Reuben

Reuben was the eldest son of Jacob and traditional ancestor of the tribe of Reuben. Biblical narratives portray him as attempting to save Joseph but also losing precedence because of an offence within Jacob’s household.

Reuben was born in Paddan Aram. Although Reuben is Jacob’s firstborn, Genesis explains the loss of his privileged status through his sexual offence involving Bilhah; later tradition nevertheless remembers him attempting to prevent his brothers from killing Joseph.

Anita Diamant’s The Red Tent reimagines Reuben as the eldest son of Jacob and Leah within Dinah’s large, divided household. His position among the brothers helps give the novel’s domestic world its biblical genealogy, while the story shifts attention away from male patriarchal narrative towards the women whose marriages, births and memories surround Reuben and his siblings.