Atlas Biblica

    person · also Reubenite

    Reuben

    רְאוּבֵןῬουβήν

    Reuben was the firstborn son of Jacob and Leah, and his descendants formed one of the twelve tribes of Israel.

    IllustrationGenesis 30Reuben brings mandrakes from the wheat harvest to Leah.
    verses
    86
    first named
    Genesis 29:32
    last named
    Revelation 7:5
    period
    the Patriarchs
    tribe
    Reuben

    Description

    Who was Reuben?

    In the words of STEPBible TIPNR:

    Reuben was the firstborn son of Israel (or 'Jacob') and Leah (Gen.29.32). As the firstborn, he held a position of prominence and was entitled to a double portion of the inheritance (Gen.49.3; Deu.21.17). However, Reuben lost his birthright due to his sin of sleeping with his father's concubine, Bilhah (Gen.35.22; 49.3-4; 1Ch.5.1). Despite this, Reuben showed concern for his younger brother Joseph and tried to save him from their brothers' plot to kill him (Gen.37.21-22, 29). Later, he offered to bear the blame if harm came to Benjamin on their journey to Egypt (Gen.42.37). When Jacob blessed his sons, he described Reuben as "unstable as water" and declared that he would not excel because of his past actions (Gen.49.3-4). The tribe of Reuben, along with the tribes of Gad and half of Manasseh, settled in the land east of the Jordan River (Numbers 32; Jos.13.15-23). They assisted the other tribes in conquering Canaan before returning to their inheritance (Joshua 22). In the time of the judges, the tribe of Reuben was criticized for not assisting Deborah and Barak in the fight against Sisera (Jdg.5.15-16). The tribe of Reuben is mentioned in the visions of Ezekiel and Revelation, symbolizing its place among the restored tribes of Israel (Ezk.48.6-7, 31; Rev.7.5).

    Relations

    Direct connections

    Every entity the graph places in a stated relation with this one, grouped by the kind of link. Each relation is authored once and its inverse derived, so both ends always agree. Rows marked “registry” come from the identity spine rather than from a verse, and a row marked “which bearer is the source’s decision” is one where the name could have meant more than one person. The last group is not a relation at all — it counts the events two entities stand in together.

    How the graph connects Reuben10 of 43 entities the graph connects to Reuben, in 2 groups: kinship 5, events 5. Kinship, company and ground are stated relations; events counts the acts two entities stand in together and is not a relation. Each mark is sized by how many verses name that entity and labelled with the link and the count, so the grouping and the size are both readable without colour. Distance from the centre carries nothing.IsraelChild of · 11 events · 2,578 versesJudahSibling of · 1,023 versesLeviSibling of · 329 versesJosephSibling of · 4 events · 197 versesBenjaminSibling of · 4 events · 166 versesKinshipMoses7 events · 786 versesJoshua3 events · 189 versesJordan5 events · 179 versesManasseh9 events · 112 versesGilead4 events · 90 versesEventsReuben

    The 10 best-attested of 43 are drawn. All 43 are listed below.

    Ancestor of

    Child of

    Father of

    Parent of

    Sibling of

    Took part in

    Stands in the same events as

    and 59 more, ordered by how many events they share.

    Places

    Where this happens

    The places the claims about this person reach, drawn where the gazetteer locates them. A point is where a row puts them and never where tradition does; no line joins two points, because the rows state where and not in what order.

    Where the story of Reuben happensAll 11 places the claims about Reuben reach, on a map of the world the text moves through, framed to them: Jordan, Egypt, Beersheba, Canaan, Elealeh, Gilead, Halak_Mount, Heshbon, Jazer, Jericho, Kiriathaim. Each dot is a coordinate from the gazetteer, sized by how many rows put Reuben there. The coastline is a modern one, simplified; no border, road or settlement of any period is drawn, and no line joins two points, because the rows state where and not in what order.JordanEgyptBeershebaCanaanElealehGileadHalak_MountJazerKiriathaim
    the PatriarchsAll 11 places the claims about Reuben reach

    Read it

    Where to read it

    Every verse of the text carried here that names this entity — 86, across 10 books. The name is written 91 times in them.

    1. Genesis13 verses

      29:3230:1435:2235:2337:2137:2237:2942:2242:3746:846:948:549:3

    2. Exodus2 verses

      1:26:14

    3. Numbers20 verses

      1:51:201:212:102:167:3010:1813:416:126:526:732:132:232:632:2532:2932:3132:3332:3734:14

    4. Deuteronomy7 verses

      3:123:164:4311:627:1329:833:6

    5. Joshua25 verses

      1:124:1212:613:813:1513:2315:618:718:1720:821:721:3622:122:922:1022:1122:1322:1522:2122:2522:3022:3122:3222:3322:34

    6. Judges2 verses

      5:155:16

    7. 2 Kings1 verse

      10:33

    8. 1 Chronicles12 verses

      2:15:15:35:65:185:266:636:7811:4212:3726:3227:16

    9. Ezekiel3 verses

      48:648:748:31

    10. Revelation1 verse

      7:5

    Onward

    Where this page goes

    Not the direct relations above — these are one hop further out, ranked so that a rare shared connection outweighs a common one. Descriptions by STEPBible TIPNR.

    via Giver’s giving of Hill Country Gilead and Eleazar and Joshua’s allotment of Land, and 5 moreManassehFirstborn son of Joseph, blessed by Jacob.via Moses’ inheritance and Gad and Reuben’s coming of Moses, Eleazar, and Leaders Of Congregation, and 3 moreMosesProphet who led Israel out of Egyptvia Allotment of Merarite Pasturelands and Hanochite Clan, and 1 moreClanClan is a concept gathering 122 labelled instances in the text.via Moses’ inheritance and Eleazar and Joshua’s allotment of Land, and 2 moreJordanA river and region, significant in Israel's historyvia Asher and Gad, and 3 moreIsraelite CampingIsraelite Camping is an event attested across 11 verses, connecting 5 pageable entities.via Reuben’s rescue attempt of Joseph and Israel, and 1 moreJoseph BrothersJoseph Brothers is a group attested across 28 verses, connecting 2 pageable entities.via Benjamin and Israel, and 2 moreRachelWife of Jacob; mother of Joseph and Benjaminvia Allotment of Merarite Pasturelands and Receiving of Merarite Cities, and 1 moreMerariThe third son of Levi and founder of the Merarites.via Israel and Judah, and 2 moreJosiah’s cleansing of High Place, Asherah, Carved Idol, Cast Image, Baal Altars, Incense Altars, Asherah Poles, Carved Idols, Cast Images, Judah, Jerusalem, and AbominationJosiah’s cleansing of High Place, Asherah, Carved Idol, Cast Image, Baal Altars, Incense Altars, Asherah Poles, Carved Idols, Cast Images, Judah, Jerusalem, and Abomination is an event attested across 6 verses, connecting 9 pageable entities.

    Where they appear

    Chapter by chapter

    Atlas's reading of each chapter this person appears in, in canonical order. One line per chapter, and each leads to the whole of it.

    4 more chapters, from Joshua 20 to Revelation 7

    Sources

    What this rests on