Without doubt, Rachael was Jacob’s favorite wife. In fact, she was so favored that Leah felt unloved. By bearing Reuben, Leah thought she would, finally, be loved (Genesis 29:32). She saw her second son, Simeon, as a gift from the Lord, because she was hated by Jacob, and with the birth of Levi, she hoped Jacob would be joined to her (Genesis 29:33-34). After she bore Jacob six sons, Leah thought, surely Jacob would dwell with her, because she was so fruitful (Genesis 30:20). Nevertheless, it was always evident that Jacob loved Rachael. When Jacob fled to Canaan from Laban, his father-in-law, Rachael went into Laban’s tent and stole his teraphim, or his household gods, which he would have consulted before chasing after Jacob. So, in an effort to help her husband, she put her father in a state of confusion.
An interesting thought about her is introduced by the prophet, Jeremiah, who says: “A voice was heard in Ramah, lamentation, and bitter weeping; Rachael weeping for her children refused to be comforted for her children, because they were not” (Jeremiah 31:15). The prophet uses her to say the Lord would turn mourning into joy. Israel was taken captive into the land of the enemy, but “…they shall come again from the land of the enemy (Jeremiah 31:16). Nevertheless, why would the prophet use Rachael’s name to say this? What occurred in Rachael’s life that would prompt him to do so?
I believe Jacob’s journey to Bethel took place after Joseph was sold into Egypt and believed dead. Joseph’s half-brothers sold him into Egypt, and they sent an evil report back to Jacob, saying a wild beast had slain him (cp. Genesis 37:19-36), and note that Jacob “refused to be comforted” (Genesis 37:35; cp. Jeremiah 31:15), which are also Rachael’s words in Jeremiah 31:15. According to the text in Genesis 37, when Joseph dreamed his dream, Rachael was alive and pregnant, note the “eleven stars” that bowed to him (Genesis 37:9-10). So, when Rachael journeyed with Jacob from Bethel toward Ephrath on their way to Hebron (Genesis 35:16, 27), she was pregnant with her second son, but Joseph was in Egypt, and thought to be dead.[1]
As we are told in the text, Jacob journeyed from Bethel to pass through Ephrath, a distance of about 12 miles, in order to come to Mamre, where Isaac dwelt (cp. Genesis 35:27). Not far from Ephrath (Bethlehem), Rachael went into labor, and it was very painful (Genesis 35:16). Immediately, after the delivery, her midwife sought to encourage her by telling her that this babe was also a son, implying “in place of Joseph” (Genesis 35:16-17), but Rachael “refused to be comforted” (cp. Jeremiah 31:15)[2] and called his name, Benoni, meaning “the son of my sorrow” (or my pain), and as she did so, she died. Nevertheless, Jacob changed his son’s name to Benjamin, meaning “the son of my right hand” (Genesis 35:18).
So, Rachael died on the way to Ephrath, which is Bethlehem, and there Jacob buried her in the place where she died, about a half mile north of Bethlehem. He also set up a pillar of stone to mark her grave site, which was later known as “the standing pillar of Rachael’s grave (Genesis 36:19-20).
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[1] More on this subject when we get to Genesis 37.
[2] Matthew also refers to this prophecy to mark an incident after Jesus’ birth near Rachael’s grave site. When Herod had the children, 2 years old and younger slaughtered in an effort to slay Jesus, Matthew claimed the prophecy of Jeremiah 30:15-17 was fulfilled. “Rachael weeping for her children, and she would not be comforted, because they are not” (Matthew 2:17-18). Bethlehem fell into the land that Benjamin inherited, but the mention of Rachael’s name in Jeremiah’s prophecy makes little sense unless she believed Joseph was dead, and, therefore, “would not be comforted” in the birth of her second son. Thus, the mothers of the children in Bethlehem would not be comforted in the coming of the Messiah, which brought the deaths of their children.
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