In brief
Bilhah and Zilpah are two maidservants whom Laban gives to his daughters when they marry Jacob: Zilpah to Leah, Bilhah to Rachel. In the rivalry between the sisters, each gives her maid to Jacob as a wife. Bilhah bears Dan and Naphtali, Zilpah bears Gad and Asher. Their sons are among Jacob’s twelve sons, the origin of the tribes of Israel. We remember that God fulfills his promise even through wounded families.
What does the name Bilhah and Zilpah mean?
The Bible explains neither Bilhah’s name nor Zilpah’s, and their meaning remains uncertain. It is their mistresses, Rachel and Leah, who name the children and explain the meaning (Genesis 30:6-13).
The story of Bilhah and Zilpah
Two servants given to the brides
Genesis 29:24-29On the wedding night Laban brings Leah to Jacob and gives her Zilpah as a servant. A week later Jacob also marries Rachel, and Laban gives her Bilhah as a servant. Both women thus enter Jacob’s household, serving two sisters who will soon be rivals.
Bilhah, given by Rachel
Genesis 30:1-8Rachel, barren, envies her sister and says to Jacob, “Give me children, or else I will die.” She gives him Bilhah as a wife so that the servant may bear on her knees. Bilhah bears Dan, then Naphtali. Rachel names the second after her wrestling with her sister, in which she says she has prevailed.
Zilpah, given by Leah
Genesis 30:9-13Seeing that she has stopped bearing, Leah in turn gives her servant Zilpah to Jacob as a wife. Zilpah bears Gad, then Asher. Leah says “How fortunate!” at the first birth, and “Happy am I” at the second. The servants become mothers in the midst of a rivalry that is beyond them.
Facing Esau
Genesis 33:1-2When Jacob sees Esau coming with four hundred men, he divides the children among Leah, Rachel and the two servants. He puts the servants and their children first, then Leah with hers, and Rachel with Joseph last. This order reveals Jacob’s preferences within his family.
Reuben’s offense
Genesis 35:22After Rachel’s death, while Jacob lives beyond the tower of Eder, Reuben goes and lies with Bilhah, his father’s concubine, and Israel hears of it. This offense will weigh on Reuben later: Jacob tells him he will not excel, because he went up to his father’s bed (Genesis 49:3-4).
Mothers of four tribes
Genesis 35:25-26Genesis lists Jacob’s twelve sons. The sons of Bilhah, Rachel’s servant, are Dan and Naphtali. The sons of Zilpah, Leah’s servant, are Gad and Asher. Later, Joseph shepherds the flock with the sons of Bilhah and Zilpah, who are described as his father’s wives (Genesis 37:2).
What Bilhah and Zilpah teaches us
- God sees, and includes in his plan, people whom society places in last place.
- Trying to obtain a blessing by human means often breeds rivalry and suffering.
- The servants’ sons received their place among the tribes: in Christ too, no one is a second-class heir.
- God’s grace builds his people out of imperfect and wounded families.
Key verses
Rachel takes up Sarah’s solution with Hagar. The verse shows the pressure of barrenness and how Bilhah becomes the instrument of a family rivalry.
The sons of Bilhah and Zilpah are counted among Jacob’s twelve sons. God fulfills through them too his promise of numerous descendants.
The servants’ sons grow up with Joseph. The verse already hints at the tensions between brothers that will lead to the selling of Joseph.
Bible verses to meditate on
Sermons about Bilhah and Zilpah
Frequently asked questions
Why did Rachel and Leah give their servants to Jacob?
Rachel, barren, wanted sons through her servant, following a custom already seen with Sarah and Hagar. She says, “that she may bear on my knees, and I also may obtain children by her” (Genesis 30:3). Leah did the same when she stopped bearing, in a spirit of rivalry.
What do the names Bilhah and Zilpah mean?
The Bible does not explain these two names, and their meaning is debated. It does explain the names of their sons, Dan, Naphtali, Gad and Asher, which Rachel and Leah chose according to what they were living through (Genesis 30:6-13).
Where is the story of Bilhah and Zilpah found in the Bible?
Their arrival is told in Genesis 29:24 and 29:29. The birth of their sons is in Genesis 30:1-13. They appear again in Genesis 33:1-2, 35:22-26 and 37:2, then in the list of Jacob’s descendants who came to Egypt (Genesis 46:18 and 46:25).