Judah/Reuben
In both the Bible and the Lloyd-Webber film, Reuben was the eldest son, so why did one of the brothers (Simeon?) speak as though Judah was the eldest?
LMC xxx
I pull the trigger till it goes click.
Judah may have been fourth in line but he was the leader of all the brothers. They listened to his word and accepted his command to put into action for bad (selling Joseph) and for good (defending Benjamin).
Reuben lost his position because he dishonored the family while Simeon and Levi were criticized for wiping out the city of Shechem. That left Judah next and his actions in Egypt redeemed himself as the leader. (Check your local Genesis guide for more information.) The monarchy of Israel and King David stemmed from his line.
Yup. Reuben slept with one of his fathers concubines, Zilpah.
And also in the movie it shows that Judah does the most work
I noticed that not all the sons were Jacob's through Leah, so Judah may have been the first born of Leah, so while he's not the oldest, he's still 'head' of the brothers, since he's the first born of Jacob's actual wife.
shareLeah actually had three sons before Judah (Reuben, Simeon and Levi) and two after him (Isascar and Zebulon). She also had a daughter named Dinah. It is true though, that king David and his entire dynasty belonged to the tribe of Judah. And it was this tribe, which became the Jewish people. So it's no wonder, that Judah gets special treatment in retrospect. And since we're also told about how Reuben, Simeon and Levi all misbehaved in some way or another, as someone above mentioned, it also puts Judah in a better light.
Intelligence and purity.