Bible Word Study
Ῥουβίμ
roybim · Reuben
Ῥουβίμ
Reuben
Definition
Ῥουβίμ (Reuben) refers to the tribe of Reuben, the firstborn son of Jacob and Leah (Genesis 29:32). In the New Testament, it appears exclusively in Revelation 7:5, where 12,000 people are sealed from the tribe of Reuben, indicating its inclusion among the twelve tribes of Israel in the prophetic vision. This usage maintains the Old Testament identity of Reuben as one of the foundational tribes, despite its historical decline and loss of tribal territory. The term carries no other distinct meanings in biblical Greek, functioning solely as this proper tribal name.
Biblical Usage
This word is used only once in the New Testament, in Revelation 7:5. It is part of a list naming the twelve tribes of Israel from which 144,000 servants of God are sealed. The pattern in Revelation 7:4-8 is a symbolic, ordered listing that includes Reuben as the first tribe mentioned, reflecting its status as the firstborn, though the list itself does not follow strict birth order.
Etymology
The Greek Ῥουβίμ is a direct transliteration of the Hebrew name רְאוּבֵן (Re'uven). The Hebrew name's etymology is given in Genesis 29:32 as derived from 'ra'ah' (to see) and 'be'onyi' (my affliction), meaning 'See, a son,' expressing Leah's hope that her husband would now see her. The Greek form preserves this proper name without semantic development.
Semantic Range
The mention of Reuben in Revelation 7:5 is theologically significant as it reaffirms God's faithfulness to all twelve tribes of Israel in eschatological restoration, despite Reuben's historical failings and loss of birthright (Genesis 49:3-4, 1 Chronicles 5:1). It underscores the completeness of God's redeemed people, symbolically numbered and sealed. Understanding this Greek transliteration connects the New Testament prophecy directly to its Old Testament covenantal background. In its original context, 'Reuben' identified a specific Israelite tribe descended from Jacob's eldest son. By the New Testament era, the tribal identities of the northern tribes like Reuben had been largely lost following Assyrian exile, making its inclusion in Revelation a powerful symbolic restoration of the full, historic people of God, rather than a literal geographic or political entity. Ἰσραήλ (Israēl, G2474) — The collective name for the nation/people, whereas Ῥουβίμ specifies one tribe within it. Ἰούδας (Ioudas, G2455) — Another specific tribe (Judah), often highlighted separately due to the messianic line.
Word Details
How this works
Definitions are from the Dodson Greek-English Lexicon, supplemented by STEPBible TBESG data (CC BY 4.0). Concordance and morphology data are derived from the interlinear Bible.
Full methodology & sources →References
- Abbott-Smith, G. (1921) A Manual Greek Lexicon of the New Testament. Edinburgh: T&T Clark. [Public Domain]
- Brown, F., Driver, S.R. and Briggs, C.A. (1906) A Hebrew and English Lexicon of the Old Testament. Oxford: Clarendon Press. [Public Domain]
- Tyndale House, Cambridge (n.d.) Tyndale Brief lexicon of Extended Strongs for Greek (TBESG). STEPBible. Available at: https://www.stepbible.org. [CC BY 4.0]
- Tyndale House, Cambridge (n.d.) Translators Formatted full LSJ (TFLSJ). STEPBible. Available at: https://www.stepbible.org. [CC BY 4.0]
- Thayer, J.H. (1889) A Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament. [Public Domain]
- Gesenius, W. (1846) Gesenius' Hebrew-Chaldee Lexicon to the Old Testament. [Public Domain]
- Dodson, J. (2010) Greek Lexicon. Biblical Humanities. [CC0]