how old was rachel when she married jacob

Learn Religions, Dec. 6, 2022, learnreligions.com/rachel-favored-wife-of-jacob-701193. Jack Zavada is a writer who covers the Bible, theology, and other Christianity topics. 6), this prayer of Rachel caused Leah's seventh child, which at the time of conception was a son, to be transformed into a daughter; otherwise Rachel would have been the mother of only one son (comp., however, Ber. [1] In the narrative inGen. 31:19, when Jacob fled from Labans house, Rachel stole her fathers household idols. Omissions? Jacob loved Rachel but was indifferent toward Leah. Lit. Rijksmuseum The story of how Jacob ends up marrying his two cousins, Leah and Rachel, begins in Canaan, with the marriage of his older twin, Esau, to two Hittite women of whom Isaac and Rebekah do not approve. cit.). Features thousands of biographic and thematic essays on Jewish women around the world. And there is hope for your futuredeclares the Lord: Your children shall return to their country (Lam. "Jacob and Rachel at the Well, by James Jacques Joseph Tissot, c. 1896-1902. After Josephs birth, she exclaimed: God has taken away my disgrace (Tanhuma[ed. How Old Was Jacob When He Married? - Bible Study 2 There he saw a well in the open country, with three flocks of sheep lying near it because the flocks were watered from that well. 9). 11). Before her death, Rachel names the newborn. 13b; B. By her merit, Joseph was given the birthright, and her descendants rose to royalty, leadership, and greatness. cit.). Gen. Themidrash, however, presents two principal approaches to this question. Rachelis depicted in theTorah she-bi-khetav: Lit. She raised Joseph and Benjamin as if she were their mother(Gen. Rabbah84:11). Continuing this exegetical orientation, in another midrashic depiction Jacob tells Reuben, while blessing his sons before his death: The birthright was not yours. The Rabbis learned from this that whoever makes a vow and delays fulfilling it will bury his wife (Lev. TheTorahrelates that it was Joseph who ordered that the goblet be hidden in Benjamins sack. According to this conception, Rachels son should from the outset have been the firstborn, but because God had compassion on the unloved Leah, He gave her the fruit of the womb and she bore Jacobs firstborn son. Rachel married Jacob after he was tricked into marrying her sister Leah. 3, 6). After spending a month with his relatives he asked for her hand in marriage in return for working seven years for Laban the Aramean. By ancient custom, Bilhah's children would be credited to Rachel. 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. cit.). 3 When all the flocks were gathered there, the . How old was Rachel when Jacob married her? [2] Thus Leah would be the older sister only in the sense of having been born first. The most extreme description of Rachels act of self-sacrifice appears inLam. 21:1517prescribes that If a man has two wives, one loved and the other unloved, and both [] have borne him sons [] he may not treat as first-born the son of the loved one in disregard of the son of the unloved one who is older. Who is Rachel in The Bible? 8:6: For love is fierce as death (Tanhuma[ed. 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. Rachel lived in Harran, or Paddan Aram, and that's where she met her cousin Jacob. Have an update or correction? Jacob said to Joseph that he had buried Rachel near Ephrath, where Bethlehem now stands. Saul, the son of Rachels son, remained silent(I Sam. 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. Other Rabbis found fault with Rachel and maintained that because Rachel made light of her right to lie with the righteous Jacob, which she sold for the mandrakes, she was punished by not being buried together with him. Well, according to the math in the Bible, Jacob was 8. 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. God remembered Rachel on Rosh ha-Shanah (Ber. After he married Leah, Jacob held a banquet for seven days, and he added another seven days of feasting and rejoicing, and then married Rachel. Rachel had taken the idols and placed them in the cushion on her camels back. She stole the household idols (teraphim) that belonged to Laban, in the belief that those idols would confer some protective power. Once she has given birth, she places the blame on her child (Tanhuma[ed. In Ruth 4:11, she is named as one "from whom all the nation of Israel descended." xxi., where the number 37 must be corrected to 36). Those sons became the founders of the 12 tribes of Israel. When Rachel saw that her sister was pregnant, she prayed and caused the fetuss sex to change(JTBerakhot9:3, 14[a]). The 63-year-old Dirty Dancing icon appeared in the very first season of the show, playing Mindy. Gen. 30:23records that when Rachel gave birth to Joseph she explained: God has taken away [asaf] my disgrace. The Rabbis observe that until a woman gives birth, whatever blame [there is, within the house] is placed upon her. His preference for her continued even after her death, and also influenced Jacobs attitude to her children. it is known before You that Your servant Jacobs love for me knew no bounds, and he worked for my father for seven years for me. Buber],Vayeze19). Only now, upon the birth of Naphtali, did Rachel sense that she had regained her former standing. "order." Thus Rachel knew that Jacob loved her more than he did Leah.[1][2][3][4]. The Rabbis understand the wording(Gen. 29:31): but Rachel was barren [akarah] as teaching of Rachels merit: despite her not having children, she nonetheless was the chief person [ikar] of the household. Her name means "ewe" in Hebrew. cit.) 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). In another midrashic tradition, however, Jacob did not initially favor Rachel over Leah. This exposition emphasizes that Jacob acted in accordance with the commandment of the Torah and did not prefer the son of the loved wife to the son of the unloved one. Thismidrashindicates the physical trait shared by Rachel and Joseph, which the Bible expresses in identical language. When Rachel realized that she was barren, she emulated Sarah and gave Bilhah to Jacob, saying: "Just as this one was built by her rival wife, so, too, shall I be built by my rival wife" (Gen. Rabbah 71:30). 14; Midr. Jacob then married Rachel and worked for Laban another seven years for her. While Rachel was barren for the first fourteen years of her marriage, she is still described as Jacobs preferred wife and a powerful woman. 14-15), Rachel's feelings were wounded, and she replied bitterly: "Jacob is not thy husband; he is mine. The S Club 7 singer was engaged to former Holby . How long were Jacob and Rachel married? - Christianity Stack Exchange Those were the last children she would have. She told Jacob that if he didn't "give" her children, she would die. 4:19), andMichal (daughter of Saul)(II Sam. Retrieved from https://www.learnreligions.com/rachel-favored-wife-of-jacob-701193. Rachel lost being buried next to Jacob because of her dealing with Leah, but she thereby merited having her son Joseph receive the birthright. Deut. 21). Who was Rachel in the Bible? Jacob should have understood her pain, instead of rebuking her for the manner in which she spoke. 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. According to a third tradition, Jacob wept for grief, for he realized that after he kissed Rachel people were whispering to one another: Why has this one come, to teach us this indecent behavior? The midrash comments that after the world had been struck by the Flood, the nations of the world hedged themselves against illicit sexual behavior [i.e., they accepted all manner of sexual prohibitions] (Gen. Rabbahloc. And this was not allI went under the bed where he lay with my sister: he would speak with her, and I responded every time, while she remained silent, so that he would not recognize her voice. If I had sent a message to him, saying: Take note that they are deceiving you, would he not have refrained? The Rabbis seek to discover the reason why Rachels womb was opened. Help us elevate the voices of Jewish women. This article was most recently revised and updated by, https://www.britannica.com/biography/Rachel-biblical-figure, McClintock and Strong Biblical Cyclopedia - Rachel. 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. 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. Buber],Mikez13). Rachel (Hebrew: , Rl; "a ewe"[1]) (ca. Gen. 29:18attests: Jacob loved Rachel. The midrashic exegesis of this verse characterizes this love of Jacobs with a reference toCant. 24), show that she was a prophetess. The Rabbis were concerned with the nature of this kiss, which they regarded as an improper act. We only know the age of Jacob during this period of time. Thus, for example, the Bejaminite Saul would wage war against and triumph against Amalek, the descendant of Esau; and Mordecai, from the tribe of Benjamin, would use his wisdom to best the Amalekite Haman. When not specified, "Talmud" refers to the Babylonian Talmud.Talmud asserts that the Matriarch Rachel was one of the first women prophets. Altogether, the four women bore 12 sons and one daughter, Dinah. Leah bore Jacob six sons and a daughter. 29a; R. H. 11a), and it was particularly her self-abnegation at the time of her sister's marriage which gained for her the divine clemency (Gen. R. lxxiii. Friedmann (Ish-Shalom)], chap. 123a; Midr. "Rachel: Midrash and Aggadah." According to another exegetical approach, it is Rachels son who wins the birthright. Notwithstanding this, Rachels exemplary deeds caused the seniority to return to her. Rebekah had sent him there to be safe from his angry twin brother, Esau . So after the ceremonial week of the wedding to Leah was over, Rachel married Jacob, becoming his second but most-loved wife. Rachel and Leah were twin sisters, fourteen years old when Jacob came to their father's house; consequently they were twenty-one years old at the time of their marriage to Jacob (Seder 'Olam Rabbah ii.).

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