Rachel - wikipedia Rachel This article is about the biblical figure. For other uses, see Rachel ( disambiguation ). Rachel Rachel and Jacob by William Dyce Holy Matriarch Paddan Aram Canaan Venerated in Judaism Christianity Islam Major shrine Rachel 's Tomb Feast Roman Catholicism : 1 November Orthodox Church : Sunday before Christmas Rachel ( Hebrew : רָחֵל ‎, Modern Rakhél, Tiberian Rāḥēl ) was the favorite of Biblical patriarch Jacob 's two wives as well as the mother of Joseph and Benjamin, two of the twelve progenitors of the tribes of Israel. The name `` Rachel '' means ewe. Rachel was the daughter of Laban and the younger sister of Leah, Jacob 's first wife. Rachel was a niece of Rebekah ( Jacob 's mother ), Laban being Rebekah 's brother, making Jacob her first cousin. Contents 1 Marriage to Jacob 2 Rachel 's children 3 Death and burial 4 Additional references in the Bible 5 In Islam 6 References 7 External links Marriage to Jacob Rachel and Jacob by James Tissot. Rachel is first mentioned in the Hebrew Bible in Genesis 29 when Jacob happens upon her as she is about to water her father 's flock. She was the second daughter of Laban, Rebekah 's brother. Jacob had traveled a great distance to find Laban. Rebekah had sent him there to be safe from his furious twin brother, Esau. During Jacob 's stay, he fell in love with Rachel and agreed to work seven years for Laban in return for her hand in marriage. On the night of the wedding, the bride was veiled and Jacob did not notice that Leah, Rachel 's older sister, had been substituted for Rachel. Whereas `` Rachel was lovely in form and beautiful '', `` Leah had tender eyes ''. Later Jacob confronted Laban, who excused his own deception by insisting that the older sister should marry first. He assured Jacob that after his wedding week was finished, he could take Rachel as a wife as well, and work another seven years as payment for her. When God `` saw that Leah was unloved, he opened her womb '' ( Gen 29 : 31 ), and she gave birth to four sons. Rachel, like Sarah and Rebecca, remained unable to conceive. According to Tikva Frymer - Kensky, `` The infertility of the matriarchs has two effects : it heightens the drama of the birth of the eventual son, marking Isaac, Jacob, and Joseph as special ; and it emphasizes that pregnancy is an act of God. '' Rachel became jealous of Leah and gave Jacob her maidservant, Bilhah, to be a surrogate mother for her. Bilhah gave birth to two sons that Rachel named and raised ( Dan and Naphtali ). Leah responds by offering her handmaid Zilpah to Jacob, and names and raises the two sons ( Gad and Asher ) that Zilpah bears. According to some commentaries, Bilhah and Zilpah are actually half - sisters of Leah and Rachel. After Leah conceived again, Rachel was finally blessed with a son, Joseph, who would become Jacob 's favorite child. Rachel 's children Rachel 's son, Joseph, was destined to be the leader of Israel 's tribes between exile and nationhood. This role is exemplified in the Biblical story of Joseph, who prepared the way in Egypt for his family 's exile there, and in the future figure of Mashiach ben Yosef ( Messiah, son of Joseph ), who, in the Rabbinic Jewish view, will fight the apocalyptic Wars of Gog and Magog, preparing the way for the kingship of Mashiach ben David ( Messiah, son of David ) and the messianic age. Fresco by Giovanni Battista Tiepolo of Rachel sitting on the idols. After Joseph 's birth, Jacob decided to return to the land of Canaan with his family. Fearing that Laban would deter him, he fled with his two wives, Leah and Rachel, and twelve children without informing his father - in - law. Laban pursued him and accused him of stealing his idols. Indeed, Rachel had taken her father 's idols, hidden them inside her camel 's seat cushion, and sat upon them. Laban had neglected to give his daughters their inheritance ( Gen 31 : 14 -- 16 ). Rachel becomes a trickster like her father, her aunt ( Rebekah ), and her husband. Not knowing that the idols were in his wife 's possession, Jacob pronounced a curse on whoever had them : `` With whoever you will find your gods, he will not live '' ( Genesis 31 : 32 ). Laban proceeded to search the tents of Jacob and his wives, but when he came to Rachel 's tent, she told her father, `` Let not my lord be angered that I can not rise up before you, for the way of women is upon me '' ( Genesis 31 : 35 ). Laban left her alone, but the curse Jacob had pronounced came true shortly thereafter. Death and burial Rachel 's Tomb, near Bethlehem, 1891 Near Ephrath, Rachel went into a difficult labor with her second son, Benjamin. The midwife told her in the middle of the birth that her child was a boy. Before she died, Rachel named her son Ben Oni ( `` son of my mourning '' ), but Jacob called him Ben Yamin ( Benjamin ). Rashi explains that Ben Yamin either means `` son of the right '' ( i.e., `` south '' ), since Benjamin was the only one of Jacob 's sons born in Canaan, which is to the south of Paddan Aram ; or it could mean `` son of my days '', as Benjamin was born in Jacob 's old age. Rachel was buried by Jacob on the road to Efrat, just outside Bethlehem, and not in the ancestral tomb at Machpelah. Today a site claimed to be Rachel 's Tomb, located between Bethlehem and the Israeli settlement of Gilo, is visited by tens of thousands of visitors each year. Additional references in the Bible Rachel is weeping for her children, 14th century fresco from Marko 's Monastery. Mordecai, the hero of the Book of Esther, and Queen Esther herself, were descendants of Rachel through her son Benjamin. The Book of Esther details Mordecai 's lineage as `` Mordecai the son of Yair, the son of Shimi, the son of Kish, a man of the right ( ish yemini ) '' ( Esther 2 : 5 ). The designation of ish yemini refers to his membership in the Tribe of Benjamin ( ben yamin, son of the right ). The rabbis comment that Esther 's ability to remain silent in the palace of Ahasuerus, resisting the king 's pressure to reveal her ancestry, was inherited from her ancestor Rachel, who remained silent even when Laban brought out Leah to marry Jacob. After the tribes of Ephraim and Benjamin were exiled by the Assyrians, Rachel was remembered as the classic mother who mourns and intercedes for her children. Jeremiah 31 : 15, speaks of ' Rachel weeping for her children ' ( KJV ). This is interpreted in Judaism as Rachel crying for an end to her descendants ' sufferings and exiles following the destruction by the Babylonians of the First Temple in ancient Jerusalem. According to the Midrash, Rachel spoke before God : `` If I, a mere mortal, was prepared not 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. In the second chapter of the Gospel of Matthew ( part of the New Testament ), 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. The Jeremaic prophecy is the inspiration behind the medieval dramatic cycle Ordo Rachelis, concerned with the infancy of Jesus. In Islam Rachel ( Arabic : راحيل ‎ ‎ Rāḥīl ), the wife of Jacob ( Yaqub ), the mother of Joseph ( Yusuf ) and Benjamin ( Binyamin ), is an honored woman in Islam. Yaqub and Yusuf are frequently mentioned by name in the Qur'an whilst Rachel is only referenced and not mentioned by name. References Jump up ^ `` Rachel the Matriarch ''. Star Quest Production Network. Retrieved 28 April 2011. Jump up ^ Bible Hub ^ Jump up to : `` Rachel '', Jewish Virtual Library Jump up ^ `` Leah had tender eyes '' ( Hebrew : ועיני לאה רכות ) ( Genesis 29 : 17 ). It is debated as to whether the adjective `` tender '' ( רכות ) should be taken to mean `` delicate and soft '' or `` weary ''. Some translations say that it may have meant blue or light colored eyes. Some say that Leah spent most of her time weeping and praying to God to change her destined mate. Thus the Torah describes her eyes as `` soft '' from weeping. ^ Jump up to : Frymer - Kensky, Tikva. `` Rachel : Bible. '' Jewish Women : A Comprehensive Historical Encyclopedia. 20 March 2009. Jewish Women 's Archive. ( Viewed on August 6, 2014 ) Jump up ^ Ginzberg, Louis ( 1909 ) The Legends of the Jews, Volume I, Chapter VI : Jacob, at sacred-texts.com Jump up ^ `` Joseph '' at jewishencyclopedia.com Jump up ^ Reisenberger, Azila, `` Medical history : Biblical texts reveal compelling mysteries '', Newsroom and Publications at the University of Cape Town website Jump up ^ `` Rachel '' at http://jewishencyclopedia.com Jump up ^ `` Kever Rachel Trip Breaks Barriers '' by Israel National News Staff at israelnationalnews.com, Published : 11 / 14 / 05 Jump up ^ Weisberg, Chana, `` Rachel - Biblical Women '' at chabad.org External links Media related to Jacob and Rachel at Wikimedia Commons The dictionary definition of רחל at Wiktionary Children of Jacob by wife in order of birth Leah Reuben ( 1 ) Simeon ( 2 ) Levi ( 3 ) Judah ( 4 ) Issachar ( 9 ) Zebulun ( 10 ) Dinah ( 11 ) Rachel Joseph ( 12 ) Benjamin ( 13 ) Bilhah ( Rachel 's servant ) Dan ( 5 ) Naphtali ( 6 ) Zilpah ( Leah 's servant ) Gad ( 7 ) Asher ( 8 ) Prophets in the Hebrew Bible Pre-Patriarchal Abel Kenan Enoch Noah ( in rabbinic literature ) Patriarchs / Matriarchs Abraham Isaac Jacob Levi Joseph Sarah Rebecca Rachel Leah Israelite prophets in the Torah Moses ( in rabbinic literature ) Aaron Miriam Eldad and Medad Phinehas Mentioned in the Former Prophets Joshua Deborah Gideon Eli Elkanah Hannah Abigail Samuel Gad Nathan David Solomon Jeduthun Ahijah Shemaiah Elijah Elisha Iddo Hanani Jehu Micaiah Jahaziel Eliezer Zechariah ben Jehoiada Huldah Major Isaiah ( in rabbinic literature ) Jeremiah Ezekiel Daniel ( in rabbinic literature ) Minor Hosea Joel Amos Obadiah Jonah ( in rabbinic literature ) Micah Nahum Habakkuk Zephaniah Haggai Zechariah Malachi Noahide Beor Balaam Job ( in rabbinic literature ) Other Amoz Beeri Baruch Agur Uriah Buzi Mordecai Esther ( in rabbinic literature ) Oded Azariah Italics indicate persons whose status as prophets is not universally accepted. People and things in the Quran Characters God in Islam ( Allah ) Names of God found in the Quran Angels Israfil Izra'il / Azrael ( Malak al - Mawt ) Jibra'il / Gabriel ( Al - Ruh al - Amin ) and Holy Spirit ( Al - Ruh al - Qudus ) and Al - Ruh ( The Spirit ) Maalik Mika'il Harut and Marut Jinns Iblīs / Devil Shaitan / Satan Ifrit ( and Marid ) Qareen In Heaven ( Jannah ) Ghilman and Wildan Houri In Hell ( Jahannam ) Zabaniyya Zaqqum Prophets and apostles ( messengers ) of God Mentioned Ādam / Adam Alyasa ' / Elisha Ayyub / Job Dawud / David Dhul - Kifl / Ezekiel ? Harun / Aaron Hud / Eber ? Ibrahim / Abraham ( Khalilullah ) Idris / Enoch ? Ilyas / Elijah Imran / Joachim ( father of Maryam ) Isa / Jesus Isḥaq / Isaac Isma'il / Ishmael Dhabih Ullah Lut / Lot Muhammad or Ahmad / Paraclete Musa / Moses ( Kalimullah ) Nuh / Noah Saleh / Shelah ? Shuaib / Jethro Sulayman / Solomon Uzair / Ezra ? Yahya / John the Baptist Yaqub / Jacob ( Israel ) Yunus / Jonah ( Dhul - Nun, Sahib al - Hut ) Yūsuf / Joseph Zakariya / Zechariah Implied Ermia / Jeremiah Samuel Yusha ' ibn Nūn / Joshua Good people ( before Islam ) Mentioned Dhul - Qarnayn Luqman Maryam / Mary ( mother of Isa ) Talut / Saul Implicitly mentioned Asiyah bint Muzahim / Bithiah ? ( wife of Fir'aun ) Asif ibn Barkhiya Bilquis ( Queen of Saba / Sheba ) Believer of Fir'aun Family ( Hizbil / Hizqil ibn Sabura ) Beniamin / Benjamin Habib the Carpenter ( believer of Ya - Sin ) Kaleb / Caleb Khidr Magicians of Fir'aun Simon Cephas / Simon Peter Other people ( before Islam ) Mentioned Āzar ( uncle of Ibrahim ) Fir'aun / Pharaoh Haman Jalut / Goliath Qarun / Korah Sāmiri Implicitly mentioned Abraha Bal'am / Balaam Barṣīṣā Nebuchadnezzar II Nimrod Potiphar ( Al - Aziz ) Shaddad Simeon ( son of Ya'qub ) Slayers of Saleh 's she - camel ( Qaddar ibn Salif and Musda ' ibn Dahr ) Valid ibn Rayyan ( king of Egypt in the account of Yūsuf ) Zuleika ( wife of al - Aziz ) Mentioned people ( after inception of Islam ) Abū Lahab Zayd ibn Harithah Relatives of prophets Specified good relatives Daughters of Lut / Lot ( Ritha, Za'ura, et al. ) Elizabeth or ' Ishā ' ( wife of Zakariya ) Habil / Abel ( son of Adam ) Hawwa ' / Eve ( wife of Adam ) Kulthum / Miriam ( sister of Musa ) Saffurah / Zipporah ( wife of Musa ) and Layya ( Saffura 's sister ) Sarah ( wife of Ibrahim, mother of Isḥaq ) Yukabed / Jochebed ( mother of Musa ) Non-specified good relatives Abiona / Amtelai daughter of Karnebo ( mother of Ibrahim ) Bathsheba ( wife of Dawud ) Muhammad 's wives Daughters of Muhammad Hājar / Hagar ( wife of Ibrahim, mother of Isma'il ) Hannah / Anne daughter of Faquz ( mother of Maryam ) Imran / Amram ( father of Musa ) Lamech ( father of Nuh ) Rāhil / Rachel ( wife of Ya'qub ) Rahma / Dinah ( wife of Ayyub ) Shamkha bint Anush / Betenos ( mother of Nuh ) Son of Luqman Other relatives Brothers of Yūsuf Children of Ayyub Dead son of Sulaiman Qabil / Cain ? Tārah / Terah ( father of Ibrahim ) Umm Jamil ( wife of Abu Lahab ) Wali'ah or Wa'ilah / Waala ? ( wife of Nuh ) Walihah or Wahilah ( wife of Lut ) Yam or Kan'an ( son of Nuh ) Groups and tribes Tribes and ethnicities Mentioned ' Ād ( people of Hud ) Arabs and Ajam Children of Israel / Israelites Companions of the Rass People of Saba ' / Sheba People of Shu'aib ( people of Madyan and people of Aykah / Wood ) People of Tubba ' Quraysh Romans Thamud ( people of Saleh, companions of Hijr ) Ya'juj and Ma'juj / Gog and Magog Implicitly mentioned Ahl al - Bayt Amalek Banu Hashim Banu Nadir Banu Qaynuqa Banu Qurayza Iranian people Umayyad Dynasty Groups Mentioned Christian apostles Disciples of Jesus Companions of Noah 's Ark Companions of Sabbath ( Aşḥāb al - Sabt ) Companions of the Cave / Seven Sleepers and Companions of al - Raqaim Companions of the Elephant People of al - Ukhdūd People of the City ( People of Ya - Sin ) People of the Burned Garden ( Aşḥāb al - Jannah ) Ulu'l azm prophets Implicitly mentioned Ahl al - Suffa ( People of the Verandah ) Aus and Khazraj Copts Hezbollah Muhajirun ( The emigrants ) and Ansar ( The helpers ) Ummah of Islam ( Ummah of Muhammad ) Religious groups Ahl al - dhimmah ( Dhimmi ) Christians ( People of Injil ) Jews Kafir ( Infidels ) Majus Zoroastrians Munafiq Hypocrites Mushrik Polytheists Muslims People of the Book ( ‎ ′ Ahl al - Kitāb ) Sabians Ahbār ( Jewish scholars ) Qissis ( Christian priest ) Rabbani / Rabbi Ruhban ( Christian monks ) Locations, entities and events Locations Mentioned Ahqāf Al - Aqsa Mosque Arafat and Mash'ar al - Harām Bābil / Babylon Badr Door of Hittah Hijr / Hegra Holy Land ( Palestine and Levant ) Hunayn Iram Ka'bah / Kaaba ( Bayt al - Harām / Sacred House, Bayt al - ' Atīq / Ancient House ) Madyan / Midian Madinah / Medina ( formerly Yathrib ) Majma ' al - Bahrain Makkah / Mecca ( Umm al - Qura, Balad al - Amin, Bakkah ) Maqām Ibrahim Masjid al - Dirar Masjid al - Haram Mount Judi Mu'tafikat ( Sodom ) Rass Saba ' / Sheba Al - Safa and Al - Marwah Tur Sinā ' / Mount Sinai and Jabal al - Tur Egypt Valley of Tuwa Implicitly mentioned Antioch Antakya Ayla Barrier of Dhul - Qarnayn Bayt al - Muqaddas and ' Ariha Black Stone ( Al - Ḥajar al - Aswad ) and Al - Hijr of Isma'il Canaan Cave of Hira and Cave of Thawr Cave of Seven Sleepers Dār al - Nadwa Hudaybiyyah Jordan River Ma'rib Dam Masjid al - Nabawi ( Prophet 's Mosque ) Mesopotamia Nile River Nineveh Palestine River Paradise of Shaddad Quba Mosque Sinai Desert and Tīh Desert Ta'if Religious locations Bay'a ( Church ) Mihrab Monastery Mosque Salat ( Synagogue ) Non-human physical entities Religious texts Injil / Gospel Quran Suhuf - i Ibrahim ( Scrolls of Abraham ) Tawrat / Torah, Suhuf - i - Musa ( Scrolls of Moses ) and Tablets of Stone Zabur Related animals Cow of Israelites and Golden calf Dog of Seven Sleepers Fish of Yunis Hoopoe of Sulayman She - Camel of Saleh Related objects Forbidden fruit of Adam Heavenly Food of Christian Apostles Noah 's Ark Staff of Musa Tabut al - Sakina ( Casket of Shekhinah ) Throne of Bilqis Trumpet of Israfil Mentioned idols ( cult images ) Baal Lāt, ' Uzza and Manāt Wadd, Suwa ', Yaghuth, Ya'uq and Nasr ( Jibt and Taghut Ansāb ) Events Battle of Badr Battle of Hunayn Battle of Khaybar Battle of Tabouk Battle of the Trench ( Battle of the Confederates ) Battle of Uhud Conquest of Mecca Hadith of the pond of Khumm Incident of Ifk Layla al - Mabit Mubahala The Farewell Pilgrimage ( Hujja al - Wada ' ) Treaty of Hudaybiyyah Umrah al - Qaza Yawm al - Dār Note : The names are sorted alphabetically. Standard form : Islamic name / Biblical name ( title or relationship ) Important women in Islam Generations of Adam Hawwa Generations of Ibrāhīm and his sons Sarah Hājar Rebecca Rachel Generation of Mūsa Asiya Jochebed Miriam Ṣaffūrah Reign of Kings Bilquis, the Queen of Sheba House of Amram Hannah Mariam Elizabeth Time of Muhammad Aminah Khadija bint Khuwaylid Mothers of the Believers Fatimah Zaynab bint Ali Early Sufism Rabi'a al - ' Adawiyya VIAF : 16251571 LCCN : n86093832 GND : 118836889 Retrieved from `` https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Rachel&oldid=792034395 '' Categories : Prophets of the Hebrew Bible Biblical matriarchs Book of Genesis Christian female saints from the Old Testament Deaths in childbirth Hebrew - language names Jacob Hidden categories : Use dmy dates from June 2011 All articles with unsourced statements Articles with unsourced statements from April 2017 Articles containing Arabic - language text Commons category with local link different than on Wikidata Wikipedia articles with VIAF identifiers Wikipedia articles with LCCN identifiers Wikipedia articles with GND identifiers Talk Contents About Wikipedia Azərbaycanca تۆرکجه Български Brezhoneg Català Čeština Dansk Deutsch Ελληνικά Español Esperanto Euskara فارسی Français Galego 한국어 Հայերեն Bahasa Indonesia Italiano עברית ქართული Kiswahili Latina Lietuvių Nederlands 日本 語 Нохчийн Norsk Polski Português Română Русский Scots සිංහල Simple English Српски / srpski Suomi Svenska தமிழ் Türkçe Українська اردو Tiếng Việt ייִדיש Zazaki 中文 Edit links This page was last edited on 24 July 2017, at 01 : 36. 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Question: who did rachel give birth to in the bible
Answer: Joseph