Bilhah

Dan, born to Bilhah, Rachel’s handmaid, is later described in Jacob’s blessing as “one of the tribes of Israel,” a formulation that suggests a need to affirm its place within Israel. The tribe is also portrayed in biblical texts as culturally distinct: seafarers, craftsmen, migrants, and figures who intermarry with non-Israelites, including Samson, a tribal hero with decidedly non-Israelite characteristics. Archaeological evidence from Tel Dan suggests that Dan began as a foreign group that was only later incorporated into Israel. Where were the Danites originally from?

Rachel and Leah give Jacob their maidservants, Bilhah and Zilpah, as wives to bear children on their behalf. The four sons born to the maidservants are named by Rachel and Leah to express their own feelings and experiences of having more of “their” own children. Yet the Bible consistently calls them the sons of Bilhah and Zilpah and counts them as Jacob’s sons, part of the twelve tribes of Israel. Should Bilhah and Zilpah then not be considered matriarchs?

Ancient Near Eastern law collections do not unequivocally prohibit a son from marrying his father's wife, and neither do modern incest laws. And yet, the Bible repeats this prohibition multiple times. Six reasons why.

Reuben’s sin and its consequences in the Torah, Pseudepigrapha and Midrash.