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.
Related Commentaries of Genesis 35:22
Genesis 35:22
22 And it came to pass, when Israel dwelt 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: