Genesis 49:4

Treasury of Scripture Knowledge

Summary

Unstable as water, thou shalt not excel; because thou wentest up to thy father's bed; then defiledst thou it: he went up to my couch.

Unstable

James 1:6

2 Peter 2:14

2 Peter 3:16

Thou shalt not excel

Genesis 46:8

Deuteronomy 33:6

Because

1 Corinthians 5:1

General references

Bible References

Unstable

But he must ask [for wisdom] in faith, without doubting [God’s willingness to help], for the one who doubts is like a billowing surge of the sea that is blown about and tossed by the wind.

They have eyes full of adultery, constantly looking for sin, enticing and luring away unstable souls. Having hearts trained in greed, [they are] children of a curse.

speaking about these things as he does in all of his letters. In which there are some things that are difficult to understand, which the untaught and unstable [who have fallen into error] twist and misinterpret, just as they do the rest of the Scriptures, to their own destruction.

Thou shalt not excel

Now these are the names of the sons of Israel, Jacob and his sons, who went to Egypt: Reuben, Jacob’s firstborn.

“May [the tribe of] Reuben live and not die out,

But let his men be few.”

Because

While Israel was living in that land, Reuben [his eldest son] went and lay with Bilhah his father’s concubine, and Israel heard about it.

Now Jacob had twelve sons—

‘You shall not covet [that is, desire and seek to acquire] your neighbor’s wife, nor desire your neighbor’s house, his field, his male servant or his female servant, his ox or his donkey or anything that belongs to your neighbor.’

‘Cursed is he who is intimate with his father’s [former] wife, because he has violated what belongs to his father.’ And all the people shall say, ‘Amen.’

Now [we come to] the sons of Reuben the firstborn of Israel—for Reuben was the eldest, but because he defiled his father’s bed [with Bilhah his father’s concubine], his birthright was given to [Manasseh and Ephraim] the sons of Joseph [the favorite] son of Israel, so that he is not enrolled in the genealogy according to the birthright.

It is actually reported [everywhere] that there is sexual immorality among you, a kind of immorality that is condemned even among the [unbelieving] Gentiles: that someone has [an intimate relationship with] his father’s wife.

General references

You shall not uncover the nakedness of your father’s wife; it is your father’s nakedness.

The sons of Reuben, Israel’s (Jacob’s) firstborn, their generations, by their families (clans), by their fathers’ households, according to the number of names, head by head, every male from twenty years old and upward, all who were able to go to war:

‘Cursed is he who is intimate with his father’s [former] wife, because he has violated what belongs to his father.’ And all the people shall say, ‘Amen.’

“May [the tribe of] Reuben live and not die out,

But let his men be few.”