Midwestern Baptist Theological Seminary

The Firstborn Who Never Stood in His Place: Reuben’s Self-Undermining Leadership in the Jacob Family Narrative (Gen 29–50)

Reuben is the least studied of the displaced firstborn sons of Genesis whose material can sustain a reading of character, and his scenes have been read piecemeal. This article reads every scene in which he acts (30:14a; 35:22a; 37:21–22, 29–30; 42:22; 42:37), with the verdict of...