Women of the Bible Rachel and Leah

In this study we will take a look at the women within the Bible. We will look at each one of them and see how their story influences our lives today.

As we continue our study in this fantastic insight of the Women of the Bible, this morning we will take a look at Rachel and Leah

The last recorded words of Rebekah are sad ones. She begged Jacob to flee to her brother Laban until Esau's anger should turn away, and promised that which she could never perform: "Then will I send, and fetch thee from thence." (Gen. 27:45) Afterwards she said to her husband: "I am weary of my life because of the daughters of Heth: if Jacob takes a wife of the daughters of Heth, such as these which are of the daughters of the land, what good should my life do me?" (Gen. 27:46) "They that wait upon Yahweh shall renew their strength" (Isa. 40:31), but they that lean to their own resources grow weary.

Jacob left home, and on his journey he had the wondrous vision of the Messiah as Yahweh's ladder, connecting heaven and earth, and so became REALLY ACQUAINTED WITH HIS ELOHIM/CREATOR.

It was love at first sight for Rachel and Jacob, but there was no 'happy ever after' for them. 

The younger daughter of Laban and the wife of Jacob, Rachel is the mother of Joseph and Benjamin, who become two of the twelve tribes of Israel (Gen 35:24; 46:15–18). She spends much of her married life attempting to bear children for Jacob and eventually uses her maid Bilhah as a surrogate, but Rachel still craves biological children. She and her sister Leah, also Jacob’s wife, conspire so they both may have children with him, leading to the birth of Rachel’s son Joseph. Soon after, Rachel dies giving birth to her second son; her early death makes her an image of tragic womanhood. After the biblical period, “Mother Rachel” continued to be celebrated as a powerful intercessor for the people of Israel.
 
Rachel found it difficult to conceive, and Jacob's other wives, though less loved, were more fertile; they had ten sons. Rachel bore Joseph, but died in childbirth when her second son Benjamin was born. These sons were the forefathers of the Twelve Tribes of Israel.

 Names in the Bible often say something about the person:

Rachel means 'ewe', a female sheep, a symbol of prosperity and security for nomadic people
Leah means 'weary or wild cow'
Jacob means 'heel grabber', either his brother's heel at the moment of birth or his brother's inheritance later on; the name can also mean 'deceiver'
Laban means 'white'; it was sometimes linked with leprosy
Reuben means 'behold, a son!'
Joseph means 'may he add or increase'

This great love story describes the foundation of the twelve tribes of Israel, and explains why the tribes are united (a common origin) and separate (the descendents of twelve different children of Jacob). But at a more human level it is about rivalry - between two women, the beautiful Rachel and her plain sister Leah, and between a man Jacob and his father-in-law Laban.

 The story contains five different episodes:  
 1 Rachel meets Jacob at the well, Genesis 29:1-14
 2 Leah and Rachel marry Jacob, Genesis 29:15-30
 3 Rachel has a son, Joseph, Genesis 29:31-15, 30:1-24
 4 Rachel and Leah leave with Jacob, and Rachel takes the sacred household deities, Genesis 30:25-43, 31
 5 Rachel has a son, Benjamin, and dies soon after, Genesis 35:16-30

Rachel and Leah were the wives of Jacob. After running away from his tricking Esau in the birthright (Genesis 27) Jacob arrived at Laban, his mother's brother place. Rachel and Leah were the daughters of Laban.

 Every afternoon, Rachel (ewe) watered her flock of sheep at a well near Haran, an outpost of the ancient city of Ur. Wells had a practical use, but in story telling a well was a symbol of the feminine and of women's power to produce and nurture life.  

Looked at reasonably, they were also places where young men and women could meet their future marriage partners.  

 Wells were covered with a broad flat stone that cut down on evaporation in the heat. Since it was too large for one man to move, the shepherds who gathered there waited until there was a group to move it.   

On this particular afternoon, a young traveler called Jacob (heel catcher) was there as well. He chatted with the shepherds, telling them that his family had originally come from this same area. They pointed towards a woman in the distance, saying she was the daughter of his mother’s brother.  

When Jacob saw Rachel at close quarters, he was smitten. In an act of boldness, he removed the great stone single-handed, hoping to impress the young woman. He was successful. 

The reader is again aware of the sexual symbolism of his action, and knows that removing the lid from the well has shown he is worthy of Rachel’s hand in marriage, and will be her lover and husband.      

‘Now when Jacob saw Rachel, the daughter of his mother’s brother Laban … he went up and rolled the stone from the well’s mouth, and watered the flock of his mother’s brother Laban. Then Jacob kissed Rachel, and wept aloud.’

Jacob introduced himself, becoming quite emotional in the process. He had made a long and grueling journey of about five hundred miles, and now found himself at journey's end, with the woman of his dreams. He was in the right place, with the right person, and his emotions spilled over.

 In response, Rachel ran to her father’s house and told him about the young man. Her father, Laban (white), ran out to meet Jacob, welcoming him warmly. The text keeps repeating that Jacob is the son of Laban's sister: in many ancient societies, the relationship between a child and its mother's brother, the maternal uncle, was considered even more important that between a child and its father. This makes Laban's later betrayal of Jacob even more revolting.

Jacob stayed with Rachel’s family for a month, and during this time he fell deeply in love with Rachel. 

Join me as we go Chapter by Chapter, Verse by Verse, Unraveling the Words of Yahweh!

Have any questions? Feel free to email me; keitner2024@outlook.com