Facts About Rachel: Are They True or False? Quiz

Answer: True

True. The romance of Jacob and Rachel was a case of kissing cousins. Jacob's mother Rebekah was the sister of Rachel's father Laban, as per the 29th chapter of Genesis.

Answer: True

True. Rachel was serving as a shepherd when Jacob first spotted her. Genesis 29:9-12, in the NIV Bible, states: "While he was still talking with them, Rachel came with her father's sheep, for she was a shepherd. When Jacob saw Rachel daughter of his uncle Laban, and Laban's sheep, he went over and rolled the stone away from the mouth of the well and watered his uncle's sheep. Then Jacob kissed Rachel and began to weep aloud. He had told Rachel that he was a relative of her father and a son of Rebekah. So she ran and told her father."

The NKJV describes Rachel as a shepherdess while the KJV simply states Rachel was keeping her father's sheep when Jacob first saw her.

Answer: True

Laban got fourteen years of labor out of Jacob, largely by tricking him. Jacob agreed to work for seven years for Laban if he could marry his younger daughter Rachel. However, at the end of seven years, Laban gave Jacob his older daughter Leah in marriage, saying "it is not our custom here to give the younger daughter in marriage before the older one." So, Jacob agreed to work an additional seven years for Rachel's hand.

It's a case of what goes around, comes around. After all, Jacob was a master deceiver as he had duped his elderly father Isaac into giving him his blessing over his twin brother Esau, as per Genesis 27: 1-40. After this incident, Jacob ended up fleeing as Esau plotted to kill him.

Answer: False

Rachel was highly distraught over the fact she was unable to conceive while her sister Leah, who was also married to her husband Jacob, bore a number of children. There's even a suggestion in Scripture that she was so deeply depressed by the situation she contemplated suicide. Genesis 30:1, in the NIV Bible, states: "When Rachel saw that she was not bearing Jacob any children, she became jealous of her sister. So she said to Jacob, 'Give me children, or I'll die'!"

Later, Rachel would be able to conceive due to divine intervention, according to Genesis 30:22. She gave birth to two boys, Joseph and Benjamin. However, she died giving birth to Benjamin, as per Genesis 35:18. In other words, her statement 'give me children, or I'll die' became prophetic.

Answer: False

Yes, Rachel was the mother of Joseph and Benjamin, as per Genesis 35:24. However, she had no other children, according to Scripture. Dinah was the daughter of Leah, as per Genesis 30:21.

Answer: True

True. According to Genesis 30:3, Rachel gave permission to her husband to sleep with her maidservant Bilhah so she could bear children for her. Rachel wanted to build a family through her servant. According to Genesis 35:25, Bilhah gave birth to two boys, Dan and Naphtali.

Answer: False

They were sisters, but it appears they were not the best of friends. Nowhere in Scripture does it state the two had a harmonious relationship. Scripture, however, suggests there was friction between the two, notably in passages beginning in Genesis 29:31 to 30:32. Leah took delight in bearing children for Jacob while Rachel was barren. By bearing children, Leah mistakenly thought she could win Jacob's affection, but it was not to be. Rachel may have been Jacob's true love, but she was apparently jealous of Leah for being able to bear children while she was barren.

Genesis 30:1, in the NIV Bible, states: "When Rachel saw that she was not bearing Jacob any children, she became jealous of her sister. So she said to Jacob, 'Give me children, or I'll die!'"

Genesis 30:14-15, tells of an exchange between the two sisters after Rachel requested some mandrakes that had been picked by Leah's son Reuben. Verse 15 quotes Leah as responding: "Wasn't it enough that you took away my husband? Will you take my son's mandrakes too?" The story goes on to state Rachel told Leah she could sleep that night with Jacob for the mandrakes. The story ends with Leah giving birth to a fifth son, Issachar, followed by a sixth son, Zebulun, as well as a daughter, Dinah.

Notes in the NKJV Study Bible, state this about the unusual story: "Mandrakes are a special type of herb that the peoples of the ancient Middle East regarded as an aid to conception. Their aroma was associated with lovemaking (Song of Solomon 7:13). Reuben's discovery of the mandrakes led to another squabble between Leah and Rachel. In the end, Leah hired Jacob for a night with her."

Answer: False

The answer has to be false. While Rachel was the mother of Joseph and Benjamin, there is no indication in Scripture she even saw Benjamin as she died during childbirth. And even if she did see her second son, it would have been for a few moments only.

Genesis 35:17-18, in the NIV Bible, states: "And as she was having great difficulty in childbirth, the midwife said to her, 'Don't despair, for you have another son.' As she breathed her last -- for she was dying -- she named her son Ben-Oni. But his father named him Benjamin."

Answer: True

True. The sons are mentioned in passing reference in Scripture telling of Jacob fleeing from Laban. There is no indication of how many brothers Rachel and Leah had. Genesis 31:1, in the NIV Bible, states: "Jacob heard that Laban's sons were saying, 'Jacob has taken everything our father owned and has gained all this wealth from what belonged to our father.'"

Answer: False

False. Rachel is not mentioned in the genealogy of Christ in either the first chapter of Matthew or the third chapter of Luke. However, her husband Jacob is mentioned in the genealogy.