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Rachel envied Leah's tearful prayers, by which she merited to marry the tzaddik and bear six of his twelve sons. [17] [20] The Talmud (Megillah 13b) says that Rachel revealed to Leah the secret signs which she and Jacob had devised to identify the veiled bride, because they both suspected Laban would pull such a trick. [21]
Leah responded by offering her handmaid Zilpah to Jacob, and named and raised the two sons (Gad and Asher) that Zilpah bore. According to some commentaries, Bilhah and Zilpah were half-sisters of Leah and Rachel. [6] After Leah conceived again, Rachel finally had a son, Joseph, [2] who would become Jacob's favorite child.
When Rachel died, Jacob moved Bilhah's bed into his tent, who had been mentored by Rachel, to retain a closeness to his favourite wife. However, Reuben, Leah's eldest, felt that this move slighted his mother, who was also a primary wife, and so he moved his mother's bed into Jacob's tent and removed or overturned Bilhah's.
From what is known of Jacob, he had two wives, sisters Leah and Rachel, and two concubines, Bilhah and Zilpah. The twelve sons form the basis for the twelve tribes of Israel, listed in the order from oldest to youngest: Reuben, Simeon, Levi, Judah, Dan, Naphtali, Gad, Asher, Issachar, Zebulun, Joseph, and Benjamin.
Leah and Rachel, the wives of Jacob; Secondary matriarchs: Some Jewish sources list Bilhah and Zilpah (Jacob's concubines) as additional matriarchs, for a total of six matriarchs. [10] [11] Other sources also include an emphasis on Tamar (the daughter-in-law of Judah) and Asenath (Osnat) (the wife of Joseph). [12]
Laban promised his younger daughter Rachel to Jacob in return for seven years' service, only to trick him into marrying his elder daughter Leah instead. Jacob then served another seven years in exchange for the right to marry his choice, Rachel, as well . Laban's flocks and fortunes increased under Jacob's skilled care, but there was much ...
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Zilpah was given to Leah as a handmaid by Leah's father, Laban, upon Leah's marriage to Jacob (see Genesis 29:24, 46:18). According to the early rabbinical commentary Pirke De-Rabbi Eliezer, Zilpah and Bilhah, the handmaids of Leah and Rachel, respectively, were actually daughters of Laban and one or more of his concubines. [3]