Reuben thou art my first — born — Jacob here puts upon him the ornaments of the birth — right, that he and all his brethren might see what he had forfeited and in that might see the evil of his sin. As the first — born he was his father's joy, being the beginning of his strength. To him belonged the excellency of dignity above his brethren, and some power over them.
Related Commentaries of Genesis 49:3
Genesis 49:3
3 Reuben, thou art my firstborn, my might, and the beginning of my strength, the excellency of dignity, and the excellency of power: