Rachel

Rachel was the daughter of Laban and the younger sister of Leah (Genesis 29:16). She became the beloved wife of Israel (or 'Jacob'), who worked for Laban for fourteen years to marry her (Genesis 29:18-30). Rachel was initially unable to conceive, while Leah bore several children (Genesis 29:31-35). In her distress, Rachel gave her maidservant Bilhah to Jacob, and Bilhah bore Dan and Naphtali (Genesis 30:1-8). Eventually, God remembered Rachel, and she gave birth to Joseph (Genesis 30:22-24). When Jacob left Laban, Rachel stole her father's household idols (Genesis 31:19). She later hid them and deceived her father when he came searching for them (Genesis 31:34-35). As Jacob's family journeyed to Ephrath (Bethlehem), Rachel went into labor and gave birth to Benjamin, but she died during childbirth (Genesis 35:16-20). Jacob buried her on the way to Ephrath and set up a pillar on her grave (Genesis 35:20). Rachel's sons, Joseph and Benjamin, became two of the twelve tribes of Israel (Genesis 46:19-22). Her tomb became a landmark (1 Samuel 10:2) and is mentioned inJeremiah 31:15, where her weeping is used as a symbol for Israel's mourning during the Babylonian exile. This passage is also quoted inMatthew 2:18in relation to Herod's massacre of the innocents.