Biblical references On his deathbed,
Genesis 35:22 says, "And it came to pass, while Israel dwelt in that land, that Reuben went and lay with Bilhah his father's concubine; and Israel heard of it." As a result of this adultery, he lost the respect of his father, who said: "Unstable as water, you shall excel no longer; For when you mounted your father's ...
But all of this expectation is ruined by one act: Reuben slept with Bilhah, his father's concubine. This indiscretion happened in Genesis 35:22. At the time that Jacob heard of what his son did, he gives no reaction. So, it appears that Reuben had gotten away with his sin.
Bilhah married Jacob lovingly and did not refuse to bear children for her husband (as Zilpah had done); therefore Naphtali's sons are credited to her and the enumeration of her children in the list of Jacob's descendants in Gen.
Bilhah and Zilpah were slaves, not wives of a patriarch, but their descendants eventually became the Jewish people. For this reason, some modern Jewish feminists have reclaimed Bilhah and Zilpah as matriarchs.
Bilhah must have been very young when she bore her children, because Jacob's eldest son Reuben (by Leah) has sex with her (Gen 35:22).
In the Torah, Reuben is briefly described as having had sexual activity with Bilhah, his stepmother's maid and father's concubine. On his deathbed, Jacob declares that Reuben "will no longer excel, for you went up onto your father's bed, onto my couch and defiled it".
In all, Bilhah and Zilpah are given to Jacob by their mistresses to act in their place twice each to overcome barrenness, resulting in two sons each (Dan, Naphtali, Gad, and Asher).
So after Abram had been living in Canaan ten years, Sarai his wife took her Egyptian maidservant Hagar and gave her to her husband to be his wife. He slept with Hagar, and she conceived. When she knew she was pregnant, she began to despise her mistress.
Zilpah's Role and Status
Through the initiative of Leah, Zilpah became a secondary wife to Jacob and bore him two sons, Gad and Asher.
Maternal incest
Some modern scholars, such as Bergsma and Hahn, have suggested that Ham engaged in intercourse with his mother, Noah's wife. Support for this theory can be found in verses such as Leviticus 20:11: "And the man that lieth with his father's wife hath uncovered his father's nakedness".
“For I am the LORD, I do not change [but remain faithful to My covenant with you]; that is why you, O sons of Jacob, have not come to an end.
He dressed himself in Esau's best clothes and disguised himself by covering his arms in lamb skin so that if his blind father touched him, he would think Jacob his more hirsute brother.
Their host offers the concubine in the Levite's place, which they reject; she is then thrown outside to them and they rape her until the morning, when she returns to the house and is near death.
Reuben stepped in on Joseph's behalf, but he didn't stop his brothers all together. He prevented them from killing Joseph before throwing him in the pit so that he could come back and rescue him later. But, what Reuben didn't know is that his brothers had other plans.
Biblical Names Meaning:
In Biblical Names the meaning of the name Bilhah is: Who is old or confused.
Wives sit at the head of the bed with the Handmaid between their legs, holding their hands as a means of spiritual connection between the Commander, their 'vessel', and herself.
But what's the cause? In The Handmaid's Tale, infertility is linked to another one of Gilead's prominent problems: pollution. As revealed in the season 1 episode "A Woman's Place," inorganic farming and radioactivity are to blame for declining fertility.
Sex between husband and Handmaid is only permitted during the “Ceremony,” a monthly ritual which involves the “barren” wife as well.
The latter third of the book of Genesis relates the complex and vola- tile relationship of the patriarch Jacob, his four wives, and their thirteen children (twelve sons, one daughter).
Joseph, Jacob's Favorite Son (Arch Books Bible Stories)
Ans. Jacob kept the children busy because he did not want to worry about the troopers.
Mandrakes were believed to be a stimulant to help with fertility and conception in barren women. Rachel sees the mandrakes as a way for her to bear a child with Jacob!
Leah became pregnant and gave birth to a son. She named him Reuben, for she said, "It is because the LORD has seen my misery.