Children Hanoch Cousins Joseph, Benjamin, Eliphaz | Parents Jacob, Leah | |
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Siblings Joseph, Judah, Gad, Benjamin, Naphtali, Dinah Grandparents Isaac, Laban, Rebecca, Matthan Similar Simeon, Gad, Asher, Zebulun, Issachar | ||
According to the Book of Genesis, Reuben or Re'uven (Hebrew: רְאוּבֵן, Rəʾuven Rəʾûḇēn) was the eldest son of Jacob with Leah. He was the founder of the Israelite Tribe of Reuben.
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Etymology
The text of the Torah gives two different etymologies for the name of Reuben, which textual scholars attribute to different sources: one to the Yahwist 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, in regard to her status as the less-favourite of Jacob's wives, implying that the etymology of Reuben is that it 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. 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, 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 rendered the name as Reubel; it is thus possible that Reuben's name is cognate with the Arabic term Ra'abil, meaning wolves.
Reuben's family
According to Genesis 46:9, Reuben had four sons: Hanoch, Pallu, Hezron, and Carmi. The name 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 Avi the Canaanite (of Timnah).