Merari’s descendants by their clans were allotted twelve cities from the tribes of Reuben, Gad, and Zebulun.

Next to the border of Ephraim from the east side to the west, Reuben will have one portion.

Next to the border of Reuben from the east side to the west, Judah ¹  will have one portion.

While Israel was living in that land, Reuben had sexual relations with ¹  Bilhah, his father’s concubine, and Israel heard about it. Jacob had twelve sons:

These are the names of the sons of Israel who went to Egypt – Jacob and his sons: Reuben, the firstborn of Jacob.

The standard of the camp of Reuben set out according to their companies; over his company was Elizur son of Shedeur.

Reuben was the firstborn of Israel. The Reubenites: from ¹  Hanoch, the family of the Hanochites; from Pallu, the family of the Palluites;

The other half of Manasseh, ¹  Reuben, and Gad received their allotted tribal lands beyond the Jordan, ²  just as Moses, the Lord’s servant, had assigned them.

went up to Beth Hoglah, crossed north of Beth Arabah, and went up to the Stone of Bohan son of Reuben.

It went northward, extending to En Shemesh and Geliloth opposite the Pass ¹  of Adummim, and descended to the Stone of Bohan son of Reuben.

and his son Beerah, whom King Tiglath-pileser ¹  of Assyria carried into exile. Beerah ²  was the tribal leader of Reuben.

The clans of Merari’s descendants were allotted twelve cities within the territory of the tribes of Reuben, Gad, and Zebulun. ¹ 

Within the territory of the tribe of Reuben across the Jordan River east of Jericho: ¹  Bezer in the desert and its pasturelands, Jahzah and its pasturelands,

From the other side of the Jordan, from Reuben, Gad, and the half tribe of Manasseh, there were 120,000 men armed with all kinds of weapons.

From the tribe of Judah, twelve thousand were sealed, from the tribe of Reuben, twelve thousand, from the tribe of Gad, twelve thousand,

Reuben continued, ¹  “Don’t shed blood! Throw him into this cistern that is here in the wilderness, but don’t lay a hand on him.” ²  (Reuben said this ³  so he could rescue Joseph ⁴  from them ⁵  and take him back to his father.)

The sons of Reuben, Israel’s firstborn – (Now he was the firstborn, but when he defiled his father’s bed, ¹  his rights as firstborn were given to the sons of Joseph, Israel’s son. So Reuben is not listed as firstborn in the genealogical records. ² 

So Leah became pregnant ¹  and gave birth to a son. She named him Reuben, ²  for she said, “The Lord has looked with pity on my oppressed condition. ³  Surely my husband will love me now.”

At the time ¹  of the wheat harvest Reuben went out and found some mandrake plants ²  in a field and brought them to his mother Leah. Rachel said to Leah, “Give me some of your son’s mandrakes.”

Reuben said to them, “Didn’t I say to you, ‘Don’t sin against the boy,’ but you wouldn’t listen? So now we must pay for shedding his blood!” ¹