Biblical Hebrew Forum

["Shoshanna Walker" <rosewalk AT concentric.net>]

But where is "my misery" in Reuven?

Shoshanna Walker



> It certainly "sounds" like "reu - ben!", but see Gen. 29:32. That was just
> Ralbag's point - that the reason given for naming a child does not always
> fit the literal meaning of the name. Looked as critically, that is without
> assuming that the stories actually describe the real acts of real people, 
> I
> would say that Reuben was a tribal name, perhaps also the personal name of
> the tribe's "founder". When the story of his birth was incorporated into
> Genesis, the writer had a different point to make - that Leah thought that
> her misery would be alleviated by the birth of her son.
>
> Yigal Levin
>
>
> I thought it was, "Look - a son!"
>
> Shoshanna Walker
>
>
> like Reuben, who was named 'for God has seen my
> misery',