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). (Viewed on August 6, 2014). This name is used poetically by ( Jeremiah 31:15-17 ) to denote God's people mourning under their calamities. "Entry for 'RACHEL'". Da and Naphtali were the offspring of this union. She appears to have shared all the duplicity and falsehood of her family. Rachel is a Biblical name that goes back to the Old Testament. Its traditional site is about half a mile from Jerusalem. After the arrival in Canaan, while they were on the way from Beth-el to Ephrath, i.e. Whereas "Rachel was lovely in form and beautiful", "Leah had tender eyes". Still, it must be noted that sheep and such are mentioned very often in the Bible — Israel was a agricultural society, after all — yet our word occurs only four times. "International Standard Bible Encyclopedia". To her great dismay "Rachel was barren" (Genesis 29:30,31), while Leah had children. Rachel (Hebrew: רָחֵל, Standard Raḥel Tiberian Rāḫēl, Rāḥēl), meaning "ewe"[1][2] is a feminine given name. 'ewe')[2] was a Biblical figure, the favorite of Jacob's two wives, and the mother of Joseph and Benjamin, two of the twelve progenitors of the tribes of Israel. ra'-chel (rachel, "ewe"; Rhachel ( Genesis 29:6; Jeremiah 31:15, the King James Version "Rahel")): 1. 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. Orr, James, M.A., D.D. Bible Dictionaries - Easton's Bible Dictionary - Rachel, Bible Dictionaries - Hitchcock's Bible Names Dictionary - Rachel, Bible Dictionaries - Smith's Bible Dictionary - Rachel, Encyclopedias - International Standard Bible Encyclopedia - Rachel, California - Do Not Sell My Personal Information. Rachel became jealous of Leah and gave Jacob her maidservant, Bilhah, to be a surrogate mother for her. All rights reserved. She was the second daughter of Laban, Rebekah's brother, making Jacob her first cousin. [5] Later Jacob confronted Laban, who excused his own deception by insisting that the older sister should marry first. It is best known as the name of Biblical Rachel. Afterwards, on Jacob's departure from Mesopotamia, she took with her her father's teraphim ( Genesis 31:34 Genesis 31:35 ). [8], After Joseph's birth, Jacob decided to return to the land of Canaan with his family. Rachel was the younger daughter of Laban, the Aramean, the brother of Jacob's mother; so Rachel and Jacob were cousins. Rachelle is a variant form of Rachel (Hebrew). of According to United States Social Security card applications in 2005, the name Rachel ranked 38th out of the top 100 names chosen by parents for their baby girls. Spiritual Meaning of the Name Rachel and Origins.
Rachel was buried on the road to Efrat, just outside Bethlehem,[10] and not in the ancestral tomb at Machpelah. Initially barren and facing her husband's anger, she offered her handmaid Bilhah to … [11] Rachel's tomb is said to be in the ancient city of Zelzah in the land of the Tribe of Benjamin (First Book of Samuel, chapter 10, v. 2). See, for instance, Rachels stealing her fathers images, and the ready dexterity and presence of mind with which she concealed her theft. And Jacob set a pillar upon her grave; that is the pillar of Rachels grave unto this day." A Mosque in the area of Medina, possibly: This page was last edited on 9 September 2020, at 00:46. 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.
According to some commentaries, Bilhah and Zilpah were half-sisters of Leah and Rachel.
1729.) She hoped by securing the household gods of her father to bring prosperity to her own new household. But in Biblical times … Her older sister was Leah, Jacob's first wife; their mother was Adinah. (B.C. 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.
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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. RACHEL. Yet from what is related to us concerning her character there does not seem much to claim any high degree of admiration and esteem. Laban left her alone, but the curse Jacob had pronounced came true shortly thereafter. Her sepulchre is still regarded with great veneration by the Jews. 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.
[3] Her aunt Rebekah was Jacob's mother.[4]. The beauty of Rachel, Jacobs deep love and long servitude for her, their marriage, and Rachels death on giving birth to Benjamin, with Jacobs grief at her loss, ( Genesis 48:7 ) makes a touching tale. From the Hebrew name רָחֵל (Rachel) meaning "ewe". And Jacob set a pillar upon her grave". 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). General Editor. Rachel's father was Laban. Bibliography Information 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 Genesis 31:19,34,35, occurred.
This passage is also quoted by Matthew as fulfilled in the lamentation at Bethlehem on account of the slaughter of the infants there at the command of Herod ( Matthew 2:17 Matthew 2:18 ). 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 Genesis 29:10. 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. "Rachel: Bible." We'll send you an email with steps on how to reset your password. In the Old Testament this is the name of the favourite wife of Jacob. Rebekah had sent him there to be safe from his angry twin brother, Esau. Indeed, Rachel had taken her father's idols, hidden them inside her camel's seat cushion, and sat upon them. The name ranks in the top hundred most popular names for girls in the United States, Canada, United Kingdom, Ireland, and Australia as well as in Israel. Rachel's father was Laban. Near Ephrath, Rachel went into a difficult labor with her second son, Benjamin. It’s derived from the Ancient Hebrew name “Rahel”, meaning “ewe”, “lamb”, or “sheep”.
Then Rachel resorted to the expedient once employed by Sarah under similar circumstances (16:2); she bade Jacob take her handmaid Bilhah, as a concubine, to "obtain children by her" (30:3). Bethlehem, Rachel gave birth to her second son, Benjamin, and died (35:16). Rachel (Hebrew: רָחֵל, Standard Raḥel Tiberian Rāḫēl, Rāḥēl), meaning "ewe" is a feminine given name. 20 March 2009. [3] Statistics for England and Wales from the Office for National Statistics show a decline in popularity of the name: it was the 9th most popular name given to baby girls in 1984, but only 235th in 2014. Jacob was tricked by her father Laban into marrying her older sister Leah first, though in exchange for seven years of work Laban allowed Jacob to marry Rachel too.