Do you know anyone who might have been a baby-of-the-family, who started out as the apple-of-mommy or daddy’s eye, and by her teenage years was a menace to society? Umm, ya. That could describe me. Yep, that li’l baby sitting by the piano became quite unruly in her teens!
When I read about people in the Bible, I often compare them to folks I’ve known in person. After hearing the familiar story of Rachel, Jacob’s second wife, I began to imagine her as a very spoiled young woman whose difficulties later in life refined her into a much more likable older woman–and that’s how I portrayed her in this month’s new release, The Reluctant Rival: Leah’s Story (Guidepost Books, March 2020).
Let’s take a look at how Scripture describes Jacob’s second wife, Rachel, in what it says and what it infers . . .
Little Girl Rachel
Though Scripture is silent on her childhood, we can gather a few clues from her first meeting with Jacob.
“[Jacob] said to [some shepherds in Haran], ‘Do you know Laban, Nahor’s grandson?’
‘Yes, we know him,’ they answered.
Then Jacob asked them, ‘Is he well?’
‘Yes, he is,’ they said, ‘and here comes his daughter Rachel with the sheep.’
‘Look,’ he said, ‘the sun is still high; it is not time for the flocks to be gathered. Water the sheep and take them back to pasture.’
‘We can’t,’ they replied, ‘until all the flocks are gathered and the stone has been rolled away from the mouth of the well. Then we will water the sheep.’
While he was still talking with them, Rachel came with her father’s sheep, for she was a shepherd. When Jacob saw Rachel daughter of his uncle Laban, and Laban’s sheep, he went over and rolled the stone away from the mouth of the well and watered his uncle’s sheep. Then Jacob kissed Rachel and began to weep aloud. He had told Rachel that he was a relative of her father and a son of Rebekah. So she ran and told her father.”
Genesis 29:5-12 (emphasis added)
Clues About Rachel From Scripture
- I believe Rachel was late to the well – making the shepherds wait until her flocks arrived to roll away the stone. Was she making a point? Did she realize, like Jacob, that it wasn’t yet time for the sheep to be gathered? Dunno. But she was in no hurry to bend her will to the other shepherds. I see an “independent spirit” from Scripture’s first introduction.
- Rachel was a shepherd. She was outdoorsy. All we know of Leah was that she had weak eyes (29:17), which may have prevented her from the sharp-eyed skill of shepherding.
- Jacob kissed Rachel–and she must have kissed him right back because she certainly didn’t request help from the strapping Haran shepherds still standing there.
- Rachel ran and told Daddy Laban – which, of course, was the right thing to do in this culture. But she didn’t lead Jacob to her father. She ran ahead to tell Laban. There’s a difference in my mind.
Quick Note About Ages
Lest you think Jacob is a dashing, young man, falling for any young woman who came along–let me pop that bubble with some good ol’ fashioned statistics. If we do the math with all the ages in Genesis (yes, my husband helped me with a spreadsheet, y’all), Jacob would have been between 80-90 years old when he deceived his father Isaac, stole his brother Esau’s covenant blessing, and fled to Haran (Gen. 27-28).
And Rachel is likely just now marrying age–14-16 years old. Ewww! I know. Don’t worry. I DID NOT make a big deal about it in The Reluctant Rival: Leah’s Story (Guidepost Books, March 2020), but I thought you might want to know–maybe not. 😯
The Famous Switcheroo
If you’ve read Jacob’s story, you likely remember that he showed up with no more than the clothes on his back, so dear Uncle Laban thought of a creative way for Jacob to pay the bride price for Rachel:
“Now Laban had two daughters; the name of the older was Leah, and the name of the younger was Rachel. Leah had weak eyes, but Rachel had a lovely figure and was beautiful. Jacob was in love with Rachel and said, ‘I’ll work for you seven years in return for your younger daughter Rachel.’”
Genesis 29:16-18
At the end of those seven years, Jacob demands Rachel be given to him–not very nicely, I might add. Big wedding celebration. Jacob gets cross-eyed drunk. Wakes up the next morning with the weak-eyed sister, Leah. He goes ballistic!
Laban says, “Oops! Did I forget to mention during the past seven years that we don’t let the younger daughter marry before the older?” He proposes a plan, and within that plan are a few clues to tell us a little more about Rachel . . .
Clues About Rachel from Scripture
“Laban replied, ‘…Finish [Leah’s] bridal week; then we will give you the younger one also, in return for another seven years of work.’
And Jacob did so. He finished the week with Leah, and then Laban gave him his daughter Rachel to be his wife. Laban gave his servant Bilhah to his daughter Rachel as her attendant. Jacob made love to Rachel also, and his love for Rachel was greater than his love for Leah. And he worked for Laban another seven years.”
Genesis 29:26-30
Questions About Rachel From Scripture
- What was Rachel’s part in the wedding night deception? Was she for it? Against it?
- How did she feel during Leah’s bridal week? Was she angry with her father? With Leah? With Jacob (unreasonable, of course, but we’ll see unreasonable emotions later)?
- How much of Rachel’s wedding week was spent brooding over Jacob’s time spent with Leah?
- Did Rachel compare her maidservant (Bilhah) to Leah’s maidservant (Zilpah) – both given by their father?
- Notice Scripture says Jacob’s love for Rachel was GREATER than his love for Leah. Did Jacob admit to having feelings for Leah?
- Was it Rachel’s intention to keep Jacob in Haran for another seven years? Was she reluctant to leave her father’s household?
Rachel’s Life In Scripture
Now begins the floggings of life circumstances for Rachel. No more carefree days in Daddy Laban’s fields, watching puffy clouds drift across the sky. No more flirting with Jacob or sharing secrets with her big sister.
Life changed radically for Jacob, Leah, and Rachel on that first wedding night; and the harsh stick of hard knocks continued until death parted them. Here are a few more observations about the things I believe refined Rachel’s character into someone more pliable, listed with the Scripture reference that I hope you’ll check out if you have time.
- Rachel’s barrenness vexed her for 10-13 years after they were married. (30:1-15)
- Disappointment in her father Laban caused her to flee with Jacob from Paddan Aram and to steal her father’s pagan gods. (31:14-55)
- Though Rachel isn’t mentioned specifically, Jacob forces his whole household to dispose of their foreign gods after the devastating events at Shechem (Gen.34). If Rachel continued worshiping her father’s idols, she would have been forced to renounce them at Bethel. (Gen.35)
- Soon after the foreign gods were renounced, Rachel’s lifelong nursemaid dies. (35:8)
- On the way from Bethel to Bethlehem, Rachel died while giving birth to her second son, Benjamin. (35:20)
Rachel In Truth, Fact, & Fiction
Notice, I’ve framed much of the information about Rachel in questions and clues. I write biblical FICTION by using the TRUTH of Scripture as a foundation for historical and cultural FACTS to create a (hopefully) believable story of what MIGHT have been.
The questions I ask and pondering I’ve shared above are part of how I build my story but they’re also similar to the process I go through every morning during my personal time with Jesus while reading any Scripture passage.
When we the people of the Bible were REAL people with REAL emotions and REAL personality quirks and character flaws, it helps us apply the biblical principles they teach us to our own quirks and flaws that have become sin.
I pray with a glimpse into Rachel, you might find a glimpse into yourself–or at least a glimpse into reading Scripture with a passion to ask questions that apply to your own world.
CLICK HERE for more info on The Reluctant Rival: Leah’s Story, and be sure to check out other great stories about women in the Bible by MANY of your favorite authors in the Guidepost Books series, Ordinary Women of the Bible.
And CLICK HERE if you’d like to read more about Leah, Jacob’s first wife–and Rachel’s older sister.
Today’s Questions:
- Is there anything about Rachel’s life or circumstances that was a new thought for you?
- What does Rachel teach us that we can apply to our own lives?
