Reuven and Bilhah/2

Reuven and Bilhah

Exegetical Approaches

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Sexual Desire

Reuven's act was one of promiscuity.

Sources:Jubilees33About Jubilees, Testaments of the PatriarchsReuven 1Reuven 3Reuven 4About Testaments of the Patriarchs,  R. Eliezer and R. Yehoshua in Bavli ShabbatShabbat 55bAbout the Bavli, Bereshit Rabbah87:598:4About Bereshit Rabbah, Ibn EzraBereshit Third Commentary 35:22Bereshit Third Commentary 49:3-4About R. Avraham ibn Ezra, R. Yosef Bekhor ShorBereshit 35:22Bereshit 49:3-4About R. Yosef Bekhor Shor, RadakBereshit 35:22Bereshit 49:3-4About R. David Kimchi, RalbagBereshit Beur HaMilot 49:3-4Bereshit Beur HaParashah 35:22Bereshit Toalot 35:22Bereshit Toalot 49:4About R. Levi b. Gershom

"וַיִּשְׁכַּב אֶת בִּלְהָה" – These sources read this phrase simply to mean that Reuven had relations with Bilhah.

Why now? According to both Jubilees and the Testaments, Reuven happened to see Bilhah while she was bathing and was overcome by desire.¹ This fact is absent from the Biblical text and is likely influenced by the similar story of David and Batsheva where this background is explicit.²

"וַיִּהְיוּ בְנֵי יַעֲקֹב שְׁנֵים עָשָׂר" – Ibn Ezra, R"Y Bekhor Shor, and Radak all suggest that this verse serves to close the story.  According to Ibn Ezra, after Reuven's deed, Yaakov no longer had relations with any of his wives, as Bilhah had been tainted, Rachel had died, and Leah and her maidservant Zilpah were abhorrent due to their connection to Reuven. Therefore, the verse tells us that Yaakov had only the twelve sons who were born prior to Reuven's deed.³

"כִּי עָלִיתָ מִשְׁכְּבֵי אָבִיךָ אָז חִלַּלְתָּ יְצוּעִי עָלָה" – According to these sources, Yaakov's words "כִּי עָלִיתָ מִשְׁכְּבֵי אָבִיךָ" refer to Reuven's sleeping with Bilhah, while the phrase "אָז חִלַּלְתָּ יְצוּעִי עָלָה" refers to the consequences of the action: either Reuven's defiling of himself,⁴ of Yaakov,⁵ or of Yaakov's bed,⁶ resulting in Yaakov refraining from further relations with Bilhah.⁷

"פַּחַז כַּמַּיִם אַל תּוֹתַר"

• According to Ibn Ezra, Radak, and Ralbag the phrase "פַּחַז" refers to Reuven's reckless and impetuous personality⁸ which led him to sin, and therefore lose any advantages that his firstborn status would otherwise have bequeathed.
• R"Y Bekhor Shor, instead thinks that "פַּחַז" is a verb, and the phrase refers to Reuven's punishment, that his deed caused all his advantages to quickly slip away from him like water.

Punishment – As a result of his sin, Reuven lost his first born status to Yosef, and kingship to Yehuda.  R"Y Medan suggests that he really deserved to be totally rejected and not counted among the tribes at all, and was only included⁹ because he repented.¹⁰ 

Power Play

Reuven's deed was a power play, intended to protect Reuven's status as first born.

Sources:RambanBereshit 35:22Bereshit 49:3-4About R. Moshe b. Nachman #1,¹¹ R. David Zvi HoffmannBereshit 35:22About R. David Zvi Hoffmann, R"Y Medan

"וַיִּשְׁכַּב אֶת בִּלְהָה" – R. D"Z Hoffmann takes the phrase at face value to mean that Reuven slept with Bilhah.  Ramban is ambiguous but might instead understand that Reuven simply rearranged the beds¹² so as to prevent his father from having relations with her.¹³

Purpose of act – These sources differ in their understanding of Reuven's specific motives:

• Ensure inheritance – Ramban suggests that Reuven did not want Bilhah to bear any more children lest it affect his inheritance.  As a firstborn he was supposed to get a double portion, and thus he would be most affected by any added progeny.¹⁴
• Rebellion – R. D"Z Hoffmann, instead, views Reuven's act as a rebellion against his father's authority, comparing the deed to that of Avshalom sleeping with David's concubines.¹⁵ It is possible that by sleeping with his father's concubine¹⁶ Reuven wanted to demonstrate that Bilhah was not a real wife (and thus that her sons were not contenders for the birthright), enabling him to stake out his claim as the firstborn who was to inherit the mantle of leadership from his father.

Why now?

• It is possible that it is only after Rachel, Yaakov's favorite wife dies, that Reuven, a son of Leah, dared act to assert his position as first born.
• R"Y Medan, instead, suggests that Reuven's rebellion stemmed from Yaakov's submissive stance in his meeting with Esav.  R. Medan claims that after Yaakov submitted himself to his brother, bowing down and calling himself his servant, his children lost faith in their father's authority and several looked to replace him.¹⁷

"וַיִּהְיוּ בְנֵי יַעֲקֹב שְׁנֵים עָשָׂר"

• According to Ramban, the phrase comes to share that, as Reuven planned, Yaakov did not have any other children after his deed.  The verse thus tells us that Yaakov had 12, and not any more, children.
• Alternatively, according to R. Hoffmann's reading of the story, it is possible that in reaction to Reuven's act, Yaakov ensured that Bilhah and Zilpah attained full wife status,¹⁸ and now viewed their children as equal to those of Rachel and Leah.  Thus, the text shares that the sons of Yaakov were twelve (and not 8).

Punishment – Reuven receives a measure for measure punishment, losing the very firstborn status he hoped to ensure. It is possible that he is not rejected outright due to his repentance.  R. Medan suggests that in trying to save Yosef, the very son who had been given the birthright in his place, Reuven proved that he had repented of his deeds.

"רְאוּבֵן בְּכֹרִי אַתָּה" – At the end of his life, Yaakov opens his blessing to Reuven with the words, "you are my firstborn" perhaps to chide him that though he had been firstborn, and could  have maintained that status, his reckless actions caused him to lose it.

Concern for Mother's Honor

Reuven prevented his father from having relations with Bilhah but did not sleep with her himself. He was motivated by concern for his mother's honor.

Sources:Bavli ShabbatShabbat 55bAbout the Bavli, Bereshit Rabbah87:598:4About Bereshit Rabbah, Targum Pseudo-JonathanBereshit 35:22About Targum Pseudo-Jonathan, RashiBereshit 35:22Bereshit 49:3-4About R. Shelomo Yitzchaki, NetzivBereshit 35:22Bereshit 49:4About R. Naftali Tzvi Yehuda Berlin

"וַיִּשְׁכַּב אֶת בִּלְהָה"

¹ R"Y Medan, however, points out that Bilhah was a generation older than Reuven, making it strange than Reuven should be overcome by desire for her (leading to the alternative suggestion below that his act was not a sexual one, but a rebellious ploy).

² See J. Kugel, "Reuben's sin with Bilhah in the Testament of Reuben" in Pomegranates and Golden Bells: Studies in Biblical, Jewish, and Near Eastern Ritual, Law, and Literature in Honor of Jacob Milgrom (Indianna, 1995): 525-554 who suggests that both Jubilees and the Testament might be drawing off Yaakov's words, "פַּחַז כַּמַּיִם אַל תּוֹתַר".  The metaphor of being "wanton like water" might have been understood as an allusion to the fact that Reuven had sinned due to water.  Cf. the opinion of the Rabbis in Bereshit Rabbah 98:4 who say, "אַתָּה חָטָאתָ בְּמַיִם".

³ R"Y Bekhor Shor explains similarly, pointing out that with Reuven's deed Yaakov in effect lost two wives, Rachel who had just died, and Bilhah who had been defiled. The phrase "וַיִּהְיוּ בְנֵי יַעֲקֹב שְׁנֵים עָשָׂר" teaches that nonetheless, he did not lose out on any offspring as he had already borne twelve.

⁴ See Ibn Ezra, one opinion in R"Y Bekhor Shor, and one opinion in Ralbag. R"Y Bekhor Shor suggests that the clause reads, "you defiled ("חִלַּלְתָּ") he who went on my bed ("יְצוּעִי עָלָה").  Yaakov intentionally blurred the identity of Reuven (referring to him only as the one who rose onto his bed and not naming him directly) so as not to explicitly declare Reuven contaminated. Ibn Ezra, instead, splits the clause and suggests that only the word "חִלַּלְתָּ" refers to Reuven's defiling of himself, while the rest of the clause ("יְצוּעִי עָלָה") means that from then on, Ya'akov's bed "departed",  as he never again slept with Bilhah.

⁵ See the second possibility brought by R'Y Bekhor Shor, who has Yaakov say "and you defiled he who normally rises onto my bed" (i.e. Yaakov).

⁶ See Radak and one opinion in Ralbag.  According to them, Yaakov is saying, "You, (Reuven) defiled (חִלַּלְתָּ) the bed which you had lain upon (יְצוּעִי עָלָה).  Though the word "עָלָה" is in third person, it should be read as if it is in second person (עלית) like the earlier part of the clause.

⁷ This is how some of these sources understand the phrase "יְצוּעִי עָלָה".  Pointing to the root "עלה" in Tehillim 102:25, Ralbag suggests that the word can mean "cut off" and Yaakov is saying that his bed was cut off from him.  Ibn Ezra and Radak, instead, say that Yaakov's bed "was stopped", perhaps understanding "עלה" to mean "departed". [See the gloss in R"Y Bekhor Shor who explains Ibn Ezra in this manner.]  Either way, the connotation is that Yaakov refrained from further relations.

⁸ Ibn Ezra and Ralbag point to the parallel description of Avimelekh's men as "רֵיקִים וּפֹחֲזִים" in Shofetim 9:4.  Radak defines "פַּחַז" as to "hasten" presumably connecting it to the word נחפז (with the letters switching places).

⁹ Cf. Ibn Ezra who implies that Yaakov's words "" mean that though Reuven won't get an advantage over his brother, he will still be included in the 12.

¹⁰ See also Radak who quotes his father as explaining that "יֶתֶר שְׂאֵת" refers to atonement and forgiveness, and that in his final words to his son, Yaakov forgives him for the deed.

¹¹ He also brings the opinion below that Reuven was concerned for his mother's honor.

¹² See R. Shemuel b. Nachmani in  Bavli Shabbat below.

¹³ This is implied by Ramban's wording, "שבלבל ראובן יצועי בלהה".  However, in his comments to Bereshit 49, he writes, "כי ראובן נתכוון לפסול את בלהה מאביו" which would suggest that Reuven did an act which would permanently invalidate Bilhah.

¹⁴ Ramban posits that Reuven was not worried about Leah or Zilpah bearing more children since Leah was likely already older, and Zilpah had perhaps already died.

¹⁵ To support the possibility that Reuven's act was not simply sexual in nature R. Hoffmann points to the episode's introduction: "וַיֵּלֶךְ רְאוּבֵן". Such words suggest that something of import was about to happen. If these was merely a case of promiscuity, R. Hoffmann claims, the words would have been unnecessary.

¹⁶ This is the only place where Bilhah is referred to as a concubine.  In earlier stories she is described as a maidservant.

¹⁷ Shimon and Levi act against their father in Shekhem massacring the entire town. Yosef's dreams of grandeur include visions of his father bowing down to him.  Finally, Yehuda initiates the sale of Yosef, despite knowing the pain it will cause his father.

¹⁸ After our story, Bilhah and Zilpah are never again referred to as maidservants or concubines but rather are called "the wives of Yaakov" (see Bereshit 37:2).