Search results
Results From The WOW.Com Content Network
Bilhah gave birth to two sons, whom Rachel claimed as her own and named Dan and Naphtali. [3] 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.
In the Book of Genesis, Zilpah (Hebrew: זִלְפָּה Zīlpā, meaning uncertain) [1] was Leah's handmaid [2] whom Leah gave to Jacob like a wife to bear him children (Genesis 30:9). Zilpah gave birth to two sons, whom Leah claimed as her own and named Gad and Asher ( Genesis 30:10–13 ).
Rachel became jealous of Leah and gave Jacob her maidservant, Bilhah, to be a surrogate mother for her. Bilhah gave birth to two sons that Rachel named and raised (Dan and Naphtali). Leah responded by offering her handmaid Zilpah to Jacob, and named and raised the two sons (Gad and Asher) that Zilpah bore.
From what is known of Jacob, he had two wives, sisters Leah and Rachel, and two concubines, Bilhah and Zilpah. The twelve sons form the basis for the twelve tribes of Israel, listed in the order from oldest to youngest: Reuben, Simeon, Levi, Judah, Dan, Naphtali, Gad, Asher, Issachar, Zebulun, Joseph, and Benjamin.
Leah responded by offering her handmaid Zilpah to Jacob, and named and raised the two sons (Gad and Asher) that Zilpah gave birth to. According to some commentaries, Bilhah and Zilpah are actually half-sisters of Leah and Rachel. [17] One day, Leah's firstborn son Reuben returned from the field with mandrakes for his mother.
As for why Zilpah and Bilhah's children were considered Jewish despite their mothers having unspecified ancestry, rabbinic sources posit that Zilpah and Bilhah were actually the half-sisters of Leah and Rachel. [38] Alternatively, as Zilpah and Bilhah were maidservants, their children were considered to belong to their mistresses Leah and ...
Their interest in Yahwism and its concern for the underprivileged was another factor. Possible allusions to this historical reality in the Hebrew Bible include the aforementioned tribes, except for Issachar and Zebulun, descending from Bilhah and Zilpah, who were viewed as "secondary additions" to Israel. [107]
The Biblical account shows Zilpah's status as a handmaid changed to an actual wife of Jacob (Genesis 30:9). [9] Some biblical scholars regard this status as indicating that the authors saw the tribe of Asher as being not of entirely Israelite origin; they believe that Asher consisted of certain clans affiliated with portions of the Israelite ...