Reuben

by Brad Scott

I have decided that the next 12 words will be the names of the twelve tribes of Israel.

The firstborn son of Ya'aqov (Jacob) was Reuben. The anglicized word Reuben is a contraction of two Hebrew words. This son's name in Hebrew is r^e'uben (ראוּבן). It is comprised of the word ra'ah (ראה), which means to look or see, and the word ben (בן), which etymologically means to build and is translated dominantly as son. Together his name generally means "see, a son", but in its verbal form means to look upon someone to build a father's legacy and to continue his craft.

In the prophetic gathering of Ya'aqov's sons in B^ere’shiyt (Genesis) 49:3-4, we are told that Reuben was born to be the "beginning" of Ya'aqov's strength, dignity, and power, but because of Reuben's weakness (an understatement) the firstborn blessing went to Yoseph (Divre-Hayamim Alef (1 Chronicles) 5:1) The rejection of Reuben's firstborn blessing is a grand example of the fact that the true and only seed of the woman (Messiah) follows faith and obedience.

Shalom Alecheim! ◊