Bible Figure
Bilhah
biblical character
Bilhah was Rachel's servant whom Rachel gave to Jacob as a wife or concubine; she became the mother of Dan and Naphtali.
Biography
Laban gave Bilhah to Rachel as a servant when Rachel married Jacob. Distressed by her own barrenness, Rachel gave Bilhah to Jacob so that she might obtain children through her. Bilhah bore Dan and Naphtali, whose descendants became tribes of Israel. Later Genesis briefly records that Reuben slept with Bilhah, an act Jacob remembered with condemnation in his final words concerning Reuben. Scripture supplies little other personal information about Bilhah herself.
Biblical Significance
Bilhah's principal biblical significance is as mother of Dan and Naphtali and therefore one of the women through whom the twelve tribes of Israel were formed.