Bilha or the 5th Matriarch

As children we learn that the Jewish nation stemmed from our three forefathers, Avraham, Yitzchak and Yaakov, and our four foremothers, Sara, Rivka, Rachel and Leah. However, we also know that the 12 tribes of Israel, were the sons of not just Rachel and Leah, but also of Bilha and Zilpa. 

Bilha and Zilpa are rather minor characters in the book of Bereishit. We don’t know much about them, although they appear in numerous settings and are of course the birth mothers of four of the 12 tribes. In this article we will try to uncover some more about Bilha, the handmaid of Rachel, and from here learn what it means to embrace a cause and a destiny. 

Who Was Bilha?

We first meet Bilha when Rachel marries Yaakov: “Laban had given his maidservant Bilha to his daughter Rachel as her maid.”¹

While the text gives no other context as to who Bilha was, the midrash tries to fill in the blanks. One midrash suggests that she was the daughter of Lavan from his concubine. The Ohr HaChaim explains that Lavan refers to her as his handmaid in order to distinguish between the daughters of his full wife, Rachel and Leah, and the daughters of his concubine, Bilha and Zilpa². Another midrash suggests that Bilha and Zilpa were the daughters of Achoti and Chava. Achoti was a captured person that Lavan had freed. The midrash explained that Lavan felt ownership over Bilha and Zilpa as they owed their lives to him³. 

Marriage to Yaakov

The next time we meet Bilha is after Leah has been blessed with four sons while Rachel has not had any children. Rachel asks Yaakov to marry Bilha “Here is my maid Bilha. Consort with her, that she may bear on my knees and that through her I too may have children.”

וַתִּתֶּן־ל֛וֹ אֶת־בִּלְהָ֥ה שִׁפְחָתָ֖הּ לְאִשָּׁ֑ה וַיָּבֹ֥א אֵלֶ֖יהָ יַעֲקֹֽב׃

So she gave him her maid (shifcha) Bilha as an isha, and Jacob cohabited with her.

Bilha proceeds to have two children, whom Rachel names Dan and Naftali. Interestly, the Torah uses the terms shifcha (handmaid) and wife for Bilha, switching between the two or even combining them. This leads the mefarshim to question what Bilha’s status was; was she a concubine – in the model that we see with Hagar – or was she a full wife of Yaakov? The Sechel Tov makes the claim that when Bilha and subsequently Zilpa married Yaakov, Rachel and Leah freed their handmaids, so making them full wives of Yaakov’s⁴ and the Radak also holds that Bilhas was Yaakov’s wife and not a concubine⁵.  Indeed, when he approaches Lavan to return to Canaan, Yaakov tells Lavan to give ‘me my wives and children…” and makes no distinction between them. 

However, when Yaakov prepares to meet Eisav as he approaches Bet El, the Torah refers to them as ‘shifchot’ once again. The Haktav veHabalah explains that, as mentioned before, Bilha and Zilpah were released by Rachel and Leah, but that the Torah uses this term to explain the greatness of their humility⁶. Rabbi Mordechai Rhine suggests that unlike Hagar, who after her marriage challenges and sees herself as more worthy than Sarah, Bilha understands her role in the great scheme of the nation of Israel. She sees herself as a student of Rachel and connects to the goal of building a G-d fearing nation. The midrash, noting the different wording referring to Bilha in each of the son’s births (“Bilha gave birth/Bilha, the handmaid of Rachel, gave birth”) explains that the first child of Bilha, Dan, was born due to Bilha’s personal zchut, and Naftali, due to Rachel’s. The midrash explains that her zchut was in her willingness to give offspring to Yaakov and to partake in the building of Am Yisrael⁷. Another midrash tells us that Bilha and Zilpa were not the original names of these handmaidens, but that Bilha actually comes from the word ‘lehibahel’ which in modern Hebrew means to be in shock. Bilha was shocked and distressed over her mistresses’ barrenness. 

This shows the deep connection that Bilha felt toward Rachel. This connection also serves to explain why Yaakov chooses to spend more time with Bilha after the death of Rachel. Bilha has become the nursemaid of Binyanaim and is the wife with whom Yaakov finds comfort after his beloved Rachel has died⁸. We later see that Yoseph, as a youth, prefers to spend time with the sons of Bilha. Perhaps this indicates a kinship he felt to them⁹. Moreover when Yosef relates his dream of the wheat, he mentions the bundle of his mother. Yet Rachel has already died by that point. Chazal explain that it is his and Binyamin’s surrogate mother – Bilha.Taking this further, after the death of Yaakov, the brothers, worried that Yosef will take revenge on them for their selling of him to Egypt, send a messenger. A number of commentators suggest that the emeseries were the sons of Bilha, and the Sforno writes that it was Bilha herself¹⁰.

Bilha understands her role in the great scheme of the nation of Israel. She sees herself as a student of Rachel and connects to the goal of building a G-d fearing nation. The midrash, noting the different wording referring to Bilha in each of the son’s births (“Bilha gave birth/Bilha, the handmaid of Rachel, gave birth”) explains that the first child of Bilha, Dan, was born due to Bilha’s personal zchut, and Naftali, due to Rachel’s. The midrash explains that her zchut was in her willingness to give offspring to Yaakov and to partake in the building of Am Yisrael.

The insights of the midrashim and commentators portray the quiet and humble impact that Bilha had over the family of Yaakov and the vacuum that she filled after Rachel’s death, taking on her roles as mother and wife. 

Shifcha or Pilegesh

The only time that Bilha is referred to as a pilegesh (concubine) is when Reuven interferes with Yaakov’s sleeping arrangements after the death of Rachel¹¹. While the mefarshim try to explain Reuven’s actions in one form or another, the Radak comments that only Reuven saw Bilha as a concubine, who was in those days essentially used as a sexual object, deeming her of less importance than Leah and Rachel. However, as we noted, Bilha was considered a full wife of Yaakov’s and the commentaries note over and over that all the children of the maidservants were at the same worthiness as the sons of Leah and Rachel. This episode begs the question of the difference between a pilegesh and a shifcha. Rav Sharki explains that the use of the word shifcha is a positive one. A shifcha, he explains, has a practical and important role in the family, attending to the needs of their masters out of humility and from the perspective of seeing them as people. He brings various examples from the Talmud, specifically mentioning the handmaid of Rebbi¹². 

Rav Sherki explains that the shifcha is a secondary character, one who is kept out of the limelight, but who has a strong and positive influence over the family. It is through her that we learn and glean about the primary characters. Regarding Bilha specifically, he teaches that when Rachel dies, not only does Yaakov move his bed to her tent, but the Shechina that resided in Rachel’s tent is transferred to hers. This is the deepest proof of the worthiness of Bilha as a mother of the Jewish nation. 

Six Mothers

While on Pesach we sing of the four mothers, and on Friday nights we bless our daughters to be like Sarah, Rivka, Rachel and Leah, a little known fact is that there are numerous sources that reference the six mothers, adding Bilha and Zilpa. 

In Bamidar Rabba, six chariots are mentioned, with one explanation being ‘six as the six mothers.”¹³ The Targum Yonatan writes that along with the special name of Hashem that was inscribed on Moshe’s staff, so were the names of the 12 tribes, 10 plagues and the six mothers. In Esther Rabba, we learn that “six (months of Achashverosh’s feast) are the six mothers; Sarah…Bilha and Zilpha’’¹⁴. 

These sources are important reminders of the importance of Bilha and Zilpa and the essential role they took in forming the basis of Am Yisrael. 

The quiet, humble way of Bilha is a lesson to us as women in the Jewish nation. One does not need to be the ‘primary’ figure. Each of us has a role to play in the greater picture of the nation. Some of us may become community leaders, talmidat chachamim, the wives of prominent rabbis, the mothers of many children. But regardless of how well known or well learned we are, we have the potential to impact and shape the future, even if, or perhaps, especially so, in the secondary role of ‘handmaid’. It is through her understanding and embracing of this role that Bilha makes her quiet but poignant mark on the fledging nation of Yisrael. Rav Sherki writes; “One who is exposed to the public cannot escape pride. One whose role appears minor can act with greater humility, and thus their actions are felt more deeply and have a more profound impact.” This is the lesson we learn from Bilha. 

Based on shiurim by Rabbi Mordechai Rhine and Rabbi Dani Shreiber

1. Bereishit 29,29 ↩︎
2. Bereishit Raba, Parshat Vayetzei, 74 ↩︎
3. Bereishit Rabati, Parshat Vayetzei ↩︎
4. Sechel Tov, Bereishit, Chapter 41 ↩︎
5. Radak, Bereishit 35, 32, section 3 ↩︎
6. Bereishit 30,40 ↩︎
7. Bereishit Rabati, Parshat Vayigash ↩︎
8. Bereishit Rabati Parshat Vayishlach ↩︎
9. Bereishit 37,2  ↩︎
10. See for example Rashi, the Chizkuni and Siftei Chachamim, Sforno, Reggio on the Torah, Bereishit 50,16 ↩︎
11. Bereishit, 35,22 ↩︎
12. http://ravsherki.org/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=1533:15331533-1533&Itemid=100513
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13. Bamidbar Raba 14:14 ↩︎
14. Esther Raba, 1:12 ↩︎