Rachel

the shepherdess at the well

Who was Rachel?

Daughter of Laban and cousin of Jacob. She tended her father’s sheep, and Jacob met her at a well. Genesis 29:9-12
Jacob loved her and worked fourteen years for her. He loved her more than her sister Leah. Genesis 29:18-20, 27-30
She was the mother of Joseph and Benjamin. She died giving birth to Benjamin, on the road to Bethlehem. Genesis 30:22-24; Genesis 35:16-19

From: From Haran, in Mesopotamia Genesis 29:4-6
Occupation: Shepherdess: she tended her father’s sheep Genesis 29:9

What the Bible says

Genesis 29:9-12

⁹They were yet speaking, and behold Rachel came with her father’s sheep: for she fed the flock. ¹⁰And when Jacob saw her, and knew her to be his cousin-german, and that they were the sheep of Laban, his uncle: he removed the stone wherewith the well was closed. ¹¹And having watered the flock, he kissed her: and lifting up his voice, wept. ¹²And he told her that he was her father’s brother, and the son of Rebecca: but she went in haste and told her father.

Genesis 29:18-20, 27-30

¹⁸And Jacob being in love with her, said: I will serve thee seven years for Rachel thy younger daughter. ¹⁹Laban answered: It is better that I give her to thee than to another man; stay with me. ²⁰So Jacob served seven years for Rachel: and they seemed but a few days, because of the greatness of his love. ²⁷Make up the week of days of this match: and I will give thee her also, for the service that thou shalt render me other seven years. ²⁸He yielded to his pleasure: and after the week was past, he married Rachel: ²⁹To whom her father gave Bala for her servant. ³⁰And having at length obtained the marriage he wished for, he preferred the love of the latter before the former, and served with him other seven years.

Genesis 30:22-24; Genesis 35:16-19

²²The Lord also remembering Rachel, heard her, and opened her womb. ²³And she conceived, and bore a son, saying: God hath taken away my reproach. ²⁴And she called his name Joseph, saying: The Lord give me also another son.

Douay-Rheims Bible (Challoner revision), public domain.

The path of Rachel

Before Jesus. She was the younger daughter of Laban, Rebekah’s brother. She tended her father’s sheep. Genesis 29:9-10, 16
Before Jesus. At a well, Jacob rolled away the stone and watered the sheep she was tending. Then he kissed her and burst into tears. Genesis 29:10-11
Before Jesus. Jacob told her he was Rebekah’s son, and Rachel ran to tell her father. Genesis 29:12
With Jesus. Jacob loved her and worked seven years for her. They seemed like only a few days to him, because he loved her so much. Genesis 29:18-20
With Jesus. Laban first gave him Leah. A week later he gave him Rachel, in exchange for another seven years of work. Genesis 29:23-30
With Jesus. She had no children and was jealous of her sister. At last, God remembered her, and Joseph was born. Genesis 30:1, 22-24
Afterward. When Jacob left Laban’s house, Rachel secretly took her father’s idols with her. Genesis 31:19, 34
Afterward. On the road to Ephrath, Rachel died giving birth to Benjamin. Jacob set up a monument over her grave. Genesis 35:16-20

Words of Rachel

“Give me children, otherwise I shall die.” Genesis 30:1

To Jacob, when she saw that she could not have children and Leah could.

“The Lord hath judged for me, and hath heard my voice, giving me a son.” Genesis 30:6

When Dan was born, the son of her slave Bilhah, whom she took as her own.

“God hath taken away my reproach.” Genesis 30:23

When her son Joseph was finally born.

“The Lord give me also another son.” Genesis 30:24

When she named Joseph.

“But God hath taken our father’s riches, and delivered them to us, and to our children: wherefore do all that God hath commanded thee.” Genesis 31:16

Together with Leah, when Jacob told them that God was asking him to go back to his own land.

What they were like

Hardworking: she was the one who tended her father’s sheep. Genesis 29:9
Very beautiful, Genesis says. Genesis 29:17
She suffered because she had no children, and she was jealous of her sister. Genesis 30:1

The greatest thing they did

Jacob loved her so much that seven years of work seemed like only a few days. Genesis 29:20
She was the mother of Joseph, who saved his family from famine. Genesis 30:24; Genesis 45:7
In the Book of Ruth, the people of Bethlehem remember her: with Leah, she built up the house of Israel. Ruth 4:11

Not to be confused with

Leah: They were sisters, daughters of Laban, and both were Jacob’s wives. Leah was the older and had six sons; Rachel, the younger, was the mother of Joseph and Benjamin. Genesis 29:16; Genesis 35:23-24
Rebekah: Both appear by a well. Rebekah was Jacob’s mother and Rachel’s aunt; Rachel was Jacob’s wife. Genesis 24:15-20; Genesis 29:9-12

In the Church today

In art, recognized by: By a well, with her father’s sheep From Gn 29, 9-10; this is how Christian art often shows her

What people ask

Why did Jacob marry two sisters?

Jacob loved Rachel, but Laban gave him Leah first. Laban said that in his country the younger daughter was not married before the older. Genesis 29:25-26

How many children did Rachel have?

Two: Joseph and Benjamin. Before that, through her slave Bilhah, she took Dan and Naphtali as her own. Genesis 30:3-8, 22-24; Genesis 35:18; NAB note on Gn 30, 3

Where is Rachel’s tomb?

Genesis says she was buried on the road to Ephrath, that is, Bethlehem. A NAB note explains that the link with Bethlehem came later, and that the tomb was near Ramah, in the land of Benjamin. Genesis 35:19-20; NAB note on Gn 35, 19

Why does the Gospel say that Rachel weeps?

Matthew quotes the prophet Jeremiah: Rachel weeps for her children. He applies it to the children of Bethlehem whom Herod ordered killed. Matthew 2:16-18; Jeremiah 31:15

Why did Rachel take her father’s idols?

The Bible does not say. It only tells that she hid them in a camel’s saddle and that Laban did not find them. Genesis 31:19, 34-35

Daily life She took her father’s sheep to drink at a well covered with a large stone. Genesis 29:2-3, 9 Their failings She was jealous of her sister Leah, who…

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Who Rachel is connected to

Jacob · husband and wife
Leah · sisters
Joseph, son of Jacob · mother and son
Benjamin · mother and son
Jesus · Rachel weeps

More people

All the people of the Bible · The Twelve Apostles · Women of the Bible

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