Catfight or Cooperation: Female Relationships in the Tanakh

(1) Sarai, Abram’s wife, had borne him no children. She had an Egyptian maidservant whose name was Hagar.(2) And Sarai said to Abram, “Look, God has kept me from bearing. Consort with my maid; perhaps I shall have a child through her.” And Abram heeded Sarai’s request.(3) So Sarai, Abram’s wife, took her maid, Hagar the Egyptian—after Abram had dwelt in the land of Canaan ten years—and gave her to her husband Abram as concubine.(4) He cohabited with Hagar and she conceived; and when she saw that she had conceived, her mistress was lowered in her esteem.(5) And Sarai said to Abram, “The wrong done me is your fault! I myself put my maid in your bosom; now that she sees that she is pregnant, I am lowered in her esteem. God decide between you and me!”(6) Abram said to Sarai, “Your maid is in your hands. Deal with her as you think right.” Then Sarai treated her harshly, and she ran away from her.

(2) אבנה, the son from this union would be called אבנה, "I shall be built up." All children are a building consisting of genetic input by father and mother. Sarai said that any son from this union with her husband would be accepted by her as if he were part of her biological family. She would treat him as her own son.

(3) וביניך, the word is written plene, i.e. with the letter י between the נ and the ך, something that occurs almost only here in connection with the word בין. For instance, we have such spellings of the word בינכם וביניו, in Joshua 3,4 where in the very same verse it occurs both spelled defectively בינכם and plene וביניו, "between you (pl) and between him." There is an allegorical explanation quoted by Rashi for the spelling which suggests that in her jealousy Sarai looked at Hagar's swollen belly with the evil eye, something which would have resulted in Hagar losing her fetus. This is why the angel told her that she was pregnant, a fact that Hagar had been well aware of; however the idea was that Hagar would give birth to a son, etc., i.e. that she need not fear to abort her fetus on account of Sarai having given her the "evil eye."

(2)And Sarai afflicted her: She did with her (Hagar) excessively and she worked her with backbreaking labor. It is possible that she (Sarai) hit her (Hagar) and cursed her and she (Hagar) wasn’t able to bear it so she ran away from her. And Sarah was not behaving this way out of the trait of ethical behavior or the trait of piety. It wasn’t ethical behavior because even though Avraham gave in on his honor and said to her ‘Do what is proper in your eyes” it would have been worthy for her to not harm Hagar due to his honor. And it was not piety because it’s not proper for a man to do whatever he is able to do with those who are under him, and the wise man said that forgiveness is desirable in a time where one can give it, and what Sarai did was not proper in the eyes of God which we see when the angel says to Hagar “for God has heard your affliction” and he gave her a blessing in place of her affliction. And Avram did not stop Sarai from afflicting her even though it was evil in his eyes due to shalom bayit (keeping peace in the home). And this story was written in the Torah to show that an individual should strive to acquire good attributes and should distance himself from bad ones.

(16) Now Laban had two daughters; the name of the older one was Leah, and the name of the younger was Rachel.(17) Leah had weak eyes; Rachel was shapely and beautiful.(18) Jacob loved Rachel; so he answered, “I will serve you seven years for your younger daughter Rachel.”(19) Laban said, “Better that I give her to you than that I should give her to an outsider. Stay with me.”(20) So Jacob served seven years for Rachel and they seemed to him but a few days because of his love for her.(21) Then Jacob said to Laban, “Give me my wife, for my time is fulfilled, that I may cohabit with her.”(22) And Laban gathered all the people of the place and made a feast.(23) When evening came, he took his daughter Leah and brought her to him; and he cohabited with her.—(24) Laban had given his maidservant Zilpah to his daughter Leah as her maid.—(25) When morning came, there was Leah! So he said to Laban, “What is this you have done to me? I was in your service for Rachel! Why did you deceive me?”(26) Laban said, “It is not the practice in our place to marry off the younger before the older.(27) Wait until the bridal week of this one is over and we will give you that one too, provided you serve me another seven years.”

(30) And Jacob cohabited with Rachel also; indeed, he loved Rachel more than Leah. And he served him another seven years.(31) Seeing that Leah was unloved, God opened her womb; but Rachel was barren.

(1) When Rachel saw that she had borne Jacob no children, she became envious of her sister; and Rachel said to Jacob, “Give me children, or I shall die.”

(14) Once, at the time of the wheat harvest, Reuben came upon some mandrakes in the field and brought them to his mother Leah. Rachel said to Leah, “Please give me some of your son’s mandrakes.”(15) But she said to her, “Was it not enough for you to take away my husband, that you would also take my son’s mandrakes?” Rachel replied, “I promise, he shall lie with you tonight, in return for your son’s mandrakes.”(16) When Jacob came home from the field in the evening, Leah went out to meet him and said, “You are to sleep with me, for I have hired you with my son’s mandrakes.” And he lay with her that night.

What was the modesty displayed by Rachel? — As it is written: “And Jacob told Rachel that he was her father’s brother” (Genesis 29:12).Now was he her father’s brother?Was he not the son of her father’s sister?Rather he said to her,Will you marry me? She replied,Yes,but my father is a trickster, and you cannot outwit him.He replied:I am his brother in trickery.She said to him:Is it permitted to the righteous to engage in trickery?He replied:Yes; “With the pure, act in purity and with the perverse, act wily” (II Samuel 22:27).He said to her:What is his trickery?She replied:I have a sister older than me, and he will not let me marry before her. So he gave her certain tokens.When night came, she said to herself, Now my sister will be put to shame. So she handed over the tokens to her.So it is written, “And it came to pass in the morning that, behold, it was Leah.” Up to now she was not Leah?Rather,what it means is that on account of the tokens which Rachel gave to Leah he did not know until then.

(4) One such day, Elkanah offered a sacrifice. He used to give portions to his wife Peninnah and to all her sons and daughters;(5) but to Hannah he would give one portion only—though^-b Hannah was his favorite—for the LORD had closed her womb.(6)Moreover, her rival, to make her miserable, would taunt her that the LORD had closed her womb.(7) This happened^-c year after year: Every time she went up to the House of the LORD, the other would taunt her, so that she wept and would not eat.(8) Her husband Elkanah said to her, “Hannah, why are you crying and why aren’t you eating? Why are you so sad? Am I not more devoted to you than ten sons?”

(1)Her rival. Her husband's other wife, Penina.(2)Frequently anger. Anger after anger, i.e., always.' Therefore it is written 'also [גֵם] anger.' She would say to her, "Did you buy your older son a cloak today, or your younger son, a shirt?"(3)In order that she should complain. In order to make her complain. Our Rabbis explain, 'in order to make her storm,' that she pray. Penina had good intentions.

(59) So they sent off their sister Rebekah and her nurse along with Abraham’s servant and his entourage.

(8) Deborah, Rebekah’s nurse, died, and was buried under the oak below Bethel; so it was named Allon-bacuth (the plain of tears).

(8)And Deborah, the pedagogue of Rivekah, died, and was buried below Bethel, in the field of the plain. And there it was told Jakob concerning the death of Rivekah his mother; and he called the name of it, The other weeping.

(15)The king of Egypt spoke to the Hebrew midwives, one of whom was named Shiphrah and the other Puah,(16) saying, “When you deliver the Hebrew women, look at the birthstool: if it is a boy, kill him; if it is a girl, let her live.”(17) The midwives, fearing God, did not do as the king of Egypt had told them; they let the boys live.(18) So the king of Egypt summoned the midwives and said to them, “Why have you done this thing, letting the boys live?”(19) The midwives said to Pharaoh, “Because the Hebrew women are not like the Egyptian women: they are vigorous. Before the midwife can come to them, they have given birth.”(20) And God dealt well with the midwives; and the people multiplied and increased greatly.(21) And [God] established households for the midwives, because they feared God.(22)

(2) שפרה SHIPHRAH — This was Jochebed; she bore this additional name because she used to put the babe after its birth into good physical condition (משפרת) by the care she bestowed upon it (Sotah 11b).(3) פועה PUAH — This was Miriam, and she bore this additional name because she used to Call aloud and speak and croon to the babe just as women do who soothe a child when it is crying (Sotah 11b).

(15) So she said, “See, your sister-in-law has returned to her people and her gods. Go follow your sister-in-law.”(16) But Ruth replied, “Do not urge me to leave you, to turn back and not follow you. For wherever you go, I will go; wherever you lodge, I will lodge; your people shall be my people, and your God my God.(17) Where you die, I will die, and there I will be buried. Thus and more may the LORD do to me^-b if anything but death parts me from you.”(18) When [Naomi] saw how determined she was to go with her, she ceased to argue with her;(19) and the two went on until they reached Bethlehem.
When they arrived in Bethlehem, the whole city buzzed with excitement over them. The women said, “Can this be Naomi?”

(15) He will renew your life and sustain your old age; for he is born of your daughter-in-law, who loves you and is better to you than seven sons.”(16) Naomi took the child and held it to her bosom. She became its foster mother,(17) and the women neighbors gave him a name, saying, “A son is born to Naomi!” They named him Obed; he was the father of Jesse, father of David.(18) This is the line of Perez: Perez begot Hezron,(19) Hezron begot Ram, Ram begot Amminadab,(20) Amminadab begot Nahshon, Nahshon begot Salmon,(21) Salmon begot Boaz, Boaz begot Obed,(22) Obed begot Jesse, and Jesse begot David.