Keraia
People

Rachel

Rachel was the beloved wife of Jacob, and the mother of Joseph and Benjamin.

The name Rachel means “sheep”

FemaleEarly PatriarchPatriarchs eraOld & New Testaments5 books60 verses

Summary

A woman living at the time of the Patriarchs, first mentioned at Genesis 29:6; referred to as Rachel (רָחֵל) or Rachel (Ῥαχήλ); daughter of Laban; a sister of Leah; wife of Israel; mother of Joseph and Benjamin.

Profile

Rachel was Laban's younger daughter. She was beautiful, and Jacob loved her more than his other wives. He first met her when he arrived at Paddan-aram in Haran. He helped her remove the stone from a well and watered her father’s sheep (Genesis 29:10). Jacob agreed to work seven years for Laban to marry Rachel. The time felt like only a few days because he loved her so much.

Laban tricked Jacob into marrying Leah, his older and less attractive daughter, before allowing him to marry Rachel. Unlike Leah, Rachel could not have children at first (Genesis 29:31; 30:1). She gave her servant Bilhah to Jacob to have children for her, resulting in the births of Dan and Naphtali (Genesis 30:3–8). Eventually, Rachel became pregnant and gave birth to Joseph (Genesis 30:22–24). Soon after, Jacob left Haran with his wives, children, and possessions.

Between Bethel and Bethlehem, Rachel died while giving birth to Benjamin (Genesis 35:16–20). Jacob set up a pillar over her tomb, which remained a landmark even during Saul’s time (1 Samuel 10:2). Rachel and Leah are respected for building up the house of Israel (Ruth 4:11). In Jeremiah 31:15, Rachel is shown crying for her children taken into captivity. Matthew refers to Jeremiah’s words during Herod’s killing of male infants around Bethlehem shortly after Jesus’s birth (Matthew 2:16–18).

Passages for Further Study

Genesis 29:6–30:24; 31:4–19, 31–35; 33:1–7; 35:16–20; 46:19–22; 48:7; Ruth 4:11; 1 Samuel 10:2; Jeremiah 31:15; Matthew 2:18

Events

Dates are approximate

Glossary entries

Rachel Rahel

Family members

Father

Laban

Spouse

Israel

Siblings

Leah

Children

Benjamin Joseph

Alternative names

Mentions

Includes 15 verses that refer to Rachel without naming them, as “he”, “she”, or the subject of a verb.

  1. Genesis 29:6
    “Is he well?” Jacob inquired. “Yes,” they answered, “and here comes his daughter Rachel with his sheep.”
  2. Genesis 29:9
    While he was still speaking with them, Rachel arrived with her father’s sheep, for she was a shepherdess.
  3. 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.
  4. Genesis 29:11
    Then Jacob kissed Rachel and wept aloud.
  5. Genesis 29:12
    He told Rachel that he was Rebekah’s son, a relative of her father, and she ran and told her father.
  6. Genesis 29:16
    Now Laban had two daughters; the older was named Leah, and the younger was named Rachel.
  7. Genesis 29:17
    Leah had weak eyes, but Rachel was shapely and beautiful.
  8. Genesis 29:18
    Since Jacob loved Rachel, he answered, “I will serve you seven years for your younger daughter Rachel.”
  9. Genesis 29:19Referred to, not named
    Laban replied, “Better that I give her to you than to another. Stay here with me.”
  10. Genesis 29:20
    So Jacob served seven years for Rachel, yet it seemed but a few days because of his love for her.
  11. Genesis 29:25
    When morning came, there was Leah! “What have you done to me?” Jacob said to Laban. “Wasn’t it for Rachel that I served you? Why have you deceived me?”
  12. Genesis 29:27Referred to, not named
    Finish this week’s celebration, and we will give you the younger one in return for another seven years of work.”
  13. Genesis 29:28
    And Jacob did just that. He finished the week’s celebration, and Laban gave him his daughter Rachel as his wife.
  14. Genesis 29:29
    Laban also gave his servant girl Bilhah to his daughter Rachel as her maidservant.
  15. Genesis 29:30
    Jacob slept with Rachel as well, and indeed, he loved Rachel more than Leah. So he worked for Laban another seven years.
  16. Genesis 29:31
    When the LORD saw that Leah was unloved, He opened her womb; but Rachel was barren.
  17. Genesis 30:1
    When Rachel saw that she was not bearing any children for Jacob, she envied her sister. “Give me children, or I will die!” she said to Jacob.
  18. Genesis 30:2
    Jacob became angry with Rachel and said, “Am I in the place of God, who has withheld children from you?”
  19. Genesis 30:3Referred to, not named
    Then she said, “Here is my maidservant Bilhah. Sleep with her, that she may bear children for me, so that through her I too can build a family.”
  20. Genesis 30:4Referred to, not named
    So Rachel gave Jacob her servant Bilhah as a wife, and he slept with her,
  21. Genesis 30:6
    Then Rachel said, “God has vindicated me; He has heard my plea and given me a son.” So she named him Dan.
  22. Genesis 30:7
    And Rachel’s servant Bilhah conceived again and bore Jacob a second son.
  23. Genesis 30:8
    Then Rachel said, “In my great struggles, I have wrestled with my sister and won.” So she named him Naphtali.
  24. Genesis 30:14
    Now during the wheat harvest, Reuben went out and found some mandrakes in the field. When he brought them to his mother, Rachel begged Leah, “Please give me some of your son’s mandrakes.”
  25. Genesis 30:15
    But Leah replied, “Is it not enough that you have taken away my husband? Now you want to take my son’s mandrakes as well?” “Very well,” said Rachel, “he may sleep with you tonight in exchange for your son’s mandrakes.”
  26. Genesis 30:22
    Then God remembered Rachel. He listened to her and opened her womb,
  27. Genesis 30:23Referred to, not named
    …and she conceived and gave birth to a son. “God has taken away my shame,” she said.
  28. Genesis 30:24Referred to, not named
    She named him Joseph, and said, “May the LORD add to me another son.”
  29. Genesis 30:25
    Now after Rachel had given birth to Joseph, Jacob said to Laban, “Send me on my way so I can return to my homeland.
  30. Genesis 31:4
    So Jacob sent word and called Rachel and Leah to the field where his flocks were,
  31. Genesis 31:5Referred to, not named
    …and he told them, “I can see from your father’s countenance that his attitude toward me has changed; but the God of my father has been with me.
  32. Genesis 31:6Referred to, not named
    You know that I have served your father with all my strength.
  33. Genesis 31:7Referred to, not named
    And although he has cheated me and changed my wages ten times, God has not allowed him to harm me.
  34. Genesis 31:9Referred to, not named
    Thus God has taken away your father’s livestock and given them to me.
  35. Genesis 31:14
    And Rachel and Leah replied, “Do we have any portion or inheritance left in our father’s house?
  36. Genesis 31:15Referred to, not named
    Are we not regarded by him as outsiders? Not only has he sold us, but he has certainly squandered what was paid for us.
  37. Genesis 31:16Referred to, not named
    Surely all the wealth that God has taken away from our father belongs to us and to our children. So do whatever God has told you.”
  38. Genesis 31:19
    Now while Laban was out shearing his sheep, Rachel stole her father’s household idols.
  39. Genesis 31:32
    If you find your gods with anyone here, he shall not live! In the presence of our relatives, see for yourself if anything is yours, and take it back.” For Jacob did not know that Rachel had stolen the idols.
  40. Genesis 31:33
    So Laban went into Jacob’s tent, then Leah’s tent, and then the tents of the two maidservants, but he found nothing. Then he left Leah’s tent and entered Rachel’s tent.
  41. Genesis 31:34
    Now Rachel had taken Laban’s household idols, put them in the saddlebag of her camel, and was sitting on them. And Laban searched everything in the tent but found nothing.
  42. Genesis 31:35Referred to, not named
    Rachel said to her father, “Sir, do not be angry that I cannot stand up before you; for I am having my period.” So Laban searched but could not find the household idols.
  43. Genesis 33:1
    Now Jacob looked up and saw Esau coming toward him with four hundred men. So he divided the children among Leah, Rachel, and the two maidservants.
  44. Genesis 33:2
    He put the maidservants and their children in front, Leah and her children next, and Rachel and Joseph at the rear.
  45. Genesis 33:7
    Leah and her children also approached and bowed down, and then Joseph and Rachel approached and bowed down.
  46. Genesis 35:16
    Later, they set out from Bethel, and while they were still some distance from Ephrath, Rachel began to give birth, and her labor was difficult.
  47. Genesis 35:19
    So Rachel died and was buried on the way to Ephrath (that is, Bethlehem).
  48. Genesis 35:20
    Jacob set up a pillar on her grave; it marks Rachel’s tomb to this day.
  49. Genesis 35:24
    The sons of Rachel were Joseph and Benjamin.
  50. Genesis 35:25
    The sons of Rachel’s maidservant Bilhah were Dan and Naphtali.
  51. Genesis 46:19
    The sons of Jacob’s wife Rachel: Joseph and Benjamin.
  52. Genesis 46:22
    These are the sons of Rachel born to Jacob—fourteen in all.
  53. Genesis 46:25
    These are the sons of Jacob born to Bilhah, whom Laban gave to his daughter Rachel—seven in all.
  54. Genesis 48:7
    Now as for me, when I was returning from Paddan, to my sorrow Rachel died along the way in the land of Canaan, some distance from Ephrath. So I buried her there beside the road to Ephrath” (that is, Bethlehem).
  55. 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.
  56. 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 about my son?”’
  57. 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.”
  58. Jeremiah 31:16Referred to, not named
    This is what the LORD says: “Keep your voice from weeping and your eyes from tears, for the reward for your work will come, declares the LORD. Then your children will return from the land of the enemy.
  59. Jeremiah 31:17Referred to, not named
    So there is hope for your future, declares the LORD, and your children will return to their own land.
  60. 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.”