Jacob asked for her hand in marriage to his uncle Laban so the agreement was that Jacob work for his uncle for seven years in order to marry Rachel. When the seven years finally are up, he cant't wait to be with his beloved Rachel but Laban tricks him and gives him Leah instead.
Jacob now has to work for another seven years for Rachel but this time he can be marrid to Rachel also and this is where it gets complicated because the kids asked: Did he marry both at the same time? yes, I said. My goodnes this is hard to explain. But not only that, Leah starts having children and Rachel is barren just like Sarah so there is some envy and rivalry between the two sisters.
At this point Rachel gives her handmaid Bilhah to Jacob to be used as a surrogate mother and Leah desides to do the same thing with her handmaid Zilpah so in the end due to the bitter feelings of these two sisters, Jacob ends up with four wives and twelve children. (Poligamy is one of those things I will never understand in this life) In the end Rachael dies after giving birth to her son Benjamin.
At the end of the lesson I had the children write down the sons of Jacob also known as Israel because he changed his name from Jacob to Israel and their posterity would be known as the twelve tribes of Israel.
Leah had: Reuben, Simeon, Levi and Juda, Inssachar, and Zebulun
Rachel had: Joseph and Benjamin
Bilhah had: Dan and Naphtali
Zilpah had: Gad and Asher
Now I don't feel too bad about any family with step brothers and sistes like mine.
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