Reu
Reu was the son of Peleg and an ancestor of Abraham, living to the age of 239 years.
Biography
Reu, whose name may mean "friend" or "companion," was the son of Peleg and the father of Serug in the primordial genealogy of Genesis 11:18-21. He belongs to the post-flood, post-Babel lineage tracing the line from Shem through to Abram (later Abraham). Living during a period when extraordinary longevity was still recorded, the text notes he lived 239 years, Reu represents one of the transitional figures bridging the world of the flood survivors and the age of the patriarchs. His name appears again in Luke 3:35, where the Greek genealogy of Jesus traces the ancestry of Christ through this same Shemite line, confirming Reu's place in the messianic family tree that Scripture carefully preserves across millennia.
Significance
Reu's significance lies primarily in his function as a vital link in the genealogical chain connecting Noah's son Shem to Abraham and ultimately to Jesus Christ. The careful preservation of his name in both Genesis 11 and Luke 3 testifies to Scripture's sustained commitment to demonstrating that God's redemptive plan unfolds through a specific, traceable human lineage. Each name in this genealogy represents a generation across which the covenant promise was carried and preserved. Reu also stands as a reminder that the great age of the patriarchs was not a sudden rupture from the past but a culmination of a long process of God's providential preparation, working through ordinary human families toward extraordinary divine ends.
Verse Appearances (6)
1 Chronicles
Luke
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]
- Church of England (1769) The Holy Bible, Authorized (King James) Version. [Public Domain]