Bible Figure
Naphtali
biblical figure and the sixth son of Jacob through his concubine Bilhah
Naphtali was Jacob's son by Rachel's servant Bilhah and ancestor of the tribe of Naphtali.
Biography
Genesis 30 records Rachel giving Bilhah to Jacob, and Bilhah's second son was named Naphtali in connection with Rachel's struggle with her sister. Naphtali later went to Egypt with Jacob's household. Jacob's final blessing compares him to a doe set free and associates him with beautiful words, while Moses' blessing describes Naphtali as full of the Lord's favor and possessing territory toward the west and south. His descendants became one of Israel's twelve tribes.
Biblical Significance
Naphtali is significant as a patriarch of Israel and ancestor of a northern tribe whose territory later figures prominently in Israel's history and in the Gospel setting of Jesus' Galilean ministry.