Bilhah
Patriarchs (Abraham–Joseph)
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H1090A
Bilhah, Rachel's maidservant, bore Jacob two sons, Dan and Naphtali, who became ancestors of Israelite tribes.
Bilhah was Rachel's personal maidservant, given to Jacob as a concubine when Rachel found herself unable to bear children (Genesis 30:1–8). Through Bilhah, Jacob fathered Dan and Naphtali, two of the twelve sons who became the progenitors of Israel's tribes. The arrangement followed the ancient Near Eastern custom of surrogate motherhood through a slave. Bilhah's sons are counted as fully legitimate members of the tribal league of Israel, and she is mentioned again in the narrative for the shameful incident involving Reuben (Genesis 35:22).