Re’uvan
Re’uvan – 𐤓𐤀𐤅𐤁𐤉𐤍
Meaning in Paleo: “See, a son.” This name expresses Ya’aqob’s recognition of YaHU’aH’s compassion and the joy of beholding his firstborn—one who opened his strength and carried the beginning of his might.
Ya’aqob’s Prophetic Word (Genesis):
Re’uvan, you are my firstborn, my might, and the beginning of my strength, the excellency of dignity, and the excellency of power. Unstable as water, you shall not excel, because you went up to your father’s bed; then you defiled it—he went up to my couch.
Moshah’s Barakah (Deuteronomy):
Let Re’uven live and not die, and let his men be few. Though diminished, his remembrance endures before YaHU’aH, for He preserves a remnant to continue his name in the earth.
Ancestral Power and Exile: Congo Kingdom Tribes (Kongo, Angola Bantu)
Tribe of Re’uvan (Reuben)
Identified with the Congo tribes, particularly those connected to the historic Kongo Kingdom, the tribe of Re’uven is associated with the rank and responsibility of the firstborn son of Ya’aqob.
“Re’uvan, thou art my firstborn, my might, and the beginning of my strength, the excellency of dignity, and the excellency of power.”
This ancestral dignity and strength finds reflection in the grandeur of the Kongo Kingdom (flourishing c. 1390–1857), which ruled over millions and maintained advanced political, spiritual, and judicial systems across Central Africa.
However, the prophetic warning tied to Re’uven’s destiny is also key:
“Unstable as water, thou shalt not excel…”
This “instability” is not a condemnation of identity, but a prophetic marker of the disruption caused by colonization, enslavement, and diaspora. The regions of modern-day Congo, Angola, and the Bantu-speaking belt became some of the most heavily targeted areas during the transatlantic slave trade, with over 1 million souls enslaved from this region alone.
Yet despite these devastations, oral traditions, Torah-rooted naming, and covenant customs continue to be preserved among Congo-descended peoples. These remnants bear witness to an enduring Re’uvenite identity. Just as Re’uven was “the beginning of strength,” so too do the tribes rooted in this land remain central to the rising restoration of Yashar’al.
Tribal Summary: Re’uven (Congo Region – Kongo Kingdom Tribes)
- Tribal Identity: Re’uven (Reuben)
- African Link: Bantu-speaking peoples of Central & Southern Africa — especially Congo and Angola
- Historical Context: Centralized kingdom with structured judicial and spiritual leadership (14th–19th century)
- Cultural Traits: Clan hierarchy, ancestral reverence, spiritual governance — reflecting “excellency of dignity”
- Prophetic Traits: Scattered and disrupted, yet preserved — the “firstborn” awakening again in strength
Source:
- Murdock, George Peter. Africa: Its Peoples and Their Culture History. McGraw-Hill, 1959.
- Ehret, Christopher. The Civilizations of Africa: A History to 1800. University Press of Virginia, 2002.
- Encyclopedia Britannica – Bantu Peoples: britannica.com/topic/Bantu-peoples