This article was most recently revised and updated by, https://www.britannica.com/biography/Rachel-biblical-figure, McClintock and Strong Biblical Cyclopedia - Rachel. Who was Rachel in the Bible? Did I not go to Laban only for Rachel? While Rachel was barren for the first fourteen years of her marriage, she is still described as Jacobs preferred wife and a powerful woman. When those seven years were completed and the time came for my marriage to my husband, my father advised exchanging me with my sister. At his meeting with Esau, Jacob showed his particular affection for Rachel by placing her last, with her son Joseph (xxxiii. The exegetes holding this view find Rachels words(Gen. 30:15) to be somewhat prophetic: I promise, he shall lie with you tonightwith you he will lie [in the grave], but with me he will not lie [in the grave]. Laban agreed to the arrangement. 31:20Israel is called after her sons son: Truly, Ephraim is a dear son to Me(Ruth Rabbah7:11:13). 60a), and who are often referred to in the liturgy, Rachel being mentioned before Leah. The Rabbis commented on the sale of the mandrakes: This one lost and the other one lost, this one was rewarded and the other one was rewarded. Leah lost the mandrakes and was rewarded with tribes; Rachel lost burial, and was rewarded with the birthright(Gen. Rabbah72:3). The Rabbis further learned from Jacobs words that a wifes death profoundly affects her husband(BTSanhedrin22b). Before her death, Rachel names the newborn. xxxi. 32), he not knowing that Rachel had taken the images. After working for Laban another seven years, Jacob marries Rachel Jacob did so and completed her week, and he gave him his daughter Rachel as his wife. 31:15Israel is called after Rachel: Rachel weeping for her children; inAmos 5:15Israel is named after her son: Perhaps the Lord, the God of Hosts, will be gracious to the remnant of Joseph; and inJer. For instance. The custom in those days was for a man to wait at least a week after arranging to marry a woman. This means Jacob was Laban's nephew. [Note Jacob was less than half this age when he met Rachel - this means that even compared to a modern man, he was in the prime of his life at that point.] Jacob should have understood her pain, instead of rebuking her for the manner in which she spoke. The 63-year-old Dirty Dancing icon appeared in the very first season of the show, playing Mindy. Jacob is ultimately allowed to marry Rachel, which he does immediately after the festivities related to his wedding to Leah end, in exchange for another seven years' labor. I acted kindly with her, I was not jealous of her, and I did not cause her to be shamed and disgraced. 24), show that she was a prophetess. According to this conception, Rachels son should from the outset have been the firstborn, but because God had compassion on the unloved Leah, He gave her the fruit of the womb and she bore Jacobs firstborn son. They answer that Jacob saw with the spirit of divine inspiration that when the Israelites would set out to exile, they would pass through Bethlehem on the road to Ephrath, and so he buried Rachel there, so that she would pray for them. Jacob allowed Laban to search for the idols. Jealous of her sister, Rachel gave Jacob her servant Bilhah as a wife. I informed Jacob, and I gave him a sign so that he could distinguish between me and my sister, so that my father would not be able to exchange me. [6] (Genesis 31:19-20 ) Jones[7] records that the phrase "born to him in Padan-aram" that appears after the listing of Jacob's sons (Genesis 35:26 ) can also mean "engendered by him in Padan-aram." Rachel's words at the birth of Joseph, "The Lord shall add to me another son" (Gen. xxx. Now that you have sinned, the birthright has been given to Joseph, the priesthood to Levi, and kingship to Judah (Gen. Rabbahloc. In thismidrash, Rachel has the insight that the birth of children is a reward from God. When Rachel saw them, she asked Leah to give them to her [because of her barrenness]. He buried her on the road to Ephrath because he foresaw that the Israelites, when driven into captivity along that road, would need her intercession with God in their behalf (Midr. She hid these teraphim in her saddle bag, and sat on them. According to one, Reuben, Leahs son and the firstborn of Jacob, does receive the birthright. Gen. The Bible says that this took place at sheep-shearing time,[5] which is always in the springtime. Theodor-Albeck, MS. Vatican, 99:3, p. 1253]). genesis - How old was Jacob when he first saw Rachel? - Biblical According to a third tradition, Jacob wept for grief, for he realized that after he kissed Rachel people were whispering to one another: Why has this one come, to teach us this indecent behavior? The midrash comments that after the world had been struck by the Flood, the nations of the world hedged themselves against illicit sexual behavior [i.e., they accepted all manner of sexual prohibitions] (Gen. Rabbahloc. Jacob was quite old compared to other generat. As punishment for Jacobs behavior, Leahs sons will stand before Joseph, the ruler of all Egypt, hear the same words coming out of his mouth and fear him, not knowing how he will act toward them [after Jacobs death]. And this was not allI went under the bed where he lay with my sister: he would speak with her, and I responded every time, while she remained silent, so that he would not recognize her voice. However, the Rabbis debate the reason behind God granting her the ability to bear children. Rachel Stevens has shut down ex-fianc Jeremy Edwards's claim that she cheated on him. xxxi. Rijksmuseum The story of how Jacob ends up marrying his two cousins, Leah and Rachel, begins in Canaan, with the marriage of his older twin, Esau, to two Hittite women of whom Isaac and Rebekah do not approve. 2:20): But Esther still did not reveal her kindred or her people and did not mention her Jewish origins in the palace of Ahasuerus(Gen. Rabbah71:5;Tanhuma,Vayeze6). Rachel's early decease was due, according to the general opinion of the Rabbis, to Jacob's involuntary curse uttered when Laban was searching for the teraphim, "With whomsoever thou findest thy gods, let him not live" (Gen. xxxi. cit.). And there is hope for your futuredeclares the Lord: Your children shall return to their country(Gen. Rabbah82:10). pseudo-Jonathan ad loc.). When Jacob left the land of Canaan, he had vowed that he would return to Bethel and sacrifice to the Lord(Gen. 28:2022). A compilation of the commentary and discussions of the, Matriarchs: A Liturgical and Theological Category, Modesty and Sexuality in Halakhic Literature, The Shalvi/Hyman Encyclopedia of Jewish Women, Copyright 19982023, Jewish Women's Archive. Isaac, the father of Jacob, wanted his son to marry from among their own people, so he sent Jacob to Paddan-aram, to find a wife among the daughters of Laban, Jacob's uncle. Jacob was on his way back to his native country when Rachel died while giving birth to her second son, Benjamin. [1] Jacob decided to leave quietly at night. And there is hope for your futuredeclares the Lord: Your children shall return to their country (Lam. 10). 28:20) his tribe received the jasper [yashfe, with the meaning ofyesh pehthere is a mouth] stone in the High Priests breastpiece. Bethlehem is now an Arab-controlled town. [2] Jacob had traveled a great distance to find Laban. Once she has given birth, she places the blame on her child (Tanhuma[ed. Rachel and Leah both took Jacob's side. 11). Thus she would be eighteen years of age when she married. Buber],Vayeze20). When he gives him blessings of the breast and the womb he is saying to Joseph: may the breasts that nursed such a son, and the womb that brought him forth, be blessed(Gen. Rabbah98:20, [ed. R. Judan's opinion, however, was that Rachel died before Leah because, although she was the younger sister, she spoke before Leah when they were addressed by their husband (ib. Therefore, Benjamin must have been conceived shortly before the flight from Laban and born nine months later. Had I not revealed to thee our signs, he would never have become thy husband" (Midr. Rachel had been given Bilhah as a handmaiden by her father Laban upon her marriage to Jacob. Shalvi/Hyman Encyclopedia of Jewish Women. Gen 29:20 So Jacob served seven years for Rachel, and they seemed only a few days to him because of the love he had for her. Other Rabbis found fault with Rachel and maintained that because Rachel made light of her right to lie with the righteous Jacob, which she sold for the mandrakes, she was punished by not being buried together with him. Rachel and Jacob were cousins. 1-min read. She spoke in precise language when she said: May the Lord add another son for meshe did not say other sons, rather, there will be one more son from me. This was the year in which Jacob fled in secret from Laban. Leah was busy with raising her children and therefore could not care for the needs of the household. She was the second daughter of Laban, Rebekah's brother, making Jacob her first cousin. [1] According to another exegetical approach, it is Rachels son who wins the birthright. ; comp. Help us elevate the voices of Jewish women. Answer Rachel is a major character in the early Old Testament; she was a daughter of Laban, sister of Leah, favored wife of Jacob, and mother of two of Jacob's children. Isaac married Rabecah and they had two sons - Esau and Jacob.. Agadat Bereshit li. Rachel immediately told her father Laban about the helpful stranger at the well. Rabbah37:1). She bore another son and a daughter over the next two years. In other respects the two sisters were alike, both being ancestresses of kings, heroes, prophets, judges, and conquerors (ib. According to another tradition, Rachel and Leah were twins, and they were married to Jacob at the age of twenty-two (Lit. When Jacob spoke with Leah, Rachel would answer him, so that he would not identify Leahs voice (Lam. Harvard Theological Review113, no. According to one of these interpretations, the disgrace to which Rachel refers is the affair of theConcubine of a Levite(Jud. According to these first two traditions, Naphtalis name portrays an experience undergone by Rachel. Overall, the midrash portrays Rachel as incredibly generous and compassionate, and her goodness is seen in her descendants. 14-16, 19, 34-35). If you forgot, she was best friends with Rachel Green ( Jennifer Aniston ) before she wound up . Ussher[8] disputes the notion that Benjamin may be counted among the sons born or engendered in Padan-aram. In the tableau inGen. 35:17, Rachel experiences difficulty in childbirth and the midwife tells her: Have no fear, for it is another boy for you. The Rabbis observe that this is how a womans spirit is restored during childbirth, by telling her not to fear, because she is giving birth to a son [which was regarded as an honor which would raise the womans spirits](Gen. Rabbah82:8). Another tradition has Leah herself being responsible for the change. Encyclopaedia Britannica's editors oversee subject areas in which they have extensive knowledge, whether from years of experience gained by working on that content or via study for an advanced degree. Learn Religions. They declare that Rachel was not envious of her sister's fertility, but of her righteousness; she thought that if Leah had not been a better woman than she, she would not have had children. 13). lxx. In another midrashic understanding, Rachel alluded to the disgrace during the time of Jeroboam son of Nebat, who was a descendant of the tribe of Ephraim, and who engaged in idolatry and denigrated the prophet Ahijah of Shiloh(I Kings 1214); this disgrace was taken away when Jeroboam was put to death(II Chron. Jacob's wife, Leah, had four sons in quick succession, and then stopped bearing. The "Sefer ha-Yashar" (section "Wayishla," p. 56b), however, gives her age at the time of her death as forty-five. Rachel had to choose between her love for Jacob and her compassion for her sister, and she decided in favor of the latter. A third interpretation takes the wordnaftalifrom pitulim[vicissitudes], and describes what Jacob underwent. Updates? Jacob was 77 years old, and he loved Rachel immediately. Isaac married Rabecah and they had two sons - Esau and Jacob. Consequently, Rachel found herself in an inferior position, since Leah bore children to Jacob, while she herself had not. Recall Jacob had to flee from his family's house because of his treachery toward his brother Esau. She told Jacob that if he didn't "give" her children, she would die. Her death occurred not far from Ephrath, and she was buried on the road leading thither, Jacob setting up a pillar on her grave to perpetuate her memory (xxxv. Agadah to Gen. xxix. 26-28). Leah knew that twelve tribes would issue from Jacob. The first was his anguish at his poverty. After discovering that he had been tricked, Jacob married Rachel also and then worked out another seven-year contract for this marriage. "order." Jacob protested, and Laban answered that local custom did not permit a younger sister to marry before the older sister.