Orson Scott Card's Rachel and Leah: Review and sequel speculations
I was prompted by the Lord of Spirits Podcast One Flesh episode to read this book. In it they echoed rabbinic commentary that although polygyny was not against the law, all the examples of the Old Testament were it being a mess, so take a hint - this is not God’s will. They also said that Abraham accepting Hagar was an example of faithlessness in otherwise paragon of faith. They did not mention the worst example of this - the tragic result of Gideon’s large-scale polygyny. I am generally on board with this - and arguing that Ishmael and the great nation that comes from him is an example of God turning something bad to his own good ends.
But, I can’t help but feel that for Jacob, at least, the polygyny was God’s will. In the podcast they talk about how Isaac loved Rebekah and how great that was, but don’t really go into Jacob - the choice he was given was to abandon a wife, not marry the woman he loved, or take a second wife. Yes, the end result was a mess, but I can’t help think that God ordained it. I suppose in a perfect world it would not need to be so. In a perfect world Christ would not need to be born so you would not need to have his lineage (Leah), and Jacob could just marry for love (Rachel). But we live in a fallen world.
Orson Scott Card’s book touches on this. I think going into this. The end result did move me. Other than that, this is an OSC book, and so it’s going to have a lot of OSC type conversation - moral navel gazing, sarcasm, and character study, if you like that sort of thing. I do.
OSC promised two sequels: The Wives of Israel, and Rachel’s Sons. I think we can conclude given the time that has passed, and what appears to me to be a work pause due to age and health, that these are not going to come out unless he finds a co-author to shoulder the work and a publisher willing to pay for it. Perhaps the success of The Chosen will help sell biblical fiction like this to a publisher.
In the meantime, to assuage my own curiosity I’m going to imagine how he would have treated the events of Genesis:
The Wives of Israel
Jacob and the rods and flocks
The straight reading of this is that Jacob used magic to ensure that the livestock that were born were his, manipulating his agreement with Laban. I expect Zilpah will see it this way.
The faithful reading is that the rods and things were no more efficacious magic than Naaman bathing in the river Jordan was a medical treatment for cleaning leprosy. It was God inspired act that allowed God’s power to work in your life.
The OSC treatment would probably be that Laban wanted to give Jacob (and his daughters) the bulk of his inheritance because he thought his sons would waste it but couldn’t do that openly because Jacob was too proud to accept what wasn’t his by right, and Laban’s sons would cause trouble. So, Laban tricked them all again, or rather God did, using their various degrees of faithfulness and goodness, and diverse desires. Maybe with Zilpah manipulating things? This is not incompatible with reading #2 - God uses means and ways.
The Handmaids - The KJV has Rachel giving her handmaid to Jacob in order get children motivated in no small part by jealousy that Leah has given Jacob so many sons. The OSC version is Leah conspires with Zilpah to make this happen because she hopes that Rachel will stop resenting her and they will reconcile, if she has children of her own. (And it will work (sorta) for a time.) Jacob taking Zilpah is a little harder to fit into this framework - maybe she complains to Leah that she is willing to do things to make Rachel happy, but neglects her, her friend? Certainly this is set up in Rachel and Leah.
Jacob’s Flight - Jacob and his families leave quickly with their things, Laban and a posse catches up with them and accuses Jacob of stealing the family idols. They search his camp and find nothing. Then Rachel tells Jacob that she had them and sat on them during the search (and they wouldn’t touch her because she was menstruating and ‘unclean’). Jacob catches up with Laban and tells him.
This episode makes no sense to me. I understand that some translations has the two items as viewers not idols, and if they were seer stones, taking them would make sense to confound pursuit and also because they were valuable. OSC has them as statues (not viewers) and already mentioned them in Rachel and Leah as the representations of God and the angel of his presence. The point in Israel’s Wives would be how can Jacob get away from Labans sons with his irregularly gotten wealth, without incurring a lasting enmity with Laban’s sons seeing him taking off with what they see as theirs. The whole search, find nothing, Rachel confession sequence would be for them to pin their plot on the false hope that Jacob is guilty and they can punish him without fault. Then when Rachel confesses, and Jacob tells Laban, he is guiltless, and they would have to punish their own flesh and blood. Off balance they drop the whole thing, at the point when they needed to be adamant with their claims. It’s not clear why Rachel would take them - Inspiration? Maybe Zilpah took them because she believed in their power, and Rachel is covering for Zilpah?
Esau Reconciliation - Probably not much different than the KJV. Certainly one can imagine a lengthy dialogue here, where the wives soften Esau’s heart and persuade him that Jacob is not threat and to give up the rivalry.
The Mandrake - Rachel wants a mandrake in order to make a treatment for her infertility. She can’t leave the camp (Jacob is not so feared and mighty as Laban was that no one would dare touch his womenfolk.) She asks Leah to have one of her sons get it (Bilhah’s sons too young?). Leah says she will, if she has Jacob spend the night with her - presumably Jacob is not sleeping with her to placate Rachel. They fulfill their bargain, and they both get pregnant.
OSC version - first of all, poor Rachel. She was so happy gamboling on the hills with the sheep. This really drives home why a lack of a son would be so devastating. Not being allowed to do things as a woman makes a son an essential asset. I wonder why Jacob or Bilhah just didn’t get it for here - maybe Rachel is too proud to ask? (I’m assuming they have few or no servants and aren’t the great camp Laban was). Maybe Jacob and Bilhah saw the Mandrake cure as witchcraft, or thought that Rachel should reconcile herself to her infertility and not devastate herself anew with false hopes? Here the lesson is if they want to have all the Blessings that God has for them, they have to get along. Then they are unlocked, and they are both blessed (with sons).
Jospeh Here the rivalry has moved on to the next generation. Rachel and Leah are reconciled, but Leah’s sons don’t listen to her. They want the inheritance and birthright. Most of the Joseph stuff would go in the next book. When Jospeh goes missing, a lot of grief, soul searching and wondering why God would bless Rachel, just to take the blessing away. Leah also too genuinely grieves and comforts Rachel. She accepts it, this is the fruit prove that their reconciliation is now complete and unfeigned. Her sons start to get the message and be repentant (this will not bear full fruit until the end of the next book, but it is set up here.)
Benjamin - Rachel has another son. She is dying from childbirth and names him the Son of my pain. Jacob changes the name to ‘son of my right’ or maybe it’s ‘son of my old age’ as he does not want the guilt and sorrow of Rachel dying in childbirth hanging over the kid. Leah keeps vigil with Rachel on her death bed and promises to take care of Benjamin as if he were her own and swear her sons to protect him at all costs. They weep together, Rachel dies. End of The Wives of Israel.
The Sons of Rachel
I’m assuming this book will follow Benjamin and Israel’s camp, and will catch up with Joseph later. This is after all the women of Genesis, and Josephs story is pretty complete. The only exception I could see is if OSC wanted to insert Jospeh and Asenath’s love story, and that could happen after the family moves to Egypt (I think). There is an apocryphal account of this, centering on what it takes for a foreigner to enter into the covenant, that could be an interesting source. Asenath is an Egyption name, although I understand there is rabbinic commentary suggesting she is the daughter of the son of Dinah and Shechem - The Canaanitish woman listed in the 70 that came to Egypt with Jacob.
Benjamin is coddled and protected from every possible harm. The brother struggle with this, but out of guilt and Leah’s tongue lashings they take this very seriously.
Rueben and Bilhah - Reuben sleeps with Bilhah publicly. I assume the point is to assert the pre-eminence of Leah’s children and himself, over Jacob’s other children and also to make a statement that Jacob is old, doddering and out to pasture. OSC’s Leah is absolutely furious with him. (The bibilical account is silent on her reaction and feelings.) Bilhah may have gone along with this, in which case we could have her being angry that she was neglected by Jacob and going along with the public sex (I’m assuming not actually in broad daylight - something like they she let herself be seen going into his tent at night and exiting in the morning) as a cry for attention. Possibly this was just rape - they didn’t make a lot of distinction. The attitude of the time seems to have been, ‘seduction, rape; poe-tay-toh, poe-tah-toe’. The point is you used your power to gratify yourself at the expense of the girl, without making her an honorable woman. What practical difference does it make if the power used was your charm, game, and lies (spoken or not), or if it was raw physical strength. This sometimes leads to the horrifying conclusion that the rapist needs to marry his victim to make things right. On the other side, imagining the modern-day equivalent of this line of thinking that a seducer be required by law to call his conquest the next day and make a go of it is amusing. Dead in the water of course - our culture is 100% against people being compelled into a social role. See, for example, the song Angel of the Morning. But maybe that was yesterday’s culture - the times they are A-Changin' still.
Dinah - This is Leahs only daughter. She visits the nearby friendly town to have some girl company. The prince, Shechem, seduces or possibly rapes her. (See above). He wants to marry her to make it right (Again see above), and Jacob insists they be circumcised (enter into the Abrahamic covenant?). Not just him but all the men of the town. While they are recovering, Levi and Simeon, (Leah’s boys, said to be ages 14 and 15) go and kill all the men. Or possibly all Jacob’s grown(ish) boys were involved with those two being the instigators.
There are a number of possibilities here. First is this rape or seduction? Second, is Jacob acting in good faith here? Is his response to the prince Shechem compelled because they have the force of numbers? We could have conversations about the rape/seduction difference and what can practically be done about it post facto. Between Zilpah, Bilhah, Jacob, and Leah there can be a lot of different POVs. The key difference in the modern way of thinking is how the girl feels about it, but generally we try to set aside personal feelings in matters of law. The modern answer is consent - if you were tricked into it fair and square, then no foul. Whatever standard you pick it has to be something that is practical, and oftentimes the law can’t be brought against something bad because it is too hard to prosecute and punish without introducing too much injustice of its own.
The trips into Egypt happen off stage, and the reports that the brothers bring back is garbled, and not clear what is happening. There will be arguments about what to do, trusting in the lord, &c.
Not sure how this book ends. The ending, the payoff, is clearly when all of Israels sons are reconciled. Truly reconciled, not out of guilt or out of a desire to comply with a parent’s wishes. The rivalry is mended in the next generation too. Maybe some foreshadowing of how the brothers have to stick together or Egypt will play them against each other and swallow them up.
I think an alternate title might be Leah and the Sons of Rachel. Ultimately the project to unify the sons had to be hers. Israel was disqualified because of a conflict of interest, and his partiality was partially the problem, although I’m sure it would have happened anyway, even if he had treated them all equally. In the case, it certainly didn’t help.