Rachel Weeps
for Her Children:
Who Was Rachel?
7 February 2022
The Biblical Reference
The statement appears in
Matthew 2:18-
A voice was heard in Ramah,
Wailing and loud lamentation,
Rachel weeping for her children;
She refused to be consoled, because they are no more.
This occurs after St. Joseph has taken Mother Mary and Baby Jesus and fled to Egypt, while King Herod becomes angry that the wise men did not disclose the location of the newborn King. But who is Rachel, and how does she connect to this event?
Rachel in the Book of Genesis
Rachel was a central motherly figure in Israel. She was the second wife of Jacob and his first love. She bore two sons, Joseph and Benjamin, who became the ancestors of two of the twelve tribes of Israel (the half-tribes of Ephraim and Manasseh, and the tribe of Benjamin).
Jacob loved Rachel deeply and agreed to serve her father, Laban, for seven years to marry her. However, at the end of the seven years, Laban deceived Jacob by giving him Leah, Rachel’s elder sister. Laban allowed Jacob to marry Rachel too, but only after he served another seven years. Both sisters competed to bear children for Jacob, but Rachel remained childless for a long time. Her desperation is expressed in her words to Jacob
Genesis 30:1- “Give me children, or I shall die.”
Eventually, Rachel gave birth to Joseph, who would play a pivotal role in saving Israel and Egypt during a famine. She later gave birth to Benjamin but tragically died during his delivery. Rachel’s death and tomb became a significant landmark (1 Samuel 10:2) and she became an enduring symbol of maternal devotion and tragic womanhood.
Rachel and the Prophecy of Jeremiah
Rachel is considered a motherly figure for all of Israel. Her tomb is near Bethlehem (Genesis 35:19), in the southern kingdom of Judah (Matthew 2:5). In a vision, the prophet Jeremiah (Jeremiah 31) sees Rachel weeping when Judah is destroyed and its people are exiled to Babylon. God consoles her, promising to bring her children back to Israel.
After the return from Babylon, recorded in the books of Ezra and Nehemiah, Rachel continued to be revered as Mother Rachel, a symbolic intercessor for the people of Israel.
Rachel in Matthew 2:18
St. Matthew interprets Jeremiah’s vision as a prophecy pointing to Jesus’ birth. In his Gospel, Rachel’s weeping is not just for the exiled Israelites but symbolically for the innocents killed by King Herod. Through this, Matthew connects Rachel’s sorrow to the massacre of the innocents, giving hope that God’s plan of salvation is unfolding.
Conclusion
Rachel’s story in both the Old and New Testaments highlights her role as a motherly figure and intercessor. From Genesis to Jeremiah to Matthew, she embodies maternal sorrow, steadfast faith, and hope for God’s deliverance. Her weeping transcends time, speaking to the human experience of loss and the promise of redemption.
References
- Scripture quotations are from the New Revised Standard Version of the Bible. © 1989 National Council of Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
- Photo Credit: Picryl – Weeping Woman
