In the biblical accounts of the Old Testament, we see that marriage occupies a very important place. For example, the Bible says that Abraham asked his servant to go to his home country to find a wife for his son Isaac. In this way, the servant, guided by God, found Rebekah, the woman who would later become Isaac’s wife. Similarly, the scriptures say that when the time came for Jacob to marry, his father blessed him and ordered him to return to his homeland to find a wife, and the most curious thing is that he did not find one. but two. We invite you to discover below the history of Jacob’s wives: Rachel and Leah!
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Jacob’s wives
Leah, Jacob’s first wife
After a trick from his uncle Laban, Jacob had to work for 7 years to end up married to Leah instead of Raquel. Discover the whole story of Lía at this link!
Rachel, second wife of Jacob
From the moment that Jacob arrived in the Padan-Aram region, he met Rachel and fell deeply in love with her, to the point of agreeing to work for 14 years in total in order to marry her. Discover Raquel’s story at this link!
descendants of Jacob
From Leah: Reuben, Simeon, Levi, Judah, Issachar, Zebulun, Dinah.
“31 When the Lord saw that Leah was not loved, he made her fruitful, while Rachel remained barren.
32 Leah conceived and gave birth to a son, whom she named Reuben, for she said, “The Lord has seen my affliction; Now my husband will love me.”
33 Then she conceived again, and had another son. She then exclaimed: “The Lord realized that I was not loved, and that is why he also gave me this one.” And he called him Simeon.
34 Then she conceived once more, and when she gave birth, she said, “Now my husband will love me, because I have borne him three sons.” That’s why she called him Levi.
35 Finally, she conceived again and had a son. Then he exclaimed, “This time I will praise the Lord,” and called him Judah. Then he stopped having children.” (Genesis 29, 31-35).
17 and God listened to her, because she conceived once more, and gave Jacob a fifth son.
18 Then Leah exclaimed, “God has rewarded me for giving my slave to my husband.” And he called him Issachar.
19 Then Leah conceived again and bore Jacob a sixth son.
20 “God gave me a precious gift,” Leah said. “This time my husband will honor me, because I have borne him six children.” And he called him Zebulun.
21 Finally he had a daughter, whom he named Dinah. (Genesis 30:17-21).
From Rachel: Joseph and Benjamin
“God also remembered Rachel, listened to her and made her womb fruitful. She conceived and gave birth to a son. She then exclaimed: “God has blotted out my insult.” And he called him Joseph, because he said, “May the Lord grant me one more son.” (Genesis 30: 22-24).
“They left Bethel, and when there was still a long way to go to Ephratah, it was time for Rachel to give birth, and she had a difficult delivery. As she was giving birth very painfully, her midwife told her: “Don’t be afraid, because you have another son!” With her last breath –because she was already dying– she called him Ben Oní (meaning: Son of mourning) ;; but his father named him Benjamin (meaning: Son of my right hand) ” (Genesis 35:16-18).
From Bilhah: Dan and Naphtali
“4 So he gave him his slave Bilhah as a wife. Jacob joined her,
5 and when Bilhah conceived and bore Jacob a son.
6 Rachel said, “God has done me justice: he has heard my voice and has given me a son.” That’s why he called him Dan.
7 Then Bilhah, Rachel’s slave, conceived again and bore Jacob a second son.
8 Then Rachel said, “I had a very hard fight with my sister, but in the end I have won.” And she called him Naphtali” (Genesis 30:4-8).
From Zilpah: Gad and Asher
“9 Leah, for her part, seeing that she had stopped giving birth, took Zilpah her slave and gave her to Jacob as a wife.
10 When Zilpah Leah’s maid gave birth to Jacob,
11 Leah exclaimed, “How lucky!” And he called him Gad.
12 Then Zilpah, Leah’s slave, bore another son to Jacob.
13 Leah then said: “What happiness! Because all the women will congratulate me. And she called him Asher” (Genesis 30: 9-13).