Rachel

Rachel (meaning ewe or lamb) was the younger daughter of Laban, Jacob's maternal uncle, the beloved wife of the patriarch Jacob, and the mother of Joseph and Benjamin. Jacob fell in love with her at the well in Paddan-aram and agreed to serve Laban seven years for her hand — years that seemed to him only a few days because of his love (Genesis 29:20). Laban's substitution of the older Leah on the wedding night required Jacob to work another seven years for Rachel. The rivalry between the two sisters, and Rachel's barrenness contrasted with Leah's fruitfulness, is one of the sustained narrative tensions of Genesis 29–30.

Rachel died in childbirth near Bethlehem giving birth to Benjamin, whom she named Ben-oni (son of my sorrow); Jacob renamed him Benjamin (son of my right hand). She was buried on the road to Bethlehem (Genesis 35:19), and her tomb became a landmark. Jeremiah 31:15 — Rachel weeping for her children, refusing to be comforted because they are no more — is quoted in Matthew 2:18 as a prophecy of the massacre of the innocents at Herod's command.