Laban left her alone, but the curse Jacob had pronounced came true shortly thereafter. [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. ra'-chel (rachel, "ewe"; Rhachel (Genesis 29:6; Jeremiah 31:15, the King James Version "Rahel")): An ancestress of Israel, wife of Jacob, mother of Joseph and Benjamin. Laban pursued him and accused him of stealing his idols. 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). 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. Rachel's son Joseph was destined to be the leader of Israel's tribes between exile and nationhood. 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. In Ruth 4:11, the names of Rachel and Leah occur in the nuptial benediction as the foundresses of the house of Israel. ewe, "the daughter", "the somewhat petulant, peevish, and self-willed though beautiful younger daughter" of Laban, and one of Jacob's wives ( Genesis 29:6 Genesis 29:28 ). From the Hebrew name רָחֵל (Rachel) meaning "ewe". 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. But when the time had passed, Laban deceived Jacob by giving him Leah instead of Rachel.

[9] Before she died, Rachel named her son Ben Oni ("son of my mourning"), but Jacob called him Ben Yamin (Benjamin). She was the mother of Joseph ( Genesis 30:22-24 ). Finally God heard her prayer and granted her her heart's desire, and she gave birth to her firstborn whom she named Joseph (Genesis 30:22-24). 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. When Jacob protested, Laban gave him Rachel also, on condition that Jacob serve 7 years more (29:21-29). 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 ). … He served Laban fourteen years for her, so deep was Jacob's affection for her. All rights reserved. According to some commentaries, Bilhah and Zilpah were half-sisters of Leah and Rachel. "Entry for 'RACHEL'". She appears to have shared all the duplicity and falsehood of her family. Please enter your email address associated with your Salem All-Pass account, then click Continue. Her aunt Rebekah was Jacob's mother. (Genesis 31:19).

She was the second daughter of Laban, Rebekah's brother, making Jacob her first cousin. 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."[6]. This role is exemplified in the Biblical story of Joseph, who prepared the way in Egypt for his family's exile there. Jewish Women's Archive. "Rachel: Bible." Indeed, Rachel had taken her father's idols, hidden them inside her camel's seat cushion, and sat upon them. The story of Jacob and Rachel has always had a peculiar interest.

( Genesis 35:19 Genesis 35:20 ) The site of Rachels tomb, "on the way to Bethlehem," "a little way to come to Ephrath," "in the border of Benjamin," never been questioned. Despite not being named in the Quran, Rachel (Arabic: رَاحِـيْـل‎, Rāḥīl) is honored in Islam as the wife of Jacob and mother of Joseph,[13] who are frequently mentioned by name in the Qur'an as Ya‘qūb (Arabic: يَـعْـقُـوْب‎) and Yūsuf (Arabic: يُـوْسُـف‎), respectively. Its traditional site is about half a mile from Jerusalem. "International Standard Bible Encyclopedia". But in Biblical times … General Editor. 1729.) Rachel became jealous of Leah and gave Jacob her maidservant, Bilhah, to be a surrogate mother for her. 1915. Rachel's father was Laban.

Rachel (Hebrew: רָחֵל, Standard Raḥel Tiberian Rāḫēl, Rāḥēl‎), meaning "ewe" is a feminine given name. 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. This name is used poetically by ( Jeremiah 31:15-17 ) to denote God's people mourning under their calamities. RACHEL. Leah responded by offering her handmaid Zilpah to Jacob, and named and raised the two sons (Gad and Asher) that Zilpah bore. [4] Jacob had traveled a great distance to find Laban. 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.

Rachel was the younger daughter of Laban, the Aramean, the brother of Jacob's mother; so Rachel and Jacob were cousins. 1753) and mother of Joseph and Benjamin. To her great dismay "Rachel was barren" (Genesis 29:30,31), while Leah had children. Jewish Women: A Comprehensive Historical Encyclopedia. Biblical: Jacob's wife. Yet from what is related to us concerning her character there does not seem much to claim any high degree of admiration and esteem. Near Ephrath, Rachel went into a difficult labor with her second son, Benjamin. 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. [5] Later Jacob confronted Laban, who excused his own deception by insisting that the older sister should marry first. Our research results for the name of RACHELLE hasn’t been found in the Bible/Torah/Quran Spelling Alphabet A spelling alphabet, voice procedure alphabet telephone alphabet etc. The incidents of her life may be found in Genesis29-33, 35. And Jacob set a pillar upon her grave". (ewe, or sheep ), the younger of the daughters of Laban, the wife of Jacob (B.C. Her sepulchre is still regarded with great veneration by the Jews. Rebekah had sent him there to be safe from his angry twin brother, Esau. "Medical history: Biblical texts reveal compelling mysteries", ibn Abdullah ibn Abdul-Muttalib ibn Hashim, Current Ummah of Islam (Ummah of Muhammad), https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Rachel&oldid=977465242, Short description is different from Wikidata, Wikipedia articles with WorldCat identifiers, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License, Mother Abiona or Amtelai the daughter of Karnebo, Slayers of Saleh's she-camel (Qaddar ibn Salif and Musda' ibn Dahr). The futility of her efforts in resorting to self-help and superstitious expedients, the love and stronger faith of her husband (Genesis 35:2-4), were the providential means of purifying her character. [4] Fearing that Laban would deter him, he fled with his two wives, Leah and Rachel, and twelve children without informing his father-in-law. [8], After Joseph's birth, Jacob decided to return to the land of Canaan with his family. of Initially barren and facing her husband's anger, she offered her handmaid Bilhah to … It is best known as the name of Biblical Rachel. Proud member