Joseph thereby is awarded a double portion, which is the right of the firstborn. "the written Torah." Jacob offered to serve Laban for seven years, in exchange for the right to marry Rachel. After he married Leah, Jacob held a banquet for seven days, and he added another seven days of feasting and rejoicing, and then married Rachel. According to one, Reuben, Leahs son and the firstborn of Jacob, does receive the birthright. 1; Tan., Wayee, 19; Gen. R. lxxi. Due to Rachels good deeds or to Reubens sin, the initial order was restored. xxxv. Rachel said: I prepared myself [nupeti, i.e., I prepared myself for Jacobs bed], I allowed myself to be persuaded [pititito withdraw in favor of my sister and to aid her to be Jacobs wife], I exalted my sister over myself [taliti ahoti alai], and I have prevailed(Gen. Rabbah71:8). In the four years following their marriage, Leah had four sons; Rachel had none. In the narrative inGen. 31:19, when Jacob fled from Labans house, Rachel stole her fathers household idols. How old? Vilna] petihtah 24). Is this the reward of your sister Rachel, who gave you her signs with her husband on your wedding night, to spare you embarrassment? As punishment for this behavior, Leah was caused even greater mortification with the episode ofDinah(Gen. Rabbati,Vayishlah, p. 168). 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. When Jacob wanted to leave Haran, he summoned his wives to the field and told them of his plans. Themidrashperceives Rachel as an educational figure who delineated the path that her offspring were to follow. I buried her there, alongside the road to Ephrath, near Bethlehem." 2 Jacob was a short distance, about two-thirds of a mile, from Ephrath. This exposition aims to applaud Jacobs strength, which increased due to his love for Rachel. She performed the exchange fully aware of what she was doing, even though she knew that Leah would bear most of Jacobs sons. Read Genesis 29:15-30 Rachel has a son, Joseph Rachel may have been the more loved of the two women, but she was not the most fertile. She married Jacob (2245 AM) when she was old enough to carry an adult responsibility, because Jacob met her when she was leading a flock of sheep to water. The Rabbis present Labans act of deceit as something in which Rachel was involved, from which they learn of her special qualities. She was the younger daughter of Laban and the younger sister of Leah. God asked Leah: Is this the reward for a good deed? 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. An opposing exegetical view, however, notes that when Jacob sent for his wives to come to the field(Gen. 31:5), theTorahstates: Jacob had Rachel and Leah called to the fieldhe called to Rachel first, and therefore she acted properly when she was the first to respond to him. 2 There he saw a well in the open country, with three flocks of sheep lying near it because the flocks were watered from that well. This means Jacob was Laban's nephew. In other respects the two sisters were alike, both being ancestresses of kings, heroes, prophets, judges, and conquerors (ib. ; comp. The midrash adds that Laban entered Rachels tent twice, because he knew that she was inclined to steal. The regimen of rituals, songs and textual readings performed in a specific order on the first two nights (in Israel, on the first night) of Passover. When Laban caught up with them, he searched for the idols, but Rachel had hidden the statues under her camel's saddle. The account of Jacob and Rachel is presented to the reader as a love story, and quite a romantic one at that. The Rabbis learned from this that seven days of feasting are to be conducted for a bride and groom (Pirkei de-Rabbi Eliezer[ed. Besides, Rachel was afraid that her father, seeing that she had no children by Jacob, might marry her to Esau (Midr. Agadah to Gen. xxix. Rachel, in Genesis, the first book of the Hebrew Bible (Old Testament), one of the two wives of the patriarch Jacob. It speaks of a tradition possessed by Jacob that Esau would fall only by the hand of Rachels sons. 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. Today, we live in a performance-based society. Themidrashlinks the birth of Joseph and the departure from the house of Laban with the encounter with Esau. [1] In 1620, the Ottoman Turks surrounded the supposed grave with a cube surmounted by a dome. Laban's excuse was that it was not their custom to marry off the younger daughter before the older one. You are your mothers son! The impregnation of Sarah and Rachel, the Matriarchs of the nation, heralds that God will also deliver their descendants from the troubles they would suffer in the future. That was a lie. So after the ceremonial week of the wedding to Leah was over, Rachel married Jacob, becoming his second but most-loved wife. The Rabbis teach of Rachels compassion for her sister, that prevailed over her loyalty to Jacob, along with the unending tension between the two women who lived under the same roof. cit.). When Rachel heard this, she ran to tell her father. The Jewish New Year, held on the first and second days of the Hebrew month of Tishrei. 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. But had she been obviously pregnant, she would not have been able to lie convincingly. According to Gen. R. (lxxii. When those seven years were completed and the time came for my marriage to my husband, my father advised exchanging me with my sister. When Abraham was about 100 years old, he and his wife Sarah had a son who they named Isaac. it is known before You that Your servant Jacobs love for me knew no bounds, and he worked for my father for seven years for me. 19:11) drippings of the comb [nofet zufim], which are in the portion of Naphtali, who will engage in Torah study (Gen. Rabbahloc. Laban agreed. Corrections? 15). The reason for this was Josephs fear that Esau would see Rachel and desire her. God thereupon promised her the restoration of Israel (Lam. This article was most recently revised and updated by, https://www.britannica.com/biography/Rachel-biblical-figure, McClintock and Strong Biblical Cyclopedia - Rachel. Only now, upon the birth of Naphtali, did Rachel sense that she had regained her former standing. At that time God was revealed to Jacob and He told him: Rachels children are with you, and you are afraid? Themidrashrecords a disagreement among the Rabbis concerning the origins of Elijah. Another exegetical tradition relates that when Rachel saw the events of the Destruction and the Israelites being sent into exile from their land, she jumped in before God and said: Master of the Universe! In another tradition, Rachel stole these idols so that they would not reveal to Laban that Jacob had fled with his wives, his children and his flocks (Tanhuma,Vayeze12). In return, Leah requested that Rachel forgo her right to be with Jacob that night. l.c.) 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. What age Rachel when she married Jacob Bible? - Answers He said to them: My masters, why do you disagree about me? Thismidrashincorporates several aggadic traditions according to which Leah gave birth to Issachar and Zebulun by merit of the mandrakes that she gave her sister. (Genesis 29:10, NLT). In Ruth 4:11, she is named as one "from whom all the nation of Israel descended." Agadah toGen. Jacob then married Rachel and worked for Laban another seven years for her. Some rabbinical writings suggest that Rachel and Leah were twins, and were fourteen years old at the time of Jacob's first meeting with Rachel. By your life, your sons will stand before her son, and he will tell them(Gen. 50:19) Am I a substitute for God?(Gen. Rabbah71:7). According to another exegetical approach, it is Rachels son who wins the birthright. God took pity on Leah and allowed her to bear children, while Rachel was barren. According to another tradition, Rachel and Leah were twins, and they were married to Jacob at the age of twenty-two (Lit. When Abraham was about 100 years old, he and his wife Sarah had a son who they named Isaac. Jacob was on his way back to his native country when Rachel died while giving birth to her second son, Benjamin. cit.). She put them in the "furniture" of the camel on which she sat, and when her father came to search for them she pleaded sickness (xxxi. Jacobs other wife is Rachels sister Leah, which causes issues between the sisters, especially because Leah is able to bear children. 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. Rachel is mentioned twice in the Old Testament beyond her story in Genesis. Now that you have sinned, the birthright has been given to Joseph, the priesthood to Levi, and kingship to Judah (Gen. Rabbahloc. 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). Rabbah3:2). Rachel said: I should have been Jacobs bride before my sister. 13b; B. The proverb teaches that we should not be surprised by this similarity, since Rachel was exceedingly beautiful, so was her son. At last Rachel prayed to God, and God caused her to conceive. "teaching," "study," or "learning." In an additional commentary, another son referred to the apportioning ofThe Land of IsraelErez Israel, since Benjamin did not have a portion with Joseph, but with the tribe of Judah(Gen. Rabbah73:56). 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. A compilation of the commentary and discussions of the amora'im on the Mishnah. TheTorahrelates that it was Joseph who ordered that the goblet be hidden in Benjamins sack. The "Sefer ha-Yashar" (section "Wayishla," p. 56b), however, gives her age at the time of her death as forty-five. Her first meeting with Jacob occurred at a well near Haran, whither she had taken the flocks for water. xxxi. Bethlehem is now an Arab-controlled town. Rachels merit continued to aid Israel even many years after her demise: when the exiles from Judah (after the destruction of the First Temple) passed by her tomb, she aroused Gods mercy to forgive them; He heeded her, and promised her that He would return them to their land. In yet another exegetical understanding, Rachel said: May the Lord add another son for me for exile, because the ten tribes were exiled beyond the Sambatyon river, while the tribes of Judah and Benjamin were dispersed throughout all the lands. Rachel: Wife of Jacob, Sister of Leah - Guideposts "Staging Rachel: Rabbinic Midrash, Theatrical Mime, and Christian Martyrdom in Late Antiquity." She died after bearing her second son, in 2266 AM. Captivated by her, "Jacob went over to the well and moved the stone from its mouth and watered his uncles flock." xxxi. Gen. xxx. However, the text of Genesis 35:9-15 is a narrative that begins with a recapitulation of an earlier incident: the second appearance of God to Jacob and the renaming of Jacob to Israel. Jacob insisted on giving the child the name of Benjamin, or "son of my right hand."[1]. 12; Targ. Jacob's wife, Leah, had four sons in quick succession, and then stopped bearing. Rather, he told the latter(Gen. 49:3): Reuben, you are my first-born; notwithstanding this, Jacob also spoke disparagingly of him (v. 4): Unstable as water, you shall excel no longer. Many years later, Moses would bless Reuben and release him from this disgrace(Deut. Rachel and Jacob were cousins. ; Gen. R. lxxiv. 6:23)(Gen. Rabbah82:7). Who was Rachel in the Bible? Rachel: The Epitome of Motherhood - Bereishit (Genesis) - Parshah - Chabad She told Jacob that if he didn't "give" her children, she would die. 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. He was then allowed to marry Rachel as well, in return for seven more years of labour. pseudo-Jonathan to Gen. xxx. Jacob was 77 years old, and he loved Rachel immediately. Agadat Bereshit l.c. Buber],Vayeze18). This midrash awards the birthright to Joseph, since his two sons became tribes and he therefore received twice as much as any of his brothers. There is also an intermediate approach, which argues that Reuben should have received the birthright, but it was permanently taken from him because of his sin. When Jacob blesses Joseph before his death, he tells his son(Gen. 49:25): The God of your father who helps you, and Shaddai who blesses you [] blessings of the breast and the womb. The Rabbis comment on this: Come and see how greatly Jacob loved Rachel. cit.). [2] Jacob had traveled a great distance to find Laban. The Rabbis speak of the passionate love for Rachel exhibited by Jacob, who already understood from their first encounter that she was his intended bride. 4:19), andMichal (daughter of Saul)(II Sam. She spends much of her married life attempting to bear children for Jacob and eventually uses her maid Bilhah as a surrogate, but Rachel still craves biological children. Why, then, did she die? As related inGen. 32:7, before the meeting with Esau, Jacob was apprehensive that his brother was preparing to fight him, and he therefore divided his family into two camps. Theodor-Albeck, MS. Vatican, 99:20, p. 1270]). 33:6): May Reuben live and not die. This blessing expresses Reubens standing as firstborn, who took a double portion [as is the law of the firstborn]: May Reuben live and not dieMay Reuben live, in this world; and not die, in the World to Come (Tanhuma[ed. 29a; R. H. 11a), and it was particularly her self-abnegation at the time of her sister's marriage which gained for her the divine clemency (Gen. R. lxxiii. 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. Genesis 29:18Jacob was in love with Rachel and said, "Ill work for you seven years in return for your younger daughter Rachel." 113:9states: He sets the childless woman among her household as a happy mother of children (Pesikta de-Rav Kahana[ed. It was for my sake that he came here and served our father for so many years. Rachels barrenness intensified the jealousy between them, but Leah, out of demonstrated compassion for her sister, prayed that she give birth. This was the year in which Jacob fled in secret from Laban. Altogether, the four women bore 12 sons and one daughter, Dinah. Rachel | Bible, Jacob, Leah, & Facts | Britannica that she was not buried in the cave of Machpelah by the side of her husband (Gen. R. lxxii. The Rabbis understand the wording (Gen. Did Isaac and Rebekah have a wedding? Themidrashstates that Leah carried a male fetus in her womb during her seventh pregnancy. The Rabbis ask why Jacob buried Rachel on the road to Ephrath, and not in the Cave of Machpelah. (Viewed on May 1, 2023)
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