Bilhah is given to Rachel as a maid and would later serve as a surrogate mother for Rachel when she could not conceive. Though the story records none of Bilhah’s thoughts or words, she gives birth to two of Jacob’s sons for Rachel, Dan and Naphtali, and is remembered as one of the ancestresses of the Israelites.

Bilhah was the maidservant of Rachel and mother of Dan and Naphtali. The rabbis fill in details about her life, her relationship with Jacob, and the confusing incident between Bilhah and Reuben, Jacob’s eldest son.

Nov 21, 2023 · Bilhah and Zilpah were more than enslaved people, used as a sexual commodity. Ultimately, they raised Dan, Naphtali, Gad, and Asher—and probably all of the family children fathered by Yaakov—as their own, and in doing so were likely responsible for important household functions.

After sending her children from New York to England, Bilhah Franks began writing to her son. These letters relate her experiences of New York society and her combination of devotion to Judaism and anger at its superstitions. Franks offers a window into the attempts of colonial American Jews to retain their religious identity while still participating in the larger society.

Oct 27, 2017 · Sarah explained to me that Bilhah and Zilpah were handmaidens of Rachel and Leah who were given to the sisters by their father. Bilhah and Zilpah gave birth to four sons— Naphtali, Dan, Asher, and Gad —fathered by Jacob, who became the heads of four of the T welve Tribes of Israel. Bilhah and Zilpah were slaves, not wives of a patriarch, but their descendants eventually became the Jewish ...

The Children of Bilhah Bilhah bore Jacob two sons, Dan and Naphtali, the first by her own merit, and the second by the merit of Rachel (Gen. Rabbati, Vayeze, p. 121). The Torah states that Rachel named Bilhah’s sons.

According to another midrashic account, Zilpah was Rachel’s handmaiden, and her father exchanged her for Bilhah when he deceived Jacob, so that Zilpah became Leah’s handmaiden (Midrash Aggadah, ed. Buber, Gen. 29:24). When Leah saw that she ceased bearing, she gave Zilpah to Jacob. The Rabbis relate that Leah learned such conduct from Sarah.

Zilpah was given as a wedding gift to Leah by her father Laban on the occasion of Leah’s marriage to Jacob. Through the initiative of Leah, Zilpah became a secondary wife to Jacob and bore him two sons, Gad and Asher.

The younger daughter of Laban and 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). Rachel, who died young, becomes an image of tragic womanhood. After the biblical period, “Mother Rachel” continued to be celebrated as a powerful intercessor for the people of Israel.

According to another Statements that are not Scripturally dependent and that pertain to ethics, traditions and actions of the Rabbis; the non-legal (non-halakhic) material of the Talmud.aggadah, Zilpah was Rachel’s handmaiden, and Laban exchanged her with Bilhah when he tricked Jacob; thus, Zilpah became Leah’s handmaiden (Midrash Aggadah ...