbook / edited by Stefan Weninger; in collaboration with Geoffrey Khan, Michael P. Streck, Janet C. E.Watson; Walter ...
term ''Ra'abil'', meaning ''wolves''.Cheyne and Black, ''
Encyclopedia Biblica ''Encyclopaedia Biblica: A Critical Dictionary of the Literary, Political and Religion History, the Archeology, Geography and Natural History of the Bible'' (1899), edited by Thomas Kelly Cheyne and J. Sutherland Black, is a critical encyclopedi ...
''


Biblical references

In the Torah, Reuben is briefly described as having had
sexual activity Human sexual activity, human sexual practice or human sexual behaviour is the manner in which humans experience and express their sexuality. People engage in a variety of sexual acts, ranging from activities done alone (e.g., masturbation) ...
with
Bilhah Bilhah ( "unworried", Standard Hebrew: ''Bīlha'', Tiberian Hebrew: ''Bīlhā'') is a woman mentioned in the Book of Genesis.For the etymology, see describes her as Laban's handmaid, who was given to Rachel to be her handmaid on Rachel's marria ...
, his stepmother's maid and father's
concubine Concubinage is an interpersonal and sexual relationship between a man and a woman in which the couple does not want, or cannot enter into a full marriage. Concubinage and marriage are often regarded as similar but mutually exclusive. Concubi ...
. 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 behaviour angered Jacob to the extent that he gave Reuben's birthright (as firstborn) to Joseph: a comment within makes the same point. Classical rabbinical sources argue that the birthright had included the right of his descendants (the tribe of Reuben) to become ruler over the tribes (transferred to Judah) and priests (transferred to
Levi Levi (; ) was, according to the Book of Genesis, the third of the six sons of Jacob and Leah (Jacob's third son), and the founder of the Israelite Tribe of Levi (the Levites, including the Kohanim) and the great-grandfather of Aaron, Moses and ...
). However, some of these sources argue that Reuben had not actually had sexual activity with Bilhah, but instead had simply supported the cause of his mother Leah, by harming that of Bilhah, angering Jacob; in these sources, it is argued that after the death of
Rachel Rachel () was a Biblical figure, the favorite of Jacob's two wives, and the mother of Joseph and Benjamin, two of the twelve progenitors of the tribes of Israel. Rachel's father was Laban. Her older sister was Leah, Jacob's first wife. Her aun ...
(Jacob's favourite wife), Jacob sought to give the precedence to Bilhah, as he had formerly preferred her as his mistress, and Reuben removed Bilhah's bed from the place where Jacob wished to have it. The classical rabbinical texts argue that Reuben immediately showed contrition for his actions in regard to Bilhah, and thus was the ''first penitent''; initially, according to these sources, Reuben practiced penitence by secretly
meditating Meditation is a practice in which an individual uses a technique – such as mindfulness, or focusing the mind on a particular object, thought, or activity – to train attention and awareness, and achieve a mentally clear and emotionally calm ...
, 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 go on to state that in honour of this voluntary penance and confession, God gave the tribe of Reuben
Hosea In the Hebrew Bible, Hosea ( or ; he, הוֹשֵׁעַ – ''Hōšēaʿ'', 'Salvation'; gr, Ὡσηέ – ''Hōsēé''), son of Beeri, was an 8th-century BCE prophet in Israel and the nominal primary author of the Book of Hosea. He is t ...
as a member, and Reuben was given a reward in the future world. Although part of the plot against
Joseph Joseph is a common male given name, derived from the Hebrew Yosef (יוֹסֵף). "Joseph" is used, along with "Josef", mostly in English, French and partially German languages. This spelling is also found as a variant in the languages of the mo ...
, it is Reuben who persuades the others not to kill Joseph, tries to rescue him, and who later concludes that the trouble the brothers run into in
Egypt Egypt ( ar, مصر , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a transcontinental country spanning the northeast corner of Africa and southwest corner of Asia via a land bridge formed by the Sinai Peninsula. It is bordered by the Medit ...
was divine punishment for the plot. In classical rabbinical literature, Reuben is described as being motivated by a sense of responsibility over 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 The Ishmaelites ( he, ''Yīšməʿēʾlīm,'' ar, بَنِي إِسْمَاعِيل ''Bani Isma'il''; "sons of Ishmael") were a collection of various Arabian tribes, confederations and small kingdoms described in Islamic tradition as being des ...
(textual scholars attribute this version of the narrative to the Yahwist) or Joseph being found and taken by
Midianites Midian (; he, מִדְיָן ''Mīḏyān'' ; ar, مَدْيَن, Madyan; grc-gre, Μαδιάμ, ''Madiam'') is a geographical place mentioned in the Hebrew Bible and Quran. William G. Dever states that biblical Midian was in the "northwest Ar ...
(textual scholars attribute this version of the narrative to the Elohist). The rabbinical sources argue that the first
cities of refuge The cities of refuge ( ''‘ārê ha-miqlāṭ'') were six Levitical towns in the Kingdom of Israel and the Kingdom of Judah in which the perpetrators of accidental manslaughter could claim the right of asylum. Maimonides, invoking talmudic lite ...
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 Kislev or Chislev (Hebrew: כִּסְלֵו, Standard ''Kīslev'' Tiberian ''Kīslēw''), also 'Chisleu' in the King James (authorized English) Bible, is the third month of the civil year and the ninth month of the ecclesiastical year on the H ...
, and died at the age of 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 Israel (; he, יִשְׂרָאֵל, ; ar, إِسْرَائِيل, ), officially the State of Israel ( he, מְדִינַת יִשְׂרָאֵל, label=none, translit=Medīnat Yīsrāʾēl; ), is a country in Western Asia. It is situated ...
, where it was buried.


Reuben's family

According to , Reuben had four sons: Hanoch, Phallu, Hezron, and Carmi. The name(s) of his wife/wives are not given. According to , 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 Hebrew Bible, the tribe of Judah (, ''Shevet Yehudah'') was one of the twelve Tribes of Israel, named after Judah, the son of Jacob. Judah was the first tribe to take its place in the Land of Israel, occupying the southern ...
. According to the
Book of Jasher Sefer haYashar is a reference to the Five Books of Moses, Joshua 10:13, see Targum Jonathan, "sifra d'oriaitho"; named on behalf of the Patriarchs who were call "Yesharim", see Numbers 23:10. Sefer haYashar (Hebrew language, Hebrew ספר הישר ...
, Chapter 45, Reuben's wife was Eliuram the daughter of Ewi the Canaanite (of Timnah).


Tomb

There is a tradition that Reuben was buried at a
shrine A shrine ( la, scrinium "case or chest for books or papers"; Old French: ''escrin'' "box or case") is a sacred or holy space dedicated to a specific deity, ancestor, hero, martyr, saint, daemon, or similar figure of respect, wherein they ...
in the former village of
Nabi Rubin Al-Nabi Rubin ( ar, النبي روبين, transliteration: ''an-Nabî Rûbîn'') was a Palestinian village in central Palestine region, what is now Israel, located west of Ramla, Already this year, 1495, Mujir al-Din mentioned it as a place of ...
; the site was a place of
pilgrimage A pilgrimage is a journey, often into an unknown or foreign place, where a person goes in search of new or expanded meaning about their self, others, nature, or a higher good, through the experience. It can lead to a personal transformation, aft ...
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 A mosque (; from ar, مَسْجِد, masjid, ; literally "place of ritual prostration"), also called masjid, is a place of prayer for Muslims. Mosques are usually covered buildings, but can be any place where prayers ( sujud) are performed, ...
, nowadays abandoned, are today part of the
Palmachim Palmachim ( he, פַּלְמַחִים) is a kibbutz in central Israel. Located about ten kilometers south of the Tel Aviv area along the coast of the Mediterranean Sea, among the sand dunes, it falls under the jurisdiction of Gan Raveh Region ...
National Park in
Israel Israel (; he, יִשְׂרָאֵל, ; ar, إِسْرَائِيل, ), officially the State of Israel ( he, מְדִינַת יִשְׂרָאֵל, label=none, translit=Medīnat Yīsrāʾēl; ), is a country in Western Asia. It is situated ...
.


See also

*
Tribe of Reuben According to the Hebrew Bible, the Tribe of Reuben () was one of the twelve tribes of Israel. Unlike the majority of the tribes, the land of Reuben, along with that of Gad and half of Manasseh, was on the eastern side of the Jordan and shared a ...


References


External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Reuben Founders of biblical tribes Children of Jacob 1569 BC births 15th-century BC deaths Tribe of Reuben 16th-century BC people