Home › Glossary › Letter R

Reuben

Biblical
Pronunciation

Understanding ARPABET Pronunciation

Want to hear it? Click the Listen button to hear the browser speak the word using text-to-speech!

The pronunciation guide uses the ARPABET phonetic system—the same system used in speech recognition and text-to-speech applications.

Vowel Examples:
AE1 = cat, bat
EH1 = bed, head
IY1 = see, me
OW1 = go, boat
UW1 = boot, do
Stress Numbers:
0 = no stress (unstressed)
1 = primary stress (loud)
2 = secondary stress (medium)
Example:
AH0 TH IY1 N AH0
= a-THEE-na (Athena)

The stressed syllable (marked with 1) is pronounced louder and clearer than others.

Quick Definition

Firstborn son of Jacob who lost his birthright due to moral failure

Detailed Definition
Reuben, though firstborn, slept with his father’s concubine Bilhah (Genesis 35:22) and later failed to save Joseph (Genesis 37:21–22), forfeiting leadership. In poetry, Reuben symbolizes squandered privilege, the tragedy of potential unfulfilled, and the consequences of impulsive sin—often portrayed as a figure of regret, whose early zeal gives way to irrelevance in Israel’s story.
Example
Example in poetry:
In Genesis 35:22, Reuben’s transgression inspires poetry about lost primogeniture; Jacob’s blessing in Genesis 49:3–4—“unstable as water”—becomes refrain in moral verse; Contemporary poems explore Reuben’s later attempts to save Joseph as partial redemption; In poems about birthright, Reuben’s instability contrasts with Judah’s rise; Some liturgical laments include Reuben in tribe’s eventual scattering; Educational poems cite Reuben to teach about consequences and restoration.
Additional Notes
Reuben, Jacob’s firstborn, loses his birthright due to sleeping with Bilhah (Genesis 35); his impulsive nature and later attempts to save Joseph show complexity; poets may use Reuben to explore lost privilege, emotional volatility, or the tension between intention and action.
Also Known As
Reuben son of Jacob Reuben the Firstborn
Skip to main content