Reuben (roben). [Heb. Reuben, “behold a son”; Gr. Rhoubeµn.]

1.   The eldest son of Jacob and Leah (Gen 29:31, 32; Gen 35:23; Gen 46:8; 1 Chr 2:1; 1 Chr 5:1). As to his life history, he is mentioned first as finding mandrakes in the field, which Rachel desired (Gen 30:14); next for his immorality with Bilhah (ch 35:22) for which he later lost his father's blessings that would have been due him as the first-born (ch 49:3, 4); third, for his attempt to save Joseph from his murderous brothers by inducing them to throw him into a cistern instead (ch 37:21-29). Although he did not betray his brothers to their father, he was not a partner in their plot against Joseph (ch 42:22). Later, when Jacob feared to send Benjamin to Egypt, Reuben offered 2 of his own sons as guarantees for Benjamin's safety (v 37). On his deathbed Jacob expressed the disappointment that his first-born son's conduct had caused him, and described his character as being unstable as water (ch 49:3, 4). Reuben's sons were Hanoch, Pallu, Hezron, and Carmi (Gen 46:8, 9; Ex 6:14; 1 Chr 5:3).

2.   The tribe descended from Jacob's eldest son. It consisted of 4 tribal families, the descendants of Reuben's 4 sons (Num 26:5). The tribal prince during the early part of the wilderness wanderings was Elizur, who was also head of the section of that camp where Reubenites, Simeonites, and Gadites pitched their tents (chs 1:5; 2:10-16; 7:30-35; 10:18). The tribe of Reuben was represented among the 12 spies by Shammua, son of Zaccur (ch 13:4). Some prominent members of the tribe—Dathan, Abiram, and On—joined the rebellion of Korah against Moses and Aaron and consequently lost their lives (Num 16:1-50; 26:9, 10; Deut 11:6). After the conquest of the territory of the Ammorite kings of Sihon of Heshbon and Og of Bashan, the tribes of Reuben and Gad and half of Manasseh requested that these areas be assigned to them, since they had many cattle and found this land suitable for grazing. Moses granted their request on condition that they help their brethren in the conquest of Canaan, west of the Jordan. After the military campaigns were completed under Joshua's leadership, these 21/2 tribes returned to their territories in Transjordan (Num 32:1-42; Jos 4:12; 18:7; 22:1-6). When they set up a memorial altar at the Jordan, the other tribes mistook this for a secession from the confederacy, with the result that a civil war was narrowly averted (Jos 22:1-34).

The territory of the Reubenites was bounded on the south by the river Arnon, which formed the northern boundary of Moab; on the east by the Ammonites, and on the west by the Dead Sea and the lower course of the river Jordan. The northern boundary ran from the Jordan, south of Beth-nimrah, to Heshbon (Num 32:36-37; Jos 13:15-21). Four cities within their territory—Bezer, Jahaz, Kedemoth, and Mephaath, with their suburbs—were assigned as residence cities to the Merarite Levites (Jos 21:7, 36, 37; 1 Chr 6:63, 78, 79), and the 1st of them, Bezer, was at the same time a city of refuge (Jos 20:8; 1 Chr 6:78). See Palestine Under Joshua and the Judges.

The proximity of the Reubenites to the Moabites and Ammonites must have influenced the tribe, for they did not play an important role in the subsequent history of the nation of Israel. They are mentioned in the period of the judges only once, namely in the Song of Deborah and Barak, which rebukes the Reubenites for having failed to assist the western tribes in their struggle against Jabin and Sisera (Jgs 5:15, 16; cf. ch 4:2). With their fellow tribes in Transjordan they at one time waged a successful war against the Hagrites, and occupied their territory until the Assyrian captivity (1 Chr 5:18-22). This success may have compensated for the losses Reuben suffered from the hands of the Moabites, for it is quite obvious (from the towns mentioned in Is 15; 16; and Jer 48; and the *Moabite Stone) that all the territory of Rebuen was occupied by the Moabites from the 9th cent. b.c. on (Israel and Judah: The Divided Monarchy, Palestine After the Fall of the Northern Kingdom). Nothing is learned of the fate of the Reubenites after the loss of their land, although 1 Chr 5:22 indicates that they continued to live in the former territory of the Hagrites until the Exile, so retained their tribal identity at least to the middle of the 8th cent. b.c. It was Tiglath-pileser III (745-727 b.c.) who carried the remnants of the Reubenites into captivity (v 26). From that time on they are not mentioned. Ezekiel allotted Reuben a place in the ideal Canaan as he envisioned it for the future (Eze 48:6, 7), and Reuben is one of the 12 tribes said by John to be sealed by the angel of Rev 7 (v 5).

Horn, Siegfried H., Seventh-day Adventist Bible Dictionary, (Washington, D.C.: Review and Herald Publishing Association) 1979.