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So I'm reading the bible and find these names. Reuben is "look, a son" or "behold, a son", and Reuel is "friend of God". They're both Hebrew, both masculine. The "-ben" of Reuben is "son" (like BENjamin, "son of the right hand", also in Hebrew), so that leaves the "Reu-" to be "look" or "behold".

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But in Reuel, "friend of God"......well, the "-el" of Reuel means "God", but here the same "Reu-" prefix means "friend"?

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And they're both Hebrew. Does "Reu" mean "friend", or "look/behold"? Or how many meanings does it even have? I'm confused anyway. Any ideas?