Did you know that Reuben lost his birthright and that Rueben’s birthright was given to the sons of Joseph? But do you know the reason why Rueben’s birthright was given to the sons of Joseph? Why did Rueben lose his birthright and why was Rueben’s birthright given to the sons of Joseph and not to Simeon, the second son of Isaac?
The reason why Rueben’s birthright was taken from him
Reuben was the eldest son, the firstborn of Isaac (ישראל). Therefore Rueben should have gotten his birthright. But Reuben defiled his father’s bed, by being intimate with Bilhah, his father’s concubine. Therefore Rueben’s birthright was taken from him and given to the sons of Joseph.
And Israel journeyed, and spread his tent beyond the tower of Edar. וזה קרה, when Israel dwelt in that land, that Reuben went and lay with Bilhah his father’s concubine: and Israel heard it (בראשית 35:21-22)
Now the sons of Reuben the firstborn of Israel, (for he was the firstborn; אבל, forasmuch as he defiled his father’s bed, his birthright was given unto the sons of Joseph the son of Israel: and the genealogy is not to be reckoned after the birthright. For Judah prevailed above his brethren, and of him came the chief ruler; but the birthright was Joseph’s) (1 כרוניקה 5:1-2)
Rueben lost his birthright because of an act of lust
Reuben lost his birthright through one act of lust. Jacob took the sons of Joseph and called them his. He considered them as his own sons Rueben and Simeon:
And now thy two sons, Ephraim and Manasseh, which were born unto thee in the land of Egypt before I came unto thee into Egypt, are mine; as Reuben and Simeon, they shall be mine. And thy issue, which thou begettest after them, shall be thine, and shall be called after the name of their brethren in their inheritance (בראשית 48:5-6)
Why did Rueben’s birthright go to Joseph’s sons
and not to Simeon?
But what about the other sons of Jacob? Because when Reuben, the first son, lost his birthright, you might think that Rueben’s birthright would be passed on to the second son Simeon. But Simeon didn’t inherit Reuben’s birthright. Why didn’t Simeon inherit Rueben’s birthright? We read the answer in Genesis chapter 49, where Jacob spoke his last words to his sons:
And Jacob called unto his sons, ואמר, Gather yourselves together, that I may tell you that which shall befall you in the last days. Gather yourselves together, and hear, ye sons of Jacob; and hearken unto Israel your father.
Reuben, thou art my firstborn, my might, and the beginning of my strength, the excellency of dignity, and the excellency of power: 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
Simeon ו Levi are brethren; instruments of cruelty are in their habitations. O my soul, come not thou into their secret; unto their assembly, mine honour, be not thou united: for in their anger they slew a man, and in their selfwill they digged down a wall. Cursed be their anger, for it was fierce; and their wrath, for it was cruel: I will divide them in Jacob, and scatter them in Israel.
Judah, thou art he whom thy brethren shall praise: thy hand shall be in the neck of thine enemies; thy father’s children shall bow down before thee. Judah is a lion’s whelp: from the prey, my son, thou art gone up: he stooped down, he couched as a lion, and as an old lion; who shall rouse him up? The sceptre shall not depart from Judah, nor a lawgiver from between his feet, until Shiloh come; and unto him shall the gathering of the people be. Binding his foal unto the vine, and his ass’s colt unto the choice vine; he washed his garments in wine, and his clothes in the blood of grapes: His eyes shall be red with wine, and his teeth white with milk
Zebulun shall dwell at the haven of the sea; and he shall be for an haven of ships; and his border shall be unto Zidon.
Issachar is a strong ass couching down between two burdens: And he saw that rest was good, and the land that it was pleasant; and bowed his shoulder to bear, and became a servant unto tribute.
Dan shall judge his people, as one of the tribes of Israel. Dan shall be a serpent by the way, an adder in the path, that biteth the horse heels, so that his rider shall fall backward. I have waited for thy salvation, הו אדון.
Gad, a troop shall overcome him: but he shall overcome at the last Out of Asher his bread shall be fat, and he shall yield royal dainties.
Naphtali is a hind let loose: he giveth goodly words.
Joseph is a fruitful bough, even a fruitful bough by a well; whose branches run over the wall: The archers have sorely grieved him, and shot at him, and hated him: But his bow abode in strength, and the arms of his hands were made strong by the hands of the mighty God of Jacob; (from thence is the shepherd, the stone of Israel:) Even by the God of thy father, who shall help thee; and by the Almighty, who shall bless thee with blessings of heaven above, blessings of the deep that lieth under, blessings of the breasts, and of the womb: The blessings of thy father have prevailed above the blessings of my progenitors unto the utmost bound of the everlasting hills: they shall be on the head of Joseph, and on the crown of the head of him that was separate from his brethren
Benjamin shall ravin as a wolf: in the morning he shall devour the prey,
and at night he shall divide the spoil.
All these are the twelve tribes of Israel: and this is it that their father spake unto them, and blessed them; every one according to his blessing he blessed them (בראשית 49: 1-28)
“Be the salt of the earth”
