Corresponding Greek / Hebrew Entries: H7354 רָחֵל (Rachel)

Usage: The name Rachel is used in the New Testament to refer to the matriarch Rachel, the wife of Jacob and mother of Joseph and Benjamin.

Context: Rachel is a significant figure in the biblical narrative, primarily known from the Old Testament. She is introduced in Genesis as the younger daughter of Laban and the beloved wife of Jacob. Rachel's story is one of love, rivalry, and maternal struggle. Jacob, having fallen in love with Rachel, agrees to work for her father Laban for seven years to marry her. However, Laban deceives Jacob by giving him Leah, Rachel's older sister, as a wife first. Jacob then works an additional seven years to marry Rachel (Genesis 29:18-30).

Rachel is initially barren, which causes her great distress, especially as her sister Leah bears several children. Eventually, God remembers Rachel, and she gives birth to Joseph, who becomes a prominent figure in Egypt (Genesis 30:22-24). Later, Rachel dies giving birth to her second son, Benjamin, and is buried on the way to Ephrath, which is Bethlehem (Genesis 35:16-20).

In the New Testament, Rachel is mentioned in Matthew 2:18, which quotes Jeremiah 31:15: "A voice is heard in Ramah, weeping and great mourning, Rachel weeping for her children and refusing to be comforted, because they are no more." This passage is interpreted as a prophetic reference to the massacre of the innocents by King Herod, symbolizing Rachel's sorrow for the loss of the children of Israel.