Biblical Parallels Index – Bereshit 30/0

Biblical Parallels Index – Bereshit 30

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Rachel’s Difficulty Conceiving

The story of Rachel’s struggle to conceive is parallel to many stories of infertility in Tanakh.

Tools

• See Makbilot Bamikra for  a list and links to the various stories in Tanakh about barren women..  

Articles

• See Barren Women for an exploration of the parallels between the six Biblical narratives of barren women who give birth to leaders of Israel and commentators’ perspectives on the possible reasons for their barrenness. Some suggest that their barrenness was an impetus for their spiritual growth, others maintain that it was a means of engendering greater love for the children they would eventually bear, while yet others view it as proof of Hashem’s miraculous intervention in the births of their children.

Divine Promises of Children

There are several instances in Tanakh in which Hashem promises a child to a childless parent (as in this chapter). These stories follow a similar format, with each story containing several common motifs. However, it is often the variations between the stories which are most telling.

Tools

• See Makbilot BaMiIkra for a list and links to such stories, including: the promises of the births of Yitzchak, Yaakov and Esav, Shimshon, Shemuel, and the child of the Shunamite woman.

Articles

• For an analytical comparison and contrasting of these narratives, see How Convention Helps Us Read: The Case of the Bible’s Annunciation Type-Scene by Robert Alter. Alter identifies the conventional components of an annunciation type-scene, noting that each instance of it includes certain variations from the expected formula. These differences serve to highlight the uniqueness of each story and set of characters.