Bilhah

In the Book of Genesis , Bilhah ( בִּלְהָה "Faltering; bashful", Standard Hebrew Bilha , Tiberian Hebrew Bilhāh ) is Rachel 's handmaid who becomes a wife of Jacob and bears him two sons, Dan and Naphtali . The Testament of Naftali, part of the Dead Sea Scrolls , says that Bilhah and Zilpah 's father was named Ahiyot ( lit. He was taken into captivity and freed by Laban , Rachel and Leah 's father, and he gave Ahiyot a wife named Hannah, who was their mother. Talmudic sources (Midrash Raba, Genesis 74:13 and elsewhere), on the other hand, state that Bilhah and Zilpah were also Laban 's daughters, through his concubines, making them half-sisters to Rachel and Leah . According to Rashi , as long as Rachel was alive, Jacob kept his bed in her tent and visited the other wives in theirs. When Rachel died, Jacob moved his bed into the tent of Bilhah, who had been mentored by Rachel, to retain a closeness to his favourite wife. This invasion of Jacob's privacy was viewed so gravely that the Bible equates it with adultery, and lost Reuben his first-born right to a double inheritance. Bilhah is said to be buried in the Tomb of the Matriarchs in Tiberias .

In the Book of Genesis , Bilhah (בִּלְהָה "faltering; bashful", Standard Hebrew Bilha , Tiberian Hebrew Bilhâ ) is Rachel 's handmaid who becomes a wife of Jacob and bears him two sons, Dan and Naphtali . The Testament of Naftali, part of the Dead Sea Scrolls , says that Bilhah and Zilpah 's father was named Ahotay. He was taken into captivity but redeemed by Laban , Rachel and Leah 's father, and he gave Ahotay a wife named Hannah, who was their mother. Rabbinic sources (Midrash Raba, and elsewhere), on the other hand, state that Bilhah and Zilpah were also Laban 's daughters, through his concubines, making them half-sisters to Rachel and Leah {see also, Pirke De-Rabbi Eliezer , xxxvi.}. Genesis 35:22 says "And it was during the stay of Israel in that land, and Reuben went and lay with Bilha, his father's concubine, and Israel heard..." As a result of this adultery, he lost the respect of his father, as Genesis 49:4 says: "Turbulent as the waters, you will no longer excel, for you went up onto your father’s bed, onto my couch and defiled it." However, Rashi , an 11th-century commentator, interprets the story differently. He suggests that, as long as Rachel was alive, Jacob kept his bed in her tent and visited the other wives in theirs. When Rachel died, Jacob moved his bed into the tent of Bilhah, who had been mentored by Rachel, to retain a closeness to his favourite wife. This invasion of Jacob's privacy was viewed so gravely that the Bible equates it with adultery, and lost Reuben his first-born right to a double inheritance. Bilhah is said to be buried in the Tomb of the Matriarchs in Tiberias . In the Book of Chronicles , Shimei 's brothers were said to have lived in Bilhah and surrounding territories prior to the reign of David . Gen. 30:3-5, 35:25 Genesis 35:22, this is from Wikisource translation , but King James and all other translations are essentially identical.

Bilhah ( "unworried", Standard Hebrew Bilha , Tiberian Hebrew Bilhâ ) is a woman mentioned in the Book of Genesis . Genesis 29:29 describes her as Laban 's handmaid , who was given to Rachel to be her handmaid on Rachel's marriage to Jacob . When Rachel failed to have children, Rachel gave Bilhah to Jacob as a concubine to bear him children. Bilhah gave birth to two sons, whom Rachel claimed as her own and named Dan and Naphtali . Genesis 35:22 expressly calls Bilhah Jacob's concubine, a pilegesh . The Testament of Naftali says that Bilhah and Zilpah 's father was named Rotheus. He was taken into captivity but redeemed by Laban , Rachel and Leah 's father, who gave Rotheus a wife named Euna, who was their mother. On the other hand, the early rabbinical commentary Pirke De-Rabbi Eliezer and other Rabbinic sources ( Midrash Rabbah , and elsewhere) state that Bilhah and Zilpah were also Laban's daughters, through his concubines, making them half-sisters to Rachel and Leah. Bilhah is said to be buried in the Tomb of the Matriarchs in Tiberias . In the Book of Chronicles , Shimei 's brothers were said to have lived in a town called Bilhah and surrounding territories prior to the reign of David . Genesis 30:3–5 Genesis 30:6–8 , 35:25 "The Testament of Naphtali" (1:9) as translated in The Forgotten Books of Eden by Rutherford H. [1] "The Testament of Naphtali" (1:11) as translated in The Forgotten Books of Eden by Rutherford H. Translated by Friedlander, Gerald (1916 translation ed.).

Biblical character; handmaid Bilhah - detail from Flemish tapestry made around 1550, depicting Rachel giving Bilhah to Jacob . Bilhah ( בִּלְהָה ‎ "unworried", Standard Hebrew : Bilha , Tiberian Hebrew : Bīlhā ) is a woman mentioned in the Book of Genesis . Genesis 29:29 describes her as Laban 's handmaiden ( שִׁפְחָה ), who was given to Rachel to be her handmaid on Rachel's marriage to Jacob . When Rachel failed to have children, Rachel gave Bilhah to Jacob like a wife to bear him children. Bilhah gave birth to two sons, whom Rachel claimed as her own and named Dan and Naphtali . Genesis 35:22 expressly calls Bilhah Jacob's concubine, a pilegesh . When Leah saw that she had stopped having children, she took her servant Zilpah and gave her to Jacob like a wife to bear him children as well. The apocryphal Testament of Naftali says that Bilhah and Zilpah 's father was named Rotheus. He was taken into captivity but redeemed by Laban, Rachel and Leah 's father. Laban gave Rotheus a wife named Euna, who was the girl's mother. On the other hand, the early rabbinical commentary Pirkei De-Rabbi Eliezer and other rabbinic sources ( Midrash Rabba and elsewhere) state that Bilhah and Zilpah were also Laban's daughters, through his concubines, which would make them half-sisters to Rachel and Leah. Bilhah is said to be buried in the Tomb of the Matriarchs in Tiberias . In the Books of Chronicles , Shimei 's brothers were said to have lived in a town called Bilhah and surrounding territories prior to the reign of David . Genesis 30:3–5 Genesis 30:6–8 , 35:25 "The Testament of Naphtali" (1:9) as translated in The Forgotten Books of Eden by Rutherford H. [1] "The Testament of Naphtali" (1:11) as translated in The Forgotten Books of Eden by Rutherford H. Translated by Friedlander, Gerald (1916 translation ed.).

Biblical character; handmaid Bilhah - detail from Flemish tapestry made around 1550, depicting Rachel giving Bilhah to Jacob . Bilhah ( בִּלְהָה ‎ "unworried", Standard Hebrew : Bilha , Tiberian Hebrew : Bīlhā ) is a woman mentioned in the Book of Genesis . Genesis 29:29 describes her as Laban 's handmaiden ( שִׁפְחָה ), who was given to Rachel to be her handmaid on Rachel's marriage to Jacob . When Rachel failed to have children, Rachel gave Bilhah to Jacob like a wife to bear him children. Bilhah gave birth to two sons, whom Rachel claimed as her own and named Dan and Naphtali . Genesis 35:22 expressly calls Bilhah Jacob's concubine, a pilegesh . When Leah saw that she had stopped having children, she took her servant Zilpah and gave her to Jacob like a wife to bear him children as well. The apocryphal Testament of Naftali says that Bilhah and Zilpah's father was named Rotheus. He was taken into captivity but redeemed by Laban, Rachel and Leah 's father. Laban gave Rotheus a wife named Euna, who was the girls' mother. On the other hand, the early rabbinical commentary Pirkei De-Rabbi Eliezer and other rabbinic sources ( Midrash Rabba and elsewhere) state that Bilhah and Zilpah were also Laban's daughters, through his concubines, which would make them half-sisters to Rachel and Leah. Scholars believe that these attempts to make Bilhah and Zilpah appear biologically related to Abraham's family were a result of anti-foreign views in the postexilic period . It appears more likely that they were foreign like Tamar and Asenath , who were considered to be 'secondary Matriarchs'. Bilhah is said to be buried in the Tomb of the Matriarchs in Tiberias . In the Books of Chronicles , Shimei 's brothers were said to have lived in a town called Bilhah and surrounding territories prior to the reign of David . There are <ref group=lower-alpha> tags or templates on this page, but the references will not show without a template or template (see the help page ).