Bible Strands
Genesis 35:23
The sons of Leah were Reuben the firstborn of Jacob, Simeon, Levi, Judah, Issachar, and Zebulun.
Berean Standard Bible
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Study note
Setting — The narrator records a genealogical inventory immediately after Jacob’s return to Bethel and Reuben’s violation of Bilhah (Genesis 35:22), and directly before listing Rachel’s offspring (Genesis 35:24). This account functions as a structural bridge between the two primary maternal lines of Jacob’s twelve sons.
The words — The text names רְאוּבֵ֑ן (re.'u.Ven) as Reuben and applies בְּכ֥וֹר (be.Khor), meaning [the] firstborn of יַעֲקֹ֖ב (Jacob), to him. This lexical pairing anchors Reuben’s status within the formal enumeration of Leah’s six sons.
The thread — The identification of Reuben as Jacob’s firstborn recurs in Genesis 46:8 and echoes the naming narratives in Genesis 29:32 and Genesis 30:18. These references collectively track the formal recognition of Leah’s sons across Jacob’s family history.
Why it lands — The verse demands a reader to note the precise lineage and birth order of Leah’s sons without editorial comment. It requires the reader to hold the factual genealogy alongside the preceding transgression in Genesis 35:22.
Drafted by a language model from the text, its original words and its cross-references, then checked against them. It can still be wrong: open the verse in the app to report it.
The Hebrew words
King James Version
The sons of Leah; Reuben, Jacob’s firstborn, and Simeon, and Levi, and Judah, and Issachar, and Zebulun:
Cross-references
- Genesis 30:18 Then Leah said, “God has rewarded me for giving my maidservant to my husband.” So she named him Issachar.
- Genesis 29:32 And Leah conceived and gave birth to a son, and she named him Reuben, for she said, “The LORD has seen my affliction. Surely my husband will love me now.”
- Genesis 46:8 Now these are the names of the sons of Israel (Jacob and his descendants) who went to Egypt: Reuben, Jacob’s firstborn.
- Genesis 33:2 He put the maidservants and their children in front, Leah and her children next, and Rachel and Joseph at the rear.
- Exodus 1:2 Reuben, Simeon, Levi, and Judah;