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Person

Reuben

son of Jacob

Firstborn son of Jacob by Leah who lost his birthright but tried to save Joseph, and became the patriarch of the tribe of Reuben.

70 appearances9 Bible books1 known aliases

Who or what is this?

Reuben was the firstborn son of by his wife , and as the eldest he bore both the honor and the complications of the position. He lost his birthright privileges when he defiled his father's concubine Bilhah, an act Jacob remembered on his deathbed. Yet Reuben also shows a protective instinct: when his brothers plotted to kill Joseph, it was Reuben who persuaded them to throw him into a pit rather than shed blood, intending to rescue him later. Genesis 37 records his distress when Joseph was sold in his absence. The tribe of Reuben settled east of the and is enumerated throughout the wilderness census lists and the tribal allotments in . References to the tribe of Reuben roll up to this entity.

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All appearances70