Thematic Bible: The tribe of Reuben


Thematic Bible



During the lifetime of King Pekah of Israel, King Tiglath-pileser of Assyria attacked. He captured the cities of Ijon, Abel Beth Maacah, Janoah, Kedesh, and Hazor. He also captured Gilead, Galilee, and the entire territory of Naphtali, and carried its people off to Assyria.

and his son Beerah, whom King Tiglath-pileser of Assyria carried away into exile, and who was a governor of the descendants of Reuben.

So the God of Israel incited King Pul of Assyria (also known as King Tiglath-pileser of Assyria), who took them prisoner and brought the descendants of Reuben, the descendants of Gad, and the half-tribe of Manasseh to Halah, Habor, Hara, and to the Gozan River, where they remain to this day.


During the reign of Saul they declared war on the Hagrites, who fell in battle by their hand. They lived in their tents throughout all of east Gilead.

The descendants of Reuben, the descendants of Gad, and the half-tribe of Manasseh produced 44,700 valiant soldiers expert in shield, sword, and bow. Trained in warfare, they were equipped to serve at a moment's notice. They fought in battle against the Hagrites, Jetur, Naphish, and Nodab. When they received assistance against them, the Hagrites and all of their allies were handed over to their control, because they cried out to God during the battle. He honored their entreaty, because they had placed their trust in him. read more.
They captured 50,000 camels, 250,000 sheep, 2,000 donkeys, and 100,000 war captives from their possessions. Many fell slain, because the battle's outcome was directed by God. They lived in their territory until the exile.


Wielding the scepters of Israel for the descendants of Reuben, there was Zichri's son Eliezer as chief officer; for the descendants of Simeon there was Maacah's son Shephatiah;

King David appointed Jerijah, his relatives, and 2,700 competent men who were each family heads, to oversee the tribes of Reuben and Gad, and the half-tribe of Manasseh regarding everything pertaining to God as well as matters relating to the king.


Now, the descendants of Reuben and descendants of Gad happened to be joint owners of a very large herd of cattle. When they observed that Jazer and Gilead were good grazing lands for cattle, the descendants of Gad and descendants of Reuben approached Moses, Eleazar the priest, and the leaders of the community and said, "Ataroth, Dibon, Jazer, Nimrah, Heshbon, Elealeh, Sebam, Nebo, and Beon read more.
the land that the LORD defeated in the sight of the community of Israel is perfect for cattle and your servants have cattle. If we've found favor in your sight, let this land be given to your servants as our possession instead of us crossing the Jordan River." "Will your relatives have to go to war while you remain here?" Moses asked the descendants of Gad and descendants of Reuben in response. "Why would you discourage the Israelis from crossing over to the land that the LORD has given them? That's what your ancestors did when I sent them from Kadesh-barnea to explore the land. When they arrived in the Eshcol Valley and saw the land, they discouraged the Israelis from entering the land that the LORD had given them. That's why the LORD's anger flared up that day and he promised by an oath that "Not one of the men who went up from Egypt, from 20 years old and above, will see the land that I promised to give to their ancestors, that is, to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, because none of them followed me wholeheartedly, except Jephunneh's son Caleb, the Kenizzite, and Nun's son Joshua. They've wholeheartedly followed the LORD.' "The LORD's anger had flared up against Israel so that he made them wander in the wilderness for 40 years until that whole generation, who committed evil in the eyes of the LORD, had died. And now, look! You're acting just like your ancestors, like a brood of sinful men, who are provoking the fierce anger of the LORD against the Israelis one step at a time. If you stop following him, he will once again abandon them in the wilderness. You'll end up destroying this entire people." Then they approached him and said, "Here's where we're going to build corrals for our cattle and cities for our families, but we will keep ourselves armed and stay ready to go with the Israelis until we've brought them to their own places. Our families intend to live in fortified cities in the presence of the inhabitants of the land, but we won't return to our homes until every Israeli has taken possession of each of their inheritances, since our inheritance will not be with them across the Jordan River and beyond. Instead, our inheritance is on this side of the Jordan River, facing eastward." "If you do this," Moses replied to them, "that is, if you equip yourselves for war in the LORD's presence and every one of your armed soldiers crosses over the Jordan River in the presence of the LORD until he has dispossessed his enemies ahead of him and subjugated the land before him, then afterwards when you return, you'll be able to stand blameless before the LORD and before Israel. This land will then be your possession before the LORD. "But if you won't do so, look out! You will be sinning against the LORD. Be certain of this, that your sin will catch up to you! So after you've built cities for your families and corrals for your cattle, be sure to keep your promises." Then the descendants of Gad and descendants of Reuben spoke up. "Your servants will do exactly what our master has commanded." They said. "Our children, wives, flocks, and all our cattle will be settled in the cities of Gilead, but every soldier that we've equipped for battle will cross the Jordan River in the presence of the LORD, as our master has spoken." So Moses instructed Eleazar the priest and Nun's son Joshua, and the officers of the ancestral tribes of the Israelis, telling them, "If the descendants of Gad and descendants of Reuben cross over the Jordan River with you, that is, all of their soldiers who've been equipped for battle in the LORD's presence, so that the land is subjugated right before your eyes, then you are to give them the land of Gilead as their possession. But if the armed men don't cross over with you, then they won't have any possession in the land of Canaan." "We'll do just what the LORD told your servants," the descendants of Gad and the descendants of Reuben responded. "We are to cross over in battle array in the LORD's presence into the land of Canaan, and afterwards the possession of our inheritance will be on this side of the Jordan River." So Moses gave to the descendants of Gad, to the descendants of Reuben, and to the half-tribe of Joseph's son Manasseh the kingdom of Sihon, the king of the Amorites, and the kingdom of Og, the king of Bashan, the whole land with its cities, and even the territories surrounding it.

"Then I commanded you at that time, "The Lord your God gave you this land as a possession. Those equipped for battle every man a warrior will cross before your fellow Israelis. However, your women, children, and livestock and I know you have many may reside in your towns that I gave you until the LORD grants rest to your fellow Israelis like you. When they take possession of the territory that the LORD your God is about to give them on the other side of the Jordan River, then each of you may return to the territory that I've allotted for you.'


But you're as undisciplined as a roaring river, so eventually you won't succeed, because you got in your father's bed, defiled it, and then approached my couch."

"May Reuben live and not die, though his numbers are few."


Now Pallu's son was Eliab. The descendants of Eliab were Nemuel, Dathan, and Abiram. Dathan and Abiram were removed from the community because they joined the rebellion against Moses and Aaron, as did Korah's company when they rebelled against the LORD.

From Reuben, Israel's firstborn, the descendants of Reuben included from Hanoch, the family of the descendants of Hanoch; from Pallu, the family of the descendants of Pallu; from Hezron, the family of the descendants of Hezron; and from Carmi, the family of the descendants of Carmi.


Now Izhar's son Korah, the grandson of Kohath, a descendant of Levi, along with Eliab's sons Dathan and Abiram, and Peleth's son On, a descendant of Reuben, took charge

The descendants of Eliab were Nemuel, Dathan, and Abiram. Dathan and Abiram were removed from the community because they joined the rebellion against Moses and Aaron, as did Korah's company when they rebelled against the LORD. The ground had opened its mouth and swallowed them up, along with Korah. Also, that group died when the fire devoured 250 men as a warning sign,


The tribes of Reuben and Gad, along with the half-tribe of Manasseh east of the Jordan supplied 120,000 men armed with every kind of war weapon. All these warriors arrived in battle order at Hebron, fully intending to establish David as king over all Israel. Furthermore, all of the rest of Israel were united in their intent to make David king.


And I've given Gilead to the descendants of Reuben and the descendants of Gad as far as the Arnon Valley, designating the middle of the valley as its boundary, including up to the Jabbok River as a boundary with the Ammonites. The Arabah and the Jordan River are also a boundary from Chinnereth to the Sea of the Arabah (that is, the Salt Sea), below the slopes of Pisgah on the east."


Shiza the Reubenite's son Adina, a leader of the descendants of Reuben, along with thirty others with him,


The tribes of Reuben, Gad, Asher, Zebulun, Dan, and Naphtali are to stand on Mount Ebal to pronounce the curse.


In those days, the LORD began to reduce Israel in size: Hazael defeated them throughout the territory of Israel, from the Jordan River eastward, all the territory of Gilead, the descendants of Gad, the descendants of Reuben, and the descendants of Manasseh, from Aroer by the Valley of the Arnon, including Gilead and Bashan.


The descendants of Reuben rebuilt Heshbon, Elealeh, Kiriathaim, Nebo, Baal-meon (after having changed their names), and Sibmah. The cities that they rebuilt were renamed.


After they arrived at an area of the Jordan River that is in the land of Canaan, the descendants of Reuben, the descendants of Gad, and the half-tribe of Manasseh constructed an altar there by the Jordan River, and it was very large. When the Israelis heard about it, they announced, "Look here, the descendants of Reuben, the descendants of Gad, and the half-tribe of Manasseh have constructed an altar in Canaan's frontier district of the Jordan River, on the side apportioned to the Israelis." When the Israelis heard that announcement, the entire community of the Israelis gathered together at Shiloh in preparation for war. read more.
Then the Israelis sent a delegation to the descendants of Reuben, the descendants of Gad, and the half-tribe of Manasseh in the land of Gilead. They sent Eleazar's son Phinehas the priest, and ten officials with him (one for each of the tribal families of Israel, each one of them a family leader among the tribes of Israel). They approached the descendants of Reuben, the descendants of Gad, and the half-tribe of Manasseh in the land of Gilead and told them: "This is what the entire community of the LORD has to say: "What is this treacherous act by which you have acted deceitfully against the God of Israel by turning away from following the LORD today, and by building yourselves an altar today, so you can rebel against the LORD? Isn't the evil that happened at Peor enough for us, from which we have yet to be completely cleansed even to this point, and because of which a plague came upon the community of the LORD? Now then, are you turning away from following the LORD today? If you rebel against the LORD today, by tomorrow he will be angry with the entire community of Israel. If the land of your inheritance remains unclean, then cross back over into the land that the LORD possesses, and receive an inheritance among us. Don't rebel against the LORD and against us by constructing an altar for yourselves besides the altar of the LORD our God. Didn't Zerah's son Achan act treacherously with respect to the things banned by God, and as a result God became angry at the entire community of Israel? And that man was not the only one to die because of his iniquity.'" The descendants of Reuben, the descendants of Gad, and the half-tribe of Manasseh answered the officials of the tribes of Israel, "The God of gods, the LORD, the God of gods, the LORD is the one who knows! And may Israel itself be aware that if this was an act of rebellion or an act of treachery against the LORD, may he not deliver us today! If we have built an altar for ourselves intended to turn us away from following the LORD, or to offer burnt offerings, grain offerings, or peace offerings on it, may the LORD himself demand an accounting from us! But we did this because we were concerned for a reason, since we thought, "Sometime in the future your descendants may say to our descendants, "What do you have in common with the LORD, the God of Israel? The LORD has established the Jordan River to be a territorial border between us and you. Descendants of Reuben and descendants of Gad have no allotment from the LORD." So your descendants may cause our descendants to stop fearing the LORD.' "That's why we said, "Let's build an altar for ourselves, not for burnt offerings or sacrifice, but instead it will serve as a reminder between us and you and between our generations after us, that we are to serve the LORD with our burnt offerings, sacrifices, and peace offerings. That way your descendants will not say to our descendants in the future, "You have no allotment from the LORD."' "That's also why we said, "It may be if they say these things to us and to our descendants in the future, so we will respond, "Look at this replica of the altar of the LORD that our ancestors made, not for burnt offerings or sacrifice, but rather as a reminder between us and you. May we never rebel against the LORD today by building an altar for burnt offerings, for grain offerings, or for sacrifice to replace the altar of the LORD our God which stands before his Tent."'"


On the fourth day, Shedeur's son Elizur, leader of the descendants of Reuben presented as his offering a silver dish weighing 130 shekels and a silver bowl weighing 70 shekels (calculated according to the shekel of the sanctuary), both filled with choice flour mixed with oil for a grain offering; one gold pan weighing ten shekels, full of incense; read more.
one young bull, one ram, and a one year old male lamb for a burnt offering; and one male goat for a sin offering. Their sacrifice for a peace offering, two bulls, five rams, five male goats, and five one year old lambs. These were the offerings presented by Shedeur's son Elizur.


The genealogies of the descendants of Reuben, the firstborn of Israel, were recorded individually, according to their tribes and ancestral houses, as were the names of all the men 20 years and above who could serve in the army. Those registered with the tribe of Reuben numbered 46,500.


The officials of Issachar were with Deborah, as was the tribe of Issachar and Barak. They rushed out into the valley at his heels along with divisions from Reuben's army. Great was their resolve of heart! Why did you sit down among the sheepfolds? To hear the bleating of the flocks? Among the divisions of the army of Reuben there was great searching of heart.


Then the standard of the camp of Reuben set out, accompanied by its army with Shedeur's son Elizur in charge.


Later, Joshua called together the descendants of Reuben, the descendants of Gad, and the half-tribe of Manasseh and told them, "You have done everything that Moses the servant of the LORD commanded you, and you have listened to me in everything that I commanded you. You haven't abandoned your relatives these past days to the present, and you have met the obligation contained in the commands of the LORD your God. read more.
Now the LORD has given peace to your relatives, just as he told them. Therefore, proceed to your tents to the land that is yours to possess that Moses the servant of the LORD gave you east of the Jordan River. Only be very careful to keep the commands and the Law that Moses the servant of the LORD commanded you that is, to love the LORD your God, to follow in all of his ways, to keep his commands, to stay close to him, and to serve him with all your heart and soul." That's how Joshua blessed them. Then he sent them on their way and they returned to their tents. Now Moses had made an allotment in Bashan to one half-tribe of Manasseh, but Joshua made an allotment west of the Jordan River to the other half-tribe of their relatives. So when Joshua sent them on their way back to their tents, he also blessed them by saying "Return to your tents with great wealth, plenty of livestock, silver, gold, bronze, iron, and lots of clothing. Divide the spoil from your enemies among your relatives." The descendants of Reuben, the descendants of Gad, and the half-tribe of Manasseh went back to the land of Gilead, leaving the Israelis at Shiloh in the land of Canaan, for their territorial possession that they had inherited in accordance with the command of the LORD given through Moses.


Leah conceived, bore a son, and named him Reuben, because she was saying, "The LORD had looked on my torture, so now my husband will love me."


These were their names: From Reuben's tribe, Zaccur's son Shammua;


These families of the descendants of Reuben numbered 43,730.


"Toward the south is to be the division of the camp of Reuben under their standard. The leader of Reuben is to be Shedeur's son Elizur.


"Here is a list of names of the men who are to assist you:


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