Rachel

Technical Profile

• Name Meaning: Hebrew rāḥēl (“ewe”), a pastoral term reflecting flock life
• Period/Era: Patriarchal Period
• Main References: Genesis 29–35; Genesis 48:7
• Key Connections: Daughter of Laban; wife of Jacob; sister of Leah; mother of Joseph and Benjamin

Who was Rachel?

Rachel was a woman of the Patriarchal Period in Genesis and one of the mothers in the ancestral line of Israel.
She married Jacob after years of service to her father Laban and lived within a complex household shaped by kinship and rivalry.
She bore Joseph and later Benjamin, linking her directly to major tribes in Israel’s genealogy.
Rachel died in childbirth near Ephrath (Bethlehem) and was buried on the way there.

Key Events & Achievements

• Marriage to Jacob: Jacob worked fourteen years for Rachel, after Laban first gave him Leah, and then Rachel also became his wife (Genesis 29).
• Birth of Joseph: Rachel gave birth to Joseph after a period of barrenness, marking a turning point in Jacob’s family line (Genesis 30:22–24).
• Death and Burial: Rachel died giving birth to Benjamin and was buried near Ephrath, with Jacob setting up a pillar at her grave (Genesis 35:16–20).

Life Lesson & Legacy

Rachel’s story highlights how family lineage and covenant history in Genesis includes both long waiting and profound loss.

Key Verse

"Then God remembered Rachel, and God listened to her and opened her womb." — Genesis 30:22, ESV