'Reuben,' in the highest sense, signifies omniscience. In a spiritual sense, he signifies wisdom, intelligence, science, and faith. In a natural sense, he signifies sight. In Revelation 7:5, 'Reuben' signifies wisdom because he comes after Judah, who signifies celestial love, and celestial love produces wisdom because no love exists without its consort, which is science, intelligence, and wisdom. The consort of natural love is science, the consort of spiritual love is intelligence, and the consort of celestial love is wisdom. 'Reuben' signifies these things because he was named for 'seeing' or 'sight,' and spiritual-natural sight is science, spiritual sight is intelligence, and celestial sight is wisdom. Also, 'Reuben' was the firstborn of Jacob, and was therefore called his 'might, the beginning of [his] strength, excelling in eminence, and excelling in worth.' This is the nature of wisdom originating in celestial love. Because 'Reuben' was the firstborn, he represents and signifies the wisdom of the people of the church. This is why he urged his brothers not to kill Joseph, and grieved when Joseph was not found in the pit in Genesis 37:21, 22. This is also why his tribe camped in the south, and was called 'the camp of Reuben.' The south also signifies wisdom originating in love, which is people in this wisdom in heaven dwell to the south. 'The tribe of Reuben' in an opposite sense symbolizes wisdom divorced from love, and faith divorced from charity. This is why his father Israel cursed him in Genesis 49:3, 4. He was also deprived of his birthright in 1 Chronicles 5:1. For the same reason the tribe was given an inheritance across the Jordan and not in the land of Canaan. Ephraim and Manasseh, Joseph's sons, were also acknowledged in place of Reuben and Simeon in Genesis 48:5. Nevertheless, he still retains the positive representation and symbolism of wisdom.

(Odkazy: Apocalypse Revealed 351; Numbers 2:10-16)

6852. 'And have heard their cry from before their taskmasters' means the help of that mercy in opposition to those who wished to compel them to serve. This is clear from the meaning of 'cry' as a calling for help, dealt with in 6801; from the meaning of 'hearing' as obeying and discerning, dealt with in 5017, though when used in reference to Jehovah or the Lord 'hearing' is bringing the help of His mercy to the one calling out for it (the situation with 'hearing' is the same as that above in 6851 with 'seeing', in that the Lord hears everyone and so brings help to everyone, but each according to his needs. Those who cry out to Him and call for help solely in support of themselves, and so in opposition to others, as the evil are accustomed to do, are also heard by the Lord, but He does not bring them help; and when He does not bring help it is said that He does not hear); and from the meaning of 'taskmasters' as those who wish to compel people to serve. The fact that 'a taskmaster' is one who compels another to serve is evident in Isaiah,

The peoples will take them and bring them to their place, and they will have dominion over their taskmasters. It will happen on the day on which Jehovah will give you rest, both from your turmoil and from your hard service in which you were made to serve, that you will declare this parable about the king of Babel, How the task master has ceased! Isaiah 14:2-4.

And in Zechariah,

I will pitch camp by My house with an army because of him who is leaving and returning, so that the taskmaster passes over them no more. Zechariah 9:8.

'Taskmasters' is used in 2 Kings 23:35; Deuteronomy 15:3, to describe those who demanded tribute. They are also those who compelled people to do work required by the imposition of tributes; in Exodus 1:11 they are called 'princes of tributes'. And for the fact that they are those who compel people to serve, see 6659.