Rachel רָחֵל
Wife of Jacob; mother of Joseph and Benjamin
Who is Rachel in the Bible?
Rachel was the beloved wife of Jacob and the mother of Joseph and Benjamin (Genesis 29:18-30). The younger daughter of Laban, Rachel captured Jacob's heart when he first saw her at the well in Haran, and he agreed to work for her father for fourteen years to marry her. Though she initially struggled with infertility while her sister Leah bore children, God eventually blessed Rachel with Joseph and later with Benjamin (Genesis 30:22-24, 35:16-18). Rachel died during childbirth with Benjamin as Jacob's family traveled toward Bethlehem (Genesis 35:19-20), and she became an important matriarch in Israel's history, with her descendants forming significant tribes. Her legacy is commemorated in Scripture, including the prophecy in Jeremiah 31:15 that references her mourning for her children.
Biography
Rachel was the daughter of Laban and the younger sister of Leah (Gen.29.16). She became the beloved wife of Israel (or 'Jacob'), who worked for Laban for fourteen years to marry her (Gen.29.18-30). Rachel was initially unable to conceive, while Leah bore several children (Gen.29.31-35). In her distress, Rachel gave her maidservant Bilhah to Jacob, and Bilhah bore Dan and Naphtali (Gen.30.1-8). Eventually, God remembered Rachel, and she gave birth to Joseph (Gen.30.22-24). When Jacob left Laban, Rachel stole her father's household idols (Gen.31.19). She later hid them and deceived her father when he came searching for them (Gen.31.34-35). As Jacob's family journeyed to Ephrath (Bethlehem), Rachel went into labor and gave birth to Benjamin, but she died during childbirth (Gen.35.16-20). Jacob buried her on the way to Ephrath and set up a pillar on her grave (Gen.35.20). Rachel's sons, Joseph and Benjamin, became two of the twelve tribes of Israel (Gen.46.19-22). Her tomb became a landmark (1Sa.10.2) and is mentioned in Jer.31.15, where her weeping is used as a symbol for Israel's mourning during the Babylonian exile. This passage is also quoted in Mat.2.18 in relation to Herod's massacre of the innocents.
Family
In Scripture
5 biblical books ; 3 with study contentGenesis 5 verses
- Genesis 29:6
"“Is he well?” Jacob inquired. “Yes,” they answered, “and here comes his daughter Rachel with his sheep.”"
Study Genesis → - Genesis 29:9
"While he was still speaking with them, Rachel arrived with her father’s sheep, for she was a shepherdess."
Study Genesis → - Genesis 29:10
"As soon as Jacob saw Rachel, the daughter of his mother’s brother Laban, with Laban’s sheep, he went up and rolled the stone away from the mouth of the well and watered his uncle’s sheep."
Study Genesis → - Genesis 29:11
"Then Jacob kissed Rachel and wept aloud."
Study Genesis → - Genesis 29:12
"He told Rachel that he was Rebekah’s son, a relative of her father, and she ran and told her father."
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Ruth 1 verse
- Ruth 4:11
"“We are witnesses,” said the elders and all the people at the gate. “May the LORD make the woman entering your home like Rachel and Leah, who together built up the house of Israel. May you be prosperous in Ephrathah and famous in Bethlehem."
1 Samuel 1 verse
- 1 Samuel 10:2
"When you leave me today, you will find two men at Rachel’s tomb in Zelzah on the border of Benjamin. They will say to you, ‘The donkeys you seek have been found, and now your father has stopped worrying about the donkeys and started worrying about you, asking, “What should I do..."
Jeremiah 1 verse
- Jeremiah 31:15
"This is what the LORD says: “A voice is heard in Ramah, mourning and great weeping, Rachel weeping for her children and refusing to be comforted, because they are no more.”"
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Matthew 1 verse
- Matthew 2:18
"“A voice is heard in Ramah, weeping and great mourning, Rachel weeping for her children and refusing to be comforted, because they are no more.”"
Study Matthew →
Names & Aliases
| Form | Language | Script | Transliteration | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Named | Hebrew | רָחֵל | rāḥēl | Rachel , a wife of Jacob |
| (same form as previous) | Hebrew | רָחֵל | rāḥēl | Rachel , a wife of Jacob |
| Greek | Greek | Ῥαχήλ | Rhachḗl | Rachel, the wife of Jacob |
Encyclopedia Article
ISBE 1915 (Public Domain) Rachel
f Jacob, mother of Joseph and Benjamin. Rachel was the younger daughter of Laban, the Aramean, the brother of Jacob's mother; so Rachel and Jacob were cousins. They met for the first time upon the arrival of Jacob at Haran, when attracted by her beauty he immediately fell in love with her, winning her love by his chivalrous act related in Ge 29:10 ff. According to the custom of the times Jacob contracted with Laban for her possession, agreeing to serve him 7 years as the stipulated price (29:17-20). But when the time had passed, Laban deceived Jacob by giving him Leah instead of Rachel. When Jacob protested, Laban gave him Rachel also, on condition that Jacob serve 7 years more (29:21-29). To her great dismay "Rachel was barren" (Ge 29:30,31), while Leah had children. Rachel, envious of her sister, complained to Jacob, who reminded her that children are the gift of God. Then Rachel resorted to the expedient once employed by Sarah under similar circumstances (16:2 ff); she bade Jacob take her handmaid Bilhah, as a concubine, to "obtain children by her" (30:3). Da and Naphtali were the offspring of this union. The evil of polygamy is apparent from the dismal rivalry arising between the two sisters, each seeking by means of children to win the heart of Jacob. In her eagerness to become a mother of children, Rachel bargained with Leah for the mandrakes, or love-apples of her son Reuben, but all to no avail (Ge 30:14). Finally God heard her prayer and granted her her heart's desire, and she gave birth to her firstborn whom she named Joseph (Ge 30:22-24).
Some years after this, when Jacob fled from Laban with his wives, the episode of theft of the teraphim of Laban by Rachel, related in Ge 31:19,34,35, occurred. She hoped by securing the household gods of her father to bring prosperity to her own new household. Though she succeeded by her cunning in concealing them from Laban, Jacob later, upon discovering them, had them put away (35:2-4). In spite of all, she continued to be the favorite of Jacob, as is clearly evidenced by 33:2, where we are told that he assigned to her the place of greatest safety, and by his preference for Joseph, her son. After the arrival in Canaan, while they were on the way from Beth-el to Ephrath, i.e. Bethlehem, Rachel gave birth to her second son, Benjamin, and died (35:16 ff).
2Character
In a marked manner Rachel's character shows the traits of her family, cunning and covetousness, so evident in Laban, Rebekah and Jacob. Though a believer in the true God (Ge 30:6,8,22), she was yet given to the superstitions of her country, the worshipping of the teraphim, etc. (Ge 31:19). The futility of her efforts in resorting to self-help and superstitious expedients, the love and stronger faith of her husband (Ge 35:2-4), were the providential means of purifying her character. Her memory lived on in Israel long after she died. In Ru 4:11, the names of Rachel and Leah occur in the nuptial benediction as the foundresses of the house of Israel.
(matstsebheth qebhurath rachel): In Ge 35:20 we read: "Jacob set up a pillar upon her grave: the same is the Pillar of Rachel's grave unto this day," i.e. the time of the wri