Person · Bible dictionary

Rachel

Jacob's beloved wife and mother of Joseph and Benjamin — long barren before God gave her a son, and a figure of grief and hope in the prophets.

Jacob worked fourteen years to marry Rachel, the woman he loved. Yet for years she was childless while her sister had sons. Genesis says «God remembered Rachel,» and at last she bore Joseph — and later Benjamin, at the cost of her own life.

Centuries later Jeremiah pictures «Rachel weeping for her children» in exile; Matthew applies it to the grief over Bethlehem's slain children at Jesus' birth. Her story carries both joy in God's gift and the weight of a broken world.

Key verses BSB · Public Domain (CC0)

Genesis 30:22 “Then God remembered Rachel. He listened to her and opened her womb,” Jeremiah 31:15 “This is what the LORD says: “A voice is heard in Ramah, mourning and great weeping, Rachel weeping for her children, and refusing to be comforted, because they are no more.””

Original BibleDawn entry. Drafted with AI assistance and reviewed for accuracy.