In later Jewish tradition an explanation is given which exculpates Reuben (cf. window.location.replace(""); and yet, in the end, she was raped and was not even aware of what occurred, much like Lot with his daughters. And he lay with her, and she awoke and saw, and behold Reuben was lying with her in the bed, and she uncovered the border of her covering and seized him, and cried out, and discovered that it was Reuben. New Revised Standard Version). One who thus “uncovers his father’s nakedness” is punished by death (Lev 20:11), as is the woman, and he is accursed (Deut 27:20). in Jewish History from Yeshiva University and a Ph.D. in Ancient Jewish Literature from New York University. script type="text/javascript"> After Jacob had settled down in that place, Reuben, Jacob’s firstborn slept with Bilhah, Jacob’s secondary wife. The Testament of Reuben is written in the form of a farewell address, like Jacob’s blessings in Genesis 49, and Moses’ blessings in Deuteronomy 33, and also David’s parting words in this week’s haftarah. Bilhah » Rachael's servant » Reuben's incest with Genesis 35:22 It came about while Israel was dwelling in that land, that Reuben went and lay with Bilhah his father’s concubine, and Israel heard of it. The text in our parasha does not tell us. 17 The sons of Leah were Reuben the first born, and Simeon, Levi, Judah, Issachar, Zebulun, and their sister Dinah; and the sons of Rachel were Joseph and Benjamin. The letter peh in the middle of the verse indicates that in a liturgically kosher Torah scroll, a space appears between the words “And Israel heard” and the continuation of the verse concerning the twelve sons of Israel. 21 Israel again set out and pitched his tent beyond the Tower of Eder. And then, for good measure, she finishes out the brood with Benjamin (those must have been some powerful mandrakes). For example, in this work, Bilhah is not blamed at all; and more emphasis is placed on exonerating her. Jubilees and the Testament of Reuben are two works of the Pseudepigrapha, which expand upon the story in Genesis; both of them seek to simultaneously condemn and excuse Reuben, as they “fill in gaps” in the biblical text.[5]. Reuben and the Customs of Israel. What does “you shall excel no longer” mean? 3. Did Jacob, or God, punish him and if so, in a limited way, or for eternity? [8]Jubilees gives an additional explanation for Bilhah’s lack of culpability as well as for Reuben’s: This heaping of excuses one on top of the other is likely a result of the author’s having drawn upon multiple traditions. And Laban gave to Rachel his daughter, Bilhah, his maidservant, to be her maidservant. Earlier, we were told that Jacob heard of Reuben’s transgression, but not of any action. Because of this, he was cursed by his father when he would otherwise have received the birthright The Chronicler does not use the terminology of Genesis 35, however. of R. H. Charles, The Apocrypha and Pseudepigrapha of the Old Testament. Turns out that he was also shtupping Bilhah... at best, his stepmother, at worst, his stepmother AND aunt. A. [6] Transl. “Defiled his father’s bed” reflects “Reuben went and lay with Bilhah, his father’s concubine.” This in itself shoes how biblical authors drew upon earlier biblical texts and traditions, offering us a brief glimpse into the process of the composition of biblical texts. In an enigmatic passage after the death of Rachel, the Torah harshly condemns Reuben: “Reuben went and lay down with Bilhah, his father’s concubine” (Gen. 35:22). THE EPISODE OF REUBEN AND BILHAH The Bible relates that Reuben lay with Bilhah, his father’s concubine (Gen. 35:22). Maidservant of Rachel, concubine of Jacob, and mother of Dan and Naphtali (Gen 29:29; 35:25). How was Reuben punished for the sin, and why was his punishment relatively lenient? Leiden: Brill, 2011), 414-425. script>, The Chronicles of Divine Justice: Why God Destroyed Judah, Leviticusâ Rhetorical Presentation of the Sin and Guilt Offerings, Die Schrift: A Non-Territorial Translation of âThe Landâ. As a firstborn, he was supposed to get a double portion, and would have been most affected by any added progeny. This act, a serious crime punishable by death, revealed the loss of his earlier integrity. [12] I would like to express my gratitude to my friend and teacher Elie Holzer for modeling this invaluable approach, and to Joshua Gutoff for calling my attention to the following article, which elaborate on this perspective: see Elie Holzer, “Allowing the Biblical Text to do its Pedagogical Work: Connecting Interpretative Activity and Moral Education,”Journal of Moral Education 36/4 (2007) 497-514. The rabbinic practice of simultaneous translation of the Torah reading in synagogues into Aramaic was intended to make the Torah accessible to the public. Reuben’s great failure occurred when he slept with his father’s concubine Bilhah. The particular scribal phenomenon seen here—a “pisqa be’emsa passuq” (a break in the middle of a verse) is unusual, and various explanations have been suggested for its occurrences. However, this verse has been translated elsewhere as a positive pronouncement: “May Reuben live and not die, and may his men be numerous” (cf. 2. Bilhah is also considered a minor Bible character but was also used to bring two of the twelve leaders of the tribes of Israel onto the earth. And when Jacob returned and sought her, she said unto him: "I am not clean for thee, for I have been defiled as regards thee; for Reuben hath defiled me, and hath lain with me in the night, and I was asleep, and did not discover until he uncovered my skirt and slept with me." Therefore Rueben’s birthright was taken from him and given to the sons of Joseph. near Isaac his father and Rebecca his mother. The Death of Bilhah and Dinah (xxxiv. This act caused Reuben to lose his birthright inheritance as pointed out in Genesis 49:3-4. 65-94, available here. 3, “Reuben and Bilhah: Jubilees 33,” pp. Next: War of the Amorite Kings against Jacob and his Sons. This composition re-tells the narratives in the book of Genesis and the beginning of Exodus, within a chronological framework according to “jubilee” periods of 49 years, to emphasize that history is unfolding according to a pre-determined divine plan. And Jacob did not approach her again because Reuben had defiled her. Inner thoughts and internal conflicts, rather than external deeds, stand at the center of the T. Reuben narrative. She is the author of The Pesher Nahum Scroll from Qumran: An Exegetical Study of 4Q169. [11] See Sigmund Freud, The Interpretation of Dreams, in Standard Edition of the Complete Psychological Works of Sigmund Freud, (trans. He may also have been worried for his mother. For the Chronicler, it means that Reuben has lost his privilege as first-born. Now back to Reuben. Copies of Jubilees found in the Qumran Caves confirm its authorship by the first century CE (most scholars date Jubilees to mid 2nd century BCE); the current form of the Testament of the Twelve Patriarchs, including the Testament of Reuben, dates to a somewhat later period, but it makes use of earlier sources. 166:4 A compound of migdal eder ephrāth ("the tower of Eder of Ephrath"); cf. [5] The Pseudepigrapha is a collection of works ascribed to Jewish authors in the Second Temple era or soon thereafter. 1 9. The answers offered in the Testament of Reuben are complicated—there were mitigating circumstances; Bilhah is assigned some blame because of her immodest drunken behavior (!) There is an attempt to harmonize views of different sages, some of whom described Reuben as having sinned and atoned, for example, while others maintained that he was spared from sin. Later, after Rachel died giving birth to Benjamin, Jacob’s oldest son, Reuben, slept with Bilhah; his was an incestuous act, since Bilhah was his father’s concubine (Genesis 35:22). 8. A common feature among Jewish exegetes who view this verse positively is to explain the duplication of “live” and “not die” by ascribing the former to this world, and the second to the world to come. 22). Tzoref holds an M.A. Ensure inheritance – Ramban suggests that Reuven did not want Bilhah to bear any more children lest it affect his inheritance. A different approach is taken by some later Jewish sources, who attempt to ignore the story, or to deny the sin, even if this means subversively revising the biblical text. Dr. Shani Tzoref is currently a Fellow at the Qumran Institute of the University of Göttingen. Bilhah. [3] The verse contains syntactic ambiguity alongside the lexical ambiguity of mispar. Some might read the Talmud as suggesting that pious Jews ought to tell a single simplistic story of Reuben’s (non-)deed, and to consider this story to be what “really” happened in the Bible—even though it is far from the biblical account itself. It follows the common structure of the genre as it developed in the Second Temple era: Reuben gathers his sons before he dies, and he then proceeds to speak to them in first person, reviewing episodes from his personal history, with the intent to impress upon his children to learn from his example. Jacob tells Reuben: The uncommon word ×צ××¢ is used for “couch”; the Chronicler uses this term, and in doing so, offers an interpretation of Jacob’s parting words to Reuben, which are in somewhat cryptic poetic form. A. Brill), 4:119-20; idem, Jokes and Their Relation to the Unconscious, Standard Edition 13:62 and 206. Oops! The literal gap in the Reuben and Bilhah story–the pisqa be’emsa passuq– serves to remind us that our role as readers and transmitters is to fully engage the text and its possibilities, to pay attention to what is there, and what is not, and to consider together how we might fill in what is missing. This understanding of Jacob’s statement fills some of the gap in the narrative of Reuben and Bilhah. 73-82. Launched Shavuot 5773 / 2013 | Copyright © Project TABS, All Rights Reserved. This attempt at harmonization is a more extreme mix of inconsistencies than the “overkill” that Kugel sees in Jubilees. Since he views Jubilees as a composite work, he distinguishes between the “legal” and “narrative” sections in this chapter. Genesis 35:22 reads: This laconic verse is troubling. Reuben was Jacob's (Israel) eldest son with Leah. Sin Always Comes Back. Rashi, Ramban. Because of his transgression, Reuben lost … 1 17. And she was ashamed because of him, and released her hand from him, and he fled. Kugel actually uses the term with respect to Jubilees‘ treatment of the words “and Jacob heard,” but it applies to the treatment of Bilhah as well. ×¢Ö²×§Ö¹× ×©×Ö°× Öµ×× ×¢Ö¸×©×ָר. Genesis 35:22 says, "And it came to pass, while Israel dwelt in that land, that Reuben went and lay with Bilhah his father's concubine; and Israel heard of it." Did Moses mitigate the punishment or reiterate it? Segal offers a different explanation for the inconsistencies raised by the multiplicity of excuses. How should we retell this story to our children, if we can’t determine “what really happened”? And as for any man who uncovereth his father's skirt his deed is wicked exceedingly, for he is abominable before the Lord. Bilhah, Concubine of Jacob (בִּלְהָה , bilhah). The Book of Jubilees offers an even more complex portrait of the characters. [7] For an exceptionally insightful analysis of the treatment of Reuben’s sin in the Testament of Reuben, which downplays the exegetical and theological aspects of the portrayal, and highlights the socio-religious and ideological significance, see: Ishay Rosen-Zvi “Bilhah the Temptress: The Testament of Reuben and ‘The Birth of Sexuality,'” Jewish Quarterly Review 96.1, pp. And do thou, Moses, command the children of Israel that they observe this word; for it (entaileth) a punishment of death; and it is unclean, and there is no atonement. She was formerly the coordinator of the Biblical Studies program at the University of Sydney. Therefore he should have gotten his birthright. The late Prof. Shemaryahu Talmon proposed that a mid-verse break may act as a sign directing the reader to a related text in the Hebrew Bible. for ever to atone for the man who hath committed this, but he is to be put to death and slain, and stoned with stones, and rooted out from the midst of the people of our God. And there is no greater sin than the fornication which they commit on earth; for Israel is a holy nation unto the Lord its God, and a nation of inheritance, and a priestly and royal nation and for (His own) possession; 4 and there shall no such uncleanness appear in the midst of the holy nation. Cf. Now the sons of Jacob were twelve. on Gen. xxxv. 9--15, where the same incident is narrated. The account in chapter 33 of Jubilees shares some elements with the Testament of Reuben but the presentation differs in important ways. Rachel’s Children by Bilhah. The sin of sleeping with Jacob’s concubine, Bilhah came back to haunt Reuben when Jacob later gave his double portion to someone else because of that one mistake. 6. So, did Reuben commit a grave sin, or was he spared from doing so at the last minute? Example sentences from the Web for Bilhah The story of Reuben and Bilhah, in the next chapter, may be instructive to the pious, but is not so to persons of refined taste. TheTorah.com is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization.We rely on the support of readers like you. What emerges in the course of this attempt to align disparate, and even contradictory, views, is a sense of the great value that the various sages attributed to such ideals as atonement, parental respect, and divine providence and intervention. How, for that matter, did Jacob hear about this sin, which had been committed in secrecy? 30 Rachel noticed that she was not bearing children for Jacob, so because she envied her sister Leah, she told Jacob, “If you don’t give me sons, I’m going to die!” 2 That made Jacob angry with Rachel, so he asked her, “Can I take God’s place, who has not allowed you to conceive?” [] 3 Rachel [] responded, “Here’s my handmaid Bilhah. The children they bore were even named by Leah and Rachel. And tell them these words of the covenant, that they may hear and observe, and be on their guard with respect to them, and not be destroyed and rooted out of the land; for an uncleanness, and an abomination, and a contamination, and a pollution are all they who commit it on the earth before our God. It happened, while Israel lived in that land, that Reuben went and lay with Bilhah, his father's concubine, and Israel heard of it. As elaborated by Michael Segal, the text explicitly states that she was bathing in a private place, and that she was asleep throughout the entire act of intercourse, and that when she woke up and realized what had happened, she cried out. So why did Reuben lose this inheritance? 15. “While Israel (Jacob) stayed in that land, Reuben went and lay with Bilhah, his father’s concubine; and Israel (Jacob) found out.” (Genesis 35:22) “Israel moved on again and pitched his tent beyond Migdal Eder. As the first born son, Reuben stood to inherit a double portion of the inheritance and he was to be a leader among his people. Bilhah is said to be buried in the Tomb of the Matriarchs in Tiberias. Is Moses’s statement reinforcing Jacob’s negative “blessing” of Reuben, or mitigating it? Bilhah ended up spending most of her free time with the children and because Reuben was the oldest they developed a close relationship. The classical rabbinical texts argue that Reuben immediately showed contrition for his actions in regard to Bilhah, and thus was the first penitent; initially, according to these sources, Reuben practiced penitence by secretly meditating, and also by abstaining from meat and wine, but when Judah confessed to the matter of Tamar, Reuben admitted what he had done, lest his other brothers might be suspected of his … faltering; bashful, Rachel's handmaid, whom she gave to Jacob ( Genesis 29:29).She was the mother of Dan and Naphtali ( Genesis 30:3-8).Reuben was cursed by his father for committing adultry with her ( 35:22; 49:4).He was deprived of the birth-right, which was given to the sons of Joseph. 10. iv. The Sifre’s portrait of Reuben is discussed extensively by Steven D. Fraade, along with a detailed analysis in Legal Fictions: Law and Narrative in the Discursive Worlds of Ancient Jewish Sectarians and Sages (JSJSup 147. How did his father react to hearing about this? A seminal study of Reuben’s sin, and its treatment in the Testament of Reuben, is Avigdor Shinan and Yair Zakovitch, The Story of Reuben and Bilhah (Hebrew; Jerusalem, 1983). 20. 22 While Israel was living in that region, Reuben went in and slept with his father’s concubine Bilhah, and Israel heard about it. 168:1 "Where there is no law there is no transgression" (Rom. For to no man who doeth so in Israel is it permitted to remain alive a single day on the earth, for he is abominable and unclean. And let them not say: to Reuben was granted life and forgiveness after he had lain with his father's concubine, and to her also though she had a husband, and her husband Jacob, his father, was still alive. Indeed, Jacob kept his marriage bed in Rachel’s tent for the duration of her life. Bilhah must have been very young when she bore her children, because Jacob’s eldest son Reuben (by Leah) has sex with her (Gen 35:22). The view that “Reuben atoned” but that “In any case, he did not sin” is reminiscent of the classic joke, famously cited by Freud[11], in which somebody responds to an accusation that he had broken a borrowed kettle asserting that (1) in the first place, he had returned the kettle undamaged and (2) in the second place, the kettle was already damaged when he borrowed it and (3) in the third place, he had never borrowed the kettle in the first place. As a result of this adultery, he lost the respect of his father, who said: "Unstable as water, have not thou the excellency; because thou wentest up to thy father's bed; then defiledst thou it—he went up to my couch." 4. After Rachel died, Reuben was likely anxious because Jacob had shown favor to her sons over Leah’s. In most ancient, and even some modern, civilizations, the firstborn male child inherited money, rank, and authority from his father. The Talmud (quoted in Rashi 29) explains that Reuben moved Jacob’s bed from Bilhah’s tent to the tent of his mother, Leah. Spaces in ancient scrolls served as punctuation, and this scribal practice is well-attested in the Dead Sea Scrolls. 23. 1 And these were the names of the sons of Jacob: the first-born Reuben, Simeon, Levi, Judah, Issachar, Zebulon, the sons of Leah; and the sons of Rachel, Joseph and Benjamin; and the sons of Bilhah, Dan and Naphtali, and the sons of Zilpah, Gad and Asher; and Dinah, the daughter of Leah, the only daughter of Jacob. Such is the case as well with Moses’ farewell address at the end of Deuteronomy. The Mishnah (m. Megillah 4:10) lists “Reuben’s deed” as one of four verses that are read (in Hebrew), but are not translated with Targum. Reuben iii. Now in Gen 49, as explained by the Chronicler, Jacob settles the old score by depriving Reuben of his due as first-born. Reuben, son of Jacob and Leah, slept with Bilhah after Rachel died. Finkelstein, 404-5.) He offers further words of ethical exhortation, and concludes with a reference to future redemption. 3 19. It came about while Israel was dwelling in that land, that Reuben went and lay with Bilhah his father’s concubine, and Israel heard of it. Many of them feature midrash-like embellishments and interpretations of the biblical texts. 16. David Pearson Wright, David Noel Freedman, Avi Hurvitz; Winona Lake, Ind. Layman’s Bible Commentary asserts: “Reuben’s relations with Bilhah are a power move as much as anything else. : Eisenbrauns, 1995), 525-554, at 553. Please support us. The Bible Of Bibles; | Kersey Graves … [4] The Torah forbids a man to have intercourse with the wife of his father (Lev 18:7; Deut 32:1). Bilhah and Zilpah imbue every Jew with the capability to carry over the holiness we inherit from the Patriarchs and Matriarchs into creation. Was Reuben culpable for his awful sin? [1] Here and elsewhere the translation of the verses are from New JPS with some adaptations. After the death of Rachel, the oldest son of Jacob, Reuben, committed fornication with Bilhah. The Testament of Reuben grapples with the the exegetical, moral, and theological issues raised by the text and offers creative solutions.[7]. So, for those keeping count: Leah 6 (+1 daughter), Bilhah 2, Zilpah 2, Rachel 2. Leiden: Brill, 2007, ch. In this case, Talmon saw the gap as a sort of “hyperlink” intended to point to the genealogical list in Chronicles: Whether or not this is the intent of the scribal break, it is clear that 1 Chronicles relates to the event mentioned in Genesis 35. What “really happened” is less important for a religious reader than the lessons to be learned, and the conversations about these lessons. (WEB KJV JPS ASV BBE DBY WBS YLT NAS RSV NIV) Genesis 35:25 And Jacob was exceedingly wroth with Reuben because he had lain with Bilhah, because he had uncovered his father's skirt. This is why Bilhah and Zilpah bore these children "on behalf of" and as "the agents of" Leah and Rachel. —Ge 35:22; 49:3, 4. Purpose of act – These sources differ in their understanding of Reuven's specific motives:. [2] Alternatively, “let his men be in the counting,” i.e., the tribe of Reuben will still be considered a part of the nation of Israel. (Ge 30:3-8; 35:25; 1Ch 7:13) When Jacob returned to the land of Canaan, Bilhah, together with her children, was personally introduced to Jacob’s twin brother Esau. Reuben was the eldest son, the first-born of Isaac (Israel). However, Reuben, though the oldest of the twelve sons of Jacob, does not inherit this from his father as the important role of ruler is given to his younger brother Judah. // Javascript URL redirection For this reason it is written and ordained on the heavenly tables that a man should not lie with his father's wife, and should not uncover his father's skirt, for this is unclean: they shall surely die together, 2 the man who lieth with his father's wife and the woman also, for they have wrought uncleanness on the earth.
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