Bible Dictionaries
Rachel
Holman Bible Dictionary
(ray' chehl) Personal name meaning, “ewe.” Younger daughter of Laban, the second wife and cousin of Jacob, and the mother of Joseph and Benjamin. In flight from his brother, Esau, Jacob met her when Rachel brought the sheep to water. She immediately become the object of his attention. See Jacob .
Two Old Testament passages outside Genesis name Rachel. Ruth 4:11 calls her one who built up the house of Israel. Jeremiah 31:15 refers to her weeping over children being taken in Exile. Matthew ( Jeremiah 2:18 ) cited Jeremiah's reference of weeping in connection with Herod's order to kill male children under two.
Copyright Statement
These dictionary topics are from the Holman Bible Dictionary, published by Broadman & Holman, 1991. All rights reserved. Used by permission of Broadman & Holman.
Bibliography Information
Butler, Trent C. Editor. Entry for 'Rachel'. Holman Bible Dictionary. https://www.studylight.org/dictionaries/eng/hbd/r/rachel.html. 1991.