The Bible Says
Genesis 35:22-26 Meaning

After Rachel's death in the preceding verses, It came about while Israel was dwelling in that land, that Reuben went and lay with his father’s concubine Bilhah, and Israel heard of it (v. 22), we see a moment of moral wrongdoing within Jacob’s family. Israel here is another name for Jacob, a man living roughly between 2000 and 1500 BC, who received God’s promises that his descendants would become a great nation. The detail that Reuben, Israel’s firstborn, committed this transgression by lying with Bilhah, Rachel’s maid and now Jacob’s concubine, uncovers the human failings within the chosen family. Yet this event will also show that God works through this imperfect family, preserving His covenant and unfolding His redemptive plan despite sin’s presence.

Genesis 35:22-26 then gives a brief account of Jacob's sons, beginning with Leah's: Now there were twelve sons of Jacob (v. 22). These verses directly connect to the previous mention of immoral behavior, reminding the reader that God remained faithful to Jacob’s lineage despite their great sin. Furthermore, it is because of this sin that permeates all creation, that He is working a plan of redemption through this family in the coming of Jesus Christ (Romans 6:23).

The passage goes on to identify each branch of Jacob’s offspring: the sons of Leah: Reuben, Jacob’s firstborn, then Simeon and Levi and Judah and Issachar and Zebulun (v. 23). Leah’s sons dominate the listing because she was the first of Jacob’s wives to bear children. Notably, Judah is included here, the fourth son, and from his line would eventually come King David and, centuries later, Jesus the Messiah (Matthew 1:2). This continuity in Scripture points to how God’s promise to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob continued through their descendants to bless the entire world.

Genesis 35:24-26 then clarifies the other sons: the sons of Rachel: Joseph and Benjamin (v. 24), and the sons of Bilhah, Rachel’s maid: Dan and Naphtali (v. 25), and the sons of Zilpah, Leah’s maid: Gad and Asher (v. 26). Finally, the passage declares, These are the sons of Jacob, who were born to him in Paddan-aram (v. 26). Paddan-aram was located in the region of northern Mesopotamia, an area associated with the extended family of Abraham. This geographical note emphasizes that Jacob’s family took shape outside the land eventually promised to them, yet they remained under God’s watchful guidance. Each of these twelve sons would go on to become the progenitors of the tribes of Israel, forming the bedrock of Israel’s national identity.