Why was Rachel not buried in a tomb?

[Sinner saved by grace]

Started the new year reading from start to finish again and as I was reading I noticed Jacob is speaking in (Genesis 49:31) There they buried Abraham and Sarah his wife. There they buried Isaac and Rebekah his wife, and there I buried Leah, I'm aware that Rachel died on the way to Bethlehem but there is no reason why her body could not have been taken to the tomb where the fathers were buried. Also, Leah ends up with the honour of being buried in the tomb.

I can only think of 1 potential reason for why. Jacob foresaw that following the destruction of the First Temple the Jews would be exiled to Babylon. They would cry out as they passed her grave, and then be comforted by her.

Was Rachel under a curse from God or was there a deeper reason for this?

Thank you

 

[Phil D.]

See Gen. 35:20 and 1 Sam 10:2

 

[Puritan Sailor]

We are not given a reason for Rachel's separate burial. Leah was likely buried in the family tomb since she was the first wife of Jacob and the mother of half of the tribes of Israel. Whether by Jacob's older more sanctified reason or by God's providence, she was given this honor despite being despised by her husband for so long. In Genesis, there are examples of divine irony and vindication; those who are rejected by men (i.e. Jacob, Leah, Tamar, Joseph, etc.), are eventually honored by God. My two cents...

 

[Contra_Mundum]

Here are a few vv in consideration of Jacob's expedient act:

Gen.34:30 Then Jacob said to Simeon and Levi, “You have troubled me by making me obnoxious among the inhabitants of the land, among the Canaanites and the Perizzites; and since I am few in number, they will gather themselves together against me and kill me. I shall be destroyed, my household and I.”

Jacob was immensely concerned for the condition of the church, imperiled (in earthly terms) by the revenge of the brothers.

Gen.35:5 And they journeyed, and the terror of God was upon the cities that were all around them, and they did not pursue the sons of Jacob.

Jacob could not know in advance, nor until it was revealed, that God placed an extraordinary cowardice, a feeling it would be better to shy away from these violent folk (the sons of Jacob) than engage with them. The witness of the saints was compromised when they took up carnal weapons, but God did not allow this misstep to raise a wider persecution against them.

Gen.35:8 Now Deborah, Rebekah’s nurse, died, and she was buried below Bethel under the terebinth tree.

It is not possible to say that the stress of this unforseen journey contributed to Deborah's passing; but neither is it possible to remove the possibility merely by appeal to old age, or another cause. What we can be sure of is that the uprooting of Jacob's family was certainly stressful. And on the way south, one person had already died on the way.

Gen.35:3 Then let us arise and go up to Bethel; and I will make an altar there to God, who answered me in the day of my distress and has been with me in the way which I have gone.”

Jacob's distress was evident when he first passed by Luz/Bethel (Gen.28); as well as in his flight from Laban (Gen.31) and his concern over meeting Esau (Gen.32:9-12). He makes his journey now in faith, counseling his family against idolatry (Gen.35:2,4) and to fear not men but God alone. But to think there was no distress in his heart or the hearts of many who were with him is to take little thought of the humanity of those in the church or who lead it.

God directed Jacob to Bethel for a season, v1, to remove him from Shechem, which was now desolate. Shechem was not to become the city of Israel, perhaps more than anything so that the Canaanites would not regard it as Jacob's spoil, or a location for which they must eventually plot their own revenge, or treat with Jacob afterward as a warlord.

Luz/Bethel the city was not a comfort to Jacob on his way out of Canaan; he seemed to avoid it, preferring to sleep alone in the wild. We shouldn't think in this latter year he found the same city more comfortable. God's directing him there was not so that he should remain in it henceforth, but to remind him of former divine grace found there, and of the covenant faithfulness of God. That renewal complete, Jacob hasted on.

On the way toward Ephrath/Bethlehem, the wife who was great with child--whose condition probably would have committed Jacob to staying at Shechem till this hour was past unless supremely motivated to seek safety elsewhere--Rachel was brought to delivery. Again, we should at least consider the stress of the journey adding complications to the labor and birth.

"Some distance to Ephrath" (v16) doesn't tell us much specific about the location. Traditional sites for finding Jacob's pillar (v20) cannot be counted on for accuracy. The family was moving from Bethel south along or near the highland trunk-route. How fast they moved--with all their possessions, with livestock, with people old and young--we cannot say. The distance between the two places is between 15-16 miles by road, but those were days of walking trails, not pavement. And the company of the saints was avoiding most Canaanite cities (like Jebus/Jerusalem) along the way.

From the vicinity of Ephrath/Bethlehem to the cave of Machpela (in the vicinity of Hebron) is probably 12-15 miles further. This means it was at least that far, and could have been more like 20 miles. How long might it take to get there? How close did they dare get to that city, under threatening circumstances? I don't imagine Jacob prioritized putting Rachel to rest in just that sepulcher. Furthermore, it may also be the case that the vicinity of Ephrath was the furthest goal at which Jacob aimed when he left Shechem, where he hoped to come before Rachel's delivery; but Benjamin came early. Still, Jacob may well have felt hesitant to come near Canaanite habitation.

Jacob and the people of God halted their progress partway (some suppose) between Ephrath/Bethlehem and Hebron, "beyond the tower of Eder" (v21). It could have been south beyond Hebron, we simply don't know. Isaac's base of operation was around Beersheba (cf. Gen.26:33), traditionally the nation's later southernmost reach, at least 30 miles below Hebron. But in the twighlight of his life, Isaac pitched his tents nearer to Hebron. Jacob put him and his people near his father, where old alliances would be strongest, where they would feel safer.

Later on, Jacob's tents are found in the "Vale of Hebron," Gen.37:14. Ancient Hebron is almost certainly located atop one of the hills, so in what direction from archaeology's best guess does this vale lie? Is it west toward the direction known today as the Valley of Lachish? Is it east toward the most likely direction of the cave of Machpela? Is it north toward Ephrath and Bethel (with Jebus in between them)? Is it south toward Isaac's historic pastureland around Beersheba? Perhaps the situation is so general, it was never meant to be finely settled beyond those lower environs outside of ancient city walls.

The brothers of Joseph said they planned to pasture back near Shechem (Gen.37:12-13). Perhaps Jacob's concern included the fact: not that much time had passed since the massacre, perhaps not much more than a year. In fact, the brothers did not stay in that vicinity, v17. I include this much context in order to show that Jacob/Israel continued to show concern with regard to his family and their former home in connection to the Canaanites of the land.

It all suggests to me that, as much as he might have preferred to bury Rachel in the "family cemetery," given the burden of the hour it was not possible. The Lord had said to him, Gen.35:12, "The land which I gave Abraham and Isaac I give to you; and to your descendants after you I give this land.” Hence, where Rachel was laid to rest and marked with a pillar (v20), not far from Ephrath but also not far from the earlier pillar at Bethel (v14), was in effect an additional claim of faith upon the whole Promised Land.

Rachel is not truly separated from those others who died in faith, expecting to inherit an eternal rest. Thus, there was also no reason to move her bones. And because she was not moved she continues to bear her lonely witness as the prophets indicate. I don't think she's cursed at all.