Definition · Webster 1828 · Scriptures · Corruption · Roots · Usage · In the Text · Related
📖 Biblical Definition
Bilhah was the handmaid whom Laban gave to his daughter Rachel, and whom Rachel, in her grief at being childless, gave to Jacob as a wife, saying, "Behold my maid Bilhah, go in unto her; and she shall bear upon my knees, that I may also have children by her" (Gen 30:3). Bilhah bore Jacob two sons: Dan, in whose name Rachel said, "God hath judged me," and Naphtali, "my wrestling" (Gen 30:5-8). From these descended the tribes of Dan and Naphtali. Bilhah appears again in a darker note: after Rachel's death, "Reuben went and lay with Bilhah his father's concubine: and Israel heard it" (Gen 35:22) — a grievous sin for which Reuben, Jacob's firstborn, forfeited the dignity of his birthright, as Jacob declared on his deathbed (Gen 49:3-4). Bilhah thus stands at the center of both the building of Israel and one of its early disgraces. She stands in the dictionary as the mother of two tribes of Israel and the occasion of Reuben's fall, a witness to the disorder that flowed from the patriarchs' polygamy, to the lasting consequences of sin against the family, and to the providence of God that built His covenant nation even through such troubled and broken households.
📜 Webster 1828 Definition
Rachel's handmaid given to Jacob as a wife (Gen 30:3-8), mother of Dan and Naphtali; later the occasion of Reuben's sin (Gen 35:22), which cost him his birthright; a witness to family disorder and its consequences.
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BILHAH, proper noun. Rachel's handmaid, given to Jacob as a wife (Gen 30:3-4).
Mother of Dan and Naphtali.
Ancestress of two of the twelve tribes of Israel.
With whom Reuben sinned after Rachel's death (Gen 35:22).
Whose dishonor cost Reuben his birthright (Gen 49:3-4).
📖 Key Scripture
Gen 30:3 — "And she said, Behold my maid Bilhah, go in unto her; and she shall bear upon my knees, that I may also have children by her."
Gen 30:7 — "And Bilhah Rachel's maid conceived again, and bare Jacob a second son."
Gen 35:22 — "And it came to pass, when Israel dwelt in that land, that Reuben went and lay with Bilhah his father's concubine: and Israel heard it..."
Gen 49:4 — "Unstable as water, thou shalt not excel; because thou wentest up to thy father's bed; then defiledst thou it..."
⚠️ Modern Corruption
Bilhah's account honors the recovery of God's design of marriage and the lasting consequences of sin against the family, against a normalizing of polygamy and a making-light of grievous sin.
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Consequence-denied correction. Reuben's sin with Bilhah might seem a minor lapse, soon forgotten; Scripture shows otherwise. It cost Jacob's firstborn the pre-eminence of his birthright, and Jacob recalled it with grief decades later on his deathbed (Gen 49:4). The dictionary holds that sin, especially sin that defiles the family, bears lasting consequence; what is done in a moment may forfeit blessings and dignities for a lifetime, and the God who sees does not overlook the dishonoring of His order.
This entry faces little postmodern redefinition. The principle to recover is again God's design of marriage against the disorder of the patriarchal household, and His providence over it. From Bilhah's sons came two tribes of Israel; through a household marked by rivalry and sin, God still built His covenant people. The dictionary commends both the warning and the comfort: human families fail and sin grievously, yet the Lord, who hates the sin, sovereignly accomplishes His redemptive purposes even through broken and dishonored histories.
🔗 Greek & Hebrew Roots
Rachel's handmaid given to Jacob as a wife (Gen 30:3-8), mother of Dan and Naphtali; later the occasion of Reuben's sin, which cost him his birthright.
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Hebrew Bilhah; Rachel's handmaid, given to Jacob as a wife
Mother of Dan and Naphtali (Gen 30:3-8)
Ancestress of two of the twelve tribes of Israel
With whom Reuben sinned after Rachel's death (Gen 35:22)
Whose dishonor cost Reuben his birthright (Gen 49:3-4)
Usage
"Bilhah — Rachel's handmaid, mother of Dan and Naphtali (Gen 30:3-8)."
"Reuben went and lay with Bilhah his father's concubine: and Israel heard it (Gen 35:22)."
"Bilhah's account warns of sin's lasting consequence and God's providence over Jacob's house."
📖 In the Text
Chapters of the reading Bible where this entry is linked.