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For the Israeli poetess, see Rachel (poet) .

In the Book of Genesis, Rachel (רחל "Ewe", Standard Hebrew Raḥel, Tiberian Hebrew Rāḫel, Rāḥel) is the second and favourite wife of Jacob and mother of Joseph and Benjamin. She is the younger sister of Leah, Jacob's first wife, and both are daughters of Laban.

Rachel had a sorrowful life. Jacob intended to marry her, not Leah, but was tricked by Laban. Jacob accepted this and persevered, working another seven years for Laban to procure his chosen bride as well (see Genesis 29). Then, unable to conceive for many years while her elder sister bore Jacob four sons, she offered her handmaid Bilhah to her husband as was the custom, and named the two sons she bore, indicating they were to be her heirs. But finally, after Leah produced another two sons and a daughter, and Leah's handmaid Zilpah another two sons, Rachel herself bore two sons, dying as a result of the difficult birth of the second.

The traditional site of Rachel's tomb is about one mile from Bethlehem and four from Jerusalem, and is a significant site for many Jews.

In Jeremiah 31:15 the prophet speaks of 'Rachel weeping for her children' ( KJV):

• This is interpretted in JudaismJudaism is the religion and culture of the Jewish people and the first recorded monotheistic faith. The tenets and history of Judaism constitute the historical foundation of many other religions, including Christianity and Islam. Star of David, a common s as Rachel crying for her descendants' sufferings and exiles following the destruction of the First Temple in ancient Jerusalem.
• JudaismJudaism is the religion and culture of the Jewish people and the first recorded monotheistic faith. The tenets and history of Judaism constitute the historical foundation of many other religions, including Christianity and Islam. Star of David, a common s does not record any "slaughter" of "Hebrew babies" at that time, as Judaism's TorahTorah [] is a Hebrew word meaning teaching instruction or especially Law''. It primarily refers to the first section of the Tanakh, i. the first five books of the Hebrew Bible. These books are Genesis Bereishit []), Exodus Shemot []), Leviticus Vayikra [] teaches in the book of ExodusThis article is about the second book in the Torah. For other uses of the name, see Exodus (disambiguation The name Exodus refers to the book which comes second both in the Torah (the five books of Moses) and also in the Tanakh (the Old Testament of the B that it was the Egyptian PharaohThis article refers to the historical Pharaoh. For Pharaoh in the Book of Abraham, see Pharaoh (Book of Abraham). Pharaoh Standard Hebrew Paro Tiberian Hebrew Paroh is a title used to refer to the kings (of godly status) in ancient Egypt. See History of E who issued a decree that Hebrew male infants be drowned during the time of the birth of Moses, the true redeemer of the Jews.
• In Christianity, Matthew 2:16-18 claims it predicts the " Massacre of the Innocents", the slaughter of male Hebrew babies following the birth of Jesus.