how old was rachel when she married jacob

Buber],Mikez13). "Rachel: Midrash and Aggadah." The impregnation of Sarah and Rachel, the Matriarchs of the nation, heralds that God will also deliver their descendants from the troubles they would suffer in the future. A compilation of the commentary and discussions of the amora'im on the Mishnah. An additional important trait of Rachels was the art of silence and the ability to keep secrets, a quality that she also passed on to her offspring, who were known for their taciturnity: Benjamin, Saul, andEsther. Themidrashfurther relates that Jacob loved Rachel more than Leah, and he even loved Bilhah, Rachels handmaiden, more than he loved Zilpah, the handmaiden of Leah (Gen. Rabbati,Vayeze, p. 120). Zavada, Jack. Features thousands of biographic and thematic essays on Jewish women around the world. She hid these teraphim in her saddle bag, and sat on them. Jacob was quite old compared to other generations when he finally married. Corrections? He asked for Rachels hand because he thought that Leah was intended for Esau (Tanhuma[ed. Jacob insisted on giving the child the name of Benjamin, or "son of my right hand."[1]. Jacob was 77 years old, and he loved Rachel immediately. The Jewish New Year, held on the first and second days of the Hebrew month of Tishrei. Themidrashperceives Rachel as an educational figure who delineated the path that her offspring were to follow. 14-15), Rachel's feelings were wounded, and she replied bitterly: "Jacob is not thy husband; he is mine. Rachels barrenness intensified the jealousy between them, but Leah, out of demonstrated compassion for her sister, prayed that she give birth. Rachels merit continued to aid Israel even many years after her demise: when the exiles from Judah (after the destruction of the First Temple) passed by her tomb, she aroused Gods mercy to forgive them; He heeded her, and promised her that He would return them to their land. Today a site exists along the road from Jerusalem to Bethlehem that most people say is the tomb of Rachel. The midrash further states that, as reward for Rachels modesty, Saul was descended from her; and as reward for Sauls modesty, Esther was descended from him. At Naphtalis birth, Rachel said(Gen. 30:8): A contest of God, a fateful contest I waged [naftuleiniftalti] with my sister; yes, and I have prevailed. Themidrashgives four different interpretations of this name. Later, Rachel became the mother of Joseph (xxx. Jacob gave Reuben the birthright, but it was postponed because of the sin of the latter, who was vindicated and regained his birthright in the time of Moses. So did your mother shame our father when she stole the household idols from Laban! By merit of the blows that he received on his shoulders, theShekhinah(Divine Presence) would rest between Benjamins shoulders, as it is said in the blessing by Moses(Deut. The most extreme description of Rachels act of self-sacrifice appears inLam. Jacob loved Rachel but was indifferent toward Leah. When Rachel saw them, she asked Leah to give them to her [because of her barrenness]. Deut. 2227 AM-m. 2245 AM-2266 AM) (ca. The restrictions on her date of birth are: She married Jacob (2245 AM) when she was old enough to carry an adult responsibility, because Jacob met her when she was leading a flock of sheep to water. Rachel's words at the birth of Joseph, "The Lord shall add to me another son" (Gen. xxx. Thus said the Lord: Restrain your voice from weeping, your eyes from shedding tears; for there is a reward for your labordeclares the Lord: They shall return from the enemys land. Bilhah, Rachel's servant and Jacob's concubine, bears two more sons, Dan and Naphtali. God remembered Rachel on Rosh ha-Shanah (Ber. The uncertainty arises from the unknown time between Jacob leaving Paddan-aram and arriving in Ephrath which was presumably at least 2 years (with Bethel in between) and when Joseph was 17 years old. https://www.learnreligions.com/rachel-favored-wife-of-jacob-701193 (accessed May 1, 2023). A compilation of the commentary and discussions of the, Matriarchs: A Liturgical and Theological Category, Modesty and Sexuality in Halakhic Literature, The Shalvi/Hyman Encyclopedia of Jewish Women, Copyright 19982023, Jewish Women's Archive. Since she suffered many years of barrenness, she was rewarded by the Israelites being called by her name, or by the name of her descendants. 2). Rachel immediately told her father Laban about the helpful stranger at the well. The Rabbis commented on the sale of the mandrakes: This one lost and the other one lost, this one was rewarded and the other one was rewarded. Leah lost the mandrakes and was rewarded with tribes; Rachel lost burial, and was rewarded with the birthright(Gen. Rabbah72:3). Rabbah3:2). Jacob objecting on the ground that his father had one wife only, while he himself had two, and that though one of them was childless, he had children by the other, she urged him to follow Abraham's example, and to take her handmaid for a wife (Midr. DAY 34: Jacob Was 84 Years Old When He Married Rachel And Leah By richoka Leave a Comment We've now arrived at the third Biblical patriarch: Jacob. Jacob then married Rachel and worked for Laban another seven years for her. [1] In another exegetical tradition, Jacob placed Rachel and Joseph last because he wanted to protect them. The affair of the mandrakes is generally represented by the Rabbis as unfavorable to Rachel; and it was due to her mode of obtaining them (comp. Friedmann (Ish-Shalom)], chap. 11). According to the Rabbis, Laban would not have succeeded in deceiving Jacob without Rachels involvement. His prophecy was fulfilled, asJer. B. Please refer to the appropriate style manual or other sources if you have any questions. Later, when Leah was given in marriage instead of Rachel, the latter revealed the signs to her sister in order to spare her from being disgraced by Jacob. Rachel had been given Bilhah as a handmaiden by her father Laban upon her marriage to Jacob. Possibly in the early fall of 2248 AM (1757 BC), Rachel protested to Jacob concerning her lack of children. 14-16, 19, 34-35). All this means that Jacob was married to Rachel for some time between about 15 years and 22 years. 13b; B. Jacob then married Rachel and worked for Laban another seven years for her. Accordingly, after the birth of Joseph, Esaus foil, Jacob resolved that the time had come to return to his homeland(Gen. Rabbah73:7). pseudo-Jonathan ad loc.). 3). The Rabbis further learned from Jacobs words that a wifes death profoundly affects her husband(BTSanhedrin22b). "Meet Rachel - Favored Wife of Jacob." Gen. 33:67describes the meeting with Esau: Then the maids, with their children, came forward and bowed low; next Leah, with her children, came forward and bowed low; and lastly, Joseph and Rachel came forward and bowed low. The Rabbis noted that the other wives came first and their children after them, while Joseph stepped forward before his mother Rachel. The regimen of rituals, songs and textual readings performed in a specific order on the first two nights (in Israel, on the first night) of Passover.Seder Olam Rabbah2). According to one of these interpretations, the disgrace to which Rachel refers is the affair of theConcubine of a Levite(Jud. It speaks of a tradition possessed by Jacob that Esau would fall only by the hand of Rachels sons. "Staging Rachel: Rabbinic Midrash, Theatrical Mime, and Christian Martyrdom in Late Antiquity." Jacob allowed Laban to search for the idols. The Rabbis learn of Gods retaining the key of the woman giving birth from Rachel, of whom it is said: Now God remembered Rachel; God heeded her and opened her womb(BTTaanit2ab). Due to the shame that Benjamin suffered through no fault of his own, he merited having the Divine Presence rest in his portion [the Temple was erected in the portion of the tribe of Benjamin], which thereby publicly proclaimed his innocence. Since he did not have the money to pay the bride price (the mohar ) for her, he agreed to work seven years for him and then marry Rachel. Rachel and her sister Leah are mentioned as the two women who founded the house of Israel, Rachel, though younger, being mentioned first (Ruth iv. When Leah was brought under the wedding canopy, Rachel thought: Now my sister will be shamed [when Jacob discovers the fraud and does not marry her]. She gave the signs to Leah. But the Bible makes no specific statement to this effect. When he gives him blessings of the breast and the womb he is saying to Joseph: may the breasts that nursed such a son, and the womb that brought him forth, be blessed(Gen. Rabbah98:20, [ed. The Rabbis understand the wording (Gen. Did Isaac and Rebekah have a wedding? Thus, we see that the rivalry between the two sisters did not come to an end but even pertains to the identity of the herald of the future Redemption. Gen. 29:18attests: Jacob loved Rachel. The midrashic exegesis of this verse characterizes this love of Jacobs with a reference toCant. We can't believe God's love is free for us to receive. Instead of showing understanding, he amplifies her pain by telling her that he already has four sons from Leah. Rachel said: I should have been Jacobs bride before my sister. Gen. xxx. Vilna] petihtah 24). In yet another exegetical understanding, Rachel said: May the Lord add another son for me for exile, because the ten tribes were exiled beyond the Sambatyon river, while the tribes of Judah and Benjamin were dispersed throughout all the lands. They consented, as is said inGen. 31:14: Then Rachel and Leah answered, saying []. Since Rachel spoke before her sister, she was punished by dying before her(Gen. Rabbah74:4). cit.). Jacob loved Rachel passionately even before they were married, but Rachel thought, as her culture had taught her, that she needed to bear children to earn Jacob's love. 3; Pire R. El. Why, then, did she die? xxxi. Help us elevate the voices of Jewish women. Rachel and Leah persuaded their husband to flee from Laban's house, and at the moment of Jacob's flight Rachel stole her father's teraphim. Only now, upon the birth of Naphtali, did Rachel sense that she had regained her former standing. Jealous of her sister, Rachel gave Jacob her servant Bilhah as a wife. In the tableau inGen. 35:17, Rachel experiences difficulty in childbirth and the midwife tells her: Have no fear, for it is another boy for you. The Rabbis observe that this is how a womans spirit is restored during childbirth, by telling her not to fear, because she is giving birth to a son [which was regarded as an honor which would raise the womans spirits](Gen. Rabbah82:8). R. xxx. The midrash includes Rachel among the seven barren women who were eventually blessed with offspring:Sarah, Rebekah,Rachel, Leah,Manoahs Wife,Hannah andZion [in a metaphorical sense], of whomPs. The Rabbis are lavish in their praise of Rachel, whom they describe as merciful, and who waived her personal benefit and desires on behalf of her sister. (NIV). Isaac, the father of Jacob, wanted his son to marry from among their own people, so he sent Jacob to Paddan-aram, to find a wife among the daughters of Laban, Jacob's uncle. 2, 7). After that I consoled myself, I suffered [to overcome] my desire and had compassion for my sister that she not suffer disgrace, and I gave her all the signs that I had given to my husband, so that he would think that she was Rachel. Genesis chapters 29-30 and 35 detail the births of Jacob's many children. Rachel unquestionably had Jacob's favor, but Rachel was sterile, while Leah was fertile. 13). By your life, your sons will stand before her son, and he will tell them(Gen. 50:19) Am I a substitute for God?(Gen. Rabbah71:7). Continuing this exegetical orientation, in another midrashic depiction Jacob tells Reuben, while blessing his sons before his death: The birthright was not yours. When Naphtali was born, Rachel felt that her competition with her sister had reached a point of equilibrium. 9-12, 17-18, 31; xxx. In return, Leah requested that Rachel forgo her right to be with Jacob that night. We don't need to perform good works to earn it. Jacob was 147 years old when he died, Gen 47:28. 4:19), andMichal (daughter of Saul)(II Sam. She therefore insisted that Jacob pray to God for children, arguing that his father, Isaac, had done so(comp. Her name means "ewe" in Hebrew. The Rabbis observe that a woman usually goes to her mothers household, but since Rachels mother was dead, she had none to tell about Jacob besides her father(Gen. Rabbah70:13). Most of the Rabbis consider the idea of Rachel being an envious woman as incompatible with what has been previously said of her. Rachel said: I prepared myself [nupeti, i.e., I prepared myself for Jacobs bed], I allowed myself to be persuaded [pititito withdraw in favor of my sister and to aid her to be Jacobs wife], I exalted my sister over myself [taliti ahoti alai], and I have prevailed(Gen. Rabbah71:8). Bilhah bore two sons, Dan and Naphtali, over the next two years.[1][2][3]. The Rabbis ask why Jacob buried Rachel on the road to Ephrath, and not in the Cave of Machpelah. Rosh Hashanah is perceived as the time of liberation from pain and sorrow: this is the day that signals a positive change, both in the time of the Matriarchs and in the time of their offspring. "Meet Rachel - Favored Wife of Jacob." 113:9states: He sets the childless woman among her household as a happy mother of children (Pesikta de-Rav Kahana[ed. [Note Jacob was less than half this age when he met Rachel - this means that even compared to a modern man, he was in the prime of his life at that point.] When Jacob spoke with Leah, Rachel would answer him, so that he would not identify Leahs voice (Lam. After Josephs birth, she exclaimed: God has taken away my disgrace (Tanhuma[ed. He buried her on the road to Ephrath because he foresaw that the Israelites, when driven into captivity along that road, would need her intercession with God in their behalf (Midr.

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