Carmi
Carmi, the son of Reuben, was the father of the Carmite clan.
Biography
Carmi was a son of Reuben, the firstborn of Jacob, and thus a grandson of the patriarch himself. He is listed among the seventy members of Jacob's household who descended into Egypt (Genesis 46:9; Exodus 6:14; Numbers 26:6; 1 Chronicles 5:3). During the Egypt and Wilderness era, Carmi's descendants constituted the Carmite clan, one of the recognized family divisions within the tribe of Reuben enumerated during the wilderness census (Numbers 26:6). Though Carmi himself receives no individual narrative in Scripture, his inclusion in the foundational genealogical records of Israel testifies to his importance as an ancestral patriarch of a clan that would eventually settle in the Transjordanian territories allotted to Reuben east of the Jordan River.
Significance
Carmi's place in the Reubenite genealogy underscores the careful preservation of tribal identity that was central to Israel's covenant structure. The meticulous recording of clan patriarchs like Carmi in both Genesis and Numbers reflects God's faithfulness in building a nation from a single family. The Carmite clan represents one thread in the intricate tapestry of the twelve tribes through which God chose to work his redemptive purposes. Reuben's tribe, though diminished in status due to its founder's sin (Genesis 49:3-4), was nonetheless preserved and numbered among God's covenant people, affirming that God's faithfulness transcends human failure.
Verse Appearances (4)
References
- Orr, J. (ed.) (1915) The International Standard Bible Encyclopedia. Chicago: Howard-Severance Company. [Public Domain]
- Tyndale House, Cambridge (n.d.) Translators Individualised Proper Names with all References (TIPNR). STEPBible. Available at: https://www.stepbible.org. [CC BY 4.0]
- Wikidata contributors (n.d.) Wikidata. Available at: https://www.wikidata.org. [CC0]
- Church of England (1769) The Holy Bible, Authorized (King James) Version. [Public Domain]