Rachel

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File:Rachel-Jacob.jpg
Rachel greeted by her cousin Jacob

Rachel (Hebrew: רחל, "Ewe"—also spelled Rachael) was the younger and favorite wife of Jacob, sister of Leah and mother of Joseph and Benjamin. Her story is told in the Book of Genesis in the Hebrew Bible.

A native of Haran and the younger daughter of Jacob's uncle Laban, Rachel had been engaged to marry Jacob after he arrived in her from Canaan, having fled from the wrath of his brother Esau. Laban, however, deceptively arranged for her older sister, Leah, to become Jabob's bride, by disguising her and sending her to Jacob's tent on the wedding night. Rachel became Jacob's second wife a week later. Although was loved by him more than Leah was, Rachel suffered for several years without children, while Leah proved the more fertile of the two sisters. To compensate for this, Rachel gave her servant, Bilhah, to Jacob as a third wife and adopted Bilhah's children, Dan and Naphthali. Later, Rachel bore Jacob her own natural son, Joseph.

While leaving with Jacob's clan for Canaan, Rachel stole Laban's household gods and, at the risk of her life, successfully hid them from him when he came looking for them. Settling with her husband and family in Bethel, Rachel became pregnant again but died in childbirth giving birth to Benjamin, the last of Jacob's 12 sons. She is the foremother of King Saul, the first king of Israel, as well as several important priests and prophets, as well as the Christian apostle, Paul of Tarsus.

Jacob's wife

In the Biblical account, Jacob travels to the hometown of Laban—-the brother of his mother Rebekah—-to avoid being killed by his brother Esau, and also to find a wife. He encounters Rachel at a well used to water the local flocks, where she is tending her father's sheep. He assists her by rolling a stone away from the mouth of the well and, being her close kinsman, kisses her and begins to weep. She immediately informs her father of his arrival.

Rachel and listen, while Jacob and Laban bargain over the terms of Jacob's marriage to Rachel.

Welcomed by Rachel's father, Laban, Jacob spends the month working with the family, after which Laban invites him to negotiate over the question of his wages. Here, Rachel is described as "lovely in form, and beautiful," and we are told that "Jacob was in love with Rachel" (Gen. 29:17-18)

Jacob offers to work for Laban for seven years in exchange for the right to marry Rachel. After the seven years are over, Laban hosts a wedding feast in Jacob's honor, but switches Rachel for Leah—probably through the ruse of a veil—and it is thus Leah who spends the wedding night with Jacob. Laban justifies himself on the grounds that it is uncustomary to give the younger daughter in marriage before the older one (Genesis 29:16-30). He offers to give Rachel to Jacob as a second wife in return for another seven years of work. Jacob accepts, spending the week with Leah exclusively and then marrying Rachel as well. Along with each daughter, Laban also sent two handmaids as their servants.

Motherhood

In the early years of the sisters' marriage, it is obvious that Jacob loves Rachel more than Leah. However, like several other providential women of the Bible, including Jacob's own mother Rebekeh, she remains childless for many years. God sympathizes with Leah, however, and gives her four sons in quick succession. These are Reuben, Simeon, Levi, and Judah (Genesis 29:31-35).

Rachel, seeing that she is still unable to conceive, offers her handmaid Bilhah as a third wife to Jacob. She names and raises the two sons—Dan and Napthali that Bilhah bears. Rachel claims the sons as her own, saying of Dan ("vindication"): "God has vindicated me; he has listened to my plea and given me a son." On the birth of Napthali ("my struggle"), she declares: "I have had a great struggle with my sister, and I have won." (Gen. 30:4-7) Leah responds by offering her handmaid Zilpah as a fourth wife to Jacob. She names and raises the two sons—Gad and Asher that Zilpah bears.

The text relates a poignant story demonstrating the tension between Jacob's two primary wives, as well as Rachel's sense of urgency over her apparent infertility. Leah's firstborn, Reuben, returns from the field with mandrakes for his mother. Rachel, believing the roots will solve her fertility problem, asks for some of the roots. Leah responds angrily: "Wasn't it enough that you took away my husband? Will you take my son's mandrakes too?" (Gen 30:15) Rachel offers to trade her scheduled night with their husband in return for the mandrakes. Leah agrees, and that night she conceives Issachar, and she later gives birth to Zebulun. Finally, after six males, Leah finally gives birth to a daughter, Dinah.

After this, at long last, God "remembers" Rachel and gives her a son of her own, Joseph. At his birth, Rachel declares: "God has taken away my disgrace."

Journey to Canaan

During all this time, about 14 years, Rachel and her family still lived on Laban's land. Even after this, Laban still insisted on another seven years labor from him. During this time Rachel's husband became a wealthy man, amassing large flocks of sheep and goats. In the twenty-first year, however, God called Jacob to return to Canaan. Jacob sent for Rachel and Leah and shared God's revelation with them. Jacob describes God as telling him, "I am the God of Bethel, where you anointed a pillar and where you made a vow to me. Now leave this land at once and go back to your native land." (Gen. 31:12-13)

Jacob instructed them to get ready to depart immediately, knowing that Laban would accuse him of theft and breaking their agreement. Rachel and Leah replied willingly united with Jacob's plan, saying:

Do we still have any share in the inheritance of our father's estate? Does he not regard us as foreigners? Not only has he sold us, but he has used up what was paid for us. Surely all the wealth that God took away from our father belongs to us and our children. So do whatever God has told you. (Gen 31:14-15)

While Jacob the clan prepared for the journey, Rachel made her way to Laban's house and sole his valuable household gods before leaving. Laban, busy shearing his sheep, did not realize that the large caravan had departed for three days, by which time Jacob's group had crossed the Euphrates and was well way toward Canaan. He did not overtake them until they had reached the hill country of Gilead, to the east of the Jordan River.

File:Rachel-hides-images.jpg
Rachel hides the household idols stolen from her father.

God reportedly speaks to Laban and warns him not to harm Jacob. However, tense drama unfolds with regard to Rachel, as Jacob, unaware of the theft, invites Laban search for his precious icons, saying: "if you find anyone who has your gods, he shall not live." Laban searche the camp thoroughly, going from one tent to another, and finally comes to Rachel, who has hidden the sacred items in her camel's saddle and is sitting on them. Rachel sits passively as Laban searches through everything in the tent. In a final act of deception harkening back to Laban's own ruse of sending Leah to the wedding tent in Rachel's own place, she declares: "Don't be angry, my lord, that I cannot stand up in your presence, for the manner of women is upon me."

Thus defeated, Laban offers a covenant of peace between himself and Jacob, saying. Jacob agrees, saying: "May the God of Abraham and the God of Nahor, the God of their father, judge between us." Jacob sets up a sacred pillar to commemorate the meeting and mark a boundary between his lands and Laban's. They then share a sacrificial feast. Rachel and her one natural son, Joseph, then kiss Laban goodbye for the last time.

Rachel and Joseph traveled in the place of highest honor and protection in Jacob's caravan when he crossed the Jordan and re-united with Esau, being in the rear where they were the least likely to be harmed by Esau's threatening forces.

Death and burial

Jacob and his family settled at Bethel. Rachel became pregnant again was nearing the time of delivery when the family traveled to a new place of settlement at Ephrath, known in the future as Bethlehem. Rachel went into an exceeding diffiucult labor on the road and there gave birth to her second son, naming him Ben-Oni, meaning "son of my trouble." (Gen. 35:18) He is better known by the name given him by Jacob, Benjamin, meaning "son of my right hand." Rachel died soon after delivering this son, traditionally on the eleventh day of the Hebrew month of Heshvan,[1] and was buried by Jacob on the road to Efrat, just outside Bethlehem.[2] Today Rachel's Tomb, located between Bethlehem and the Jerusalem neighborhood of Gilo, is visited by thousands of visitors each year.[3]

Legacy

File:Rachel with jar.jpg
Rachel – Gustave Doré

Rachel's son, Joseph, was destined Jacob's favorite son and to be the leader of Israel's tribes between exile and nationhood. This is exemplified in the Biblical story of Joseph, who prepared the way in Egypt for his family's exile there.[4] One branch of Jewish tradition affirms, in addition to the Davidic Messiah who is a descendant of David, a Mashiach ben Yosef (Messiah, son of Joseph), who will fight the apocalyptic Wars of Gog and Magog, preparing the way for the kingship Messiah, son of David and the messianic age.[5]

She is also the foremother of Israel's first king, Saul, as wells as the high priest Eli of Shiloh, and Saul's namesake, the Benjaminite Saul of Tarsus, bettter known as the greatest of the Christian preachers, Saint Paul. Rabbinical tradition praises her for refraining from revealing Leah's identity to Jacob on what was supposed to be her own wedding night.

Rachel's "weeping"

In Jeremiah 31:15, the prophet speaks of "Rachel weeping for her children." This is interpreted in Judaism as Rachel crying over her descendants' sufferings in exile following the destruction of the First Temple in ancient Jerusalem. According to one rabbinical tradition, Rachel spoke before God: "If I, a mere mortal, was not prepared to humiliate my sister and was willing to take a rival into my home, how could You, the eternal, compassionate God, be jealous of idols, which have no true existence, that were brought into Your home (the Temple in Jerusalem)? Will You cause my children to be exiled on this account?" God accepted her plea and promised that, eventually, the exile would end and the Jews would return to their land.[6]

In the second chapter of the Christian Gospel of Matthew, this reference from Jeremiah is interpreted as a prediction of the Massacre of the Innocents by Herod the Great in his attempt to kill the young Jesus.

See also

  • Rachel's Tomb
  • Red string (taken from Rachel's tomb)
  • Jacob
  • Laban
  • Leah
  • Joseph (Hebrew Bible)
  • Tribe of Joseph
  • Benjamin
  • Tribe of Benjamin
  • Animal names as first names in Hebrew
  • Lamb
  • Rahil

External links

Children of Jacob by wife in order of birth (D = Daughter)
Leah Reuben (1) Simeon (2) Levi (3) Judah (4) Issachar (9) Zebulun (10) Dinah (D)
Rachel Joseph (11) Benjamin (12)
Bilhah (Rachel's servant) Dan (5) Naphtali (6)
Zilpah (Leah's servant) Gad (7) Asher (8)

Credits

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  1. Melamed, Zalman Baruch, "The Anniversary of Rachel's Death," at yeshiva.org.il
  2. Rachel at http://jewishencyclopedia.com
  3. "Kever Rachel Trip Breaks Barriers" by Israel National News Staff at israelnationalnews.com, Published: 11/14/05
  4. Joseph at jewishencyclopedia.com
  5. Davidiy, Yair, "Moshiach Ben Yoseph," at www.britam.org. Retrieved July 16, 2007.
  6. Weisberg, Chana, "Rachel - Biblical Women" at chabad.org