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While he was living there, Reuben had intercourse with Bilhah, his father’s concubine, and Jacob soon heard about it. These are the names of the twelve sons of Jacob:
Genesis 35:22 · New Living Translation
Parallel translations
  • WEB While Israel lived in that land, Reuben went and lay with Bilhah, his father’s concubine, and Israel heard of it. Now the sons of Jacob were twelve.
  • KJV And it came to pass, when Israel dwelt in that land, that Reuben went and lay with Bilhah his father’s concubine: and Israel heard it. Now the sons of Jacob were twelve:
  • BSB While Israel was living in that region, Reuben went in and slept with his father’s concubine Bilhah, and Israel heard about it. Jacob had twelve sons:
  • NKJV And it happened, when Israel dwelt in that land, that Reuben went and lay with Bilhah his father’s concubine; and Israel heard about it. Now the sons of Jacob were twelve:
  • NASB And it came about, while Israel was living in that land, that Reuben went and slept with his father’s concubine Bilhah, and Israel heard about it. Now there were twelve sons of Jacob—

Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org

Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.

Quick answer

Reuben sins by lying with Bilhah, his father's concubine, and Israel hears of it; the list of Jacob's twelve sons follows.

Overview

Reuben's grave offense against his father's household later costs him the firstborn's rights (Genesis 49:3-4; 1 Chronicles 5:1). The verse records the sin plainly without excusing it, exposing the brokenness even within the covenant family. The transition to naming the twelve sons shows God preserving His purposes despite human failure.

Cross-references & the web

Cross-references · 28

  • 1 Chr 5:1The sons of Reuben the firstborn of Israel (for he was the firstborn; but, because he defiled his father’s couch, his birthright was given to the sons of Joseph the son of Israel; and the genealogy is not to be listed according to the birthright.
  • Lev 18:8“‘You shall not uncover the nakedness of your father’s wife. It is your father’s nakedness.
  • Gen 49:1–28Jacob called to his sons, and said: “Gather yourselves together, that I may tell you that which will happen to you in the days to come.
  • 2 Sam 20:3David came to his house at Jerusalem; and the king took the ten women his concubines, whom he had left to keep the house, and put them in custody, and provided them with sustenance, but didn’t go in to them. So they were shut up to the day of their death, living in widowhood.
  • 1 Cor 5:1It is actually reported that there is sexual immorality among you, and such sexual immorality as is not even named among the Gentiles, that one has his father’s wife.
  • 2 Sam 16:21–22Ahithophel said to Absalom, “Go in to your father’s concubines that he has left to keep the house. Then all Israel will hear that you are abhorred by your father. Then the hands of all who are with you will be strong.”
  • Num 26:57–62These are those who were counted of the Levites after their families: of Gershon, the family of the Gershonites; of Kohath, the family of the Kohathites; of Merari, the family of the Merarites.
  • Exod 1:1–5Now these are the names of the sons of Israel, who came into Egypt (every man and his household came with Jacob):
  • Exod 6:14–16These are the heads of their fathers’ houses. The sons of Reuben the firstborn of Israel: Hanoch, and Pallu, Hezron, and Carmi; these are the families of Reuben.
  • Deut 33:1–29This is the blessing with which Moses the man of God blessed the children of Israel before his death.
  • Josh 13:1–21Now Joshua was old and well advanced in years. Yahweh said to him, “You are old and advanced in years, and there remains yet very much land to be possessed.
  • 1 Chr 2:1–2These are the sons of Israel: Reuben, Simeon, Levi, Judah, Issachar, Zebulun,
  • 1 Chr 12:23–40These are the numbers of the heads of those who were armed for war, who came to David to Hebron, to turn the kingdom of Saul to him, according to Yahweh’s word.
  • 1 Chr 27:16–22Furthermore over the tribes of Israel: of the Reubenites was Eliezer the son of Zichri the ruler; of the Simeonites, Shephatiah the son of Maacah;
  • Ezek 48:1–35Now these are the names of the tribes: From the north end, beside the way of Hethlon to the entrance of Hamath, Hazar Enan at the border of Damascus, northward beside Hamath, (and they shall have their sides east and west), Dan, one portion.
  • Acts 7:8He gave him the covenant of circumcision. So Abraham became the father of Isaac, and circumcised him the eighth day. Isaac became the father of Jacob, and Jacob became the father of the twelve patriarchs.
  • Gen 46:8–27These are the names of the children of Israel, who came into Egypt, Jacob and his sons: Reuben, Jacob’s firstborn.
  • Gen 35:18As her soul was departing (for she died), she named him Benoni, but his father named him Benjamin.
  • Gen 30:5–24Bilhah conceived, and bore Jacob a son.
  • Gen 29:31–35Yahweh saw that Leah was hated, and he opened her womb, but Rachel was barren.
  • Rev 7:4–8I heard the number of those who were sealed, one hundred forty-four thousand, sealed out of every tribe of the children of Israel:
  • Num 7:12–89He who offered his offering the first day was Nahshon the son of Amminadab, of the tribe of Judah,
  • Rev 21:14The wall of the city had twelve foundations, and on them twelve names of the twelve Apostles of the Lamb.
  • Num 2:3–33Those who encamp on the east side toward the sunrise shall be of the standard of the camp of Judah, according to their divisions: and the prince of the children of Judah shall be Nahshon the son of Amminadab.
  • Num 34:14–28for the tribe of the children of Reuben according to their fathers’ houses, and the tribe of the children of Gad according to their fathers’ houses, have received, and the half-tribe of Manasseh have received, their inheritance.
  • Num 1:5–15These are the names of the men who shall stand with you: Of Reuben: Elizur the son of Shedeur.
  • Num 1:20–46The children of Reuben, Israel’s firstborn, their generations, by their families, by their fathers’ houses, according to the number of the names, one by one, every male from twenty years old and upward, all who were able to go out to war;
  • Num 26:5–51Reuben, the firstborn of Israel; the sons of Reuben: of Hanoch, the family of the Hanochites; of Pallu, the family of the Palluites;

Themes, concepts, people & topics

Topics (5)

Resources, by level

Commentaries & study tools

  • VideoBibleProject — Genesis videosBibleProject · Lay · Free · evangelical

    Free animated overview and word-study videos for this book.

  • VideoWatch teaching on Genesis 35:22YouTube · Lay · Free

    Sermons and teaching on this passage from across YouTube.

  • CommentaryEnduring Word — verse-by-verseDavid Guzik · Lay · Free · evangelical

    Clear, readable, conservative exposition — the best free place to start on any passage.

  • CommentaryClassic commentaries for this verseBibleHub (20+ works) · Pastoral · Free

    Matthew Henry, Barnes, Gill, the Pulpit Commentary, Ellicott, Cambridge, and more — stacked on one page for this exact verse.

  • CommentaryMatthew Henry on GenesisMatthew Henry · Pastoral · Free · evangelical

    The beloved Puritan exposition of this whole book — warm, devotional, and verse by verse (free, CCEL).

  • ReferenceInterlinear, lexicon & Strong'sBlue Letter Bible · Seminary · Free

    Hebrew/Greek interlinear, word definitions, and cross-references for this verse.

Christ at the center

From the first promise that the seed of the woman would crush the serpent (3:15), through Abraham's blessing to all nations and Judah's coming ruler, Genesis sows every seed that flowers in Christ — the true offspring, the better Adam, the ram caught for Isaac.

How Genesis 35:22 points to him is part of the one story that runs through all Scripture — meet Jesus at the heart of the web, or follow a trail that traces him from Genesis to Revelation.

Original language

Each word below is tagged with its Strong’s number — tap one to see the underlying Hebrew word, its meaning, and every verse that uses it.