And when he dwelt in that country, Ruben went, and slept with Bala, the concubine of his father: which he was not ignorant of. Now the sons of Jacob were twelve.

and it cometh to pass in Israel's dwelling in that land, that Reuben goeth, and lieth with Bilhah his father's concubine; and Israel heareth.

And it came to pass, when Israel dwelled in that land, that Reuben went and lay with Bilhah his father's concubine: and Israel heard it. Now the sons of Jacob were twelve:

Now while they were living in that country, Reuben had connection with Bilhah, his father's servant-woman: and Israel had news of it.

And when he was living in that region, Reuben went out, and he slept with Bilhah the concubine of his father, which was not such a small matter as to be hidden from him. Now the sons of Jacob were twelve.

Et fuit quum habitaret Israel in terra ipsa, profectus est Reuben, et concubuit cum Bilhah concubina patris sui: et audivit Israel. Fuerunt autem filii Iahacob duodecim.

Reuben went and lay with Bilhah. A sad and even tragic history is now related concerning the incestuous intercourse of Reuben with his mother-in-law. Moses, indeed, calls Bilhah Jacob's concubine: but though she had not come into the hands of her husband, as the mistress of the family and a partaker of his goods; yet, as it respected the bed, she was his lawful wife, as we have before seen. If even a stranger had defiled the wife of the holy man, it would have been a great disgrace; it was, however, far more atrocious that he should suffer such an indignity from his own son. But how great and how detestable was the dishonor, that the mother of two tribes should not only contaminate herself with adultery, but even with incest; which crime is so abhorrent to nature, that, not even among the Gentiles, has it ever been held tolerable? And truly, by the wonderful artifice of Satan, this great obscenity penetrated into the holy house, in order that the election of God might seem to be of no effect. Satan endeavors, by whatever means he can, to pervert the grace of God in the elect; and since he cannot effect that, he either covers it with infamy, or at least obscures it. Hence it happens that disgraceful examples often steal into the Church. And the Lord, in this manner, suffers his own people to be humbled, that they may be more attentively careful of themselves, that they may more earnestly watch unto prayer, and may learn entirely to depend on his mercy. Moses only relates that Jacob was informed of this crime; but he conceals his grief, not because he was unfeeling, (for he was not so stupid as to be insensible to sorrow,) but because his grief was too great to be expressed. For here Moses seems to have acted as the painter did who, in representing the sacrifice of Iphigenia, put a veil over her father's face, because he could not sufficiently express the grief of his countenance. In addition to this eternal disgrace of the family, there were other causes of anxiety which transfixed the breast of the holy man. The sum of his happiness was in his offspring, from which the salvation of the whole world was to proceed. Whereas, already, two of his sons had been perfidious and sanguinary robbers; the first-born, now, exceeds them both in wickedness. But here the gratuitous election of God has appeared the more illustrious, because it was not on account of their worthiness that he preferred the sons of Jacob to all the world; and also because, when they had fallen so basely, this election nevertheless remained firm and efficacious. Warned by such examples, let us learn to fortify ourselves against those dreadful scandals by which Satan strives to disturb us. Let every one also privately apply this to the strengthening of his own faith. For sometimes even good men slide, as if they had fallen from grace. Desperation would necessarily be the consequence of such ruin, unless the Lord, on the other hand, held out the hope of pardon. A remarkable instance of this is set before us in Reuben; who, after this extreme act of iniquity, yet retained his rank of a patriarch in the Church. We must, however, remain under the custody of fear and watchfulness, lest temptation should seize upon us unawares, and thus the snares of Satan should envelop us. For the holy Spirit did not design to set before us an example of vile lust, in order that every one might rush into incestuous connections; but would rather expose to infamy the baseness of this crime, in an honorable person, that all, on that account, might more vehemently abhor it. This passage also refutes the error of Novatus. Reuben had been properly instructed; he bore in his flesh, from early infancy, the symbol of the divine covenant; he was even born again by the Spirit of God; we see, therefore, what was the deep abyss from which he was raised by the incredible mercy of God. The Novatians, therefore, and similar fanatics, have no right to cut off the hope of pardon from the lapsed: for it is no slight injury to Christ, if we suppose the grace of God to be more restricted by his advent. Now the sons of Jacob were twelve. Moses again recounts the sons of Jacob in a regular series. Reuben is put the first among them, not for the sake of honor, but that he may be loaded with the greater opprobrium: for the greater the honor which any one receives from the Lord, the more severely is he to be blamed, if he afterwards makes himself the slave of Satan, and deserts his post. Moses seems to insert this catalogue before the account of the death of Isaac, for the purpose of discriminating between the progeny of Jacob and the Idumeans, of whom he is about to make mention in Genesis 36:1. For on the death of Isaac the fountain of the holy race became divided, as into two streams; but since the adoption of God restrained itself to one branch only, it was necessary to distinguish it from the other.

Reuben went and lay with Bilhah his father's concubine - Jonathan, in his Targum, says that Reuben only overthrew the bed of Bilhah, which was set up opposite to the bed of his mother Leah, and that this was reputed to him as if he had lain with her. The colouring given to the passage by the Targumist is, that Reuben was incensed, because he found Bilhah preferred after the death of Rachel to his own mother Leah; and therefore in his anger he overthrew her couch. The same sentiment is repeated by Jonathan, and glanced at by the Jerusalem Targum, Genesis 49:4. Could this view of the subject be proved to be correct, both piety and candour would rejoice.
And Israel heard it - Not one word is added farther in the Hebrew text; but a break is left in the verse, opposite to which there is a Masoretic note, which simply states that there is a hiatus in the verse. This hiatus the Septuagint has thus supplied: και πονηρον εφανη εναντιον αυτον, and it appeared evil in his sight.
Now the sons of Jacob were twelve - Called afterwards the twelve patriarchs, because they became heads or chiefs of numerous families or tribes, Acts 7:8; and the people that descended from them are called the twelve tribes, Acts 26:7; James 1:1. Twelve princes came from Ishmael, Genesis 25:16, who were heads of families and tribes. And in reference to the twelve patriarchs, our Lord chose twelve apostles. Strictly speaking, there were thirteen tribes among the Hebrews, as Ephraim and Manasses were counted for tribes, Genesis 48:5, Genesis 48:6; but the Scripture in naming them, says Mr. Ainsworth, usually sets down but twelve, omitting the name now of one, then of another, as may in sundry places be observed, Deuteronomy 33; Ezekiel 48; Revelation 12, etc.

And it came to pass, when Israel dwelt in that land, that Reuben went and (h) lay with Bilhah his father's concubine: and Israel heard [it]. Now the sons of Jacob were twelve:
(h) This teaches that the fathers were not chosen for their merits, but only by God's mercies, whose election was not changed by their faults.

And it came to pass, when Israel dwelt in that land,.... In that part of it near Bethlehem:
that Reuben went and lay with Bilhah his father's concubine; his concubine wife; she was the maid that Rachel gave him, and this added to his affliction, and made it double, to lose Rachel by death, and to have her favourite maid, his concubine, defiled by his own son, and whom it is highly probable he abstained from hereafter. This, though a very heinous sin of his son's, yet might be suffered as a chastisement to Jacob, for making use of concubines:
and Israel heard it; though the crime was committed secretly, and was thought it would have been concealed, but by some means or other Jacob heard of it, and no doubt severely reproved his son for it; and though nothing is here related, as said by him on this occasion, it is certain it gave him great offence, grief and trouble, and he remembered it to his dying day, and took away the birthright from Reuben on account of it, Genesis 49:3; an empty space here follows in the original text, and a pause in it, denoting perhaps the amazement Jacob was filled with when he heard it; and the great grief of his heart, which was such, that he was not able to speak a word; the Septuagint version fills up the space by adding, "and it appeared evil in his sight":
now the sons of Jacob were twelve; who were the heads of twelve tribes, Benjamin the last being born, and Jacob having afterwards no more children, they were all reckoned up under their respective mothers, excepting Dinah, a daughter, from whom there was no tribe, in the following verses.

When Israel dwelt in that land - As if he were then absent from his family, which might be the unhappy occasion of these disorders. Though perhaps Bilhah was the greater criminal, yet Reuben's crime was so provoking that for it he lost his birth - right and blessing, Genesis 49:4. And Israel heard it - No more is said, that is enough; he heard it with the utmost grief and shame, horror and displeasure.