Greek word · G4502

Ῥουβήν

roubēn

Reuben

Greek form of Hebrew Re'uven. It names Jacob's firstborn son by Leah and the tribe descended from him, which settled east of the Jordan.

Appears once in the Greek New Testament. ·

What it means

Ῥουβήν, ὁ indecl., (Heb. רְאוּבֵן),

Reuben: Revelation 7:5.†

(AS)

From G. Abbott-Smith, A Manual Greek Lexicon of the New Testament (1922), via STEPBible.org (CC BY 4.0).

In depth

From the study of Revelation 7:5

Range of meaning

Greek form of Hebrew Re'uven. It names Jacob's firstborn son by Leah and the tribe descended from him, which settled east of the Jordan.

Against the English

Just a name in English, but for readers who knew the Torah, Reuben in second place recalls his lost birthright.

Used elsewhere in the period
  • Genesis 35:22; 49:3–4: Reuben 'went up to his father's bed' and loses preeminence.
  • 1 Chronicles 5:1–2: his birthright passes to Joseph's sons, and leadership to Judah.
  • 1 Chronicles 5:26: Reuben, Gad and half of Manasseh are deported by Tiglath-pileser of Assyria.

Where it appears

Revelation · 1

  1. Revelation 7:5 Ῥουβὴν of Reuben

    From the tribe of Judah 12,000 were sealed, from the tribe of Reuben 12,000, from the tribe of Gad 12,000,

    Here: Jacob's firstborn by Leah. He would normally head any list of the tribes. He lost first place because he slept with his father's concubine (Gen 35:22; 49:3–4), and 1 Chronicles 5:1–2 explains that the leadership went to Judah instead. The order here reflects that.

Word data: STEPBible.org (CC BY 4.0), main text only.