Genesis 35:22

35:22 While Israel was living in that land, Reuben had sexual relations with ¹  Bilhah, his father’s concubine, and Israel heard about it.

Jacob had twelve sons:

Genesis 37:21-22

37:21 When Reuben heard this, he rescued Joseph ²  from their hands, ³  saying, ⁴  “Let’s not take his life!” ⁵  37:22 Reuben continued, ⁶  “Don’t shed blood! Throw him into this cistern that is here in the wilderness, but don’t lay a hand on him.” ⁷  (Reuben said this ⁸  so he could rescue Joseph ⁹  from them ¹⁰  and take him back to his father.)

Genesis 37:29

37:29 Later Reuben returned to the cistern to find that Joseph was not in it! ¹¹  He tore his clothes,

Genesis 42:22

42:22 Reuben said to them, “Didn’t I say to you, ‘Don’t sin against the boy,’ but you wouldn’t listen? So now we must pay for shedding his blood!” ¹² 

Genesis 42:27

42:27 When one of them ¹³  opened his sack to get feed for his donkey at their resting place, ¹⁴  he saw his money in the mouth of his sack. ¹⁵ 

Genesis 46:8-9

46:8 These are the names of the sons of Israel who went to Egypt – Jacob and his sons:

Reuben, the firstborn of Jacob.

46:9 The sons of Reuben:

Hanoch, Pallu, Hezron, and Carmi.

Genesis 49:3-4

49:3 Reuben, you are my firstborn,

my might and the beginning of my strength,

outstanding in dignity, outstanding in power.

49:4 You are destructive ¹⁶  like water and will not excel, ¹⁷ 

for you got on your father’s bed, ¹⁸ 

then you defiled it – he got on my couch! ¹⁹ 

Genesis 49:1

The Blessing of Jacob

49:1 Jacob called for his sons and said, “Gather together so I can tell you ²⁰  what will happen to you in the future. ²¹ 

Genesis 5:1

From Adam to Noah

5:1 This is the record ²²  of the family line ²³  of Adam.

When God created humankind, ²⁴  he made them ²⁵  in the likeness of God.

[35:22]  ¹ tn Heb “and Reuben went and lay with.” The expression “lay with” is a euphemism for having sexual intercourse.

[37:21]  ² tn Heb “him”; the referent (Joseph) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[37:21]  ³ sn From their hands. The instigators of this plot may have been the sons of Bilhah and Zilpah (see v. 2).

[37:21]  ⁴ tn Heb “and he said.”

[37:21]  ⁵ tn Heb “we must not strike him down [with respect to] life.”

[37:22]  ⁶ tn Heb “and Reuben said to them.”

[37:22]  ⁷ sn The verbs translated shed, throw, and lay sound alike in Hebrew; the repetition of similar sounds draws attention to Reuben’s words.

[37:22]  ⁸ tn The words “Reuben said this” are not in the Hebrew text, but have been supplied in the translation for stylistic reasons.

[37:22]  ⁹ tn Heb “him”; the referent (Joseph) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[37:22]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “from their hands” (cf. v. 21). This expression has been translated as “them” here for stylistic reasons.

[37:29]  ¹¹ tn Heb “and look, Joseph was not in the cistern.” By the use of וְהִנֵּה (vÿhinneh, “and look”), the narrator invites the reader to see the situation through Reuben’s eyes.

[42:22]  ¹² tn Heb “and also his blood, look, it is required.” God requires compensation, as it were, from those who shed innocent blood (see Gen 9:6). In other words, God exacts punishment for the crime of murder.

[42:27]  ¹³ tn Heb “and the one.” The article indicates that the individual is vivid in the mind of the narrator, yet it is not important to identify him by name.

[42:27]  ¹⁴ tn Heb “at the lodging place.”

[42:27]  ¹⁵ tn Heb “and look, it [was] in the mouth of his sack.” By the use of the particle הִנֵּה (hinneh, “look”), the narrator invites the reader to look through the eyes of the character and thereby draws attention to the money.

[49:4]  ¹⁶ tn The Hebrew noun פַּחַז (pakhaz) only occurs here in the OT. A related verb occurs twice in the prophets (Jer 23:32; Zeph 3:4) for false prophets inventing their messages, and once in Judges for unscrupulous men bribed to murder (Judg 9:4). It would describe Reuben as being “frothy, boiling, turbulent” as water. The LXX has “run riot,” the Vulgate has “poured out,” and Tg. Onq. has “you followed your own direction.” It is a reference to Reuben’s misconduct in Gen 35, but the simile and the rare word invite some speculation. H. Pehlke suggests “destructive like water,” for Reuben acted with pride and presumption; see his “An Exegetical and Theological Study of Genesis 49:1-28” (Th.D. dissertation, Dallas Theological Seminary, 1985).

[49:4]  ¹⁷ tn Heb “Do not excel!” The Hiphil of the verb יָתַר (yatar) has this meaning only here. The negated jussive is rhetorical here. Rather than being a command, it anticipates what will transpire. The prophecy says that because of the character of the ancestor, the tribe of Reuben would not have the character to lead (see 1 Chr 5:1).

[49:4]  ¹⁸ sn This is a euphemism for having sexual intercourse with Jacob’s wives (see Gen 35:22).

[49:4]  ¹⁹ tn The last verb is third masculine singular, as if for the first time Jacob told the brothers, or let them know that he knew. For a discussion of this passage see S. Gevirtz, “The Reprimand of Reuben,” JNES 30 (1971): 87-98.

[49:1]  ²⁰ tn After the imperative, the cohortative with prefixed vav (ו) indicates purpose/result.

[49:1]  ²¹ tn The expression “in the future” (אַחֲרִית הַיָּמִים, ’akharit hayyamim, “in the end of days”) is found most frequently in prophetic passages; it may refer to the end of the age, the eschaton, or to the distant future. The contents of some of the sayings in this chapter stretch from the immediate circumstances to the time of the settlement in the land to the coming of Messiah. There is a great deal of literature on this chapter, including among others C. Armerding, “The Last Words of Jacob: Genesis 49,” BSac 112 (1955): 320-28; H. Pehlke, “An Exegetical and Theological Study of Genesis 49:1-28” (Th.D. dissertation, Dallas Theological Seminary, 1985); and B. Vawter, “The Canaanite Background of Genesis 49,” CBQ 17 (1955): 1-18.

[5:1]  ²² tn Heb “book” or “roll.” Cf. NIV “written account”; NRSV “list.”

[5:1]  ²³ tn Heb “generations.” See the note on the phrase “this is the account of” in 2:4.

[5:1]  ²⁴ tn The Hebrew text has אָדָם (’adam).

[5:1]  ²⁵ tn Heb “him.” The Hebrew text uses the third masculine singular pronominal suffix on the accusative sign. The pronoun agrees grammatically with its antecedent אָדָם (’adam). However, the next verse makes it clear that אָדָם is collective here and refers to “humankind,” so it is preferable to translate the pronoun with the English plural.